Searching for a stable investment? Try original comic strip books
Besides collector cars which have sold extremely well and at high prices during this economic downturn, original editions of comic strips are also excellent investment items as they gain value over time.
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A “Superman” comic strip from 1939 has been estimated at €200,000 for example, whereas “Les Aventures de Tintin au Pays des Soviets” from 1930 is valued at €28,800. “De Vrolijke Avonturen van Doris Dobbel” from 1952 is evaluated at €15,000 and “Donald Duck finds Pirate Gold” from 1942 is ...
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Maternity leave for women entrepreneurs
The recently approved Directive 2010/41/EU on self-employed workers and assisting spouses entered into force on 4 August. For the first time, it grants a minimum 14-weeks long maternity leave and allowance to self-employed workers and a right to social security and pension to the assisting spouses or life partners (as recognised in national law).
In a European work environment where 16% of the active population is self-employed and where only 30% thereof are female entrepreneurs, it was more than time to improve the working rights of self-employed women to encourage entrepreneurship.
EU member states have two years to implement the Directive into national ...
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Internet book sales kill traditional book shop chains
How often have you ordered books on Amazon, or the Book Depository, because it is so easy, quick and cheaper than in a bookshop? You do it, I do it, we all do it...
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The expansion of this online shopping habit has (regrettably) had the nefarious effect of a regular drop in sales for traditional book stores, which, linked to the economic slump, led two major book chains into major difficulties. The traditional book shop business model based on the expensive rental of ...
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Bored? Feed your neurones
I recently landed on an extremely interesting website called the Project Syndicate – A World of Ideas, while searching for an article by Professor Stiglitz.
The Project Syndicate is a not-for-profit association of newspapers dedicated to fostering global debate on issues shaping the world today. In the last years, the number of member newspapers has risen to include 433 leading newspapers. Project Syndicate commentaries are now translated into 68 languages and read by over 7 ...
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Amsterdam canal district now part of world heritage
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the Amsterdam canal district on the list of World Heritage buildings and sites at its meeting on 31 July. This follows discussions in the Municipal Council about whether it really is wise to accept such a listing, as it comes with the obligation to protect and maintain the district in its original layout, thereby ruling out any future modernization of this part of the town.
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This is the UNESCO description: “The historic urban ensemble of the canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new 'port city' built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It comprises a network of canals to the west and south of the ...
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Inception: in your dreams only
Inception is an excellent thriller, with unique and amazing architectural realisations (only in your dreams of course) lots of action and a little dash of romance and emotion.
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The movie, written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, The Prestige and the Dark Knight) is starring Marion Cotillard, Leonardo di Caprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy.
In the story, Leonardo di Caprio plays Dominic Cobb who is a specialist in “extraction”, ...
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2011-2020 EU road safety action plan launched
On 20 July, the Commission published plans to reduce the number of road deaths on Europe's roads by half in the next 10 years. Initiatives proposed in a set of European Road Safety Policy Orientations 2011-2020 range from setting higher standards for vehicle safety, to improving the training of road users, and increasing the enforcement of road rules. The Commission will work closely with Member States to implement this programme.
Europeans are calling on Member States to boost their efforts to improve road safety, according to the latest Eurostat survey. Nine out of ten Europeans (94%) considered driving under the influence of alcohol to be the most significant road safety problem, while eight out of ten (78%) called speeding a ...
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The Brussels Connection is being revamped
Dear Friends and Colleagues, You may have noticed how some article categories are being moved around and how articles change places.
We are currently rethinking the organisation of our content and trying to make The Brussels Connection more practical and easier to use.
In advance, we apologize for the inconvenience our modifications may cause and thank you warmly for your understanding.
We will resume sending our Monday morning news ...
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We are now 501 million!
Since 1 January 2010, Eurostat says that the total population of the EU 27 has reached 501.1 million, compared to the 499.7 million we were in January 2009.
This is due to the birth of 5.4 million children in 2009 and a net migration of 0.9 million people. The highest birth rates were registered in Ireland (16.8%), the UK (12.8%), France (12.7%), Cyprus (12.2%) and Sweden with (12%). ...
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Formal EU accession negotiations with Iceland begin
The General Affairs Council decided on Monday 26 July to officially start EU accession negotiations with Iceland. This should take around a year and allow Iceland to formally join in 2012.
Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), together with Liechtenstein and Norway, and has therefore already integrated a good part of EU principles and law. Brussels’ officials believe that the 35 chapters of the accession framework will not pose major problems. Some difficulties might however arise ...
