Prague will press for a substantially revised EU constitution that is easier to understand and takes "smaller steps" on integration and Warsaw's proposal will better reflect EU reality than the existing draft charter, German chancellor Angela Merkel learned over the weekend. [...]
Polish president Lech Kaczynski announced on his website that Warsaw would unveil the full proposal on the constitution's revision in March, suggesting his proposals "would benefit the union but also reflect its current reality."

Sehr breit angelegte Übersicht über die Hauptinstitutionen der EU sowie andere wichtige Organe, wie Wirtschafts- und Sozialausschuss, Ausschuss der Regionen, Europäische Investitionsbank, Europäische Zentralbank und viele andere mehr. Die einzelnen Beiträge bleiben vom Umfang her überschaubar, bieten aber dennoch jeweils die zentralen Informationen zur jeweiligen Institutionen. Sie eigenen sich insofern auch für die Erstellung von Arbeitsblättern für den Unterricht.
Die direkten Links zu den Websites der besprochenen Institutionen ermöglichen es darüber hinaus, jeweils den aktuellsten Stand der Zusammensetzung, der wahrgenommenen Aufgaben etc. zu recherchieren, wie beispielsweise die Anzahl der Abgeordneten des Europäischen Parlaments direkt nach dem Beitritt Bulgariens und Rumäniens.

The 18 member states that have already ratified the EU constitution are gathering on Friday (26 January) to discuss how to swing the political debate around to their side of the fence, with the nine countries who have stopped the ratification process continuing to steal the political limelight.

The 18 countries, plus Ireland and Portugal, who also consider themselves "friends of the constitution" as the gathering is being called, are meeting in Madrid to set out political tactics, look at elements of the constitution that could be altered, and challenge non-EU constitution states to come clean on what they want from the process.

"Now that the UN Kosovo envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, has presented his proposal for the territory's future status to the "contact group" of international overseers, there is little doubt that Kosovo is going to become independent. Not immediately, though. Ahtisaari's report will not be published before he presents it to Belgrade and Pristina on 2 February. Most leaks accompanying his 26 January meeting with the group (the U.S., Russia, France, the U.K, Italy, and Germany), however, spoke of a mechanism enabling Kosovo to gradually take control of its own affairs and seek membership of international institutions." [...]

The Czech Republic has emerged as a key opponent of the German EU presidency's plan to revive the European constitution, with its newly appointed negotiator Jan Zahradil telling EUobserver that Prague seeks to curb EU powers and re-open core parts of the charter. [...]

Mr Zahradil sees particular problems in the EU's charter of fundamental rights, which would get legal status as part of the EU constitution (currently it is a non-binding document.)
He said a legally binding charter would open the door to a further expansion of EU powers through jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in areas touching on citizens' rights - such as social security, health care and pension rights. [...]

The Czech resistance against a full-blown EU constitution is expected to be echoed by Poland, which has seen its conservative government voicing similar ideas with both countries' presidents discussing positions over the issue last weeek.

The European Commission says it is too early to set a start date for Macedonia's EU entry talks, despite Slovenia dropping hints that its EU presidency - in the first half of 2008 - could see Skopje get a firm timetable for negotiations. [...]
Earlier this month, the ex-Yugoslav country of 2 million received a positive statement from Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa who said in the European Parliament that his government would "try to help this candidate country to get a date."

The Online-Resource-Centre that accompanies this book provides students and instructors with ready-to-use teaching and learning materials. These resources are free of charge and designed to maximise the learning experience.

Ein sehr  schöner, übersichtlich gestalteter Überblick über die EU mit zahlreichen Visualisierungen, Audio- und Tondokumenten. Eine hervorragende Einstiegsquelle, insbesondere für Schülerinnen und Schüler.