Lisbon treaty might threaten Benes decrees - Czech president

Prague- The possible ratification of the Lisbon treaty could threaten the validity of Benes decrees, Czech President Vaclav Klaus "This is a question for lawyers, but I would be afraid of it," Klaus said.
The decrees, issued by then Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes after World War Two, opened the door to the transfer of some 2.5 million Germans from the former Czechoslovakia and confiscation of their property, which Sudeten Germans… Continue

Brussels delays budget reform talks until after Lisbon Treaty ratification

On his blog, Telegraph journalist Bruno Waterfield reports that a conference on EU budget reform scheduled for 27 May has been moved to June 15 - after the Irish referendum - in order to avoid debate of sensitive issues while the ratification period is ongoing. He writes, "public debate now is inconvenient. The message from our rulers is clear: Now is not the time to think about or debate the EU." Waterfield also… Continue

EU Development Commissioner admits that "fashion for biofuels could be a catastrophe"
Reuters notes that divisions are appearing within the EU Commission on biofuels. Development Commissioner Louis Michel reportedly told the Belgian Senate on Tuesday that "I have long said that the fashion for biofuels could be a catastrophe especially in countries which are not self-sufficient in food".



The Chairman of the EU Environment Agency told the IHT that biofuel targets were the result of a bl… Continue

Leaked memo reveals Irish government's strategy to push through Lisbon Treaty

The front page of the Irish Daily Mail yesterday reported on a leaked memo from the Irish Foreign Office to the British Government, which shows that Irish ministers will seek to focus the referendum campaign on overall benefits of the EU rather than the Treaty itself. The memo also reveals that the Irish government has picked 29 May as the date to hold a referendum, not June 12 as widely predicted. It was noted… Continue

Majority of doctors believe EU's 48 hour week will have a negative impact on medical training

PA reports that a British Medical Association survey released today has found that more than two in three (64 percent) junior doctors believe that compliance with the EU's 48-hour working week will have a "negative overall effect" on their training. New EU laws come into force next year cutting the number of hours junior doctors are allowed to work from the current maximum of 56 to a maximum of… Continue

Europe



Brown cornered by EU and trade unions on Temporary Workers' Directive

The FT reports that Britain is trying to strike a behind-the-scenes deal to "lessen the risk of an embarrassing defeat" on the controversial EU Temporary Workers' Directive. The CBI has estimated that the Directive, if passed, would cost the UK 250,000 jobs. According to the article, defeat for the UK has been looking increasingly likely since last autumn.



The Government is holding secret talks with the European… Continue

France to push for EU company tax harmonisation

France is planning to push forward plans for a common EU company tax base during its six-month EU Presidency, starting in July. "It has been going on for a long time but this is one issue that we are determined to push," French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said yesterday. The corporate tax base idea has been advocated by the European Commission in the past, but it has been so far strongly opposed by a group of countries, mainly the UK… Continue

Europe


EU Emissions Trading Scheme handing £60bn windfall profits to energy firms "for doing nothing"

Power companies stand to gain windfall profits of billions of pounds from Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme, a new report from Point Carbon commissioned by WWF argues. Because permits to pollute under the ETS have largely been given away free, energy firms are simply being handed profits on a plate, according to the report. The report estimates that potential windfall profits in… Continue

From The Advocate March 26, 2008

To our neighbors, my wife, Nancy, and I don’t appear in the least unusual. To those in the quiet Oregon community where we live, we are viewed just as we are -- a happy couple deeply in love. Our desire to work hard, buy our first home, and start a family was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until we decided that I would carry our child.

I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partne… Continue

Lib Dem MPs "furious" over peers' revolt on Lisbon Treaty -

"Those of us in marginal seats are being undermined"In his Three Line Whip column in the Telegraph, Jonathan Isaby notes that "The news that Lord McNally and the Lib Dem peers will be opposing a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has not gone down well amongst all the party's MPs - many of whom were very unhappy about abstaining when the Commons voted on the issue last month." He quotes a Lib Dem MP saying, "A lot of us are… Continue