…and so it’s definite. Money savers will bail-in banks going bankrupt. The European Union ministers decided so early Thursday. the noble ministers took this decision in an effort to cut the cost of taxpayer-funded bailouts. From what I understand the bail-in will be based on a pyramid scheme according to …
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EU’s “New Deal” for jobless youth: Serious intentions or just political rhetorics before EP elections?
United they stand, separately they may fall. High ranking EU officials and leaders of core member-countries are alarmed over the youth unemployment. France and Germany want a ‘New Deal’ for Europe’s young job-seekers that will aim to tackle the continent’s soaring youth unemployment rate. They want to use six billion …
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Greece in disagreement with EU over subsidized program for jobless?
Things are confusing and do not look good. Some Greek media reported on Friday, that the European Commission rejected the plan of Greek Labour Ministry to finance temporary work places for 400,000 families that have no employee. The program worked out by the Labour Ministry was to subsidize temporary work …
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EU Commission temporary shelves absurd olive oil jugs & bowls ban
The European Commission decided to temporary shelve its absurd decision to ban olive oil jugs and dipping bowls from restaurant tables and replace them with non-refillable sealed bottles. “The decision did not find the necessary support,” EU Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos said at a press conference, admitting he was …
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EU-Absurd to ban olive oil jugs & dipping bowls from restaurants tables
Sometimes I sit there and I wonder what weird committees must be sitting in Brussels wasting the money of taxpayers for issuing absurd orders. An European Union Common Agricultural Policy directive “will ban olive oil jugs and dipping bowls from restaurant tables as of 1. January 2014 for reasons of …
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Europeans from crisis-hit South flock to Germany seeking work
Mass migration revived in times of debt crisis, recession, austerity and unemployment. From European door to European door, so to say. One million people from the European south moved to Germany in 2012, Germany’s statistics authority said on Tuesday. And majority of the new European migrants came from Spain, Greece …
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Insane EU: Bank depositors in panic as they pay for Cyprus €10bn bailout
Bank depositors will have to finance 60% of the 10-billion-euro bailout for Cyprus agreed between European Union and International Monetary Fund in Brussels in the early morning hours of Saturday. Eurozone ministers force depositors at Cypriot banks to pay a one time levy to raise 6 billion euros. The so-called “emergency …
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EU bans new cosmetics with animal-tested ingredients; some loopholes though…
No new cosmetic product containing ingredients tested on animals can be sold within the European Union, after a relevant decision by the EU Commission released on Monday. Animal rights groups were quick to cheer the measure, but Cosmetics Europe, a trade body representing the EU’s (euro) 71 billion ($93 billion) industry, said …
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Eurostat: With 67 years Greeks rank 3. in life expectancy among EU27
Reading the latest Eurostat report on life expectancy, I couldn’t help but thinking “no wonder the Troika wants to hack into a minimum the pensions and cut health care to the absolute necessary.” Together with Irish and Luxembourgians, Greeks rank third among the folks of EU 27 member states when it …
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Brussels advises Troika employees to work in disguise when in Athens
Tens of EU officials are advised to walk around the streets of Athens wearing shabby clothes in order to avoid become a target of terrorists. The advice from Brussels was transmitted to Troika employees after the series of bomb attacks in the Greek capital. According to “Micropolitikos” column at daily Ta …
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A Very European Christmas – The sequel to A Very European Break Up (video)
A Very European Christmas’ is an ensemble comedy inspired by the European crisis. It tells the story of the unhappily married Germaine and Greco. She’s German. He’s Greek. Will they and their friends make it through the season of goodwill? The film is a sequel to ‘A Very European Break …
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EU gets Nobel Prize …and lives happily ever after :)
Almost everyone went there. To Oslo, in Norway. More than 20 top EU leaders attended today’s awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union. The EU presidents, a lot of leaders of member-states. The EU sent three of its presidents ( van Rompuy, Barosso, Schulz) to collect the award …
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EU fines TV, computer screen cartel with €1.47 Billion
Philips, LG Electronics, Samsung SDI and three other firms were fined a record €1.47 billion by EU antitrust regulators on Wednesday (5 December) for fixing prices of TV and monitor cathode-ray tubes for nearly a decade. The European Commission slapped the biggest penalty, of €313.4 million, on Dutch-based Philips. LG …
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Ex Greek PM Papandreou calls for European-Wide Referenda & social media for all
It’s time for a European Revolution! YAY! Emancipation of the troubled EU citizen, active participation and social media! YEAH! Europe-wide referenda! Whoohoo! Hear! Hear! The proposal to revolutionize the European Union comes from a man who led his own country to ruins and unconditionally surrendered to the demands of the …
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Van Rompuy Opposes Direct Election of EU Top Leaders
Directly electing the European Commission President at the 2014 EU elections would amount to “organise the disappointment in advance”, said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Directly electing his own successor would be “even more absurd”, he added in comments that are likely to irritate proponents of increased democracy in …
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Van Rompuy: Inspired by the Greek debt to an autumnal Haiku?
I’ve always told you that the President of European Council is an inspiring and inspired man. Monday’s struggle of EU and IMF to seek a solution Greek debt apparently deeply touched a sensitive cord of Rompouy’s soul, gave wings to his fantasy and urged him to do something creative: put down some words, full …
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Van Rompuys’ Proposal on EU Budget
A copy of latest proposal for the EU budget had been obtained by Open Europe Blog. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy proposes that the headline spending figure remains broadly unchanged in the new proposal, standing at €1,014bn (a €4bn increase), but more cash is spent on farm subsidies and structural funds, in …
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EUROPOL Dismantles International Network Smuggling Migrants to EU
In a joint cooperation with Europol, Greek, Italian and German authorities dismantled an international criminal network smuggling Iraqi and Kurdish migrants to EU. The criminal organisation set up by Iraqis had transferred more than 1,500 people and earned around 12.5 million USD. The criminal used to move migrants from Turkey …
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How Merkel & Co “Competitiveness” Looks Like in Greece & the EU-South
In case you missed this breaking through development: German Chancellor Angela Merkel must have got off her bed this morning in a cheerful mood and a teasing sense of humour. Speaking from far-away Berlin, Merkel sends her messages to world public in general and the citizens of bailout EU-countries in particular. Merkel said that: 1. “Painful …
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Hot Days in Athens: It’s not the Weather, it’s the Society, Stupid!
That was fairly hot during the last hours in Athens, with unionists occuping the headquarters of Public Electricity Company, unknown arsonists to have caused a blast in a Tram wagon, unknown attackers to have attacked a local Golden Dawn branch, and several protests launched by professional and society groups here and …
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