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In three years, Spain will be the first country in the world to have a 2.230km long railway network for high speed trains
The European Parliament approved funds for the new European transport networks on 23 May, leaving Italy with two months to prepare its proposals
Spanning north to south, stretching east to west: travelling in Europe as of 2020 will be easier and faster thanks to the upcoming Trans-European Transport Network (TEN)
France's 'transport revolution' takes place on 10 June, when the first phase of 'TGV Est', Europe's fastest railway link, opens
After Europe created the Space Policy, its principal satellite navigation project 'Galileo' is still paralysed by disputes between private companies in the international consortium
The atmosphere from within Iran is increasingly hostile - president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions don't help
An undercurrent of Euroscepticism circles the European Union. According to the Eurobarometer, only 54% of Europeans see the EU as something positive, whilst 34% consider it negative
Turkey is Germany's official partner country 2007 at the world famous technology trade fair from April 16-20. European partners - in more ways than one?
The longtime neighbours and latest EU members know precious little about each other
EU President Barroso calls for a common European energy policy, as Russian president Putin amongst others propose a gas cartel
The concept of working abroad has changed hugely - two generations explain why they left their countries. Third in our 'Crossed Portraits' series, marking 50 years of Europe
As riots hit Copenhagen after the demolition of a legal youth culture house, Barcelona considers its 300 squats in the look up to May’s municipal elections
A Spanish-speaking immigrant between immigrants - in Catalan Barcelona
A long tradition of international events and Olympics throwbacks - like Fòrum 2004 - have regenerated urban Barcelona, but haven’t always helped improve its European image
Sausages without pork - a Turkish businessman tries conquering the EU
Independent or not, today the people of Kosovo want only one thing: the end of the United Nations’ ‘occupation’ of their territory
In pre-civil war ambience, how are the Lebanese making a living?
Corruption stops German businesses settling in Bulgaria. But Mitko Vassilev of Sofia's German-Bulgarian Industry and Trade Council is optimistic
Italian MEP and REACH Rapporteur Guido Sacconi on the long haul for the regulation on chemical substances
The new European regulation on chemical substances is here, both for industries and animals. But research does not get the last word
400 million Euros from the Commission, $770 million from the US. But Lebanon remains consumed by instability
In the style of Ski Dubai, the indoor skiing resort in the middle of the desert, ski domes are sprouting like mushrooms throughout Europe
Winter is becoming disturbingly mild, humid and snow-less, a fact which is making the ski industry sweat
The five-year-old Euro may be trading above the dollar, but a stronger currency can damage Europe
Longer hours of daylight, groomed slopes, cheap fares and a chance to explore über-foreign cuisine and culture. More and more are taking to Slovenian, Bulgarian, Czech and Bosnian slopes
A whopping three out of four employees in Europe suffer from anxiety. How much is stress costing the Union?
Car manufacturers will have to reduce petrol consumption in all new vehicles, say the European Commission. Yet Angela Merkel wants to defend the interests of the German car industry
Integration must happen in-situ, with your neighbours - not with Brussels, says Slovak Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training and Culture
The city of Budapest wants to build a science park on the site of the former Óbuda gasworks
In 1896, Budapest welcomed the first metro line on the European mainland. Well over a century later, and the Hungarian capital’s public transport network desperately needs upgrading.
