Economy
The Greek government is threatening lorry drivers with police action unless they get back on the road, after three days of strikes have left the country running low on supplies. But, so far, it seems the truckers are in no mood to back down.
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Iceland moved a step closer to the EU as official membership began today. While the process is expected to go relatively smoothly, it will not be all plain sailing as disputes over whaling and fishing loom on the horizon.
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This week: The EU attempted to unify the rules of arrest; Hungary got a case of the economic blues; And the office of the future...we took you where no employee has boldly gone before.
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In an unprecedented move, Ireland is discussing the idea of selling off a raft of state assets to pay off its debts. Up for grabs are the country's utility companies, its port authorities and even its airports.
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Senior United Nations judges have ruled that Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia was "not illegal" in a decision seen as moving Pristina closer to full international recognition and eventually even a seat in the UN itself.
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A Danish politician's proposal to slash the minimum wage by half for immigrant workers has angered many and triggered a bout of infighting within the ruling party.
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Though predictions about both soccer games and the economy are notoriously unreliable, some experts now claim that winning the World Cup might actually help lift Spain's recession.
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With his approval ratings in France still rock bottom, President Nicolas Sarkozy is again dominating the country's front pages for all the wrong reasons. Sarkozy is accused of receiving 150,000 euros in illegal party financing in 2007 - a claim he dismisses as a smear.
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Bad news today from Brussels for bankers hoping for a nice fat bonus next year... The European Parliament backed plans to cap compensation for bankers as a part of a deal that aims to curb the so-called bonus culture and bring financial institutions under stricter supervision.
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In a surprise turn of events, the new UK foreign minister from the famously eurosceptic Conservative Party has used his first major speech to call for Britain to build up its influence in the EU. In particular he wants to boost the number of Britons joining the EU civil service.
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Romanians - grappling with a bitter economic recession and devastating floods - are braced for another blow. Value-added tax rises today to one of the highest levels in Europe as Bucharest takes desperate measures to persuade the IMF to release the next installment of a vital loan.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a major setback as it took her candidate three attempts to win the presidential vote today. Merkel's failure to secure what should have been an easy win hints at growing rifts within her ruling coalition.
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EU leaders claimed success as the weekend's G20 summit ended with all members vowing to halve their budget deficits by 2013. This compromise papered over US-EU differences on the economic crisis, but Europe's hopes for a global bank tax fell through the cracks.
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It has taken 15 months, but a new Czech prime minister was finally sworn in today. At the ceremony President Vaclav Klaus expressed his hope that Petr Nečas really is the man to create a stable government, a goal that eluded his five predecessors in the prime minister's hot seat.
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Romania is the latest EU country to fall victim to the cycle of budget cuts and unrest, as hundreds of Romanians attempted to storm the presidential palace in protest against austerity measures.
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Spain has decided that the best way to tackle their colossal budget deficit is to make it easier to fire employees. The Spanish parliament last night passed new labour reforms, which aim at promoting youth employment and cutting the cost of firing staff.
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Russia’s state-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom, has started cutting supplies to Belarus. The gas giants claim they are owed €160 million by their ex-Soviet neighbours. The move has left Europeans worried as a fifth of Europe-bound Russian gas reaches the continent via Belarus.
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The heads of all 27 member states sat down in Brussels today for the EU Council summit. With rumours swirling about Spain's economy and EU heavyweights bickering about plans for stronger economic governance, there was no doubt that the financial crisis would still dominate the agenda.
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The new right-wing leadership taking shape in Slovakia after the weekend's elections could spell trouble for the eurozone's financial rescue plans. The likely new prime minister says the country can't afford to cough up its share of the euro bailout fund agreed to by the previous government.
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Thanks to open EU borders and the current financial crisis, Romania's health service is haemorrhaging medical staff at an alarming rate. As foreign recruiters flock in to tempt doctors abroad, fears are growing that the condition could be life-threatening.
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A party advocating independence for the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium - headed by a man dubbed "The Cannibal" - has scored a major win in yesterday's general election, further fuelling speculation that the divided country is on its last legs.
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Slovakia's president has given the incumbent leftist prime minister the first shot a forming a government after the weekend's elections, but the smart money is now on a centre-right coalition, as the country follows the general trend to the right seen across the region.
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The Dutch head to the voting booths today to elect a new parliament in a campaign that has centred around a single issue: The economy. Polls predict that the country will end up with a coalition headed by the centre-right VVD which has proposed the most drastic spending cuts of all.
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The European Commission is poised to order a special audit of Bulgaria’s accounts as concerns grow that the financial statistics flowing into Brussels paint an unrealistically healthy picture of some of the 27 nation bloc's economies.
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The EU announced last night that finance ministers had agreed on controversial plans to submit key details of their national budgets for peer review before showing them to their own parliaments - prompting a denial from the UK and criticism that Brussels is syphoning off yet more power.
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Hungary is in damage limitation mode after warnings of a potential Greek-style crisis from senior political figures spooked the world's financial markets. The rogue statement had worrying knock-on effects on the euro and upset Brussels by raising the spectre of another possible bailout.
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Ukraine's parliament has formally ditched its membership bid to join NATO in a move prompted by pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych.
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French President Nicholas Sarkozy is under fire after a Luxembourg police probe dragged his name into a convoluted corruption scandal involving kickbacks from submarine sales, presidential campaign funds and the death of eleven French engineers in a mysterious bombing in Karachi.
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The results of this weekend's Czech general election indicate a centre-right coalition is on the cards. Financial analysts welcomed the unexpected news, seeing these parties as the ones most willing to make the harsh spending cuts needed to get the economy back on track.
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Hopes that the recent Greek bailout package marked a turning point for Europe appeared to hit the rocks today as the euro sank to a four-year low against the dollar. To add to the currency's woes, signs of unity crumbled as the EU Commission head slammed Germany's handling of the crisis.
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Europeans across the continent are preparing to swallow the bitter pill of spending cuts. Today it is the UK's turn, as the new government sets out plans for billions of pounds in emergency savings. But British politicians are not the only ones warning of more tough times ahead.
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