EU Enlargement: Macedonia, worthy of the name?

October 23, 2011

By Enora Regnier and Anneke Hermans  Macedonia. Land of sun, sea, mountains, steep paths and old stone houses. And soon, it might be a member of the European Union. At least, if Greece, its oldest enemy, let them. So far, Greece has tried to delay Macedonians integration into the EU. Candidate since 2005 to enter the European Union, The former Yugoslav Republic of  Macedonia made some progress in improving...
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EU-Enlargement: Unfulfilled Eastern promises

October 23, 2011

UTRECHT – It are the two boys who were granted access to the party as long as they promised to behave themselves. However, almost five years after their accession into the EU and under the watchful eye of the chaperoning Union, Romania and Bulgaria demonstrate that nasty old habits sometimes die hard.
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This Year’s State of the Union more Strained, as Europe Stagnates Dealing With Economic Crisis

October 11, 2011
This Year’s State of the Union more Strained, as Europe Stagnates Dealing With Economic Crisis

UTRECHT – European ideals came to an abrupt halt this year as the financial crisis overshadowed most of the five major challenges of Barroso’s 2010 State of the Union address. Repeatedly blaming the lack of a common European voice for the union’s sluggish response to the crisis, a more serious Barroso addressed the union this year, arguing that deeper integration is the only way to move Europe forward. By...
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Mixed reactions to a financial tax in the Union

October 11, 2011
Mixed reactions to a financial tax in the Union

State of the Union: In his state of the Union speech Commission President, José Manuel Barroso advocated for the implementation of a tax on financial transactions in the EU, the so called Tobin Tax. The European Central Bank, however, is sceptical towards the idea.    By: Sajeev Shankar and Peter Sharples   Two weeks ago, in a time of deep economic problems in many of the EU-member countries, the President...
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Absent political reaction to the State of the Union

October 11, 2011
Absent political reaction to the State of the Union

More integration and a commitment to a stronger and ever closer European Union. José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, plotted out the way forward for Europe in his speech on the State of the Union. At least for now, most of the opposition remains silent.
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The Different Reaches of Barroso’s Speech

October 11, 2011
The Different Reaches of Barroso’s Speech

One man – one speech but different angles all over Europe. The EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso held his yearly State of the Union on the 28th of September. And the media coverage about his statement has had diverse reactions all over the Europe. Some countries’ newspapers like Greece, Italy and Belgium have positively written articles. But in UK the pens of the journalists were switched to knives....
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A speech? What speech?

October 11, 2011
A speech? What speech?

By Agatha Akhabue & Enora Régnier The 28th of September, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, made his annual speech about the state of the Union and solutions he proposed to end the crisis. A discourse that didn’t really empassion Europeans, who often missed it entirely.   Barroso? Who’s that guy? ». « I think he’s the Spanish president, right? ». « I’ve never heard about...
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“Not very important”

October 10, 2011
“Not very important”

The state of the Union speech of Commission president José Manuel Barroso from nearly two weeks ago states some changes for the future of the European Union. But whose ideas are the President really talking about? By Liam Gascoigne and Jesper Ernlund Lassen In times of trouble, or to be more precise, debt trouble that has fatally threatened the existence of the Euro, any words of reassurance are more...
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Europe Needs Some Bonding Time

October 10, 2011
Europe Needs Some Bonding Time

By: Wyatt McCall and Annica Lindstrom If Europe was a feuding family, it would be time to seek professional counceling.Like most struggling families these days, their problems are financial. Greece has been the black sheep of the family, having been childish with its money, spending too much, working too little, and all the while consistently hiding its dirty laundry in the closet. To get things back in order, disciplinary...
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