Sir, Regarding ‘EU ministers: Treaty ‘not dead’, ‘emergency plan’ needed’: Following the Irish ‘No’ vote, the future of the Lisbon Treaty will be a key issue at the EU summit on 19-20 June. The European Union certainly needs more democratic and open decision-making mechanisms, as well as a greater degree of transparency that increases the [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Ireland shows EU establishment the red card’ Several correspondents and media sources are suggesting that the failed ratification [of the Lisbon Treaty by referendum] in Ireland is, essentially, an Irish problem to be solved through a ‘Danish solution’ of protocols and so on. This fundamentally fails to understand the nature of this referendum [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘G8 energy chiefs worried by oil prices, eye nuclear’: You say that the International Energy Agency (IEA) is calling for a major boost in clean technologies to address the world’s soaring demand for energy (“‘Nuclear, along with carbon capture and storage (CCS), renewable energies and energy efficiency, all must play a much more [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Ireland shows EU establishment the red card’: It is a paradox that many who criticise the EU for being undemocratic now rejoice in the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. After all, it was supposed to make the EU more democratic…so why reject an improvement to the current situation? It might not be perfect [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Eastern Europe struggles to bring back its workers’: After graduating with an MBA in the UK, I decided to go back to Bulgaria, which now seems to be the bitterest lesson I have ever learnt. Bulgaria is a small country, with almost no potential for healthy economic growth. Most employers are mainly small [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘The Irish EU Treaty Referendum’: On Thursday, the Irish will go to the polls to vote on whether or not to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, as required by the Irish constitution. Opinion polls indicate a swing to the ‘no’ camp, giving it a slight lead. If this were to be the final result, [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘EU future in doubt as early signs point to an Irish ‘no” As we await the result of the only referendum in the EU on its future and watch as it looks as if the ‘no’ campaign is going to carry the day, I would like to put a few points accross to [...]

Sir, Regarding Dr. Orlin Vushkov’s letter on Bulgaria and his bleak outlook of that country (‘Young people: Do not go back to Bulgaria!’) I have never seen, on any subject, someone getting it so wrong. Let me go through this paragraph by paragraph and inject some facts into the proceedings. 1. “Bulgaria is a small [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Teachers back ‘personal adoptive’ language proposal’: In your article you cited me as ‘complaining’ about not knowing what the EU programme on multilingualism will look like come September. Since we are speaking about languages, the word ‘complain’ has a specific meaning in this context. To set the record straight, I did not complain [...]

Sir, Regarding “Uncertainty over CO2 capture in ‘fossil future’”: As the secretary general of the European Power Plant Suppliers Association (EPPSA), which represents the interests of the companies developing CCS technologies, I would like to make the following comments: CCS-technology suppliers (EPPSA Members) are already now working on the development of the necessary technology. The [...]