London is visualizing how it will deal with the growing influx of people into its city. Even though it is less crowded that other cities such as Cairo or Paris, the next fifty years will be a crucial time to try and fit more people into a growing population, but with less amount of land available.

It is already in the forecast to build a large amount of commuter towns that will be strategically placed on the outskirts of the city. These dwellings will lack the width, but make up for it in height. With at least 100,000 people expected to be housed by 2016. It is the belief that one particular building should be created that provides all of these one hundred thousand residents with all the facilities they need - hospitals, schools, parks, etc.

Tags: European Union News by Lashan Clarke
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The Monaco business Wally Yachts has continued to surpise us with its daring designs. Its recent yacht to be unveiled is said to be a monster yacht known as WallyIsland. The specs for this yacht include a size of a least 325 feet. This megayacht can be used as a home, or even a moving exhibit. at one time a large yacht was considered to by around 180 feet and was for very rich owners. Since then yacht builders have been competing to design a yacht well over the 320 feet mark.

Tags: European Union News by Lashan Clarke
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The European Union Commission announced on Friday that they would not be pursuing a ban on Italian mozzarella after it cases were discovered of the cheese being contaminated with dioxins which cause cancer, as the Italian government has taken adequate measures to control the issue,

In a news conference, E.U. heath spokesperson, Nina Papadoulaki, stated that the commission was entirely happy with the measures undertaken by the Italian government and that they would me maintaining continuous involvement authorities in Italy to ensure the issue does not arise again. Papadoulaki stated that with reports they had received from Italy that day, there was no need for further intervention at an E.U. level.

Friday saw Italy make a recall on a batch of mozzarella which was possibly contaminated. This is part of a wide-spread health scare which has had a negative impact on one of the countries most renown culinary products.

News sources from within the country have reported that the issue has been contained and that after all recalls have been completed and testing done, the reputation of Italian mozzarella will bounce back and will again achieve its former status as the ultimate symbol of Italian gastronomy.

Gianpaolo Patta, a senior health ministry official, made a statement to the press that the reported recall of buffalo mozzarella, which came from the foreign minister whilst visiting Naples, was not entirely correct.

All milk which has been scanned on dairy farms since March 3, and those who have been found to be contaminated have had all production shut down with the farms being sequestered to court. Patta also went on to say that any milk which had been used to produce mozzarella before that date will have expired at this stage.

The health minister stated that the E.U. had ordered an extensive systematic analysis of dairy farms, and that they had requested the names of those farms which had dioxin levels above the appropriate amount. Apparently there are 20 such farms, where there was 25 recently. The Italian government is happy to oblige the E.U. on releasing the names of the farms, however will wait until testing is complete so as to be absolutely sure of the data.

France is taking no chances, and the country has banned the sales of all Italian mozzarella cheeses from the Campania region for fear of it being dioxin contaminated.

The agriculture minister from France made a statement to the effect that, as a precautionary measure only, all mozzarella made from buffalo milk will be removed from shelves and subjected to extensive tests.

Italy’s high level food and health officials released a statement on Thursday in which they instructed people to not stop buying mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk, as the dioxin contamination scare had been overestimated and that none of the contaminated cheeses had been sold out of the country.

During a press conference, Italy’s agricultural minister, Paolo de Castro, ate some of the cheese in question to illustrate the governments stance on the safety of the product. Figures have been released which state that, in order to exceed dioxin limits set by the World Health Organisation, a person would have to eat over 7kg of buffalo mozzarella in one day.

This has not stopped Japan holding loads of Italian mozzarella in their customs facilities in two airports to await further testing, as well as South Korea blocking imports on all buffalo mozzarella from Italy, though this fact is contested by Italian officials. A civil protection official, Guido Bertolaso, stated that he believed countries like the U.S. and Australia, who produce their own mozzarella, are taking enjoyment from what he labeled a localised issue.

During his press conference, de Castro stated that the 25 dairies with extreme dioxin levels could face criminal charges, and that at this stage, the 25 dairies along with 83 farms have been sequestered by courts. de Castro believes that there is no doubt that people will be prosecuted, but that contaminated cheese hadn’t actually reached the market because of strict control methods.

Health minister Patta stated that the soil contamination from the burning of tyres and plastic could be the cause of the excessive dioxin levels.

Both investigators and environmentalists have stated that many types of unsanctioned garbage has been burnt within Campania, both by residents wishing to rid themselves of garbage yet to be collected, and by mafia groups attempting to get rid of toxic waste from other regions in Italy.

A dairy manager from Naples, known only as Giovanni as he requested his full name not be disclosed, stated that the mafia had actually infiltrated some dairies and now operated them, and that they used scare tactics and racketeering to avoid health controls. Giovanni went on to say that this dioxin scare was brought to light only a few weeks from parliamentary elections in a bid to gain political power in the region and bring the region to its knees.

Campania region is, along with the city of Naples, under administrations from the centre-left and is allied with the central government in Rome.

Tags: European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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A report surfaced today accusing the supermarket store brand Lidl of spying on its employees. Information released allege that the store uses business practices that are not favourable to its employees.

For instance, in many stores it is alleged that employees are constantly watched by Lidl hiring detectives to keep track of them while working. These detectives are alleged to also monitor employee activities during coffee breaks, or when they go to the bathroom.

