Portal:European Union/News archive

4 February 2008

The Versailles Assembly, bringing together both the French Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, votes 560 to 181 in favour of amending the constitution to allow adoption of the EU Lisbon Treaty. (EU Observer)

3 February 2008

In Serbia, the current and pro-Western president Boris Tadić had closely defeated nationalist challenger Tomislav Nikolić and has won again the office of the President of Serbia BBC News

17 January 2008

The Russian government closes British Council offices in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. (BBC News)

2 January 2008

The LT Cortesia, a large container ship, has run aground in the Dover Strait, the world's busiest shipping line. (Times Online)

December 1, 2007

British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith issues a terror warning ahead of Christmas.

November 1, 2007

London's Metropolitan police force has been found guilty of endangering the public during an anti-terrorism operation that lead to the death of an innocent Brazilian man in July of 2005. More...

October 31, 2007

The Audiencia Nacional of Spain (National Court of Spain) has found 21 of 28 defendants guilty in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings. More...

October 15, 2007

The first A380 superjumbo, made by Airbus, was delivered today to Singapore Airlines (SIA) 18 months behind schedule. After the plane was delivered in Singapore, it was flown to Toulouse, France for the ceremony of about 500 guests. More...'

September 10, 2007

European Union asks Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to allow Nawaz Sharif to return to his home country.

June 7, 2007


 * 33rd G8 summit :
 * President of the United States George W. Bush and President of Russia Vladimir Putin meet at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany to discuss missile defence. (AP via the Guardian)
 * G8 leaders reach agreement on a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a view to reducing them by 2050. (Press Association via the Guardian)
 * Governmental security efforts suffered a serious PR drawback after four supposed agent provocateurs, who had encouraged peaceful protesters to throw stones, were unmasked. A police spokesperson pointed to a possible involvement of Intelligence agencies. (Indymedia) (Spiegel)

June 6, 2007

Leaders of the G8 assemble in Rostock, Germany for their annual summit. (Reuters via CNN)

June 5, 2007

U.S. President George W. Bush begins his tour of Europe in Prague before the G8 summit in Germany. During his visit he intends to address the deployment of interceptor rockets, the establishment of radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic, and the related tension which has arisen between the United States and Russia. (BBC) GW Bush says Russia has nothing to fear from US plans Speech in BBC but also criticises the current development of Democracy in Russia BBC

May 23, 2007

The British Government announce a carbon emissions trading scheme, the Carbon Reduction Commitment that will apply to hotel chains, supermarkets, banks, and other large organisations. (DEFRA)

May 6, 2007

Nicolas Sarkozy wins election in France as next president.

April 3, 2007

TGV POS trainset number 4402 sets a new world speed record for railed vehicles at 574.8 km/h (357 mph) during test runs conducted in Champagne, France.

March 30, 2007

The European Union has released a statement calling for the release of all 15 British sailors and marines being detained in Iran and that "appropriate measures" will be taken if Iran refuses to release them. More...

March 9, 2007

European Union leaders agree key elements of the proposed EU Energy policy including a 20% cut in carbon emissions and a commitment to boost renewable energy to meet 20% of demand by 2020. More...

February 28, 2007

Airbus, Europe's biggest aircraft manufacturer, has announced 10,000 job cuts over the next four years. The news comes as its parent company, EADS starts a major restructuring programme because the company is not efficient enough. More...

February 23, 2007

A 9 Carriage Class 390 Pendolino train, with as many as 180 people on board, operated by Virgin Trains has derailed and crashed in Cumbria, England. More...

February 21, 2007

Tony Blair has announced that the United Kingdom will lower the number of troops in Iraq from 7,100 to 5,500 during the "coming months", and below 5,000 by late summer, if the Iraqi government can secure the southern part of the country. In Denmark, prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced his country will completely withdraw its forces, about 460 soldiers, from Iraq. Lithuania is also "seriously considering" pulling out their 56 soldiers, according to a government spokeswoman. More...

February 3, 2007

H5N1, the deadly strain of bird flu that has already claimed many lives in Asia, was confirmed this morning as the strain that killed 2,600 turkeys on a farm in Suffolk. More...

January 25, 2007

The World Bank report shows Bulgaria scored first among ten Southeastern EU states in GDP percentage of foreign direct investment. More...

January 10, 2007

The European Commission publishes proposals for the first comprehensive energy policy for the European Union, aimed at achieving 20% cuts in carbon emissions and a 'post-industrial revolution'.More...

January 1, 2007

Irish together with Bulgarian and Romanian became official languages of the European Union, now 23 in total.

January 1, 2007

Bulgaria and Romania acceded to the European Union.

January 1, 2007

On January 1 2007, Slovenia officially joined the Eurozone and adopted the euro as its new official currency. At the same time, Slovenian euro coins, which were available as a "starter kit" from December 15, became legal tender everywhere in the Eurozone.More...

December 30, 2006 Around 9:00 a.m. local time (0800 UTC) today, an explosion occurred at Barajas International Airport, in Madrid, Spain. A car bomb exploded in the Level-D Parking Garage of the recently completed Terminal 4. A Spanish official declared that the police first received a telephone call warning them about the bomb, and then a second call with the type of vehicle. The second caller claimed the attack for the Basque nationalist group ETA.More...

December 22, 2006

Travellers in many parts of the United Kingdom face chaos after thick fog enveloped major parts of the southern UK. London's Gatwick and Heathrow international airports have been severely affected and all British Airways domestic flights from Heathrow have been cancelled. On Thursday 350 flights from Heathrow were cancelled. More...

December 11, 2006

Orhan Pamuk, a prominent, post-modern writer whose work is translated into more than 40 languages, received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. More...

November 5, 2006

A sudden cold snap across Europe caused a surge in demand for electricity. Two high voltage power lines in Germany failed. This triggered a cascade of cuts as automatic safety devices cut millions of customers in order to prevent a total blackout of the continent. Parts of Germany, Belgium, France (including parts of Paris), Spain, and Italy were affected. High speed railways were also impacted. Power was restored within two hours. Later reports said that Austria and Croatia were also affected. More...

October 11, 2006

Two trains have collided head-on in eastern France at Zoufftgen in the Moselle region of France, close to the Luxembourg border, at around 11:45 local time earlier today. Based on initial reports, BBC News has suggested 10 passenger deaths as well as the those of two train drivers involved in the incident and a track side worker. French officials later confirmed at least 5 dead.More...

October 1, 2006

A minimum wage increase has come into effect in the United Kingdom. Workers of ages over 21 will now receive £5.35, which at current exchange rates is US$10.03. There was also an increase for persons under 21. It is estimated that 170,000 people in the United Kingdom do not receive the minimum payments for their work. More...

July 19, 2006

Today has seen Britain's hottest recorded July day with temperatures hitting 36.5ºC (97.7ºF) in Wisley in Surrey. Warm air from the Gulf Stream is raising the temperature, and the hot weather is causing the asphalt on some public roads to melt. The heat wave has also hit northern France and the Netherlands, with 4 people reported dead due to heatstroke. More...

July 16, 2006

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the FIA Formula-1 French Grand Prix on the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. More...

July 12, 2006

Microsoft was fined €280.5 million today by the European Commission for not complying to a 2004 antitrust ruling by the European Union. The EU had ruled in 2004, asking Microsoft to provide its competitors information about its Windows operating system. More...

July 12, 2006

The British government has given permission for new nuclear power stations to be built in the United Kingdom. It is expected that 25 GW of additional generating capacity will be required over the next two decades. This additional capacity must be met while reducing overall greenhouse gas emission as per the Kyoto Protocol. More...