Word: europeanate
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...years, environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have warned that overfishing could cause bluefin tuna to go the way of dinosaurs and dodos. Now the European Commission says it agrees with that grim assessment. In a compromise that unites Europe's departments of environment and fisheries, the commission lent its support to a proposal that, barring new scientific evidence, would list Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin as an endangered species - and therefore ban its trade - for two years. "This decision marks an important step in the protection of Atlantic bluefin tuna," Stavros Dimas, environment commissioner, said...
...European Commission's powerful Fisheries Department that made this latest agreement possible. The Fisheries Department has long resisted calls for a ban. This time, though, the available statistics made a moratorium seem at least provisionally necessary, says spokeswoman Nathalie Charbonneau. "We have management and recovery plans in place, whose goal is to create sustainable fisheries that still allow for economic profit. But for the time being, the latest scientific evidence reminds us that if there are no more fish resources, there won't be any economic resources...
...European horizons keep getting pushed back, Turkey has moved to build up its relationships in the Middle East. The country is a transit route for Europe-bound natural gas from Central Asia. And it has forged alliances with Syria, Iraq and even Iran (after the contested June elections, Turkey was one of the first countries to congratulate President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his victory...
...membership fell from over 70% in 2004 to 42% by the end of last year. The sense of being excluded has further demoralized Turkish reformers, the report says, leading to "a regrettable slowdown in the reform process" that is a condition of membership. This, in turn, feeds skeptics in European countries who point to the lack of reforms as proof that Turkey is unworthy of joining the E.U. It's a vicious circle that jeopardizes Turkish domestic reforms and hurts the E.U.'s own interests in the region...
...biggest obstacle remains public opinion. A poll last year revealed that only 31% of Europeans back Turkish membership and in the June European Parliament elections Turkey proved a popular punching bag for parties looking to gain votes, with candidates pledging to veto the country's membership. The current economic downturn is another factor, making the E.U. reluctant to take on another country struggling under recession. "The economic crisis has certainly made things worse in Europe," says Sevket Pamuk, professor of Turkish Studies at the London School of Economics. "For membership to occur, Turkey needs to change, but the current political...