The report is part of a government probe after allegations were made against Lidl. The German government is expected to finish its investigation in several weeks.

Tags: European Union News by Lashan Clarke
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In a new situation known as offsourcing, IT firm Wipro is slated to hire hundreds of new people for their offices outside of London. The company is a large employer of over 6,000 people within the European Union, and would like to open one new office within the next two years. The Indian company with its base in Reading already employs three hundred people.

“We want a centre where the general profile of the young girls and boys graduating there is of a nature where they would like to work in that area, they have family roots in that area, they come from a background which is comfortable in that area and don’t necessarily want to migrate to&the larger cities,” stated Azim Premji, Wipro’s Chairman.

Tags: European Union News by Lashan Clarke
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Amid the current international market turmoil, some countries are faring better than others. Germany and France are proving the strength of the continental European economies by weathering the tumultuous markets with business confidence in tact.

Last Wednesday saw Germany’s Ifo institute release figures which showed that the index has risen for the last three months consecutively, bolstering them to the highest level since August 2007.

The Insee statistical office in France reported similar happenings there, with business confidence being at there highest so far this year.

Analysts believe that the heightening of confidence in the two largest economies in the eurozone is indicative of a spurring economic movement.

The president of Ifo, Hans-Werner Sinn, said that the economy in Germany is gaining strength and that even with the euro trading so high, many companies are still expecting high revenues for exports for last month.

Figures are emerging now which seem to indicate that the eurozone has only been obliquely struck by the current international financial crisis. The housing market is still progressing with strength, whilst manufacturing in the region is also healthy, most notably in Germany. Europe’s largest economy is engineering, and according to figures released by the employer’s association, growth within the industry is at an 40 year high.

Whilst the U.S. dollar has been falling and higher interest rates in Europe have somewhat slowed the economy, European financial analysts are not predicting dark skies for the continents outlook. Inflation is at a 14 year high in the Eurozone , however the European Central Bank has left their interest rate at 4% and have not followed the trail left by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

According to the ECB president, Jean-Claude Trichet, it is the fact that the foundation of the Eurozone economy is so strong, and that they have a better balance, which has left the regions markets in a more stable condition than their counterparts across the Atlantic. Trichet also said that unemployment has fallen to a 25 year low.

The ECB president also went on to talk about the the fact that the euro was trading so well, and the rammifications that would have on trade. He stated that there shouldn’t be a great deal of change in rates or too many market moves as that would lead to a downward trend in economic growth.

A survey conducted by the Ifo showed that business had become more positive about current situations than they had previously been.

In Germany, March saw the index rise to 104.8 for March from 104.1 for February, which is the highest point since August last year. France also saw the business confidence index rise, from 107 in February to 109 now.

Though there are some countries in the eurozone which aren’t doing so well. Business confidence in Italy has fallen to the lowest point in two years.

Tags: European Economy News, European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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The new opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 was marred with many problems such as protesters and a faulty baggage machine. Terminal 5 was built to be the new state of art terminal to move passengers quickly to their destination.

However, after less than an hour, many people were left angry as the baggage machine failed to operate. This created a series of delays. Afterwards, the opening was dampened by a group of protesters who feel that a new runway should not be opened as planned in 2020. All of these factors dampened the excitement of the new terminal opening.

Tags: European Union News by Lashan Clarke
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Cyprus is still a divided island, however the Greek and Turkish leaders of the island have agreed to a series of meetings, set in three months times, to discuss paths to unification, which has held Turkey back from being accepted into European Union.

In a sign of peace, both the Greek leader of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, and the Turkish leader of Cyprus, Mehmet Ail Talat, have agreed to un-blockade Ledra Street in Nicosia, which has long been a symbolic, as well as physical, depiction of the division.

The U.N. hosted the first meeting between the Cypriot leaders, at a U.N. controlled part of Nicosia, the capital, and have been the ones to make the announcement regarding the scheduled talks and the reopening of Ledra Street

Last month, Christofias was elected to the presidency of the island, which has renewed hopes for unification talks to be established again. In 2004 Greek Cypriots voted against a plan brought by the U.N. for the reunification of Cyprus.

At this stage, tensions are mounting as analysts are predicting these scheduled meetings to be the final chance for clearing the division. Politicians are also concerned as they do not want to see yet another standoff between the communities, as it would have strong negative repercussions for Turkey in their bid to join the E.U.

Cyprus has been divided between Greek and Turkish communities since an invasion by the latter in 1974, which was was a counter to a mainly Greek coup.

The last attempt for unification was in 2004 when a plan was put forth by the U.N., which was accepted by Turkish Cypriots, but rejected by Greek Cypriots who shortly after joined the E.U. by themselves.

Tags: European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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According to Lord Neil Kinnock, a former politician who is now the chair of the British Council, the mounting hostility between Europeans and U.S. citizens could leave long lasting damage to transatlantic relations.

A former vice-president of the European Commission, Lord Kinnock stated that he found the results in the British Council survey that was published on Wednesday to be concerning as 46% of Europeans surveyed agreed that they viewed the overriding influence of the U.S. in the world to be a negative one.