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No more fooling Eurostat with fluffy financial data
Following this year’s most unpleasant (and costly) discovery of the true financial situation in which Greece found itself, member states decided to put an end to the lack of financial disclosure by increasing the powers of Eurostat in verifying whether data submitted by a member state is reliable, complete and consistent, in the case of excessive deficits.
The General Affairs Council therefore adopted on 26 July a Regulation strengthening the rules concerning statistical data used under the EU’s excessive deficit procedure. This Regulation updates Regulation 479/2009. ...
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Tove Jansson and the Moomin in Brussels
Until 28 August 2010, the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée in Brussels is hosting an exhibition on the Moomin cartoon characters, imagined by Finnish artist Tove Jansson.
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All French children born in the 1980’s – and very often their parents as well, have seen (and loved) the Moomin animated cartoons on TV. The stories show the adventures of the Moomin family and their various friends such as the Snork Maiden, Sniff, Snufkin and Fillyjonk. Humour, kindness ...
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Rose-ringed parakeet “invasion” in Brussels
The Brussels’ rose-ringed parakeet population has grown to reach some 10,000 individuals, said Olivier Beck from the Brussels’ Institute for Environmental Protection, in La Capitale.
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The first of those parakeets were set free in Brussels in 1987, when the Meli zoo and attraction parc next to the Atomium was closed down to allow the building of Bruparc. The same type of parakeet has also adapted to urban environments in the Netherlands, and can be ...
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Ashes v. Plane engines: industry still divided
On 22 July, the largest EU and US companies representing the aerospace industry met to discuss safety issues related to flying through clouds of volcanic ashes, such as those from the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland, which blocked the EU airspace three months ago, leading to a total mayhem of stranded passengers and airline revenue losses of over $ 1.7 billion.
Industry groups called for further research on the real effect of volcanic ashes on airplane engines and technical equipment. Amongst the problems is the fact that every eruption produces different size particles which have different chemical compositions.
For the US Federal Aviation Administration, every time volcanic clouds can ...
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How to stay on top of draft EU legislation
Both the EU Parliament and the Commission have created a free legislative “online tracker”, which allows you to follow step by step the evolution of a piece of draft legislation through the legislative process.
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For the Commission this is PreLex and for the Parliament it is called Oeil.
As an example, have a look at the two files on the draft regulation on novel foods from PreLex and from the ...
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Prof. Stiglitz warns against inappropriate spending cuts by nations
Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz lambasts the financial sector and warns world governments wishing to reduce their deficits not to do so indiscriminately.
In a very interesting article published on the Project Syndicate website dated 8 July 2010 (link below), Professor Stiglitz finds that Keynes’ theory has been proven right insofar the financial sector has “brought the world to the brink of ruin”. The lack of regulation of the sector inherent in ...
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EU's Who's who
Have you ever been searching desperately for the right contact in one of the EU institutions? This public website will help you find the person you are looking for.
This website has been running for quite a few years now, albeit not accessible to the public and rather for internal use.
The fact that it is now publicly accessible shows the EU Institutions' clear intention to provide as much transparency as possible in their composition, role and work.
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E-Justice Portal, a single tool for citizens, business, lawyers & judges
The E-Justice portal went live on 16 July during the informal Justice & Home Affairs Council in the presence of Diana Wallis, Vice President of the European Parliament, Stefaan De Clerck, Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Belgium Presiding the Council, and Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.
It aims to provide a single point of entry for European e-justice. The first version, which will be continuously expanded,contains over 12,000 pages in 22 official EU languages and provides information and links on laws and practices in all 27 Member States.
What does it offer in practice?
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No Drive-in Brussels in summer 2010
Last year's highly successful "drive in" cinema, suffering from the economic crisis has not been able to open this summer. The organisers apologize and promise to be back in summer 2011!
The Brussels Drive-in was a fun way to spend an evening or two. It started in August 2009 at the Parc du Cinquantennaire, with the latest Hollywood hits which we could watch from the comfort of our car or even without a car (organisers made arrangements for pedestrians and cyclists.
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Arles: Le Galoubet
The young couple who has taken over "Le Galoubet" in 2009 have made this restaurant an excellent place to enjoy refined food in a lovely setting. It has a nice covered terrace and a large inside wood-paneled dining room.
Whom to take? Business contacts and friends and family. The day we were there, the mayor was having lunch with one of his colleagues.
Food type/quality:
Creative and delicious Mediterranean cuisine.
We had crunchy tempura of fresh vegetables with soy sauce as a starter, followed by tasty tagliatelle ...
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