President Barroso unveils his new team

Commission Link

• Responsibilities of the Commissioners-designate
• Joaquín ALMUNIA: Competition. Vice-President of the Commission.
• László ANDOR: Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
• Baroness Catherine ASHTON: High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security and Vice-President of the Commission.
• Michel BARNIER: Internal Market and Services.
• Dacian CIOLOS: Agriculture and Rural Development.
• John DALLI: Health and Consumer Policy.
• Maria DAMANAKI: Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
• Karel DE GUCHT: Trade.
• Štefan FÜLE: Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy. *
• Johannes HAHN: Regional Policy.
• Connie HEDEGAARD: Climate Action.
• Maire GEOGHEGAN-QUINN: Research and Innovation.
• Rumiana JELEVA: International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. *
• Siim KALLAS: Transport. Vice-President of the Commission.
• Neelie KROES: Digital Agenda. Vice-President of the Commission.
• Janusz LEWANDOWSKI: Budget and Financial Programming.
• Cecilia MALMSTRÖM: Home Affairs.
• Günter OETTINGER: Energy.
• Andris PIEBALGS: Development.*
• Janez POTOČNIK: Environment.
• Viviane REDING: Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. Vice-President of the Commission.
• Olli REHN: Economic and Monetary Affairs.
• Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ: Vice-President of the Commission for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration.
• Algirdas ŠEMETA: Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud.
• Antonio TAJANI: Industry and Entrepreneurship. Vice-President of the Commission.
• Androulla VASSILIOU: Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

EU-China narrowing deficit

The European Union issued new figures on Friday showing that the bloc's trade deficit with China narrowed in the first half of the year, three days from a bilateral summit in China.

In the first half of 2009, when the euro was rising against the dollar, to which the Chinese yuan is de-facto pegged, the value of EU exports to China fell to 37 billion euros (55.5 billion dollars) from 39 billion dollars in the corresponding period of 2008.

The EU's statistics agency said imports fell faster to 103 billion euros from 112 billion euros, meaning the trade deficit for the 27 EU countries with China dropped to 65 billion euros from 73 billion euros between January and June last year.

However, the fall "was less steep than the general downward trend" in the EU's total external trade, said a statement from Eurostat, which highlighted China's place as the bloc's second most important trading partner after the United States.

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Herman Van Rompuy Catherine Ashton az EU új csúcspozícióiban

A vártnál gyorsabban, mintegy másfél órás tanácskozás után sikerült a tagállamok képviselőinek egyhangúlag megállapodniuk a Lisszaboni Szerződés nyomán létrejövő pozíciók első betöltőiről: az Európai Tanács első állandó elnöke a jelenlegi belga miniszterelnök, Herman Van Rompuy lesz, míg a kül- és biztonságpolitikai főképviselő posztját a jelenlegi kereskedelmi ügyekért felelős biztos, a brit Catherine Ashton kapta.

Euvonal

Russian gas pipeline's approval deals blow to EU

Slovenia's agreement to sign on to the South Stream pipeline project has dashed hopes by the European Union to reduce dependency on Russian gas. DW

Telekommunikációs csomag

A csomag célja a telekommunikációs verseny és a fogyasztók jobb és olcsóbb kiszolgálása; a jogszabályok rendelkeznek majd a rádióspektrum kiosztásáról, az adatvédelemről és a nemzeti szabályozó hatóságok közötti együttműködésről.

Az intézmények sokáig nem tudtak megegyezni az internethozzáférés korlátozásával kapcsolatban, végül a kompromisszum értelmében kimondták: Az internethozzáférést csak szükség esetén, arányos mértékben, tisztességes és pártatlan eljárás, valamint a felhasználó meghallgatása után lehet korlátozni.

A Tanács és az EP delegációja májusban már egyetértett abban, hogy az internet kiemelkedő fontosságú az alapvető jogok (így az oktatáshoz, szólásszabadsághoz, az információhoz való hozzáféréshez fűződő jog) gyakorlásához. Az elektronikus kommunikációról szóló keretirányelvről szóló szerdai egyeztetőbizottsági ülésen az EP-képviselők ragaszkodtak ahhoz, hogy megfelelő eljárási szabályokkal biztosítsák az internethez való hozzáférést, összhangban az emberi jogok és alapvető szabadságjogok európai konvenciójával.

