While the Italians were trying to work out whether they had a new local government, or not, the business of their real government went on in Brussels, not least with the Agriculture Council meeting.Here, the repercussions of the weeks of publicity over horsemeat were...
EU politics: coming our way soon
We saw recently in Die Zeit the concerns over Roma immigration. And now we have Die Welt recording how appalling conditions from eastern slums have suddenly moved to within a few metres of the German welfare society. "As worlds collide, integration comes to its...
Horsemeat fraud: organic eggs – the next instalment
Played big by the German press is a new food "scandal", this one involving the mislabelling of ordinary battery eggs as organic produce.The hare has been set running by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft, reflecting the German genius for making even a...
Horsemeat fraud: expanding the European dimension
Czech inspectors have found horsemeat in meatballs made in Sweden for IKEA Group, the world's biggest furniture retailer, says Reuters in a report that has catapulted the fraud back into the headlines today.The Czech State Veterinary Administration reported its...
Horsemeat fraud: regulatory aftermath
In this case, they are calling for "speedier action on introducing country-of-origin labelling for processed beef and other meat products" – or so says the loss-making Guardian, as if putting different labels on packs is somehow going to prevent fraudsters...
Horsemeat scandal: criminality and confusion
A rather lightweight girlie piece in The Sunday Telegraph yesterday devoted nearly 1800 words to stream-of-consciousness mush about Polish horses.The only useful information could have been covered in an article a fraction of the length, pointing to what appear to be...
Energy: “Only the Tories have a grip on energy”
Energy: "Only the Tories have a grip on energy" Richard North, 24/02/2013 Follow @eureferendum In September 2008, we were arguing - with more than a hint of desperation – that the Conservatives needed to address energy policy. And we were not only concerned with...
Booker: when the lights go out
Booker's readers will not be surprised to find him writing in today's column on the media response to that warning by Alistair Buchanan, retiring head of the energy regulator Ofgem.With the closure next month of five major coal-fired power stations that between them...
UKIP: an unhelpful squabble
"Under his leadership - and I have questioned his leadership obviously a number of times – the party has become a dictatorship", she said in an interview earlier this month, adding: "This is a Stalinist way of operating and he doesn't care about the membership or the...
Horsemeat fraud: enjoy the moments
The really fun thing about this continuing shambles is variously seeing the corporates eat crow (instead of the horsemeat they've been flogging us) or comparing their website claims with their actual performances.Thus when we get Birds Eye withdrawing foods because of...
