In the event that an in-out referendum on UK membership of the EU is held in 2017, and a majority of voters opt to leave, what process would need to be followed to secure the UK’s exit?
The question is…
Is the falling carbon price as dangerous as everyone is saying?
caribb/Flickr
Discussion of the federal budget has featured much doom-mongering. This is exemplified by forecasts of a A$6-8 billion black hole in 2015-16, when the carbon tax switches to an emissions trading scheme…
Implementation of the Kosovo-Serbia 15-point peace agreement remains a challenge with Serbian protesters demanding a referendum on the issue.
EPA/Andrej Cukic
Despite its economic instability, entry to the European Union (EU) still acts as a unifying link to the rest of continent, with non-member states working strategically to meet the EU’s strict criteria…
Under leader Nigel Farage, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) were the success story of the recent UK local council elections: but who exactly are they?
EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga
In the recent United Kingdom local council elections,
the UK Independence Party (UKIP) won 147 seats, an increase of 139 seats, garnering more than one million votes (around 23%) across 35 local governments…
A carbon bank would reduce the risk of the carbon price crumpling.
Niall Glynn
The dramatic fall in Europe’s carbon price in April led to claims emissions trading had failed as a model for addressing climate change. While the low EU price is problematic for the EU and Australia…
Honeybees aren’t the only species pollinating plants in Australia; we have little idea how pesticides are affecting native pollinators.
Howard Rawson
News that the European Union (EU) has restricted the use of neonicotinoid insecticides was welcomed by scientists, farmers, beekeepers and politicians around the world. But the limitations of the restriction…
Many Australian crops rely on pollination by bees: we should think about following the EU’s lead on banning pesticides that affect them.
djfrantic/Flickr
The European Union has just banned three pesticides thought to affect the learning behaviour of bees. The two-year ban, which takes effect in December, is in response to a dramatic drop in bee numbers…
Every Parent’s Nightmare tells the true story of Australian Jock Palfreeman, caught in Bulgaria’s corrupt legal system.
ABC TV/AAP
Australians running into trouble with the law overseas is a common topic in the news. The coverage is usually fleeting, ending with the announcement of a conviction or, less often, an acquittal.
Belinda…
A deal to help Cyprus raise €7 billion to qualify for another €10 billion bailout from the EU and IMF has been agreed to, but investors will feel the pain.
EPA/Olivier Hoslet
Uninsured savings over €100,000 deposited in a troubled Cypriot bank may be subject to a new levy, under a deal reached to save the Cyprus banking system.
The European Union (EU) finance ministers, the…
Cyprus is scrambling to find alternatives to avoid bankruptcy.
EPA/Filip Singer
The desperation the Cypriot government finds itself in cannot be exaggerated. In the scheme of things, it seems small, but the nature of each Eurozone crisis is that the small problems are often the largest…
The Australian Government and European Union have laid out the first links between our emissions trading schemes.
Phillipe Put/Flickr
Yesterday the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency released its draft regulations and a consultation paper, setting out the details on linking the EU Emissions Trading System (“EU ETS”) and…
Former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the People of Freedom party Silvio Berlusconi’s comeback has left Italy with a hung parliament.
Mike Palazzotto/EPA
A Berlusconi led right-wing coalition has delivered a shock in the Italian elections, taking 30% of the vote and winning the senate in the key regions of Lombardy, Sicily and Veneto. Berlusconi was trailing…
The European question: British PM David Cameron has put it to the public to decide whether Britain should stay in the EU.
AAP
The threatened renegotiation of Britain’s place in the European Union is considered by many to be a gamble for the UK. Forty years after the UK’s entry into the European Economic Community, this declaration…
Trade in emissions entitlements has struck some large practical problems.
EPA/MARK
Emissions growth in the 21st century was overwhelmingly concentrated in developing countries. My own calculations on “business as usual” emissions for the Climate Change Review Update suggested that in…
The EU faces more than just a debt crisis.
