News

Give babies the right to vote?

A German politician has started a movement to lower the voting age in Germany to zero in what he says is an attempt to combat Chancellor Angela Merkel's move towards a "pensioners' democracy." Lately, Merkel's critics have criticized her for trying to raise the amount of money pensioners get despite its economic consequences for future generations. The move to lower the voting age would allow families to vote for their children, thus, at least in theory, giving the up-and-coming generation a voice.

French: Germany most influential country in Europe

The French people see Germany as the most influential country in Europe, followed by France and Great Britain, says a new survey done by the Opinion Way Institute in the lead-up to the French Presidency of the European Union. The survey found that the French see Germany as a leading power with particular influence in economic, political and demographic areas, as well as one of the only real supporters of the Union. Germany was one of the only countries to approve the original EU constitution. Also, while almost half the French population feels that France has lost influence in the last five years, 32 percent said they feel like France has gained back some of that influence internationally — especially in areas of foreign policy, defence, culture and the environment — since the election of President Sarkozy last May.

Eurostar usage goes up 21 percent

Eurostar's business increased 21 percent from January to March of 2008, compared to this time last year, reaching a total of 2.17 million travelers during the period. The company attributes the increase in travelers to a mixture of its service and the desire of customers to use environmentally-friendly means of traveling. A recent YouGov poll found that a majority of travelers were concerned about the environment when traveling short distances. Trips with the company have been "carbon neutral" since last November. Eurostar also said it's trains were on time 93.6 percent of the time in the first quarter.

France's English-language Eurovision entry

Several French MPs have complained that the entry chosen to represent the country in the Eurovision song contest has English lyrics. The song is performed by Sebastien Tellier and entitled 'Divine.' Enraged MPs have argued that if the French don't even sing in their own language, who will? Other MPs have said they should support their country's contestant, whatever he choses to sing. The contest has no rules about what language each country's contestant has to sing in. Last year's entry from Cyprus was sung in French.

Europe turns on Beijing games

As the Olympic torch wound through the streets of London last Sunday, followed by a raucous crowd protesting China's treatment of Tibet, the message was clear: European public opinion is growing sour on the Beijing games. French president Nicolas Sarkozy recently said he was still considering a French boycott of the games. And the German President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, has said that unless China starts talking to the Dalai Lama, a boycott is justified. A recent poll in Switzerland showed over 60 percent support for boycotting the opening ceremonies. Only four modern Olympic games have seen boycotts.

Europe to allow in-flight calls

Travelers flying in Europe may soon be able to make calls during their flights. The EU's executive body, the European Commission, announced new rules today that would create a pan-European standard for the technology needed to make in-flight calls — a move which paves the way for mobile phone companies and airlines to allow passengers to make calls from the air. The Commission did not put any restrictions on how much phone companies can charge for in-flight calls, which would work by beaming calls via satellite from the aircraft to the ground and are not subject to the EU's anti-roaming laws. But Viviane Reding, the EU's Telecoms Commissioner, warned the phone companies that "if consumers receive shock phone bills, the service will not take-off". Reding also urged airlines to find a way for passengers making calls to avoid disturbing other travelers.

Pesticide-laced European wines

Taste a little somethin' in your wine? Well, you might not be crazy. In a study of 40 different red wines from countries including France, Germany and Italy done by the Pesticide Action Network, 35 contained traces of pesticide. The five that didn't contain chemical traces were all organic wines. And a sixth organic wine from France was thought to be contaminated by neighboring fields. Although all the traces of chemicals were within the legal limit under EU rules, the group has called on wine growers to restrict the use of dangerous pesticides. In the bloc, wine growing accounts for 20 percent of pesticide usage while only occupying three percent of arable land.

Crossing the pond might get cheaper

Thanks to new legislation, more airlines can now fly between EU countries and the US. The EU's "Open Skies" laws will end restrictions — many made in bilateral deals more than 30 years ago — on which airlines can fly into which airports. Increased competition will hopefully bring down costs. But rising fuel prices may negate any savings. The first flight leaves from Heathrow airport in London today.

Dutch PM slams anti-Islam film

The Dutch government has moved swiftly to distance itself from an anti-Islam film broadcast Thursday by far-right MP Geert Wilders. 'Fitna' shows gruesome images of Islamist terrorists beheading captives and causing death and destruction in London. Madrid and New York. The images are juxtaposed with quotes from the Koran justifying bloodshed and with Muslim clerics inciting violence against apostates. Dutch premier Jan Peter Balkenende regretted the release of the film, while urging restraint from angry Muslims. "The film equates Islam with violence. We reject this interpretation," he said. "The vast majority of Muslims reject extremism and violence. In fact, the victims are often also Muslims." 

Revolting Greeks

Thousands of Greeks people protested Wednesday against the government’s proposed pension reforms and many workers decided to continue their strikes. Transport into and within the country was severely disrupted by the action. Opposition parties are continuing their criticisms of the reform but the Greek parliament is expected to vote through the controversial bill with a slim majority. According to polling firm VPRC, 71% of Greeks oppose the reforms, with 69% backing the strikes.

Ryanair opens new French, German routes

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, Wednesday announced that its first domestic routes in France - Marseille to Paris - and Germany - Frankfurt to Berlin - would start in May. "For too long, French and German passengers have been forced to suffer Air France and Lufthansa’s high fares and fuel surcharges for the ‘privilege’ of air travel within their own countries," said a statement from the Irish carrier. Ryanair claimed the new routes would slash the cost of domestic travel and save French and German consumers over €26m million a year. However, going head-to-head against train companies  plying the same routes at considerably less cost to the environment is unlikely to bolster the airline's green credentials.

Belgian writer Hugo Claus dies

Belgium's greatest living writer, Hugo Claus, died Wednesday at the age of 78. Suffering from Alzheimer's disease, Claus chose to die by euthanasia, which is legal under Belgium's liberal social laws. Claus, the author of "The Sorrow of Belgium" wrote some 200 novels, plays and screenplays during his long writing career. The Fleming was also Belgium's best known-poet.

Prosecuting border-crossing bad drivers

Think you can drive like a maniac just because you're abroad? Well, the executive arm of the EU, the European Commission, wants you think again. The Commission unveiled a directive yesterday that aims to sync up prosecution of traffic offences across borders in the EU so that, say, a British citizen driving in Italy can't skirt a ticket because the Italian government will never find her, and vice versa. Although the directive will take years to be put into law and implemented, its intention is to compel drivers to drive more responsibly because they can be held responsible. The directive is also aimed at achieving by 2010 the goal of cutting in half the 2001 number of traffic fatalities in the EU. And — you guessed it — although the EU as a whole has made progress, it's not quite there.

EU's broadband explosion

Europe is linking up. Four EU member countries — Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland — now lead the world in broadband connections. Another four EU states have more broadband lines per capita than the U.S. and Japan. Due to aggressive regulation of formerly state-owned telecommunications companies, which has forced open markets and increased competitiveness, 19 million new broadband lines were added in the EU in 2007, the equivalent of 50,000 per day.