A hozzáférés biztonsága

A megállapodás szerint az internethozzáférés korlátozása csak akkor lehetséges, ha ez „megfelelő, arányos és szükséges egy demokratikus társadalomban”. Egy ilyen intézkedés során „tiszteletben kell tartani az ártatlanság vélelmét és a magánszférához fűződő jogot”, és biztosítani kell az „előzetes, tisztességes és pártatlan eljárást”. Ez utóbbi szerint a felhasználónak joga van elmondani véleményét, és jogorvoslati lehetőséget is kell biztosítani a számára. „Kellően megindokolt sürgős esetekben” megfelelő más eljárást is lehet alkalmazni, feltéve, hogy ez összhangban van az emberi jogi konvencióval.

A kompromisszumos szöveget az EP delegációja egyhangúlag elfogadta. Ezt a változatot még a teljes EP-nek és a Tanácsnak is meg kell szavaznia.

Az internetezők alapvető jogai

Az internetezők hozzáférésének jogellenes korlátozásának elkerülésére sem az Európai Bizottság eredeti javaslata, sem a Tanács közös álláspontja nem tartalmazott biztosítékot. Az EP kétszer is „beszavazott” viszont egy ilyen módosítást. Eszerint az igazságszolgáltatási szervek előzetes döntése nélkül nem lehetett volna korlátozni a felhasználók alapvető jogait (kivéve a közbiztonság veszélyeztetésének esetét). A Tanács kétszer is elutasította a módosítást, ezért került sor a harmadik olvasatra, amelynek során egy egyeztető bizottság próbál megállapodásra jutni.

A módosítással kapcsolatban komoly jogi aggályok is felvetődtek. Számos döntéshozó vélte úgy ugyanis, ez nem férne bele az EK-szerződés belső piaccal foglalkozó 95-ös cikkének keretébe, hanem a tagállamok jogrendszereinek harmonizációját jelentené, vagyis túlmenne az EU hatáskörén. Így az Európai Bíróság később megsemmisíthette volna a jogszabályt.

Erősödő fogyasztói jogok és a nemzeti szabályozók együttműködése

A Tanács 2009. október 26-án már véglegesen elfogadta a parlamenttel májusban kötött megállapodást a két másik telekommunikációs jogszabályról. Ezek egyike - egy rendelet - létrehozza a BEREC nevű új európai szervezetet, amely az uniós nemzeti telekommunikációs szabályozó hatóságok együttműködését segíti elő.

A másik jogszabály (irányelv) erősíti a fogyasztók jogait, így például arról rendelkezik, hogy a telefonszámot egy napon belül át lehessen vinni egy másik szolgáltatóhoz, illetve, hogy a „sütik” (cookies) számítógépre telepítéséhez engedélyt kelljen kérni.

További lépések

Az Európai Parlament a tervek szerint a november 23-26-ai ülésen szavaz harmadik olvasatban a most egyeztetett szövegről. Az EP-ben egyszerű, ezt követően a Tanácsban minősített többségre lesz szükség. További módosításra nincs mód. Ha akár az EP-ben, akár a Tanácsban nem kapja meg a szükséges többséget a jogszabály, az elektronikus kommunikációról szóló keretirányelvet el nem fogadottnak kell tekinteni.

Az együttdöntési eljárást az Európai Bizottság újonnan benyújtott javaslata indíthatja el újra. Részletes információ az unió távközlési csomagjáról a Bizottság sajtóközleményében olvasható.

Euvonal

Klaus is aláírta a Lisszaboni Szerződést

Nem sokkal a brnói alkotmánybíróság ítéletének ismertetése után Václav Klaus cseh köztársasági elnök bejelentette: ellátta kézjegyével az unió intézményi rendszerét megreformáló Lisszaboni Szerződés ratifikációs okmányait. Ezzel az aktussal véget ért a 2007 decemberében – Magyarország megerősítésével – kezdődő, közel kétéves ratifikációs folyamat, és a szerződés hamarosan életbe léphet.