Seventy gambling rooms in Tallinn and 3,800 active gambling machines for its 5,000 inhabitants. It's a big game of chance in the little Baltic republic
10 million online gamblers, 2, 000 websites: the online gaming community is ever-expanding, becoming a huge phenomenon in Europe. But in legal speak, things are far from harmonised
From casinos and shops to television and the internet - the poker craze is taking off in France, leading to huge growth in the industry
On the eve of the global Davos Economic Forum, North American intellectual David Calleo describes his vision of the role Europe plays in globalisation
By building pulp mills, Finnish global corporation Botnia 'is willing to export pollution' along the binational stream, Argentina claims. Their announcements of further highway blockades is disrupting trade and travel
Name: Erasmus. Date of birth : 1987. Birthplace: Brussels - the European institutions are rather proud of their baby, which celebrates 20 years in 2007
On January 21 2007, Serbia sees its first general elections since the new democratic constitution was approved in October last year. The big parties are favourites to win in a country that seems unsure of where it’s going
Romania is regarded as the poorhouse of Europe. It's booming economy is dividing it into a small upper class and a larger emergent underclass
The Parc de la Villette in Paris is one of Europe’s leading art centres. Here art, music, science and technology all rub shoulders
Wealthy families in Bulgaria are using gated communities to protect themselves from the poor majority
The constitution, energy security, detangling bureaucracy: Germany dampened expectations as they took over the EU presidency on January 1
The CDU is firmly against Turkey’s accession to the EU. Its Turkish-German members are now campaigning for a change of policy
In May, the Bolivian president Evo Morales gave European companies six months to acccept the nationalisation scheme of the country's energy resources
Recycling the 'ostalgia' fashion, a young Polish entrepreneur organises tours around the last ruins of the soviet era
While the 25 heads of states and governments discuss a common front to fight clandestine immigration in Lahti, NGOs say the EU policy is "expensive and inhuman"
Young Europeans court EU parliamentarians for internships, an ritual of initiation in the world of diplomacy. But these golden opportunities come at a cost
Despite the new EU’s new fishing agreement with Morocco, fishermen in Andalusia fear for their future
The European Central Bank (ECB) maintains low interest rates, boosting growth and property prices. For economist José García-Montalvo, national governments should tax home buyers to control speculation
Kazakhstan holds a key position on the Asian highway network which criss-crosses 32 Asian states. At the used car market “Barys”, traders discuss the merging of Europe and Asia
As trade flourishes between the EU and Asia and regional integration accelerates, the Asian highway opens new routes to the East
As regional integration accelerates in Asia, ASEAN might one day resemble the former EEC. I talked to Ludo Cuyvers, professor of economics at the University of Antwerp, who says such comparisons are premature.
Dr. Willem van der Geest, President of the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels, one of the most authoritative voices in the field, gives us the keys to understanding the ASEM meeting and the new season of EU-China Relations
In the 1980s, a political movement of squatters changed the face of the Dutch capital. Today, young apolitical Eastern Europeans are joining the squatter movement
Once a favourite of the flower power generation, living on a canal boat has become a privilege for the young and affluent. Today modern houseboats are not longer dingy eccentric dwellings for the marginal, but fully equipped modern pads
For years the unspoiled beauty of Montenegro used to be the best kept secret in Europe. Now the sights of old Venetian squares, spectacular mountains, bays, sandy beaches are once more a favourite destination for globe-trotters around the world
Following the adoption of resolution 1701, European countries are preparing a peacekeeping force for Lebanon. The European Jewish Congress explains to us why resolution 1701 brings hope but no tangible guarantees
Passed unanimously, UN Resolution 1701 aimed at ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign says it will add fuel to the conflict and tells us why
Lidl supermarkets are a familiar sight in malls around Europe, popular among students and cash-strapped families. But according to the German services employees’ union, ver.di, Lidl supervisors repress their workers and enforce 45-hour work weeks.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, July de 2006.
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Is being single a flaw? It is becoming less so if you consider Europeans’ new demands for their love lives.
February 14th is a special “day of love” in most places in the world. Do we really need it or is it just a marketing scam?
More and more Europeans are looking for true love through the keyboard. Could finding a soul mate be just a mouse-click away? Through the internet, borders and inhibitions can be overcome in the flash of an eye.
Yalcin Vehit, head of the Turkish Cypriot representation to the EU, speaks to cafebabel.com about the problems in Cyprus, and its position in the EU.
It is not easy to establish a national identity when foreigners make up 38% of a country’s population, especially when it is a country that has to sit between France and Germany. However, sometimes a small country can teach the European Union a wonderful lesson on integration.
Guido Montani explains why the nationalist route is a dead end street for Europe.
Between new-found nationalism and rediscovered confidence, are the Germans beginning to see themselves in a different light, without having fully dealt with their past?
In old Europe, people are fearing an influx of cheap Polish labour and the relocation of businesses to Polan
