European Parliament election 2014

Between 22 and 25 Mayo 2014 elections to the European Parliament will be held in all member states of the European Union (EU). The date was decided unanimously by the Council of the European Union. It will be the eighth Europe-wide election to the European Parliament since the first direct elections in 1979.

The 2014 elections will be held in late May instead or early June as had been the case with previous European Parlament elections. The elections were brought forward in order to provide more time for the election of a president of the European Commision, and because they would otherwise have coincided with the Pentecost weekend wich falls during school holidays in many member states.

The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that the European Parliament shall elect the president of the European Commision on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council, taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the Treaty on European Union). This provision will apply for the first time for the 2014 elections.

Nevertheless, major EU politicians such as European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former Commission president Jacques Delors have questioned the aspiration of European political parties to link the presidency of the European Commission with the result of the European elections and insist that the future Commission president has to suit Member States expectations first.

No pan-European opinion polls are carried out, however several institutes have compiled predictions of the outcome of the elections based on national polls. Finally, the article 14 of the Treaty of Lisbon lays down that "The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union´s citizens. They shall not exceed serven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimun threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats."

Ukranian conflict 2014

Russia-Ukraine relations were established in 1991 immediately upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union of which both were founding constituent republics. Russia has an embassy in Kiev and consulates in Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa and Simferopol. Ukraine has an embassy in Moscow and consulates in Rostov-on Don, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen and Vladivostok.

Relations between the two country´s Governments are complex. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allegedly declared at a NATO-Russia summit in 2008 that, if Ukraine were to join NATO, his country could contend to annex the Ukrainian East and Crimea. Some analysts believe that the current Russian leadership is determined to prevent an equivalent of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in Russia. This perspective is supposed to explain not only Russian domestic policy but its sensitivity to events abroad.

Many Ukraine and beyond believe that Russia has periodically used its vast energy resources to bully its smaller, dependent neighbour, but the Russian Government argues insted that it was the internal squabbling amongst Ukraine´s political elite that is to blame for the deadlock. Since the election of Pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych as Ukrainian President in early 2010 the relations between the two nations had improved.

On may 14, 2013 an unknown veteran of unknown intelligence service (officially-Ukrainian, in reality-Soviet) Sergei Razumovsky, leader of the All-Ukrainian Association of Homeless Officers, who resides in Ukraine under the Ukrainian flag calls on creation of Ukrainian-Russian international volunteer brigades in support of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria to fight rebels.

The 2014 Crimean crisis is unfolding in the autonomous region of Crimea, Ukraine, in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, in which the gobernment of President Victor Yanukovych was ousted. Protests were staged by groups of mainly ethnic Russians who opposed the events in Kiev and wanted close ties or integration with Russia, in addition to expanded autonomy or possible independence for Crimea.

Other groups, including Crimean Tartars, protested in support of the revolution. On 27 February, armed men wearing masks seized a number of important buildings in Crimea, including the parliament building and two airports. They destroyed almost all phone and internet service between Crimea and the rest of Ukraine. Under seige, the Supreme Council of Crimea dismissed the autonomous republic´s government and replaced chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, Anatolii Mohyliov with Sergey Aksyonov. Kiev accused Russia of intervening in Ukraine´s internal affairs, while the Russian side officially denied such claims.  

On 1 March, the Russian parliament granted President Vladimir Putin the authority to use military force in Ukraine, following a plea for help from unofficial pro-Moscow leader, Sergey Aksyonov. On the same day, the acting president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov decreed the appointment of the Prime Minister of Crimea as unconstitutional. He said, "we consider the behavior of the Russian Federation to be direct aggression against the sovereignty of Ukraine."

The Rajoy´s crisis

Mariano Rajoy Brey is the Prime Minister of Spain, elected on 20 November 2011. He has been leader of the People´s Party since 2004. In November 2011, Rajoy´s right-wing People´s Party won its biggest majority since the country´s return to representative democracy in the 1970s, securing 186 out of the 350 seats in the lower house of Parliament. Voters turned to him in hopes of alleviating the pain of Europe´s debt crisis. Following the general election held in 2011. Rajoy was elected Prime Minister by the Congress of Deputies on 21 December 2011.

Corruption in Spain 2014

There are many political corruption legal processes in the post Franco years of democratic Spain indicates coth a social intolerance of the Ancien Régime and a villingness to investigate allegations by a largely young and independent judiciary, despite its senior judges being appintees of parliamentary committees.

Transparency International rated Spain between 2001 to 2012. The average value for Spain during that period was 66,67 points with a maximum of 70 points in 2001 and minimum of 61 points in 2009 and (100 being no corruption). In 2011 it was rated 30th least corrupt country in the world.

 

Political corruption is a large concern in Spain. Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2013 shows that the surveyed households consider political parties. Parliament and the judiciary the most corrupt institutions. However, the occurrence of petty corruption is rare in Spain, according the Barometer 2013. Several other sources, including World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 and Ernst & Young Fraud Survey 2013, show that bribery and corrupt practises are widespread in businesses in Spain. As sugguested in Business Anti-Corruption Portal, anti-corruption strategies should be significantly strengthened at all levels of the government. One example could be to strengthen investigative and prosecution efforts in foreign bribery cases and enforcing existing laws.

Pegasus

Pegasus is one of the best known mytholgical creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in colour. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He vas the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus.

Thor, the god of Thunder

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing and fertility. The cognate deity in wider Germanic mythology and paganism was known in Old English as Punor and in Old High German as Donar, stemming a Common Germanic (meaning "thunder").

Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorder history of the Germanic peoples, from de Roman occupation of regions of Germania, to the tribal expansión of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of Christianization of Scandinavia, emplems of his hammer, Mjölnir, were worn in defiance and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity.

Into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently in rural folklore thoughtout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday ("Thor´s day; old English Thunresdaeg, Thunor´s day) bears his name, and names stemming from the pagan period containing his own continue to be used today.

 

In Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. In these sources, Thor bears at least fourteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Sif, is the lover of the Jötunn Járnaxa, and is generally described as fierce-eyed, red-haired and red-bearded. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the personified earth, Fjörgyn, and by way of Odin.

Slovenia

Slovenia is a nation state in southern Central Europe, at the crossroads of main European cultural and trade routes. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast.

It covers 20.273 square kilometers and has a population of 2.05 million. It is a parliamentary republic and a member of the European Union and NATO. Its capital and largest city is Ljubljana.

Slovenia is situated in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. This country is located in temperate latitudes. The climate is also influenced by the variety of relief, and the influence of the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. Finally, Slovenia has a developed economy and is per capita the richest of Slavic states.