AAP/Patrick Seeger
You can’t join a football club and then ask to play rugby. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius summed up negative reaction to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech about the EU on “the Continent…
British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised the electorate an “in or out” referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU by 2017.
EPA/Facundo Arrizabalaga
British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced an “in/out” referendum for UK voters on European Union (EU) membership, scheduled for 2017.
There were few surprises in this, as the full text of his…
More and more people are flying. International emissions regulation isn’t keeping up.
Dave Sag
Aviation has – and has had for some time – an emissions problem. That problem was illustrated in dramatic fashion last week when it was announced that the European Union (EU) would freeze until late next…
French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici (left) and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble can agree on one thing: a financial transaction tax.
AAP
At a meeting in Luxembourg last week, the finance ministers of 11 members of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) agreed…
Mitt Romney outside 10 Downing Street during his gaffe-plagued trip to Europe earlier this year.
EPA/Neil Munns
There is less than a week to go in the US presidential race, and the candidates are coming agonisingly close in various battleground states. Imagining Mitt Romney in the White House might turn a few Democrat…
Has the EU earned its Noble Prize for Peace?
Oliver Berg / AAP
I was minding my own business on the London Underground last Friday when I glanced at one of those free newspapers that litter the trains. That’s how I discovered that the EU had won the Nobel Prize for…
Catalans march though the streets of Barcelona demanding independence.
Maria Poblet
In the biggest rally for Catalan independence ever, an estimated crowd of 1.5 million people flooded the city of Barcelona with red-and-yellow striped flags on Catalonia’s national day, the Diada.
Tax…
The legal implications of changes to the carbon price mechanism are subtle, but important.
Pawel Loj
By Shol Blustein, Queensland University of Technology
Earlier this week the federal Government announced important changes to the carbon pricing mechanism (CPM). The political and economic consequences have been much discussed, but the less-talked-of legal…
Other countries – either in the European Union or elsewhere – could be the main beneficiaries of the Australian Government’s move to link carbon pricing with Europe.
AAP
Linking Australia to the European Union carbon emissions trading scheme by 2015 will undoubtedly affect the revenue gained from carbon trading. The question is, how much?
One should expect up to 50% less…
What will removing the price floor and linking to the EU carbon market mean for Australia’s carbon price?
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
You might have thought Australia’s carbon pricing scheme was done and dusted – at least until the next government comes in. Today’s announcement about the price floor and international permit trading proves…
Will super Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, come to the Eurozone’s rescue?
AAP
By Harald Sander, Cologne University of Applied Sciences (CUAS)
Today Eurozone leaders will meet in Brussels. On the agenda is nothing less than the survival of the euro. Officially, it is about Spain: Spain’s economic and financial woes show the urgency. Moody’s drastically…
The EU summit is sure to be a testing time for President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
AAP
European leaders will meet tomorrow and Friday for the EU summit in Brussels, which has been billed as a “make or break” event that will determine not only the fortunes of the eurozone, but of the global…
Ireland is still reliant on European funding as it repairs its economy. What will happen if voters reject this treaty?
EPA/Andy Rain
Later today (European time), Irish voters will be asked to vote Yes or No on the Treaty for Stability, Co-ordination and Governance.
The Yes campaign, lead by Ireland’s establishment parties, claim a…
Following the EU summit in Brussels this week, it seems eurobonds are back on the agenda. But will it be what it needed to save the Eurozone?
AAP
The special EU summit held in Brussels on Wednesday revamped the discussion on Eurobonds (i.e. the issuance of common government bonds to pool the Eurozone debt liability) as a possible option to address…
German chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s new President Francois Hollande meet to discuss Europe’s economic woes.
EPA/Rainer Jensen
Europe is in economic dire straits and the two most powerful economies on the continent are, at least on paper, led by individuals with considerable differences.