Klaus nyilatkozatában elmondta: előre számolt az alkotmánybíróság döntésével, és bírálta a testületet. „Az alkotmánybíróság látlelete nem egy semleges jogi elemzés, hanem a Lisszaboni Szerződés elfogult politikai védelme...” – jelenttte ki. Az alkotmánybíróság döntésének indoklását „nem megfelelőnek és konfrontatívnak” minősítette.

A cseh köztársasági elnök megismételte néhány korábbi kifogását az európai dokumentummal kapcsolatban. „A Lisszaboni Szerződés hatályba lépése után – az alkotmánybíróság politikai véleménye ellenére – a Cseh Köztársaság megszűnik szuverén állam lenni” - húzta alá a vezető cseh politikus.

Az alkotmánybíróság 17 jobboldali szenátor beadványa alapján azt vizsgálta meg, hogy a Lisszaboni Szerződés összhangban van-e a cseh alkotmánnyal. A taláros testület arra a következtetésre jutott, hogy igen, s ezért a dokumentum ratifikálása Csehországban lezárható. Pavel Rychetsky, az alkotmánybíróság elnöke közölte, hogy a testület 15 tagja egyhangúlag döntött az ügyben, senki sem fogalmazott meg különvéleményt.

Klaus legutóbb ahhoz a feltételhez kötötte a Lisszaboni Szerződés aláírását, hogy Csehország kapjon mentességet a dokumentumhoz csatolt európai Alapjogi Charta hatálya alól. Szerinte csak így lehet megakadályozni, hogy a II. világháború után kitelepített szudétanémetek esetleg visszakövetelhessék elkobzott vagyonukat. Az Európai Unió múlt heti csúcstalálkozója a mentességet megszavazta.

Croat parliament approves Slovenia border deal

The Croatian parliament backed a border arbitration agreement with Slovenia on Monday, helping Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor's efforts to lift a major obstacle to Croatia's European Union bid.

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E.U. Reaches Funding Deal on Climate Change

European Union leaders on Friday offered to contribute money to a global fund to help developing countries tackle global warming hoping kick-start stalled talks on a new agreement on climate change. But E.U. leaders disappointed climate campaigners by making the offer conditional on donations from other parts of the world and by failing to decide how much Europe would contribute to a global pot of up to 50 billion euros by 2020.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt insisted the E.U. now had "a very strong negotiating position" to press for a global deal at United Nations talks in Copenhagen in December that are aimed at agreeing a successor accord to the Kyoto Protocol.

"Europe has failed once again to say how much it is prepared to contribute for climate finance," said Sonja Meister, a climate campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth Europe. "In every way the EU is shirking its historical responsibilities and blocking progress towards the just and fair agreement the world needs in Copenhagen," she said.

The European Commission had called on E.U. leaders to make an offer of up to 15 billion euros annually by 2020.

Mr. Reinfeldt, the Swedish prime minister, said leaders had instead agreed that developing nations needed about 100 billion euros annually by 2020 and that, of that sum, between 22 billion euros and 50 billion euros would have to come from public funds, as opposed to private sources like investments in carbon-reduction projects. Mr. Reinfeldt also said that E.U. nations could make a voluntary decision to contribute to a so-called fast-track mechanism that would make funds available immediately to developing countries.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, put a brave face on the result, underlining that the trade bloc should not be "naive" going into the negotiations in Copenhagen that are set to begin in fewer than six weeks. "Our offer is not a blank check," said Mr. Barroso. "We are ready to act, if our partners deliver," he said.

NYT

Latvia agreed to cut budget deficit for EU/IMF

Latvia's ruling coalition agreed on Monday to take measures to cut the country's 2010 budget deficit to meet promises to international lenders and keep on track for further loans, the prime minister of the crisis-hit nation said.

The Baltic country, which has already slashed public sector wages and pensions this year, came under pressure last week from international lenders to live up to a budget agreement made in July which aimed winning further rescue loans and preventing the country facing bankruptcy and possible devaluation.

Finance Minister Einars Repse said that overall in 2010 budget spending would be cut by 320 million lats and revenues would be raised by 180 million lats, leading to the 500 million lat ($1.04 billion) deficit reduction it had promised.

