Germany Welcomes Polish Approval Of Lisbon Treaty
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was "delighted" that the Polish had signed the EU's reform treaty, describing Warsaw's move as the "penultimate step" toward the treaty's implementation. READ MORE
EU Chief: ‘Energy And Climate Are Today’s Coal And Steel’
Commission president José Manuel Barroso, who is running for a second term at the EU executive’s helm, likened EU policies to address climate change and improve energy security to the coal and steel community which paved the way for European reconciliation after the Second World War. READ MORE
The Great Pipeline Opera
Inside the European pipeline fantasy that became a real-life gas war with Russia.
When Joschka Fischer's lucrative new job as the "political communications advisor" to a consortium of European energy companies was leaked to a German business publication this summer, there was one comment that stood out. "Welcome to the club," said Gerhard Schröder, an even more highly paid advocate for the other side in Europe's increasingly politicized energy war.
Schröder's remark was short, snide -- and very much to the point. For eight years, the two men had led Germany together, with Schröder ruling as its center-left chancellor and Fischer as his foreign minister. Their long-running partnership had survived a particularly complicated era in post-Cold War Europe, and publicly Fischer had always been supportive, even telling Der Spiegel that Schröder "will go down in the history books as a great chancellor." READ MORE
Ex-Polish Prime Minister Buzek To Head EU Parliament
The European Parliament has elected former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as its new president, making him the first politician from the former communist bloc to hold one of the European Union's top posts. READ MORE
'Strategic' Nabucco Deal Inked To Help Curb Dependence On Russian Gas
Turkey and four EU member states have signed a historic deal in Ankara allowing work to start on the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, which is aimed at allowing the European Union to tap directly into non-European gas reserves. READ MORE
Erdogan criticizes Germany, France for blocking Turkey's EU bid
During a visit to Brussels to revive Ankara's deadlocked EU accession talks, Turkish Premier Erdogan slammed Germany and France for opposing full EU membership for his predominantly Muslim country. READ MORE
Center-right parties maintain dominant position in European Parliament
Conservative parties have scored victories in most of Europe’s largest economies as socialist parties in Germany, France, Italy and Spain all failed to capitalize on the global financial crisis. READ MORE
"European breakthrough": Gas Turkmenistan Activates Dialogue With Brussels
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdymuhammadov made an official tour to Europe, including Belgium, Germany and Austria over 6 months ago. The president commissioned Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov to hold direct talks with the European Union next two months, official sources said. READ MORE
EU-Russia summit reveals differences rather than agreement
EU and Russian leaders failed to mend the rifts at their summit in the Siberian town of Khabarovsk. Moscow criticised the EU's new eastern partnership while Brussels urged for a more reliable energy supply.
At the press conference on the last day of talks, both sides were eager to stress the good relations and the positive atmosphere of the summit. READ MORE