Can the fire that partially destroyed Notre-Dame act as a game changer in the French socio-political scene? Probably yes, but let’s see to the forces in motion, the national grief and the anger of the left behind. Luckily on the Seine river islet, in the heart of Paris, the eight hundred year monument still stands. […]Can the Notre-Dame fire freeze the ‘Yellow Vests’ uprising?
April 22, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Can the fire that partially destroyed Notre-Dame act as a game changer in the French socio-political scene? Probably yes, but let’s see to the forces in motion, the national grief and the anger of the left behind. Luckily on the Seine river islet, in the heart of Paris, the eight hundred year monument still stands. […]US-EU trade negotiations: pointless tariffs against real economic growth
April 17, 2019 by 1 Comment
The European Council approved last Monday the European Commission’s proposals authorizing the latter to start negotiating with the US in order to eliminate industrial goods tariffs and reach an agreement on conformity assessment. Most of the member states were in favour of the commencement of the bilateral trade negotiations except for France. However, the fact […]Further reforms in France can drive growth, improve public finances and boost social cohesion
April 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with OECD. The French economy has slowed, with weaker growth and employment prospects weighing on living standards and well-being. Policy should focus on long-term strategies to revitalise growth, improve public finances, create more and better jobs and ensure a more inclusive and cohesive society, according to a new […]The EU might as well go down the drain if foreign meddling corrupts May’s elections
March 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment
The EU elections will take place in about two months’ time but anti-European together with foreign parties are most likely going to try to exert influence on the upcoming outcome. Anti-establishment parties are expected to change the current balance and status quo if the two mainstream parties, the conservative EPP (European People’s Party) and the […]Siemens-Alstom merger: Can Germany and France lobby to circumvent EC’s rejection, against EU consumers’ interests?
February 13, 2019 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission (EC), after months of investigation and discussions, came to the independent conclusion to refuse the merger of the rail companies Siemens and Alstom despite the improvements provided by the two firms together with the continuous pressure by the French and German governments. Nevertheless, France and Germany still believe that the EU has wrongly […]Davos on Climate Change: citizens demanding more actions while CEOs tried to balance profit with sustainability
January 30, 2019 by 1 Comment
Climate change was one of the hot topics during the annual World Economic Forum which took place in the Swiss Alps last week. Sir David Attenborough, English broadcaster and natural historian, outlined the serious impact that humanity is causing to the environment and underslined the urgency of immediate action in order to reverse the ongoing […]EU Copyright Directive: Google News threatens to leave Europe while media startups increasingly worry
January 23, 2019 by 1 Comment
The European Copyright Directive negotiation meeting, which was supposed to take place last Monday regarding the finalization of Article 13 and Article 11, was cancelled due to the fact that eleven out of 28 EU countries voted against the text. The text is expected to be altered by the Romanian Council presidency in order to […]Brexit: Is there anybody supporting a non-violent separation?
January 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Like Christopher Clark’s ‘Sleepwalkers’, Britain alone on the one side and the European Union led by Germany and France on the other are walking apart, without a deal to jointly settle their future relations. One and a half years have elapsed since the 23 June 2016 referendum, with endless talks and self-complacency. Still, neither side […]The ‘yellow vests’ undermined Macron in France and the EU
December 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Paris was a blockaded city this weekend. The government was forced to close down all the main tourist sites in the French capital. The Eiffel Tower, the Opera of Paris, the Louvre museum and tens of other sites which may attract the fury of the ‘yellow vest’ movement are closed and heavily guarded. Galerie Lafayette […]Postal workers in France are helping elderly people fight loneliness
November 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you thanks to the strategic cooperation of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Kate Whiting, Senior Writer, Formative Content While we’re living longer, not everyone is living healthier and happier lives – and many countries are struggling to look after an increasingly lonely, ageing population. By 2050, it’s predicted that more […]France, Germany challenge Trump’s America on Iran and the reign of the dollar
November 22, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last week, the French President Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel challenged the US President Trump by deciding to create a real European army. This week, the two European leaders said they are seriously working on the project to build a financial/trade-clearing mechanism, meant to override the American sanctions against Iran. In both […]EU-US ties to break over Iran; Democrats’ electoral win may not change it
November 8, 2018 by Leave a Comment
After last Tuesday’s midterm elections in the United States, the Republicans of President Donald Trump lost the House of Representatives to the Democratic Party. The vote was turned out into a referendum for the Trump administration, and the GOP lost the full control of the two chamber Congress. From now on, the White House will […]OECD welcomes French plans to increase and better target foreign aid
September 24, 2018 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with OECD. The OECD welcomes France’s recently announced plans to increase its foreign aid flows, particularly in the form of grants, and prioritise the most fragile countries, commitmentsthat respond to recommendations made in a new DAC Peer Review of France. The Review, released today after being presented to […]Impossible Brexit options: WTO or new referendum?