Link

Greek socialists win snap general election

Greece's socialists have won a strong parliamentary majority over the governing conservatives, according to exit polls from Sunday's (4 October) general election in the country. The centre-left Panhellenic Socialist Movement, or Pasok, of leader George Papandreou, is leading according to the polls, with 43 percent of the vote, giving the party 159 seats in the 300-seat chamber.

The centre-right New Democracy of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, which had called a snap election only two years after his 2007 election win, had hoped to give a boost to his faltering government with its one-seat majority. His gamble did not pay off, however, with his conservatives gaining the support of just 34 percent of voters, translating into 94 seats.

Mr Karamanlis' party had been hit by a series of corruption scandals, the economic crisis and was widely viewed as having badly handled a series of natural disasters. Moreover, the election offered a clear choice between Pasok and New Democracy.

The former promised a €3 billion stimulus package that would include above-inflation wage and pension increases, higher taxes for the wealthy and a review of the privatisation of flag carrier Olympic Airlines and the sale of the government's stake in OTE, the telecoms firm. Meanwhile New Democracy campaigned on promises of wage and pension freezes for government employees and further austerity and cutting of social programmes in order to tackle the country's deficit, already twice the European Union's allowed maximum of three percent of GDP.

Despite the convincing victory, recent polls have shown that as many as nine out of 10 Greeks do not trust either party, and abstentions were also high amongst the young, who analysts worry are turning their back on parliamentary politics. Last December, the country was rocked by violent youth riots that lasted three weeks in what was described at the time as the worst unrest to hit Greece since the restoration of democracy in 1974.

Euobserver

Másodszorra az igenek győztek Írországban

A Lisszaboni Szerződésről tartott második népszavazáson – a korábbinál nagyobb részvétel mellett – a polgárok kétharmada a szerződés elfogadása mellett szavazott.

A pénteki (2009. október 2.) referendumon a mintegy hárommillió választópolgár 58 százaléka járult az urnák elé, akiknek 67,1 százaléka támogatta voksával a Lisszaboni Szerződés elfogadását. Ez éles ellentétben áll a tavaly júniusi, kudarccal végződött első referendummal, amelyen 51 százalékos részvételi arány mellett a „nem” szavazatok - nagy meglepetésre - 53,4 százalékos többségbe kerültek.

Euvonal

Germany set for centre-right coalition

Germany was on course on Sunday night for its first centre-right government in 11 years after voters gave chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and her Free Democratic allies a majority in parliament.

Victory of the conservative-liberal alliance – which had campaigned for tax cuts and a return to nuclear energy but also social justice and tougher rules for finance – ends four years of awkward co-operation between the CDU and its rival Social Democratic Party in a grand coalition. “We achieved something fantastic,” said Ms Merkel, now facing a second four-year term. “We achieved a stable majority in Germany for a new government . . . We can party tonight but there is a lot of work waiting for us. Let us not forget that we have a lot of problems to solve.”

The change of government could herald a more confrontational phase in German politics as a stronger left-of-centre opposition links up with reinvigorated trade unions against the centre-right coalition.

The CDU and FDP were expected to win 332 seats in the 623-strong Bundestag, or lower house, giving the alliance a 20-seat majority.

The results were a slap in the face for the country’s two largest parties. The CDU obtained its lowest score since the first postwar election of 1949 while the SPD lost 11.3 points to reach a postwar low.

The vote will draw cheers from business, with a centre-right government coming to power for the first time since Helmut Kohl, CDU chancellor, lost out to Gerhard Schröder, his SPD successor, in 1998.

Ft.com

Results:

CDU/CSU - 33,8%

SPD - 22,9%

FDP - 14,6%

Linke - 12%

Grünen - 10,7%

Portugal's Socialists lose absolute majority

Portugal's ruling Socialist Party won the country's general election on Sunday, although it lost its absolute majority, exit polls suggest. The Socialists garnered an estimated 36.5 percent of the vote, according to polls reported by SIC television channel, giving the party 96 seats, down from the 121 MPs the centre-left won in 2005.

The main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), which is a force of the centre-right despite its name and the party of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, came in second with 29 percent, giving them a probable 78 seats in the 230-seat parliament.