Lord Kinnock believes that these sentiments are increasingly prevalent towards the U.S. and that the opinions of Europeans towards the U.S. became even more dubious when George W. Bush snatched power in 2001. European sentiments took an even worse turn when the U.S. invaded Iraq five years ago.

On the other side of the pond, over 30% of U.S.citizens see Europeans as being aloof; which shows that transatlantic relations aren’t very good on either side and worse than thought before.

The results listed in the poll suggest that the measures taken by European countries and Washington to co-operatively fight climate change, international terrorism and poverty haven’t had a strong impact at all. Nine countries were polled for these results, Britain, Ireland, Poland, Germany, France, Spain,Turkey, Canada, and the U.S.

According to Lord Kinnock, the E.U. has stepped up relations with the U.S., however because there is yet to be much of an impact on issues like climate change and terrorism, citizens from both sides aren’t seeing much come of the co-operation and, understandably, don’t see it as really working.

The survey showed that most people would actually be happy with stronger transatlantic bonds, however there are blocks in that path too. Europeans cite their primary reason for not engaging with the U.S. as being due to Washington’s current foreign policy, and citizens of the U.S. stated that the main roadblock to closer ties is that Europeans are too liberal.

Other polls have shown similar concerns from Europeans towards the U.S.; in a Harris opinion poll which was conducted for the Financial Times and published this week it was shown that Europeans - British, German, and Spanish citizens were polled - consider the largest threat to global stability to be the the U.S., who topped even China, Iran, and North Korea.

Lord Kinnock said that the British Council has embarked on a youth project which is to combat the psychological widening of the Atlantic.

According to the British Council’s head of communications for western Europe and North America, Julian Morgan, the survey indicates the true depth of the breach between Europe and the U.S., which has far exceeded expectations.

Morgan also stated that the survey suggested that cultural stereotypes were still in full swing, with 34% of those polled in the U.S. stating they believed Europeans are snobbish, and 62% of Europeans polled, believe those in the U.S. to be keen consumers and 45% think people from the U.S. are selfish.

The U.S. people polled were apparently happier to take action against environmental or social issues that they cared about, like paying taxes.

There were some strikingly positive views from both sides regarding transatlantic co-operation, which concerned business and trade, and the fighting of global diseases like HIV-Aids and malaria.

A minimum of 500 people participated in the survey in each country, and in the U.K. 1,019 people were polled and 2,001 were polled in the U.S., according to the two companies to perform the polls, GlobeScan and IFF.

Tags: European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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The European Union are set to lead the world once more in the fight against global warming. Within the next 12 months, the E.U. will introduce new laws to ensure they reach the decisive goals they the have outlined for themselves.

Friday should see the E.U., which is comprised of 27 nations from Europe, announce from the culmination of a two-day summit, the new laws to come into effect no later than March 2009 which entail slashing greenhouse gas emissions and raising renewable energy used.

In the overview of the summit, leaders where also to discuss the current financial market crisis which has been ongoing since last year. All of the delegates are expected to completely disclose the extent of the distressed assets, incorrect balance sheets, and losses faced by financial institutions of their country’s.

The E.U. is expected to warn against using sovereign wealth for political investments, but praise the use of sovereign funds for commercially motivated capital and liquidity.

The summit commenced on Friday and was opened with a reaffirmation of the E.U.’s ongoing commitment to reforms inspired by the Lisbon strategy which, since a rocky start when first adopted in 2000, has yielded substantial positive results.

The next subject on the agenda will be to establish a cohesive plan of action against climate change; which according to José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, the E.U. do not have significant credibility in this area yet, though with decisive action will gain it quickly.

At this stage, the E.U. already have a standing commitment to a greener Europe, with a pledge to reduce emissions by 20% and increase renewable energy consumption by 20% by 2020. Also committed to 2020, is the use of at least 10% biofule within vehicle fuels.

The Commission suggested in January that carbon reduction and the inclusion of renewable energy sources should be perhaps based on the wealth of the country, so that the more financially stable countries of the E.U. would be the ones to face the heavier financial burden.

The plan at this stage is for each nation to agree within on national goals by December, and then to have E.U. level legislation passed by March 2009.

The E.U. is looking to ensure that it is fully disclosed, economically equitable and balanced for all countries, whilst still attaining their goal of reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2020.

Whilst there is still criticism from environmentalists, as they believe the E.U. is being too lenient because of industrial complaints and lobbies, many political leaders have a much different opinion. Some are concerned that they will no longer be economically competitive because some other countries may not impose strictures as regulated as those in Europe.

The E.U. combats these concerns by outlining in the summit statement the action, which is to be in the form of an international agreement, to be taken against those countries who do not take adequate measures against emissions.

The reason for the push for March 2009 is because that is the last month in which legislative session will be held before closures for European elections in June. When parliament reconvenes, they are necessarily going to have to sort administrative tasks and hold hearings for the next set of European Commission delegates.

This legislation needs to be passed by March 2009 and before the newly elected delegates of the Commission sit for autumn sessions; as in December 2009 a conference is to be held in Copenhagen, on global emission cuts, to which China, the U.S., and other powers, are to attend.

Tags: European Economy News, European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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Nine months ago, Yves Leterme, a divisive Flemish, Christian, Democrat was elected to the role of Prime Minister (PM) in Belgium. Next week, his administration actually steps in and takes up leadership of the country.

