ft.com/brusselsblog

As commutes go, it’s not exactly bad. My tram ride to central Brussels takes me past Cartier, Longchamp and other designer stores that line Avenue Louise, one of the city’s longest and poshest thoroughfares.

The swanky shops and chic art nouveau apartment buildings dotting the avenue and surrounding suburbs are just one sign of the entrenched wealth in parts of Brussels.

Figures published this week show the city has the third highest GDP per inhabitant in the European Union. Boosted in part by the presence of the EU institutions, and service and manufacturing sectors, it trails only second-placed Luxembourg and central London.

Continue reading "Lies, damn lies and statistics"

When I started work in Brussels in 2004, fellow journalists warned of the frustrations of covering EU justice ministers’ meetings. They were spot on, because the gatherings often promise much and deliver little. The EU has grandiose plans for an "area of freedom, security and justice." But sensitive initiatives to co-ordinate police and anti-terror work (e.g. cross-border sharing of criminal records) have either taken years to agree or foundered, amid concerns over eroding national powers. Now I wonder whether we are about to see a turning point in EU police co-operation.

On Thursday in Brussels, ministers discuss plans for "hot pursuit" across most of the EU’s internal borders.

So, instead of screeching to a halt at the border, an Austrian police car could chase suspects into Italy. The move would also allow national police direct access to other member states’ fingerprint, DNA and vehicle registration databases.

If the plan wins political backing (it’s a big "if" with some countries hoping for certain exemptions) it would mark a large advance in cross-border co-operation. Some people see "hot pursuit" and database access as the missing link after member states thrashed out hard-fought deals to share evidence and allow swift extradition of suspects.

But what about civil liberties?

Continue reading "Big Brother Europe?"

Weird to see Gerhard Schroeder in Brussels in his job as a businessman/lobbyist for the Russian/German gas industry, especially when you’re more accustomed to watching him throwing his weight around here as Germany’s chancellor.

On Wednesday he was in town representing Nord Stream, the Baltic Sea pipeline project which will run between Russia and Germany, cunningly bypassing Poland. The infrastructure is a joint venture led by Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled gas giant, with two German companies.

As one scornful EU official said: "How nice of him to come to Brussels. Isn’t he an employee of Mr Putin these days?"

Continue reading "Shameless Schroeder"