However, the big winner of the campaign was the far-left, scooping up a combined 17.7 percent, with the Left Bloc, an alliance sometimes compared to Germany's Die Linke of anti-globalisation activists, ecologists, Trotskyists and Maoists, gaining 9.85 percent, giving it 16 seats, and the Portuguese Communist Party securing 7.9 percent and 15 seats. The rightist Popular Party also boosted its standing, climbing to 21 seats up from 12 in 2005 with its 10.5 percent.

Domestic analysts have attributed the victory of the left of the left to alienation amongst blue-collar workers, civil servants and young people from the the Socialists, who ahead of the economic crisis had imposed formidable public spending cuts that provoked massive protests, including a general strike. In the wake of the economic crisis, the Socialists appeared to have dusted off the Keynesian textbooks, but to little avail.

According to the Bank of Portugal, the economy is set to decline 3.5 percent in 2009, with unemployment on 9.1 percent and rising. Portugal is not however faring as badly as its Iberian neighbour, Spain, with unemployment at half the rate and below the EU average. The country also emerged from recession this year, with GDP growth of 0.3 percent in the second quarter.

Both leading parties ahead of the election ruled out a grand coalition and the Socialists, the Left Bloc and the Communists have said they would not form a leftist coalition, although such a move would give the parties a comfortable 127-seat majority.

Abstention climbed in the election from 36.9 percent in 2005 to 41.1 percent.
Euobserver

Russia drops EU missile threat

Russia yesterday dropped a threat to place missiles on the borders of the European Union, a military source said, easing tensions after the US scrapped a controversial missile shield. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hailed the "correct and brave decision" by President Barack Obama to abandon the central Europe project and expressed hope that it would lead to further improvements in US-Russian ties.

The move to halt the threatened deployment of short range Iskander missiles in Russia's territory of Kaliningrad, announced to Interfax news agency by the military source, was Moscow's first concrete response to Obama's decision.

Meanwhile, Nato proposed a new era of co-operation with Russia, calling for joint work with Moscow and Washington on missile defence.

Barroso 2

Jose Manuel Barroso was re-elected for a second five-year term as European Commission by a clear majority in the European Parliament on Wednesday (16 September), putting an end to weeks of uncertainty and sabre rattling by his opponents in the EU house. Against many predictions, the centre-right Portuguese politician won an absolute majority of the 736-strong parliament hauling in 382 votes in his favour, 219 against and 117 abstentions.

A clearly delighted Mr Barroso, who received a bouquet of flowers from the Swedish EU presidency, thanked MEPs for their "expression of confidence" and pledged to work "with all political groups" in the parliament. Charged by critics with being a weak president too willing to bow to the wishes of large member states, Mr Barroso said his re-election gives the commission and its president "great authority." "I will use that [political] capital for more energy for Europe."

While pledging "loyalty" to member states, he said he would in future "challenge" those countries who are looking out for "strictly national interests." He refused to apologise for his leadership style, a point of strong criticism for his opponents, saying that building consensus and the art of compromise is the way Europe works.

Euobserver

Poland keen to shed anti-Russian image

Positive chemistry between Russia and Poland at a World War II remembrance event on Tuesday (1 September) could open a new chapter of realpolitik in bilateral ties, with implications for Poland's place in the EU.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Polish leader Donald Tusk on Tuesday morning spent 30 minutes chatting in a friendly manner in view of cameras on a pier in the Polish town of Sopot on the Baltic Sea coast.

The meeting - the first of its type in eight years - stood out next to ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in nearby Westerplatte, where around 20 European leaders gathered to pay respects. Mr Putin in an open letter in Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza the same day held out the prospect of putting Russian-Polish relations on the same privileged footing as Russian-German ties. "The Russian-German partnership has become an example of reaching out to one another, of looking to the future while paying attention to past memories ...I am sure that Russian-Polish relations will sooner or later attain the same level," he wrote.

The Russian premier offered to open national archives on the Katyn massacre, where Russian soldiers in 1940 killed 21,768 Polish officers and intellectuals being held as prisoners of war. He also signed an agreement giving Polish ships passage to Polish waters - the Zalew Wislany - through a Russian-controlled gap in a Baltic Sea promontory.

For their part, Polish politicians avoided any Russia-critical remarks. Even the nationalistic Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, restrained himself to a muted allusion to Russia's 2008 partition of Georgia, saying that infringements of territorial integrity are "wrong also today." "Russia and Poland have a perspective of working together as partners, of building relations appropriate to two great European nations," Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski said. "This [Mr Putin's letter] is the kind language that one partner should use with another."

