Faced with a choice for its new president between the traffic-stopping Tony Blair and a capable but little-known Belgian, the EU's 27 leaders settled on Herman Van Rompuy, a man who would scarcely stop two mothers with strollers outside his own country.
Is the new "Mr. Europe" -- the President of the European Council -- to be Tony Blair, the perma-tanned political jet-setter with half a dozen jobs already or Herman van Rompuy, a poetry-writing Belgian who would scarcely be recognized in his local supermarket?
Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the European Union's Lisbon Treaty Tuesday, he announced on his Web site, paving the way for major changes to the way the 27-nation bloc is run.
The European Union was days away Friday from ratification of the Lisbon Treaty after the president of the Czech Republic -- the remaining holdout in negotiations -- agreed to ratify it.
Financial crisis-stricken Iceland formally applied for European Union membership on Friday, a day after lawmakers narrowly backed a government plan to take the island nation into the economic and political bloc.
Voters endorsed fringe parties and those of the center right in elections for the 736 seats of the European Parliament in the midst of a record low turnout, officials figures showed on Monday.
From the south-eastern edge of Europe, Turkish government officials expressed concern about the gains by right-wing parties in the European Parliament elections.
Leading parties in Germany and France won seats in the European Parliament by wide margins, according to early returns, while the United Kingdom awaited much-anticipated results from what is billed as the world's largest exercise in democracy.
Voters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands became the first European Union citizens to go to the polls Thursday to elect a new European Parliament.
The election of 736 members from 27 member countries to the European Parliament in June will be the biggest transnational electoral contest there has ever been. Between them they will represent more than 500,000,000 people.
Faced with a choice for its new president between the traffic-stopping Tony Blair and a capable but little-known Belgian, the EU's 27 leaders settled on Herman Van Rompuy, a man who would scarcely stop two mothers with strollers outside his own country.
Is the new "Mr. Europe" -- the President of the European Council -- to be Tony Blair, the perma-tanned political jet-setter with half a dozen jobs already or Herman van Rompuy, a poetry-writing Belgian who would scarcely be recognized in his local supermarket?
Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed the European Union's Lisbon Treaty Tuesday, he announced on his Web site, paving the way for major changes to the way the 27-nation bloc is run.
The European Union was days away Friday from ratification of the Lisbon Treaty after the president of the Czech Republic -- the remaining holdout in negotiations -- agreed to ratify it.
Financial crisis-stricken Iceland formally applied for European Union membership on Friday, a day after lawmakers narrowly backed a government plan to take the island nation into the economic and political bloc.
Voters endorsed fringe parties and those of the center right in elections for the 736 seats of the European Parliament in the midst of a record low turnout, officials figures showed on Monday.
From the south-eastern edge of Europe, Turkish government officials expressed concern about the gains by right-wing parties in the European Parliament elections.
Leading parties in Germany and France won seats in the European Parliament by wide margins, according to early returns, while the United Kingdom awaited much-anticipated results from what is billed as the world's largest exercise in democracy.
Voters in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands became the first European Union citizens to go to the polls Thursday to elect a new European Parliament.
The election of 736 members from 27 member countries to the European Parliament in June will be the biggest transnational electoral contest there has ever been. Between them they will represent more than 500,000,000 people.
Iceland's new prime minister wants her country to join the European Union and adopt the euro as its official currency to help lift the Nordic nation from financial ruin, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Frustrated European Union leaders lashed out Wednesday at Russian and Ukrainian energy companies whose dispute over natural gas has stopped supplies to Europe for the past week.
The European Union will not draft a new treaty after Irish voters rejected the existing one last month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday.
Nicolas Sarkozy had intended to take Europe by storm with an exciting new agenda when France inherited the six-month revolving presidency of the EU on July 1. Instead he is being buffeted by storms of others' making, forced into a patch-and-mend role on the European constitution.
European leaders met Thursday for the first time since Ireland rejected the EU's new constitution, with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen expected to be on the end of some tough questioning.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Friday that he was disappointed that Irish voters rejected the European Union reform treaty, but said the government "accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people."
European Union members will learn Friday afternoon whether Irish voters have shot down or supported their latest attempt to create a new governing treaty.
An internal report says some of Europe's Brussels-based lawmakers are playing fast and loose with their office budgets
Serbia will not give up its claim on breakaway province Kosovo or its bid to become a member of the European Union, Serbian President Boris Tadic said in an interview published Thursday.
European leaders signed a new treaty in Lisbon, Portugal on Thursday to reshape the European Union and streamline decision-making, despite criticism that the treaty strips member nations of too much power.
A new treaty that will reshape the European Union's institutions and, it is hoped, streamline decision-making is a "European victory", according to the current president of the EU.
A U.S. official's criticism of a European Union court ruling dismissing Microsoft Corp.'s monopoly abuse appeal was "totally unacceptable," EU antitrust chief Neelie Kroes said Wednesday.
Why is the EU arguing, yet again, over its constitution?
European countries knew about U.S. secret jails for terrorism suspects and have obstructed an investigation into the transport and illegal detention of prisoners, a draft European Parliament report said on Tuesday.
Finland's parliament voted in favor of the European Union's stalled constitution on Friday, clearing the way for formal ratification which the government wants as soon as possible.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has faced a barrage of criticism over the EU budget deal he brokered as European lawmakers said they could not accept it unless governments put up more cash.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned new eastern EU members not to miss out on a budget deal and the newcomers signaled they could accept a small cut in planned aid.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the European Parliament that he hopes to resolve a bitter row over the European Union's budget when members meet for a summit in December.