September 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
In western Austria’s ‘saltcastle’ – Saltzburg – the baroque native city of Mozart, the last EU Summit which took place there left a very bitter Brexit taste. The city’s confectioners’ efforts of supplying an unlimited variety of chocolates, baring the face of the celebrated composer, were to no avail. The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, […]Migration crisis update: mutual actions and solidarity needed as anti-migrant policies thrive
September 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
An EU summit is taking place today in Salzburg, Austria where the EU leaders will discuss about the immigration crisis in the region and Brexit deal negotiations. The Parliament’s request to the member states regarding Hungary’s breach of the EU founding values is creating turbulences to the unity and solidarity of the Old Continent. The […]Draghi to lay his print on long term ECB policies prior to exiting next year
September 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, was criticized by major global financial media for insisting to end the easy money policy this December. The argument is that, after ECB’s Governing Council decided at the end of the prosperous 2017 to end its extraordinary monetary policy, the world has become a riskier place. […]Trump rejects Europe’s offer for zero car tariffs; he had personally tabled that idea in July
September 3, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The US-Mexico trade agreement, with or without Canada on board, targets Europe aggressively. For one thing, it will make life difficult for the German car companies which produce in Mexican assembly lines and sell in the US. Last Thursday, the European Sting reported the hidden sides of the US-Mexico trade deal in an article entitled, […]The US-Mexico trade deal a threat for others, Trump to single out China, Europe
August 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between US, Mexico and Canada is reborn. It was discarded and denounced by the American President Donald Trump since the first days of his campaign to conquer the White House, and now it returns almost undamaged, just under another name. Last Monday, after more than one year of […]Commission hardens its stance against carmakers ensuring emissions reductions targets
August 8, 2018 by 1 Comment
The car industry will be under tighter surveillance by the European Commission after 2020 when the next phase of the EU’s emission regulation will take place. All car manufacturers who do not meet the 2021 fleet CO2 emissions compliance for new passenger vehicles sold in the Old Continent will face fines of more than €14 […]Trump fines China with $50 billion a year plus some more…
August 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The New Yorker President of ‘America first’, Donald Trump, has figured out the cash China has to pay the US every year, in order to continue exporting her products to the largest market of the globe. It’s something like the ‘protection’ cash New York shopkeepers have to pay the gangs in order to get on […]Theresa May attempts to ease the EU stance as Britons request another EU referendum
August 1, 2018 by Leave a Comment
With less than eight months away from the exit of the UK from the EU, continuous negotiations are being held between the two parties in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit. UK Prime Minister Theresa May will visit French President Emmanuel Macron at his Fort de Brégançon on Friday in an attempt to persuade him […]EU and China seize momentum to enhance trade agreements in response to Trump’s administration
July 11, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The EU-China summit will take place on July 16-17 in Beijing where both parties are going to discuss how to improve their trade and investment relations the moment when Donald Trump’s administration is imposing tariffs all around the world shaking the world and trade order. Chinese and EU leaders have already met in Bulgaria and […]EU migration crisis again accentuates lack of unity and solidarity among member states
June 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Almost nothing was achieved between the EU member states at the mini migration summit which was convened in Brussels last Sunday. Despite the German efforts, there was no common ground among EU leaders. The latter was mainly due to the fact that Italy’s new anti-migrant government is against the “first country responsibility” rule which obliges […]Germany takes cover from Trump in Eurozone and decides to pay for it