Euobserver

EU to begin phasing out standard lightbulbs

The EU will start making the transition from power-draining lightbulbs to more energy efficient ones Tuesday, the European Commission said. Several nations including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Philippines have already announced they will phase out or restrict sales of traditional bulbs as well. In 2007, President George W. Bush signed a bill that calls for the bulb to be phased out in the U.S. beginning in 2012.

The new European Union rules follow an agreement reached by the 27 EU governments last year to phase out the traditional incandescent lightbulb over three years starting this year to help European countries lower greenhouse gas emissions, the EU executive said Monday. This aims to curb climate change and to reduce energy bills. As of Tuesday, old standard frosted lightbulbs and clear bulbs of 100 watts and more will no longer be manufactured or imported into the EU as part of the plan. The measure is part of a series of energy-saving measures planned by the EU to cut emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and to reduce energy expenditure.

AP

Europe's surge signals hope for recovery

The European economy bounced back with unexpected strength in the second quarter, buoying hopes that a worldwide recession was drawing to a close. The economy of the 27-country European Union shrank 0.3 percent in the three months ended June 30, for an annual rate of roughly 1.2 percent.

The 16 countries that use the euro registered a 0.1 percent decline for the second quarter, or an annual rate of roughly 0.4 percent. Despite being in negative territory, the European data looked much better than in the first quarter of this year, when both the European Union and the euro zone contracted 2.5 percent from the last three months of 2008. Europe still faces the possibility that its recovery could slow or even stall in early 2010 because of lagging efforts to repair its banking system and sharply rising unemployment. Nonetheless, the sunnier picture in Europe, particularly in Germany and France, has given the region a leg up sooner than most economists expected. Because of its sharply different recipe for combating the recession, Europe is likely to have slower growth than the United States by 2010, economists predict.

Underlying the strong reading were solid performances in France and Germany, each of which grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter, government data showed. Germany’s economy, the largest in Europe, will still probably contract about 6 percent for the full year, economists say.

Within the euro area, France and Germany are helping balance out much weaker performances in Italy, a perpetual laggard, and Spain, where a collapsing housing market has brought an acute recession. Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary and the Baltic countries, remains deeply troubled. And the once-mighty British economy still faces a steep rise in unemployment, though it, too, could return to modest growth in the third quarter, economists said.

The surprise expansion in Germany — most economists had expected a flat or slightly negative reading — reflects gains for the country’s exporters from growth in Asia and what may be a bottoming of the downturn in the United States. Industrial production has also received a fillip from programs that give auto buyers a 2,500 euro ($3,541) bonus if they swap older cars for newer, environmentally friendly models. News last week that German exports had leapt 7 percent in June over the previous month foreshadowed the positive reading on gross domestic product.

But that masked an overall collapse of orders from abroad; German exports in June were down 22 percent from the period a year earlier. And unemployment is expected to rise sharply this year as government programs that kept people on private payrolls throughout Europe begin to expire. Already, the euro area’s unemployment rate stands at 9.4 percent, its highest level in 10 years, and the anemic growth of the coming quarters will not be enough to arrest the slide. That, in turn, could drag down consumer confidence or even generate political backlash in Europe, economists said.

TheNewYorkTimes

EU population to hit 500 million

The European Union's population is set to reach the 500 million mark in 2009, new figures from Eurostat, the bloc's statistics agency, showed on Wednesday (3 August).

On 1 January 2009 the population was estimated to stand at 499.8 million, compared with 497.7 million on 1 January 2008. The EU population has been on the rise since 2004 due to an increase in birth rates combined with annual immigration of between 1.5 and 2 million people.

Euobserver

Euro-zone retail sales fall 0.2 percent in June

The European Union says retail sales in the 16 nations that use the euro fell 0.2 percent in June from a month earlier, showing that consumers are wary of spending as unemployment hits a 10-year high.Shoppers cut back spending both on daily essentials such as food, drink and tobacco and on non-food items such as clothing, electronics and medicines.

Retail sales slumped by 2.4 percent in June from the same month last year.

LATimes