Since being elected last year, the PM has weathered a severe political deadlock and serious health issues.

Leterme is expected to be fully installed as PM during the Easter period, which will see this tumultuous period in the history of Belgium come to a close, however other dangers are lurking just around the corner for Leterme.

The new PM has been quoted as saying that it was only the King, the national football team, and bear that held the country’s Flemish majority and Francophone minority together in any sort of cohesion, and it is the job of Leterme to now pull these two factions together and create more positive bonds throughout the country.

Leterme is just now moving into the traditional HQ of the PM, a neoclassical office in Brussels, and right away must take steps to resolve the heightening tensions regarding further devolution.

It was these contentious issues which where the key to the embarrassing 192-day political standoff after the election in Belgium, during which time, with the post-poll stalemate lasting the longest in the country’s history, speculations were voiced over whether the country may even have split in two.

The campaign base for Leterme was in Flanders, which is a wealthy predominantly Dutch-speaking area, and his main campaign stratagem was a populist pledge which would bring more self-rule for both tax and employment policies throughout the provinces of the country, however this is shaping up to be a very difficult promise to deliver, and the pressure is on for him to offer, and have it accepted by officials, a new settlement on reform of the state, by July.

Belgium is known to be the most decentralised country in the European Union, with its federal government being purposefully fragmented. The current population of Belgium is 10.5 million.

Due to the decentralised nature of Belgium, the regions of the country are already largely self-sufficient, however a deal that was agreed to by the federal government last month will give provinces even more control over housing, agriculture, and industrial policy.

Whilst there are many in Flanders - the former campaign base of Leterme - who are voicing desires for more autonomy, there are groups of Francophones in the south - who were once economically dominant due to heavy industry, and who are now largely poorer and in need of Flemish support - who are loath to adjust the current situation.

The new five-part government is going to be tested a lot in these early months after the handover, and the current calls for constitutional amendments is just one of the tests before them.

The political ground for Leterme is still quite rocky, as he has been accused of being indecisive and has made made some regrettable comments about his Francophone constituents; though he is in the process of redeeming himself with this part of the population.

A fellow government official has made comments regarding Leterme’s ability to put his metaphorical foot in his mouth, saying that he isn’t a highly emotionally intelligent person and that his verbal faux pas’ aren’t in any way meant to be antagonistic towards the Francophone populace.

There are still those who believe strongly in Leterme, such as Frank Vandenbroucke, the socialist politician who worked with the new PM during the prior Flemish administration, saying that Leterme has always listened to all his advisers; wishing all groups to have a voice, before he makes any decisions.

The chances for Leterme to actually be PM looked rather slim for some time, as he failed to have a government ready to step in after he was elected in June, and his attempts to form that government were seriously hampered by arguments over constitutional reform and language rights. All of this was sorted finally in December when an agreement was reached.

Concerns were raised once again when Leterme was hospitalised for two weeks last month, at which time he was diagnosed with internal bleeding. Leterme is now back at work, and the 47 year old seems to have been humbled during this time.

He has stated that he is going to try to be more wise, calm, and equable, yet still just as enthusiastic and devoted to his responsibilities.

At a glance through Leterme’s records it is obvious that he is well qualified for his new role. Though he is Flemish, his father is Francophone and Leterme speaks perfect French. He has also worked in all levels of government in Belgium, from regional, to federal, to European Union.

The last PM, Guy Verhofstadt, was elected in 1999 and though he lost the election last July, he stayed to oversee a caretaker government until Leterme takes over later next week.

During the stalemate, Verhofstadt held together a three-month administration from December onwards to address urgent reform decisions.

Due to the decentralised nature of the country, most daily services weren’t affected by the political incident, however big-business was ham-stringed by the inability to pass imperative legislation and deep-seeded uncertainty of a unified Belgium in the future arose during this time.

Analysts, such as Marc Swyngedouw, of the Catholic University of Leuven’s social sciences faculty, have stated that to be successful, the new PM is going to have to gain the staunch support of both sides in Belgium. He believes that even with Leterme stepping in, the instability of the country is not at an end.

Tags: European Economy News, European Union News by Elisha Sanders
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Listed below are some of the company’s shares which may have unusual prices alterations in the region of Europe. Stock symbols are in addition following the company names along with the most recent stock prices.
The Index of Dow Jones Stoxx 600 declined to 1.3 % to end at 311.42 while Dow Jones Stoxx 50 fell down to 1.6 % to end at 3,090. On the other hand the Euro Stoxx 50 also dropped to 1.8 % to end at 3,617.68.

Europe’s largest process management and applied engineering company Abengoa SA expected higher demands for its fuel in order to increase prices. This would permit the company to begin production as the plant was halted recently said Amando Sanchez Falcon, the Chief Financial Officer. The shares of this plant dropped to 0.1 % or 2 cents to end at 21.80 euros. Switzerland Based Ciba Specialty Chemicals is the largest producer of paints and coatings organized its annual meeting. Its shares declined to 3.3 % or 1.3 francs to end at 37.7 francs.

