Next stop Copenhagen
Three months shy of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP15), Europe is gearing up to lead the fight against global warming. On 10 September the Commission presented its proposals for North and South to join forces to save the planet. That same day Nicolas Sarkozy announced the launch of a French “carbon tax” of €17 on every ton of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.
“The situation is too serious to pay lip service,” explained the French president, calling this an “historic” measure. But instead of focusing on the effects such a tax would have on actual emissions, the ensuing debate was mainly over how deep taxpayers would have to dig into their pockets. That is a shame, especially seeing as “it is a genuine carbon tax”, says the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. Moreover, it was a French-only debate, though it was supposed to be pan-European. And over in Brussels, the Commission’s proposals, absent endorsement from political leaders, remain technocrats’ pipedreams for the time being.
Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy have signed a joint letter, to be presented at the next G20 summit, setting forth the European position on the bank bonus issue. The upcoming European Council in October could be an opportunity for these three leaders, their opposite numbers in other G20 countries and the Swedish EU presidency to take concrete action on the environmental front as well. That way, Europe could come to Copenhagen not only with paper tigers, but also with a political will – something people can really identify with.
Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations. 
Agree to new austerity measures or risk being kicked out of the eurozone: that’s the alternative presented to Athens on the day the euro group is meeting. It’s a situation Greek politicians have failed to avoid, regrets To Vima. 
At a time when Athens is still involved in debt restructuring negotiations with its private creditors, Neelie Kroes’ recent allusions to a Greek exit from the euro are a sign that European leaders are intent on preparing the terrain for such an eventuality.