• croatiantimes.com
• romaniantimes.at
• salzburgtimes.at
• viennatimes.at
• austrianindependent.com

Today

• Vienna - VESCC English Catholic Mass
• Vienna - Unknown Underground
• Vienna - Cats
• Vienna - Andy Warhol
• Vienna - Laser Tag

01. 09. 10. - 12:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

01. 09. 10. - 12:00

Obama does not care about Europe, says Prodi

Former European Commission (EC) president Romano Prodi has caused controversy by claiming US President Barack Obama did not care about Europe.

The ex EC boss hit out at the US president today (Weds) saying: "He doesn’t care about Europe, he doesn’t phone (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel and (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy either. And this is a historic mistake."

Prodi also slammed the German government over its hesitation when EU leaders met to rescue debt-ridden Greece earlier this year. He said the issue would have been solved "in no time" without May’s provincial elections in the German State of North-Rhine Westphalia.

Left-leaning Prodi also said: "A Chinese minister recently told me: ‘I don’t understand you Europeans. You got so many elections and never think on a long-term basis. I worry a lot about the future of your democracy.’ – That’s a funny thing to say for a Chinese, isn’t it?"

The former Italian Prime Minister further claimed Germany was strong enough to lead Europe economically, but failed to understand why it was not big enough to dominate the world.

But he added that in his opinion the European Union (EU) had not yet missed its chance to prove its leadership abilities.

Speaking to Austrian daily Die Presse, he defended European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Austrian Times

Related articles: political scandals

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Army pays 2,000 staff for being idle

   » General News 2012-05-23

   The pressure on Social Democratic (SPÖ) Defence and Sport Minister Norbert Darabos is increasing as a new Audit Office (RH) examination indicates a waste of taxpayers’ money by the army.

3. Foul-mouthed MPs might face fines

   » General News 2012-05-23

   Fritz Neugebauer has started another attempt to introduce a system of fees for abusive parliament delegates (MPs).

more related articles tagged "political scandals"

Related articles: EU

1. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

2. IV demands focus on industry in crisis

   » Business 2012-05-24

   The general secretary of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) has appealed on Europe’s political leaders to strengthen the continent’s industry.

3. FW turnover takes off

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Austria’s biggest airport has managed to increase its profit.

more related articles tagged "EU"

Related articles: crisis

1. Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions

   » General News 2012-05-24

   The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

2. Pecik defends TA engagement

   » Business 2012-05-24

   Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

3. IV demands focus on industry in crisis

   » Business 2012-05-24

   The general secretary of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) has appealed on Europe’s political leaders to strengthen the continent’s industry.

more related articles tagged "crisis"

Related articles: Austria & America

1. Brodbeck criticises credit rating 'hysteria'

   » Business 2012-05-01

   A German economist has warned from "dangerous monopoly circumstances" in the global rating business.

2. S&P concerned about banks' stability in serious crisis

   » Business 2012-04-20

   Standard & Poor's (S&P) analyst Alois Strasser has warned that a crisis worse than the most recent one could “totally demolish” Austrian finance institutes’ capital.

3. Fitch approves Austria's financial trustworthiness

   » Business 2012-04-18

   One of the world’s leading credit rating agencies has confirmed the Austrian AAA.

more related articles tagged "Austria & America"

Coalition accelerates anti-corruption ambitions
The government is intensifying its attempts to pass a transparency package in parliament.

Küng tackles Schüller group
Another top-tier representative of the Austrian Church has warned the Preachers’ Initiative from consequences.

BMW and Porsche seized by bold burglars
Crooks broke into a house and stole the keys to two valuable cars early Thursday morning while the residents were sleeping.

Pecik defends TA engagement
Telekom Austria (TA) investor Ronny Pecik has declared himself a team player.

Lightning strikes two workers
Two construction workers at the new Westbahnhof train station were hospitalised after being struck by lightning.

Mayor land fraud allegations
Prosecutors are investigating the mayor of Innervillgraten in Eastern Tyrol over allegations of irregularities in a sale of land that he authorised to another local council member.

Infra red heating takes off
A new heating system from a Burgenland company that operates with energy-saving, efficient, infra-red light is heating the market up.

Games night hits Vienna
Six Vienna game clubs open their doors tonight for a night full of games including Chess, Go or Tarock. The evening is meant both as a night of playing these games for enthusiasts, as well as learning them for novices.

Silly parkers road rage rampage
A serial bad parker in Graz added resisting arrest and going on the run to his crimes when police went to arrest him for notching up almost 100 parking tickets in the southern city of Graz.

Knoflacher emphasises pedestrian zones' economic effects
A renowned traffic planner has stressed that shop owners are generally appreciating the introduction of pedestrian zones.

Jobs in Austria