Germany’s biggest online bank, COM Direct Bank offers direct banking, financial advisory and brokerage services. Its shares also dropped to 2.4 % or 20 cents to end at 8 euros. While the Dutch based Draka Holding NV which is the third largest cable producer in Europe said that its entire year’s profits quadrupled to 127 million dollars or 82.6 million euros. This happed after it had sold extra cables to the builders in the European region. The shares of this company showed an increase of 1 % to end at 19.45 euros.

Italy’s national lottery operator, Lottomatica SpA said that its earnings had surged from 822,000 euros to 163 million dollars or 106 million euros in 2007. The shares of Rome based company slipped to 1.1 % or 27 cents to end at 23.78euros. On the other hand Telecom Italia, biggest telephone company of Italy scheduled to organize a presentation to discuss the results of 2007 for the investors. This company’s shares also dropped to 3.7 % or 6.1 cents to end at 1.50 euros.

Dutch based multinational company and the largest surveyor of deep water oil fields Fugro NV said its earnings climbed to 53 % to end at 215 million euros in the previous year. This company released its present year earnings before the opening of the financial markets. Its shares had dropped to 0.5 % or 26 cents to end at 49.74 euros. While Stockholm based biggest airline carrier SAS Group’s owner from the Nordic region scheduled to forward the statistics very soon. However, its stocks slipped by 4.1 % to end at 53 kronor.

Thales Group- the biggest producer of military electronics in Europe said its earnings for the year 2007 doubled more than they had anticipated as there was more demand for security and aerospace equipments. Shares of this company dropped to 1.6 % or 64 cents to end at 40.45 euros. However, Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio & C. SpA planned to present its previous years results. Its profits slipped from 70.3 million euros to 57.9 million euros. The stocks of this company slipped to 3.4 % or 6.1 cents to end at 1.71 euros.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Economy News by Michael Greene
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The European Union Commissioner wants a promotion to work against the usual typecast of the professional women as too technical and boring. Viviane Reding, the Commissioner of European Commission for information media & society and the ambassador against the overcharge roaming charges did set her views on the deflating geeky IT typecasts that she feels are setting women off working in the technology. Very soon Viviane Reding aims to establish a European code of most excellent performance for women in the IT sector in order to address the alleged absorbent channel incident. Whereby most of the females get bored gradually in working in the IT sector as they develop through education and settle on a particular career.
In her statement Reding said that they require to prevail over the usual typecasts that illustrate ICT careers as too technical and uninteresting fro women. Instead should persuade women to succeed in this innovative, multi-faceted and exciting sector. Reding also cautioned that the European region must deal with its deficiency of qualified IT staff as a main concern or threat declining behind the IT competitors in the Asian region. According to the European Commission, the IT sector has also contributed to the quarter of European Union’s entire development and 4 % of its jobs. However, there is a deficiency of about 300,000 qualified IT staff.
Therefore, attracting more women is very much essential in order to assist to seal the talents gap. For the past two years, the European Commission has been running a program for IT work-shadowing that offers females a chance of choosing their careers. Previous researches from the IT sector talents organization, e-skills UK has established several number of computing students in the region had declined to 50 % since the last five years whereas, the number of females working in the IT sector had fallen to one out of five workers.
According to the analysis conducted by European commission in October 2007, from the 150 telecommunication companies in Europe, they found that the average percentage of women working was only 6 %. It is because women are normally under-signified at the senior administrative level in the IT sectors. The European Commission has also published an entire report that looks in the gender balance in the upper levels of the senior administration which entitled men and women decision making 2007. According to the report, men represent almost 10 board members in most of the top companies and the also make 2/3rd of companies bosses.
Talking about the deficiency of women in the IT sector with the silicon.com, Mary Turner CEO of Tiscali UK said that IT is only the part of this bigger outlook, it is not only women in the IT sector it is women in the boardrooms and also in the management. However, Turner was confident of changes in the near future. She said that the technology is distinguished as a geeky field for men; nevertheless they are seeing more women coming forward to work in these sectors. She thinks that it would be exponential since everything in life one needs the first team to come in and then extend in the world and persuade.

Tags: European Union News by James Gardner
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The chances for Germany’s Social Democrats leader Kurt Beck to lead his party into the upcoming national elections was in doubt after the domestic party revolution inclined SPD into chaos. Mt Kurt Beck by now is not popular politically after he did not keep his words by backing a controversial coalition with the anti-reform left party. His party suffered a heavy blow for the second time when this planned agreement collapsed due to confrontation from inside his party. This planned agreement gained nationwide attention since it would have made noticeable that SPD worked for the first time with the Left party in the western states of Germany. This planned agreement broke the prohibitions against the relationship because of the roots of the party in the previous party of East Germany’s Communist.
However, on 7th March, some of the senior officials of SPD rallied behind Kurt Beck as it was not clear whether he would stand against Angela Merkel as the chancellor candidate next year. SPD officials said that the deputy chairman of SPD and foreign minister Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier were the most possible alternatives. This crisis erupted on 7th of March when SPD leader Andrea Ypsilanti did take a decision in the western state of Hesse. She decided to abandon her notorious plan to run the state in the alliance with the Greens and also with the casual support of the Left party which also involves SPD dissidents and former communists.
Ypsilanti’s decision was followed by the announcement made by SPD legislator Dagmar Metzger that she would fight back against her party and probably vote against functioning with the Left party. However, before the January elections held in Hesse Kurt Beck had said that is party would not function with the Left party, later on he broke his promise by supporting Ms Andrea Ypsilanti’s alliance plan. Lowering the condemnations of Kurt Beck’s turnaround, Dagmar Metzger said that vows made by beck before the Hesse elections must be apprehended after the results.
The crisis of Hesse has done immense damage to the social democrats party said one of the spokesperson for Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, the partners of SPD in Berlin. Angela Merkel emerged fully supported by the events on 7th March, not slightest as the Christian Democratic Union even announced its plans to build an alliance with the Green party in the city of Hamburg. Last month’s regional elections were held in Hamburg. This type of coalition was the first of its kind and would increase the chancellor’s alliance alternatives after the national elections.
In spite of the troubles with SPD, the Hesse events occurred as a respite to the pro-reform section of the party which was led by Peer Steinbruck and Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Both these leaders had disagreed against the collaboration with the Left party. On 7th of March, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that his party was not in a better condition however they would focus on looking ahead.

