In The News

15,000 Families Granted Asylum

October 24, 2003
With more asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in various parts of the world, receiving countries are experiencing some hard times. The UK, for example, is already feeling over burdened. Recently, the government announced that it would grant 15,000 families indefinite leave to remain and enable them to work in the UK, a right they don't currently enjoy. According to the Secretary of the Home...

All Over an Inch of Flesh

October 23, 2003
Last month, two schoolgirls were kicked out of school in France for wearing headscarves, a traditional Muslim symbol. While it is legal to wear religious symbols in school, French law forbids the wearing of certain ostentatious religious signs "that constitute an act of pressure, provocation, proselytism or propaganda." Thus, wearing headscarves is acceptable. But when the girls...

Cross and Headscarf

Fritz Friedebold October 17, 2003
"Muslim teachers are not suited to working in German schools if they insist on wearing a headscarf during class," says the German Protestant Church. Even though it understands that one day this stance could be extended to ban the cross in German schools and public offices, the Church argues that there should not be a ban but merely a limit on the donning of religious symbols by civil...

Monsanto to Quit Europe

Mark Oliver October 16, 2003
In the wake of hundreds of public meetings at which a majority of UK citizens said 'No' to genetically modified crops, the American pioneer of GM foods announced it is pulling out of the European cereal business. Monsanto, the largest GM seed company in the world, said it no longer sees "a good strategic fit" for the company’s hybrid seed research in Europe. Anti-GM...

German Sundays Stay Truck-Free

Kristina Merkner October 10, 2003
In an apparent last-minute save, Germany's transportation minister persuaded his Italian counterpart to join Berlin in blocking other EU countries from granting more authority to Brussels over transportation rules. The German government fears that if the EU Commission acquires more authority, it could require Germany to end its ban on heavy truck traffic on Sundays. According to this...

Brown Tries to Put EU on Growth Path

Larry Elliott October 7, 2003
France, Germany, and Britain agree: The EU must embrace capitalism to create new jobs, foster investment, and boost economic performance across the continent. A letter drafted by British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown with his French and German counterparts will seek to persuade Europe to reform its welfare state framework. Europe, the letter argues, needs to implement supply-side...

Competition of Legal Systems

Joachim Jahn October 3, 2003
European Union businesses have a new kind of freedom to look forward to: they can choose their own legal forms. The European Court has ruled that new business owners in EU countries may choose which country’s legal forms they want, effectively allowing them much more freedom in terms of regulation. Critics say the decision will ensure lower regulation standards, since some EU countries have...