June 14, 2018 by 7 Comments
Nobody in Germany doubts it any more that Donald Trump’s America is not a friendly country and market any more, or a guarantor of European security, as was the case for the last 70 years after WWII. To ward off any confusion about that, the German ambassador to the US made a clear statement. Peter […]G7 summit: Trump Vs. G6 leaders on trade and climate change
June 13, 2018 by 1 Comment
US President Donald Trump continued yesterday his fierceful critic to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the aftermath of last weekend’s G7 summit which took place in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada with the seven largest advanced economies in the world to discuss about gender equality, women’s empowerment, clean energy, and economic growth that works for […]At last Germany to negotiate the costs for a really cohesive Eurozone
June 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Finally, Germany blinked. Chancellor Angela Merkel at last decided to clearly respond and, up to a certain degree, uphold French President Emmanuel Macron’s ideas, about reforming the Eurozone, in order not only to save it from unraveling, but, if possibe, to make it more cohesive and stronger. In an interview to last Sunday’s issue of […]Macron in St. Petersburg didn’t oppose Trump on Iran, in Putin’s presence
May 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Emmanuel Macron, the French President, who has regained the European political initiative for his country, traveled to St. Petersburg, in Russia last Thursday. This was not an official state visit though. Macron just decided to participate in St. Petersburg’s annual International Economic Forum (SPIEF). A high end business delegation accompanied him. Macron met Putin only […]America writes-off Iran, blocks Europe’s Tehran talks
May 24, 2018 by Leave a Comment
While the European Union and more so Germany have being relentlessly working to save the nuclear non-proliferation deal with Iran, last Monday the new US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, shattered any opening for negotiations with Tehran. Until Pompeo dropped his bombshell, the EU was discussing a new pact with Iran, on the basis of […]Is Germany closer to Russia than the West? Nord Stream II and Iran count more
May 21, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last Friday, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, rushed to Sochi, the Black Sea seaside Russian resort to meet Vladimir Putin. It was the first visit by a Western leader to meet him at home, after his fourth inauguration on 7 May as President of the vast country, this time for six more years. Looking through […]Budget MEPs approve €104.2 m in EU aid to Greece, Spain, France and Portugal
May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament 16-05-18 Budget MEPs approved on Wednesday EUSF aid worth €104.2 million to support reconstruction in Greece, Spain, France and Portugal, hit by natural disasters in 2017. The aid from the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) includes €50.6 million for reconstruction in the Centro region in Portugal […]Draghi joined Macron in telling Germany how Eurozone must be reformed
May 17, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Mario Draghi the President of ECB, speaking at the European University Institute in Florence, on 11 May 2018, must have been under the influence of the idealistic aura of this Florentine learning institution. He went as far as proposing political policies, bravely overstepping his role as central banker of Eurozone. Draghi asked for an effective […]Europe split in confronting the US sanctions on Iran, Washington isolated
May 14, 2018 by 1 Comment
Donald Trump, the ‘America First’ President in withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear non-proliferation deal, doesn’t seem to be honoring his lead electoral motto. It seems that he is serving more the interests of Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent of Israel. Riyadh has much at stake in its inimical interaction with Iran. Israel on […]France-Germany: Divided in Europe, USA united in…Iran
May 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Last Tuesday afternoon the President of ‘America first’ Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Nuclear non-Proliferation Agreement with Iran. The deal is known as P5+1 and was co-signed by the US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China. There is no information regarding when the US is to re-introduce its economic sanctions against Iran, and […]