Tags: European Economy News by Vanessa Clark
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Last Thursday saw pollsters from the office of Central Statistics and Meteorologists join sanitation workers, bank officials and teachers in the wave of cautioning strikes occurring across the public service sector. This new action began just hours prior to employers and union representatives embarked on two days of talks ,in Potsdam, on wages and conditions.

Heading into the discussions was Thomas Boehle, a representative for one of the employers concerned, who said that they were well prepared to be agile enough to improve their current situation. He told reporters that they would forward an offer to the unions if discussions proceeded effectively.

On January 1st, members of the labor union Ver.di had demanded wages to be increased by 5.5%, rather than the proposed 8%, for the 1.3 million workers of the public sector in Germany. Over the past two years the German government had only offered an increase of just 5% along with the longer working hours, this offer was not accepted by the labor union.

A possible outcome of the negotiations is that employers will offer an extra rise in wages and incentives in a long term agreement, said Boehle.

Frank Bsirske, the leader of the labor union said that he was hoping these strikes would deliver a strong message to employers. He disagreed that workers from the public sector deserved extra income through tax revenue raising as the economy of Germany improves.

Several thousand workers from the public sector have stopped working in airports, police forces, municipal offices, banks and schools in a bid to gain better conditions. This new wave of strikes have usually lasted for only a few hours, unlike the unrestricted, full-scale stoppage seen earlier in the month. Leader of the German Federation of Labor Union, Michael Sommer, told the daily Neue Presse that these warning strikes may end very soon, if employers renegotiate and make a sensible offer. The Wiesbaden based Federal Statistics office and Offenbach’s German Weather Service were hit badly due to the stoppage which focused on southern and central Germany last Thursday.

School Teachers and the Public transport workers in Bavaria, Baden-Wuertenburg and Hesse also walked off their jobs. The bus, tram and sub-way workers in Berlin also walked off their jobs for the second day for the 10 day public sector strikes which are intended to gain an increase in wages of 12%.

Disputes over wages roil amidst concerns over awareness in Germany of wealth from the present economy of the country being distributed illegally. In another dispute, the train drivers union GDL has also threatened to start a determined strike against the rail network of the region on Monday, if deutsche Bahn AG, the national railway operator, does not sign a negotiated agreement which was made earlier.

Tags: European Economy News by James Gardner
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E.ON, Germany’s major energy service provider, posted its fourth quarter profits, which fell more than had been estimated. Revenues of the energy service provider fell 23%, ending at 1.89 billion euros (2.9 billion dollars). According to the median estimation of seven analysts that were surveyed by Bloomberg, profits of E.ON was estimated to be around 1.03 billion euros.

Average energy prices in Germany rose 44%, which boosted electricity sales for the company. Compensating tax gains for the previous year in connection with energy offshoots also benefited revenues for the company.

Wulf Bernotat, the chief executive officer of E.ON, said that the company’s shares rose 88% in the last three years. These figures were confirmed by Ulf Moritzen, manager of shares at Nordinvest, who said the company will continue to make profits.

Utilities have undergone political pressures in the means of severe networking guidelines and competition. The company is been operating stably and is growing perfectly said Moritzen. E.ON gained 1.3% to end at 123.33 euros; this is the biggest gain for the company since it had seen a reduction of 15% last year.

Fourth quarter sales increased to 19.9 billion euros as compared to the estimated 18.2 billion euros the company was expecting. Profits before tax and interest deduction also climbed up to 2.06 billion euros, against the expectations of 1.98 billion euros.

E.ON proposed to increase its dividend from the year 2007 profits to 4.10 euros. In the previous year the fourth quarter profits of the company have always been boosted due to tax rebates totaling roughly 1.05 billion euros.

Utilities stabilized even more than last year, according to International Financial Reports. Marcus Schenck, chief financial officer, said that according to the copies distributed to the reporters, higher restrictions in the wholesale business of producing energy and needed reevaluations for the regions nuclear waste disposal responsibilities had had a positive result.

Last year’s net income climbed to 7.2 billion euros, in comparison to estimations made by analysts which were 6.35 billion euros. The year’s sales also advanced to 70.8 billion euros, an increase of 4.6%. German utilities earned higher energy sales in the fourth quarter following increase in the energy prices. According to the GFI group broker, German energy sales averaged to 70.44 euros in comparison to 48.94 euros in the previous year.