The previous French President Nicolas…
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras would like to seek Greece withdraw from the Eurozone.
EPA/Simela Pantzartzi
Ten days ago, the political landscape in Europe changed profoundly.
Greece voted in the main to elect parties from the far right and far left who are opposed to austerity, and France elected a socialist…
This presidency has not even an hour for a honeymoon period.
EPA Guillaume Horcajuelo
So what of the winner of the recent presidential elections on 6 May in France?
Francois Hollande celebrated his victory in his adopted local region, Tulle, not in flashy Paris. Hollande claims to want…
Socialist candidate Francois Hollande’s win in the first round of the French election signals more than “crazy” ideas; but a refashioning of political purpose that extends beyond French borders.
AAP
The seismic forces propelling the socialist contender to the Elysee Palace have been caustically dismissed by Bret Stephens, a prominent columnist for the Wall Street Journal, as the result of the conceited…
Protests rocked Athens as Greek legislators voted to accept a tough austerity package. So what now for the Greek people?
AAP
As Greek politicians approved a tough austerity package amid fierce protests, one question dominates: is an orderly exit from the Eurozone available for Greece? And just what might be the consequences…
Partial boycotts don’t work; it’s too easy to secure new buyers and sellers.
AAP
The European Union (EU) voted last week to ban oil imports from Iran. The EU will immediately ban the signing of any new oil contracts with Iran, while the existing ones will be fulfilled up to 1 July…
A proposed EU oil embargo may push Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad closer to China and Venezuela.
AAP
Last week the European Union indicated that it is likely to enact an oil embargo on Iran. The move is aimed at damaging Iran’s crucial oil export business enough so the country’s regime curtails its nuclear…
Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece face serious problems without EU-wide financial reform.
AAP
Every year, on the evening of December 31, the President of the Republic of Italy addresses the Italian people with a video message broadcast by all the major radio and television networks. This “end of…
British Prime Minister David Cameron can’t escape domestic politics when it comes to Europe.
EPA/Olivier Hoslet
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to veto the new European Union agreement for greater financial stability in the Eurozone reminds us that despite the talk of greater European integration…
Merkel, Sarkozy and Monti must accept drastic fiscal reforms if they want to save the Eurozone.
The announcement by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s overnight that it could downgrade the triple-A rating of Europe’s debt rescue fund has battered market confidence, which had been buoyed…
Despite happy appearances, the two leaders disagree the way out of the Eurozone crisis.
AAP
What could be a decisive week for Europe and its common currency has begun, with the announcement of a package of fiscal austerity measures in Italy.
Markets, European partners, and – perhaps above all…
Markets responded positively to the central banks' credit lifeline, but serious problems lie ahead.
AAP
For European banks threatened by a looming credit squeeze, the US Federal Reserve’s move to cut the cost of obtaining US dollars rescue hasn’t come a moment too soon.
The Fed’s decision to engage in quantitative…
Mussolini made the trains run on time. But having a strong leader is risky.
Flickr/Galaxy FM
“If I Ruled The World” was a tune made famous decades ago by English comedian and singer Harry Secombe who sang of making every day the first day of spring as well as other miraculous improvements. It…
Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy must take drastic steps to maintain the legitimacy of EU institutions.
AAP
The European Union is in crisis – yet again. If you enter “Europe in crisis” into Google, more than 655 million entries pop up.
Europe’s current problems are being described as a Euro crisis – it is a…
Berlusconi’s resignation is one step towards solving Italy’s debt crisis – but many more are needed.
AAP
Italy’s sovereign debt crisis has been overshadowed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s reluctant promise to resign after the country’s parliament made clear he no longer commanded a majority.
Italy…
The Greek Prime MInister is on the way out, but the new government has a lot of work still to do.
AFP/Aris Messinis
The Greek Prime Minister will resign in an effort to save the bailout deal agreed by the European Union to dig the country out of its debt crisis.