The European Union overcame a last-minute crisis and opened membership talks Tuesday with Turkey -- a historic move to include a mostly-Muslim nation that brought relief in Turkey and all round Europe.
The European Union opened historic membership talks with Turkey, after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul arrived in Luxembourg.
Plans for Turkey to start EU membership talks next week were under threat following a move by Austria that could block negotiations.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken on the twin challenge of unraveling the crises over Europe's constitution and its stalled budget negotiations as Britain assumed the rotating EU presidency Friday.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced an informal European Union summit in the autumn to discuss the direction of Europe.
European Union nations are struggling to find a way forward after the failure of a two-day summit that produced neither a budget for the years ahead, nor a clear sign that the EU constitution will ever be ratified.
The two-day European Union summit has ended in failure, with its president stating, "Europe is not in a state of crisis -- it's in a state of profound crisis."
French President Jacques Chirac has called for an emergency summit to discuss the future of the European Union, reeling after French and Dutch rejections of is first constitution.
The head of the European Union has warned that the 25-nation bloc faces a "permanent crisis" over its constitution and urged leaders to "pause for reflection" on the future.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has acknowledged a "sharp disagreement" between him and French President Jacques Chirac over the future financing of the European Union.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is expected to postpone a referendum on the new European Union, following a rejection by voters in France and the Netherlands.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has said a referendum on the European constitution has been postponed, following the document's rejection in France and the Netherlands.
In their first meeting since French and Dutch voters rejected the European Union's proposed constitution, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac have urged the continuation of the constitutional ratification process.
French President Jacques Chirac has appointed loyalist Dominique de Villepin as prime minister after French voters rejected the European Union Constitution -- throwing the future direction of the 25-nation organization into doubt.
French voters have rejected a proposed European Union constitution, turning aside an extensive pro-ratification campaign by President Jacques Chirac and throwing a wrench into plans for closer European integration.
EU leaders are urging Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to reconsider his threat to use the veto to protect Britain's multi-billion pound rebate.
The European Commission says it is satisfied with commitments made by Paul Wolfowitz during talks in Brussels, and Germany said it expected EU states to back him as president of the World Bank.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana has called on European leaders to lift their arms embargo on China, saying Beijing was making progress on human rights.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returned home Saturday to an ecstatic welcome, with hundreds of supporters waving Turkish and EU flags at the airport to celebrate the agreement to start EU membership talks next year.
The European Union and Turkey reached agreement Friday on a deal that will allow Turkey to begin negotiations next year on full membership of the union.
After hours of intense negotiations, European leaders have agreed the European Union will begin membership talks with Turkey on October 3, 2005 -- a major step in Turkey's long pursuit of joining the EU.
Pledging their "strong support" to back Iraq, European Union leaders are considering extending their involvement there by offering interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi the prospect of a special trade and aid deal.
European Union leaders launched a two-day summit Thursday with how to react to the return of U.S. President George W. Bush for a second term dominating thinking.
European leaders have signed the EU's first constitution, but their celebration of unity was marred by uncertainty over its ratification and turmoil over the European Commission.
The embattled head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said he would conduct a "very limited" reshuffle of his proposed EU executive and hoped to present it to the European Parliament in less than a month.
The incoming head of the European Commission has defended his decision to delay a vote on his embattled executive team, saying he was confident he could find support for a new team.
The European Commission is expected to recommend that Turkey start accession talks with the European Union after 40 years of stop-go negotiations.
The European Commission has recommended -- with conditions -- that the European Union start accession talks with Turkey after 40 years of on-off negotiations.
The European Parliament has approved former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the next president of the European Union's executive commission.
European Union leaders have unanimously nominated Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as next European Commission president.
Portugal's prime minister will be officially proposed as the next European Commission president following a painstaking search for a replacement for the outgoing Romano Prodi, it has been announced.
European Union leaders have overcome their differences to agree to the bloc's first constitution and must now push ahead with their search for a compromise candidate to be the next European Commission president.
European Union leaders are facing a new round of difficult talks to strike a deal on a historic constitution, six months after a first attempt collapsed amid acrimony.
Voters in Latvia and Malta have begun casting ballots in their first European Parliament elections.
The release of early results from European Parliament polling has sparked a row between Brussels and the Netherlands.
When the "Ode to Joy" rang out in Dublin, Ireland to welcome 10 new nations to the European Union last month, there was an overwhelming sense of political and economic optimism.
European Parliament President Pat Cox has announced he will not run for re-election in June, ending more than two years as leader of the EU legislature.
Capitals across Europe celebrated Friday night and into Saturday morning as the European Union marked the largest expansion in its history.
A number of EU states say they plan to hold public votes if, as planned, a new constitution is signed and sealed at a heads of government summit in June. Here is an overview of the issues at stake:
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has promised to support Turkey's push to join the European Union once the country implements proposed reforms.
The European Commission will decide Tuesday whether to take France and Germany to court over a long-running budget dispute.
A letter bomb exploded at the office of a British member of the European Parliament, but no one was hurt, a parliamentary official said.
Ireland has taken over the six-month revolving European Union presidency from Italy, placing a country of 4 million inhabitants in charge of a body which will expand to 450 million people while Prime Minister Bertie Ahern is in the chair.
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