January 31, 2011
European Commission President weighs into Irish election by helping EPP pals Barroso’s meeting with Irish opposition leader Enda Kenny adds weight to Kenny’s efforts to portray himself as a political heavyweight. But is it right for the Commission President to offer such publicity to Kenny in the midst of a general election campaign? Certainly, the… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
November 29, 2010
The role of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Ireland’s financial meltdown demands more scrutiny. The IMF, EU and ECB are calling the shots in Dublin now. That much is clear. What hasn’t been quite so obvious is how directly the ECB has been influencing Irish government policy for several years now. The biggest mystery… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
October 20, 2010
New rules on late payments will pump €65 billion into the European economy – but member states don’t have the cash to comply The European Parliament is set to pass tough new rules forcing governments to pay their bills within 30 days, something the EU says will be a major boost for small businesses. The… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
September 28, 2010
Tajani must go. He works half a week, gives glib and disingenuous answers to questions, but somehow he is Vice President of the European Commission. I’m sick of Antonio Tajani and his disrespectful, blasé attitude to his brief. Today he turned up in the press room to launch the SME Finance Forum and spoke in… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
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, commission, SMEs, Tajani |
September 13, 2010
Brussels runs on a growing army of barely-paid interns doing work once described as a ‘job’ but now rebranded as a training experience A worrying trend in the European job market is the growing number of junior positions which have been recast as internships. These are entry-level jobs that have been downgraded. Graduates are sold… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
August 27, 2010
Great news: European citizens think the Europe 2020 strategy is brilliant. Only joking. But sitting in the Commission press room yesterday it seemed there was no end to the good news. Europeans are enthusiastic about economic governance and give the thumbs up to the priorities set out in the 2020 strategy. Or so said the… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
August 26, 2010
It’s almost a year since Barroso told the European Parliament he would appoint an EU Chief Scientific Advisor but, so far, the €200,000 a year post has not even been advertised. It now seems certain that the chief scientist role will be a little less exciting than might have been hoped. Some had notions of… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
August 25, 2010
I despair. After decades of promising to fix Europe’s broken patent system, it seemed like a breakthrough was on the horizon. Political momentum was gathering. The Belgian Presidency, experienced in navigating legal and linguistic problems, promised to make it a priority. The European Commission says an affordable, streamlined patent regime is fundamental to long-term prosperity.… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
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, European Court of Justice, innovation, intellectual property, patent |
August 19, 2010
It was inevitable: China has finally leapfrogged Japan to become the world’s 2nd largest economy. In Europe, we’re excited and relieved to see Germany (who else?) turning in 2.2% growth in Q2. In China, 10% annual growth rates are forecast, meaning the world’s largest economy – the US – must be looking over its shoulder… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
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, china, economic growth, EU, japan |
July 8, 2010
Later this month, the WHO will declare the H1N1 flu pandemic over It was the first global flu pandemic in 41 years. It was going to affect one in three of us. Millions would die. Or so we thought. Now, with the World Health Organisation prepared to downgrade swine flu to a ‘phase 5’ pandemic… » read more
Posted by Gary Finnegan