George Papandreou agreed to go following talks with the…
Italy’s disturbing debt-to-GDP ratio has been decades in the making.
AAP
During prostests in Rome last month, as groups of hooded protesters clashed with the police, set cars on fire, and smashed bank windows around the Piazza San Giovanni, two large speakers installed on a…
The first free elections borne from the Arab Spring were held in Tunisia. Over 90% of registered adults voted.
EPA/Zacarias Garcia
It has been a tumultuous week in the life and times of democracy in the Mediterranean. Seven days punctuated by joyous hope and its ugly opposite, sullen despair.
The promising news came from Tunisia…
Martin McGuinness' candidacy for the Irish Presidency calls for voters to look to the country’s history.
EPA/Paul McErlane
The critical importance of the Irish presidency was underscored by current incumbent in an address to the Global Irish Economic Forum earlier this month. President Mary MacAleese welcomed 270 delegates…
15-M started in Spain, but it has sparked protests around the globe.
EPA/Jesus Diges
This weekend Spain will see the return of its “revolution”. Those involved in the 15-M movement will once again take to the streets en masse to demand urgent reforms. Under the motto “united for a global…
Jean-Claude Trichet will step down at ECB president in November.
AAP
As the Eurozone trembles at the prospect of Greece defaulting on its debt, the winds of change are at work at the European Central Bank (ECB).
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will step down in November…
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the FTT could raise 55 billion euros a year.
AAP
Momentum is building behind the global campaign to impose a tax on transactions in financial markets, with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announcing plans to introduce the measure as…
Greeks protest the austerity measures put in place during the ongoing debt crisis.
AAP
Europe is in crisis once again and this time it is deadly serious.
At stake is not only the survival of the European currency, but also of the entire integration project. Collapse of the Euro could trigger…
The only way out of this crisis is to dishonour some of the debt that is weighing down the global economy.
AAP
The dramatic falls in share prices of Greek debt-laden French banks overnight highlights just how closely tied the current market chaos is to the world’s worsening debt woes.
Market crashes like that…
Silvio Berlusconi has blamed international economic conditions for Italy’s worsening crisis.
AAP
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s reassurance to his parliamentary colleagues during a speech on Wednesday did little allay
about fears of a crisis in Eurozone’s third-biggest economy.
The Italian…
The lawyer for the self-confessed Norway killer, Anders Breivik will enter a plea of insanity AFP photo/Facebook – Youtube.
Societies, if we are to take the Freudian line, prefer to subordinate chaotic urges in favour of dull order. Civilization implies stability. By the nineteenth century, human society was digesting a range…
Nicolas Sarkozy, Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel share a joke at Thursday’s Greece bailout talks.
AAP
European leaders signed off on a second, 109 billion euro bailout for Greece overnight, while also establishing what has been described as an “infant monetary fund” to intervene if the bloc’s sovereign…
Thursday’s make-or-break EU finance ministers meeting looks set to be a highly charged affair.
AAP
As Margaret Thatcher’s trade minister in the 1980s, Norman Tebbit devoted much of his time to dealing with the European Community – the precursor to the European Union. Routinely, at meetings in Brussels…
Can the IMF’s new head, Christine Lagarde restore much-needed confidence in the euro?
AAP
Quelle surprise. French finance minister Christine Lagarde has been announced as the new managing director of the IMF, succeeding the beleaguered Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Like Strauss-Khan (known as ‘DSK…
“Indignado” protests prove a headache for Spain’s politicians but won’t threaten a greater Europe.
AAP
As international markets react to the unrest in Greece amid fears of contagion, mass protests have also continued in fellow European Union member country, Spain.
This protest movement, called the “indignant…
Greece would be better off defaulting on its debt than languishing under tough austerity measures.
AAP
A poll of international investors last month found that 85% expect Greece to default on its debt this year. As market expectations go, that is very high.
Moody’s has since downgraded Greece’s already…