Second largest utility company in Germany, RWE AG, said that its fourth quarter sales climbed to 11 billion euros, an increase of 6.7%. However the company’s quarterly net declined to 168 million euros, following American Water units reevaluating. In order to resolve the antitrust probes of the European Union into the company’s business observations, E.ON said that it had offered to sell its energy grid.

Tags: European Economy News by Michael Greene
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Business leaders from Europe have warned that the euro may suffer if the EU fails to build up prevailing political organizations in order to stabilize the European Central Bank. President of Business Europe, one of the leading Pan-European Business organizations, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, said that at present there is no stability between the supremacy of the European organizations and the European Central Bank. He also said that they consider the euro will suffer in the long term if there is no political support, especially by the eurogroup. Seilliere said this with the reference to the eurozones 15 financial ministers who hold official meetings every month.

As the euro ascended to its record breaking high in the markets of the foreign exchange, reaching 1.5347 dollars, Seilliere spoke to the reporters about the threats to euro in the near future.

On Friday morning, the euro had reached a record high of 1.5347 dollars against the British pound. Business Europe did not mention its desire to observe the tough responsibilities in co-coordinating the economic policies of the eurozone. Nevertheless, Seilliere did comment on accounts of the growing concerns of European Union on the increasing euro against the Asian currencies like Chinese Renminbi and Japanese Yen.

Seilliere also said that they were looking forward to eurogroup attaining more authority, power and genuine prospective when it holds meetings. Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker has done much, but there is still more that can be done, added Seilliere, in reference to the leader of Luxembourg who holds meetings of eurogroup. He even said that synchronization in the European region for its economic policies is very much essential. He requested the Luxembourg leader to join forces with Washington, Beijing and Tokyo and discuss growing concerns of the world’s economy in order to maintain the monetary system of the world.

It may not be possible to hold talks immediately, but it can be done in the near future, otherwise the euro will decline to 1.80 dollars, said Seilliere. He even questioned the legality of the European Central Bank self governing system which entails much political involvement. Seilliere pointed out that due to agreements that currently govern the monetary system of the European Union , the ECB was in fact eurozone’s most powerful organization. This makes the reckoning of influence in economic discussions and global monetary difficult for the eurozone.

The supremacy of euro was undeniably making life hard for some of the export sectors in the European region, said Seilliere. Nevertheless, some of the business leaders in Europe cherished the supremacy of euro because it was helping to maintain the inflationary force of soaring gas and oil prices, added Seilliere. The resolution the competitiveness problem in Europe lies in labor market reforms, A better education system, and business innovation, said Seilliere. He also said that these business leaders should not miscalculate the importance of euros supremacy.

Tags: ECB: European Central Bank News, European Economy News, European Union News by Vanessa Clark
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For the first time in almost a week European stocks saw upward movement. The momentum being led by the regions leading insurance company, Allianz SE, phone manufacturer Nokia, and the largest bank in the region HSBC Holdings. Estimations for the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index were down to the lowest level since 2002. As reports confirmed U.S. service industries had minimized less than anticipated, the stocks pulled out some noticeable gains. Investors had stated that they thought banks would offer funds which bond insurers needed to keep their AA ratings. As all the service industries advanced the Stoxx 600 climbed to 315.61 points, an increase of 1.7%. The Euro Stoxx 50 measured a 2.1% increase, while the Stoxx 50 climbed up to 1.5%.

Henk Potts of Barclays Stockbrokers market in London said that the markets were indeed facing a hard time, however some areas of the market are still floating along fine. Statistics showed that the concerns over the slowdown in the largest economy in the world, and the collapse of U.S. subprime mortgages might curb the profit growths which had helped Stoxx 600’s price earning ratio. The local index has declined to 13% so far this year, which was led predominantly by telecommunications companies, banks and retailers.

The index of national stocks moved up in all the markets of the 17 western European countries. UK’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.5%, whilst the CAC of France gained 1.7%, and the DAX of Germany added 2.1%. Europe’s second largest insurance company AXA climbed up 1.75% to end the day at 21.76 euros, while the leading insurance company of the region Allianz gained 2.6%, and ended at 116.04 euros. Even the leading bank in the region advanced to 2.5% to end at 788.5 pence.

CNBC said that the rescue arrangement by Ambac with the banks might be completed by March 5th. Barclays and Citigroup are the leading banks to hold the talks that extended till 10pm on March 4th. The largest phone manufacturer, Nokia, advanced 3.6% to end at 22.9 euros, breaking the reduction that had sent their shares into decline since January 23rd. Europe’s leading engineering company, Siemens, also advanced to 3.3% to end at 85.47 euros, and Daimler Chrysler the car manufacturer gained 1.8% to end at 54.89 euros.

Man AHL Diversified Futures Ltd advanced to 5.9%, whilst Man Group, the leading funds company gained 5.7% to end at 566 pence. Credit Agricole also advanced 5.8% to end at 18.2 euros, breaking the four day declines. After Britain’s leading builder said that the profit rested at about 66%, totally roughly 151 million pounds, the Balfour Beatty gained an increase of 6.5% to end at 457.75 pence. Profits climbed 44% to end at 6.47 billion pounds, though some analysts had estimated profits to be at 145 million pounds on 615 billion pounds of sales at this point in time.

