Sir, Regarding ‘Federalists in attempt to upgrade Lisbon Treaty‘: UK Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff’s initiative is most welcome and timely. The right of each and every member state to veto treaty revisions has become intolerable, as demonstrated by the ordeal of Lisbon ratification. As with any international organisation’s charter or federal state’s constitution, revisions [...]

Sir, The EU could – and should – do more to address caste discrimination, one of the world’s most serious human rights problems. Campaigners for Dalit rights recently spoke at a hearing in the European Parliament. They told the audience how hundreds of millions of human beings, in South Asia and elsewhere, are being subjected [...]

Sir, I have just read through a sample of the Bulgarian census in English and find many of the questions extremely intrusive. My main concern is that information from such a census is likely to appear publicly on the Internet, as has happened here with business details. If this is this going to be the [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘FTT: The time is now‘: There are two reasons why members of the European Parliament on Tuesday (8 March) should vote ‘yes’ to the report by Greek Socialist MEP Anni Podimata, which makes a balanced case for the feasibility and the implementation of a tax on financial transactions. An FTT would contribute to [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘How many bankrupt companies get a second chance?‘: While it is unfortunate that some companies’ entrepreuneurship may lead to bankruptcy, I have often come across companies who have been able to close down leaving a trail of debt to several creditors (victims) only to re-establish themselves up to three times more as a [...]

Sir, I don’t think Europe takes sufficient account of the views, life and the role that retirees can play in exchanges between populations. The 3rd age (before becoming dependent) is a great opportunity to bring together a section of the European population whose number is increasing in Europe, and whose influence on economic, social, environmental [...]

Sir, Brussels will have a great opportunity this week to show how important Ukraine is to the European Union. Such an opportunity will come to hand as the Ukrainian governmental delegation headed by First Vice-Prime Minister Andriy Kliuev visits the capital of Belgium to clarify the most burning issues which preclude parties from signing the [...]