Archive for September, 2013

28

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 27 September 2013

Tags: Angela Merkel

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 27 September 2013

Top stories: 21-27 September 2013

Merkel triumphs as German Liberals fall: The German elections was a victory for Angela Merkel who scored just over 41% of the vote, a fall in support for the Social Democrats (SDP) securing 26% of the vote, a defeat for the FDP party with less than 5% of the vote and a debacle for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 4.7% of the votes. Merkel was still a few votes short of an absolute majority leaving her needing a coalition partner to govern. Reuters; EurActiv; EUObserver; New Europe

Merkel’s potential coalition partners drag their feet: The Social Democrats are holding an internal meeting on Friday evening (27 September) to decide whether to put the potential grand coalition to a vote of all their 472,000 members. According to the German constitution, the only clear deadline is 22 October, when the new Bundestag is set to have its inaugural meeting. EUObserver; EurActiv

24

Sep

Auftakt: Germany Votes – event photographs

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More than 100 people attended our fantastic German election event to follow and discuss the results, and to enjoy the food and drink.

Thank you to our partners at the event – the League of Young Voters, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Think Young and VoteWatch Europe – and to Rudolf van der Ven for taking photographs.

24

Sep

Germany Votes: Merkel wins third term as Liberals exit Parliament

Tags: Angela Merkel

Comments: 1

Angela Merkel has won a larger-than-expected victory in Germany’s federal parliamentary elections, held on Sunday 22 September.

Her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian partners, the Christian Social Union (CSU) fell just short of an overall majority.

Mrs Merkel will therefore need a new coalition partner for her third term as Chancellor, as the share of the vote for Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), with whom the CDU/CSU has governed for the past four years, fell below the five per cent threshold for entry into the Bundestag.

Despite the clear win for the centre-right CDU/CSU, the elections saw a slight shift towards the left, with the collapse of the FDP vote and the Social Democrats (SPD) gaining support.

20

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 20 September 2013

Tags: Angela Merkel, European People's Party, Party of European Socialists, Silvio Berlusconi

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 20 September 2013

Top stories: 14-20 September 2013

MyVote2014 initiative aims to support the 2014 elections: MyVote2014, the first ever “voting calculator” was launched today in Brussels. The software is an initiative of VoteWatch Europe in partnership with the European Youth Forum/League of young voters, and will reveal to the user which MEPs and EU political parties match his or her political preferences. MyVote2014.eu; New Europe; EurActiv

Germans head to the polls in close election: According to the latest poll published by the public TV station ZDF, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and her Liberal coalition partner are only one percent ahead of the Social Democrats, Greens and the leftist Die Linke party. The survey places Merkel’s coalition at 45.5 percent, while the opposition taken altogether would get 44.5 percent. EU Observer

16

Sep

Germany Votes: one week to go

Tags: Angela Merkel, Opinion polls

Comments: No

With just one week to go to the German Bundestag elections, substantive policy issues have not been very prominent in the election campaign.

The campaign has focused almost exclusively on domestic policy and the reforms to be made in several areas. The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) have tried to place social justice high on the agenda, whereas the governing Christian Democrats (CDU) have campaigned on the popularity of the Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

13

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 13 September 2013

Tags: European Conservatives and Reformists Group, José Manuel Barroso, Martin Callanan, Opinion polls

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 13 September 2013

Top stories: 7-13 September 2013

European Parliament launches ‘This time it’s different’ campaign: the ACT.REACT.IMPACT campaign launched by the EP on Tuesday will last a year, until the new Commission takes office in November 2014. The campaign aims to explain Parliament’s powers, focussing on five themes: the economy, quality of life, money, jobs and Europe in the world. The campaign includes social media, videos, information seminars, conferences and debates, and will cost €16 million. Europolitics; EurActiv; Euobserver; New Europe; EU Reporter

Barroso delivers State of the Union 2013 address in Strasbourg: In his speech, Barroso stated that the very fact the European bloc got through the financial crisis is a major achievement. In a speech that made several references to Europe’s bloody past, he also warned of the dangers of reversing EU integration. With just a few months to go before the EU institutions finish the current legislative period ahead of the EU elections, Barroso promised to table proposals on the social dimension of Europe, on industrial policy, as well as legislation on how to punish member states that violate the EU’s democratic norms. EurActiv; Euobserver. Europa.eu; Euractiv; Europolitics

06

Sep

Europe Decides Weekly – 6 September 2013

Tags: European Green Party, Herman Van Rompuy, Opinion polls, Viviane Reding

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Read more in Europe Decides Weekly, 6 September 2013

Top stories: 1-6 September 2013

Voters want European parties to name candidates for Commission President: A majority of EU citizens would be more inclined to vote in the May 2014 European elections if political families named their candidates for the next Commission President, says a new Eurobarometer survey, published on 6 September. European Parliament

Seizing the big day in 2014, a speech by Viviane Reding: On 3 September, Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding gave a speech at the Union of European Federalists (UEF) Summer Reception in Brussels. According to her, the format of the 2014 European elections is a unique opportunity to give an answer to the two in three Europeans who currently think their voice does not count in the EU. She also called for Herman Van Rompuy to be appointed as a mediator following next year’s EU elections to try to form a Parliament coalition that will back the next president of the European Commission. Europa.eu; Euractiv; Europolitics

02

Sep

Auftakt: Germany Votes – 22 September 2013

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On Sunday 22 September Germans will elect a new Bundestag and choose a Chancellor and government.

The elections are a prelude – ‘Auftakt’ – to the European Parliament elections and the other EU-level decisions to be made in 2014. Burson-Marsteller Brussels, in cooperation with the League of Young Voters, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Think Young and VoteWatch Europe, will host an election night event from 17:00 on 22 September at Square de Meeûs 37, 1000 Brussels.