Belgium plans to build a horseshoe-shaped artificial island off its North Sea coast to store energy generated by its wind farms. The project will also double as attraction for sea birds (and possibly flocks of tourists). ­The ambitious undertaking was unveiled this week by Belgian North Sea Minister Johan Vande Lanotte, as he reported on the implementation of marine special planning. The island is... 

A senior German official, and a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, has warned British Prime Minister David Cameron against blackmailing the EU by an in-out referendum on the union that could be disastrous to both London and Brussels. Chair of Germany’s European affairs committee Gunther Krichbaum, who is visiting Britain at the helm of a high-level German parliamentary delegation warned that... 

Imagine texting while driving, or placing a call while showering, without holding your phone in your hands. It’s not sci-fi any more – a new technology allows information like text messages and driving directions to be projected onto a contact lens. The hardware behind this invention is a spherical curved LCD display that can fit into a contact lens, developed by Ghent University’s Centre... 

File photo shows veiled women holding signs during a protest by Muslim men and women in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean), in Brussels. Two candidates from Islam Party have won their way to the local councils in two major districts of the Belgian capital Brussels. The local elections were held in Anderlecht and Molenbeek on Sunday. The party reportedly plans to field candidates for the regional... 

Russia must agree to European Union requirements for an open natural gas market, the EU Energy Commissioner said, specifying that this implies that the price for imported Russian gas should be identical across the European Union. “Our Russian partner understands our rules but doesn’t accept them,” Guenther Oettinger said at an energy conference in Lithuania. “It can’t... 

China is considering buying more EU government bonds amid a worsening European debt crisis in order to support its biggest trading partner, according to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. “China is willing, on condition of fully evaluating the risks, to continue to invest in the eurozone sovereign debt market, and strengthen communication and discussion with the European Union, the European Central... 

On Monday, August 27, 2012, in a meeting in Brussels, NATO military leaders in consultation with “telephonic liaison” with officers of military forces in several former Soviet Republics, major African states, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states came to a combined decision to act against Syria. Two issues were on the agenda: 1. How climate change in Greenland will effect geopolitics,... 

Psychiatrists will be helping trainee priests in Belgium to avoid potentially dangerous situations at work. Special “anti-pedophile” training is the new measure to help prevent child abuse by priests. ­According to Belgium’s RTL online, psychiatrists will teach aspiring priests “the correct attitude in the presence of a child”. “The goal of the training? Not to repeat the errors of the... 

Demetris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot President, who is the only communist leader within the European Union, has taken over the EU Presidency for a term of six months. The EU presidency is a largely ceremonial role, but it is also a role that involves planning the blocs agenda and chairing many of its meetings at this pivotal time, especially with the Euro currency imploding rapidly. Are we to be... 

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (L) speaks during a press conference alongside the Cypriot Foreign Affairs Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoulis (C) at the EU Headquarters in Brussels, July 24, 2012. The European Union has flatly rejected an Israeli call to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist group, saying there is no such agreement among the bloc’s member states. “There is no consensus... 

The German parliament has voted in favor of the EU’s permanent bailout scheme and more lenient budget rules. Chancellor Merkel has been criticized with making a U turn in policy, easing borrowing costs on flagging banks without additional austerity. “Today Germany, with the approval of the fiscal pact and the ESM [European Stability Mechanism] by all parties in both houses of parliament, will... 

Most EU members are in favor of issuing eurobonds, but Germany opposes mutual debt obligations. Don Coxe, an investor and chairman of Coxe Advisors LLP, says Berlin cannot afford to hand out more bailouts when confidence in EU banks is crumbling. ­The talks are taking place in Brussels, where EU leaders are meeting for two days to agree on new growth measures for the union. RT: In a recent blog article... 

Ireland is voting in a referendum on an EU austerity pact. If Dublin does not accept tough budget deficit obligations, it would be a kiss goodbye to EU rescue money, which could be followed by default and a eurozone exit. The mooted European Fiscal Pact was initiated by Germany and France. If approved, it would oblige Dublin to strictly control its budget deficit, which reached 13.1 per cent last... 

The European Parliament adopted an ambiguous resolution on the presidential elections in Russia. The resolution serves two masters, as they say. On the one hand, the European Parliament described the electoral process in Russia as “not free and unfair.” On the other hand, the parliament is optimistic about the future and the further dialogue with Russia. However, Russia could expect nothing... 

SWIFT, the Brussels based transaction provider, announced it has been instructed to cut services to Iranian financial institutions that are subject to European sanctions, in order to comply with the EU Council directive. ­The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is crucial to Iran’s oil and other trade. The EU Council decision prohibits companies such as SWIFT...