A VICAR saying God ‘doesn’t exist’ is allowed to preach while a farmer has been told to remove a “Jesus saves” sign from his barn.

THE idiosyncrasies of this hybrid democracy that is the EU are once again on display in the lead up toappointing people to the new positions of president and foreign minister.

THERE are less than 10 days to go before EU leaders debate a new Commission. They may decide to let the current college continue for another few months until it becomes clear whether Czech President Vaclav Klaus will ever sign the Lisbon Treaty.

THE new European Parliament kicked off its five-year term during the week, a term during which it will either grow up and become a properly democratic institution, or continue to languish in the twilight world the member states have created for it.

THE world of military spending tends to be a silent and shady area despite the fact that it consumes 2% of the world’s wealth, rising to 4% in poorer countries like Greece and Chad.

FISH is one of the policies the EU has operated communally for decades. But for the first time people can see exactly where the €1 billion in annual subsidies is going.

MONEY, as in who gets what and what they do with it, seems to be an increasingly common theme in the media and on politicians’ lips.

SEVEN EU countries, including Ireland, reported suspected cases of swine flu yesterday as the EU and the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the alert level for the virus.

THE case of junior hospital doctors working 36-hour shifts, or more, is expected to be referred to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission.

EU countries must co-operate if they want to stop tax revenues disappearing to tax havens, the European Commission has warned.