EU lawmakers reached a breakthrough on new rules to crack down on commodity speculation on Tuesday night (14 January) in Strasbourg. Under the so-called Market in Financial Instruments directive (MiFiD) that will regulate financial markets across the bloc, taking financial positions in commodity derivatives will be limited, in a bid to prevent market distortions and abuse.

http://euobserver.com/economic/122723

During recent talks in Budapest, the prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, and Gazprom’s CEO, Alexey Miller, announced that the construction of South Stream in Hungary will begin in April 2015. “We would like to see a South Stream on the territory of Hungary,” Orbán said. “It’s far better to have it running through the country than bypassing it.” Work completed on a tight schedule is a hopeful sign that both parties are taking their commitment to the project seriously

http://www.naturalgaseurope.com/hungary-energy-independence-south-stream-russia

Chancellor Angela Merkel's government on Tuesday brushed aside a report that talks with Washington to prevent further U.S. spying on German ministers faced collapse, saying it continued to push for a deal on the politically explosive issue. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said talks about reaching a "no-spy" agreement were proceeding. He would not comment directly on a Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper report that they were close to failing due to U.S. intransigence.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/14/uk-germany-security-usa-idUKBREA0D11M20140114

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday (14 January) pledged to cut €50 billion in government spending over the next four years and give French firms tax breaks in order to jumpstart the eurozone's second-largest economy. In an almost three-hour long press conference, Hollande promised to slash €30 billion in tax obligations for French firms, by giving them an exemption from family welfare obligations.

http://euobserver.com/economic/122731

L'AAFB lance officiellement la "FRANCK BIANCHERI YEAR" avec AEGEE-Europe. AAFB officially launches the "FRANCK BIANCHERI YEAR' along with AEGEE-Europe.

AEGEE-Europe diffusera l'appel à proposition cette semaine et le Comité de Sélection se réunira le 3 février pour décider de l'antenne gagnante. AEGEE-Europe will circulate the call this week and the Selection Committe will gather on February 3rd to decide of the winning antenna. Il s'agit là d'une composante importante de la stratégie de notre Association en faveur de la promotion/pérennisation du travail de Franck. 

http://www.franck-biancheri.eu/Lancement-de-la-Franck-Biancheri-Year-in-AEGEE-_a173.html

Dès le milieu de la semaine, cette éviction en forme de démission était pressentie. Le président Djotodia, parvenu aux plus hautes fonctions en mars 2013 à la faveur d'un coup d'Etat, n'a pas réussi à stabiliser un pays déchiré à force de combats entre ex-Sélékas et les milices antibalakas.

http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/monde/afrique/centrafrique-le-president-michel-djotodia-a-demissionne_1313002.html

Washington Post reporters called the communications depart­ments of Apple, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and other Internet companies. The day before, a report in the British newspaper The Guardian had shocked Americans with evidence that the telecommunications giant Verizon had voluntarily handed a database of every call made on its network to the National Security Agency. The piece was by reporter Glenn Greenwald, and the information came from Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old IT consultant who had left the US with hundreds of thousands of documents detailing the NSA’s secret procedures.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2014/01/how-the-us-almost-killed-the-internet/

En quinze ans, les classes dirigeantes ont compris qu’Internet a révolutionné la communication : la multiplication des tuyaux permet une diffusion rapide et mondiale de contenus plus ou moins fiables, d’idées mesurées ou radicales. Moyen d’expression et de manipulation, le Web entraîne de nouveaux risques d’atteinte à l’image. D’où, quel que soit l’endroit de la planète, l’apparition de « tweetomanies » (usage compulsif de Twitter) et autres « facebookeries » (création à la chaîne de pages Facebook à visées publicitaires) de certains leaders, partis politiques, entreprises voulant paraître de leur temps.

http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2013/12/26/les-elites-debordees-par-le-numerique_4340397_651865.html

Die griechische Regierung will sich von ihren internationalen Kreditgebern unabhängig machen und insbesondere den Internationalen Währungsfonds (IWF) nicht länger in die Haushaltsbücher schauen lassen. "Der Weltwährungsfonds im Herzen Europas ist ein Problem", sagte Vizepremier Evangelos Venizelos am Mittwoch in Athen. Es sei an der Zeit, dass der IWF aus der Troika der internationalen Kreditgeber ausscheide..

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/widerstand-gegen-spar-regime-griechenland-will-iwf-loswerden-1.1858554

Let's transform the Greek tragedy into the first Eurozone epic! 
http://www.newropeans-magazine.org/content/view/11132/1/

Je niedriger die Renditen, desto lauter die Rufe nach einer weiteren Entlastung der rezessionsgeplagten Schuldner in der Eurozone. Im Windschatten des erfolgreichen irischen Ausstiegs aus dem internationalen Hilfsprogramm ist auch der Schuldendienst Griechenlands um ein Stück erträglicher geworden: Am Dienstag rutschten die Renditen für griechische Staatsobligationen mit der Laufzeit von zehn Jahren zum ersten Mal seit 2010 unter die Marke von acht Prozent – der richtige Zeitpunkt also, um von seinen Gläubigern noch etwas Milde einzufordern.

http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/eurokrise/1514233/Griechenland_Alles-wird-zuruckgezahlt-nur-spaeter