Russia criticises EU’s foreign policy chief for ‘interfering’

BY Sofia Echo | PHOTO Reuters
PUBLISHED 03:45, February 5, 2012

Russia has accused the European Union foreign policy chief of interfering in its internal affairs by making statements about the Russian election. A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, Alexander Lukashevich, said Thursday that Catherine Ashton’s comments on Russia made February 1 in the European Parliament are bewildering. In her speech, Ashton urged the Russian government to engage in dialogue with the opposition and to review its decision to deny registration for the presidential election campaign to opposition leader Grigory Yavlinsky. She said the OSCE noted irregularities in Russia’s December parliamentary election and that Russians want to see a real change. Lukashevich said that Ashton’s call for a review of the election commission’s refusal to register Yavlinsky oversteps the bounds... [Full article]

Disbelief as Greek politicians delay deal on €130bn rescue package

BY The Guardian | PHOTO AFP
PUBLISHED 08:52, February 7, 2012
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Greece appeared intent on taking make-or-break talks over a €130bn (£108bn) rescue programme for the debt-choked country down to the wire tonight as officials announced that the discussions would be delayed. Confounding market expectation and European hopes, the government said agreement over the conditions attached to further aid could not... [Full article]

Italy acts on Russia gas shortage amid Europe freeze

BY BBC News
PUBLISHED 08:47, February 7, 2012

Italy has activated emergency measures to conserve gas supplies as freezing weather continues to grip the country and much of Europe. Italy has been receiving reduced gas imports from Russia – one of its main suppliers – at the same time as gas consumption has soared. Some power stations will switch to oil and some industrial customers will have gas... [Full article]

Norway gunman asks to be released

BY France 24
PUBLISHED 08:55, February 7, 2012

Anders Behring Breivik, who confessed to killing 77 people in planned bomb and shooting attacks in Norway last July, told an Oslo court on Monday his massacre had been a “preventive attack against state traitors” and demanded immediate release. The Norway gunman who killed 77 people in twin attacks in July asked an Oslo court on Monday to release him... [Full article]

Socialists to choose new leader as Zapatero tries to unite party

BY El Pais
PUBLISHED 04:08, February 5, 2012

As the race between candidates Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and Carme Chacón grew bitterly tense, former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero used his farewell address on Friday to ask his fellow Socialists to unite behind whichever of the two is elected party leader this weekend. At the end of his speech at the Socialist convention in Seville, in which he... [Full article]

Germany wins battle in Nazi war crimes case

BY Deutsche Welle
PUBLISHED 04:04, February 5, 2012

Italy violated Germany’s national sovereignty by allowing its courts to handle restitution claims for Nazi war crimes, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Friday. In 2008, the Italian Supreme Court ruled that Luigi Ferrini, an Italian national, was entitled to reparations for his forced deportation to Germany in 1944, where he worked as a slave laborer in the armaments industry. The 15-judge ICJ, the UN’s highest legal body, said in a 12-3 ruling that the Italian case violated Germany’s rights under international law. Rulings by the ICJ are final and binding. “The court therefore holds that the action of Italian courts in denying... [Full article]

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Russia criticises EU’s foreign policy chief for ‘interfering’

BY Sofia Echo | PUBLISHED 03:45, February 5, 2012

Russia has accused the European Union foreign policy chief of interfering in its internal affairs by making statements... [Full article]

France calls for EU-Arab action group on Syria

BY EUobserver | PUBLISHED 03:40, February 5, 2012

France has said that China and Russia’s UN veto will not stop the EU and its Arab allies... [Full article]

Beijing tells Merkel “to do her homework”

BY Handelsblatt Presseurop | PUBLISHED 03:36, February 5, 2012

Angela Merkel was outgunned in Beijing. “People’s Republic of China gets rid of Chancellor,” headines Handelsblatt, in its... [Full article]

ACTA activates European civil society

BY EurActiv | PUBLISHED 11:30, February 4, 2012

Online activists across Europe are protesting against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which officially aims to protect intellectual... [Full article]

And they’re off

BY The Economist | PUBLISHED 11:28, February 4, 2012

France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has not yet officially declared his candidacy, nor held a campaign rally. The third-placed... [Full article]

A revised portrait of Hungary’s right-wing extremists

BY Der Spiegel | PUBLISHED 11:26, February 4, 2012

Though largely ignored by the national media, Hungary’s right-wing extremist Jobbik party operates within a surprisingly well-developed and... [Full article]

Turkey welcomes appeal of ‘genocide’ law

BY France 24 | PUBLISHED 11:24, February 4, 2012

Some 130 French parliamentarians have lodged an appeal with the country’s constitutional court to overturn a controversial bill... [Full article]

Freezing Europe hit by Russian gas shortage

BY BBC News | PUBLISHED 11:22, February 4, 2012

Freezing weather sweeping across Europe has led to a shortage of vital Russian gas supplies to several... [Full article]

Greek rescue package talks blocked by unions and employers

BY The Guardian | PUBLISHED 11:20, February 4, 2012

Greek unions and employers’ associations have blocked a critical element of a rescue deal put forward by... [Full article]

Brussels discovers new €15bn black hole in Greece’s finances

BY The Guardian | PUBLISHED 08:46, February 3, 2012

Pressure on Greece’s recession-stricken economy has intensified after international debt inspectors admitted an additional €15bn (£12.5bn) would... [Full article]