Tags: European Stocks & Shares News, European Economy News by Michael Greene
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A fresh round of public sector strikes has created chaos within Germany’s public transport system. On March 6th, as members of labor union Ver.di held the strike, airports and other public transport systems were completely paralyzed. These unusual strikes affected state-run institutions such as healthcare centers and hospitals as well, though not to the same degree as the transport system in Berlin which experienced a complete halt. If all their requests are not complied with, these strikes are likely to progress further said one of the employees of the association.

According to the airport spokesperson, around 180 flights at the Munich airport were being canceled due to the strikes. Frankfurt, the biggest airport in Germany was hit with 94 flights being cancelled. Some of the other main airports in the region such as Stuttgart, Munster, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Nuremberg were also affected by these strikes. Even the CeBIT trade fair in the northern city of Hanover was affected. On March 6th, Lufthansa Airlines had to cancel over 300 domestic flights and instead recommended the passengers board trains to reach their destinations quicker. One spokesperson for Lufthansa said that international flights were not affected so they have transferred 18,500 passengers on the later flights.

Germany’s second-largest labor union Ver.di has said that this strike would continue for a week in order to force the local and state governments to hold fresh talks regarding negotiations which were supposed to take place on March 7th in Potsdam. The labor union has demanded an 8% increase in payrolls while the employers are offering only 5% with their working hours being increased to 40 hours a week from 38.5 hours. It was expected that airport employees would return to their shifts on Wednesday afternoon, though a new wave of strikes is set to hit the region. The labor union has insisted that all the workers from the child care, waste collection and transportation sector walk off their jobs, and even employees from state owned banks, theaters, city administrations, retirement homes, and hospitals have been asked to join the strikes.

Frank Bsirke, the labor union chief, said that the strikes were held to warn the government and to end the disputes by agreeing to the demands of the union. Meanwhile, the employers have slamed the industrial action. The head of German Association of Municipalities and Towns, Mr. Gerd Landsberg said that the paralyzing transportation system is entirely inappropriate. He also said that these negotiations are unavoidable.

The labor union has warned public employers that if their demands are not met then things may get worse. Bsirke said that the public employers should place an offer with considerable increase in the payrolls and there should even be a cut in working hours, or else unions are likely to act fiercely. The tram, subway and bus services were also affected by the unusual strikes. More than 12,000 employees were off duty which forced the regional trains to be over crowded amidst the snow flurries. The workers of the BVG transport company in Berlin threatened to extend their strikes until March 14th.

Tags: European Economy News by James Gardner
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Russian gas giant, Gazprom, and Ukraine’s energy monopoly, Naftogaz Ukrainy, agreed last Wednesday to resume shipments to Kiev, which has been causing much concern to the European region.

This comes in spite of allegations of unfulfilled contracts and non-paid debts on the part of the Gazprom; who prior to this issue had a very good reputation for reliability within the European region.

The dispute between the enegy providers has left Kiev and parts of Europe with around half of their normal supplies of gas.

According to the terms and conditions of the agreement between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom, they have settled on a 600 million dollar debt payment for the supplies of gas that have been sent for the present year. Both the sides said that Gazprom would restore consignments in full.

This latest series of disputes between the two energy monopolies occurred just after the prime minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko rejected to sign treaties with the Russian energy giant. However, Viktor Yushchenko, president of Ukraine, had agreed upon the contract.

Last Wednesday saw the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko, facilitate the contract. This happened immediately after Gazprom said that Ukraine was beginning to diminish the consignments to the European region in order to pay off huge deficits on the domestic gas market.

According to an arrangement made through mediators, Alexei Miller, the chief of Gazprom, and Oleh Dubyna, the head of Naftogaz Ukrainy, agreed upon the debt payments. This was done immediately after both the presidents had a chat via telephone.

However, both sides are yet to agree on some of the main issues of how much Gazprom will be paid by Naftogaz. Whether upcoming sales stablize and whether a joint undertaking which is half owned by the Russian gas giant are enacted are still not agreed upon decisions, said the representative.

Ukrainian energy monopoly Naftogaz was cautioned about the cutbacks that would create chaos in the European region regarding gas supplies. This would further raise disputes which might lead to shortfalls of gas supplies in the European region. 25 % of gas requirements for Europe are currently being supplied by Russia, most of which goes to Ukraine.

On March 6th, the European Union expressed its deep concern over the cutbacks of gas supplies while the International Energy Agency said that it was an extremely harsh move opted by Gazprom. The director of gas research at OIES, professor Jonathan Stern, said that Gazprom recognized it was eventually going to be responsible for the crisis although it was mainly motivated by Yulia Tymoshenko.

She eliminated liaison Ukrgazenergo from the gas market and refused to sign an agreement for the upcoming year. Jonathan Stern said that it was entirely foolish; this is what senior administrators do not do, senior administrators do not unexpectedly eliminate the counterparties.

Yulia Tymoshenko is at present looking forward to breaking the promise made by Yushchenko in February, who had agreed that the two gas giants, Ukrgazenergo and Rosukrenergo, would be restored with a joint undertaking between Naftogaz and Gazprom.

Tags: European Economy News by Vanessa Clark
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