ORGANISING the armies, positioning foot-soldiers and deciding who is deployed to which battleground will keep much put-upon directors of elections sleepless for the next week.

Retired Archbishop of Armagh Robin Eames is to be presented with the Tipperary International Peace Award next week, it was revealed today.

THE Mid-West Support Group for people with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) plan to raise much needed funds from the Irish Examiner Limerick Women’s Mini-Marathon.

APART from the possibility of an upset in the European elections, the omens augur unexpectedly well for Fianna Fáil on election day next month.

PRESIDENT of the European Parliament Pat Cox will make his farewell speech today after two and a half years as its president, but his future career path is still uncertain.

EUROPE AFFAIRS Minister Dick Roche yesterday called for an overhaul of the EU-expenses system after an investigation claimed Irish MEPs were abusing lucrative allowances.

Irish MEP John Cushnahan has travelled to Sri Lanka to head a team of EU monitors overseeing the country’s upcoming general election.

FINE GAEL last night chose Cork South Central TD Simon Coveney as their European election candidate to replace retiring party MEP John Cushnahan in the South constituency.

SENATOR Maurice Hayes was yesterday presented with the European of the Year Award at a ceremony in Dublin yesterday.

Fianna Fáil is to choose candidates to run in the June European elections for the southern area later today.

The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has repeated his warning that a two-speed Europe is inevitable if agreement isn't reached on a European constitution.

FORMER Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan is unlikely to accept an offer to become his party’s front-runner in the new South constituency, for next year’s European parliamentary elections.

THE battle has begun in Fine Gael for the nomination to stand for the European Parliament in the elections next June following yesterday’s unexpected resignation of John Cushnahan.

Fine Gael MEP John Cushnahan has announced his intention not to seek re-election to the European Parliament next year.

SOCCER fans banned from matches in their own countries could be refused tickets for next year’s European Championship in Portugal.

NO special compensation package will be put in place for Shannon Airport when the stopover is abolished, the European Commission has warned.

THE Government has agreed to a deal that will end the compulsory Shannon stopover, but which Aer Lingus says will double the number of Americans it brings into the country.

Fine Gael Munster MEP John Cushnahan has accused Seamus Brennan of giving up on the fight to maintain Shannon's stopover status within the new Open Skies negotiations.

THE new draft EU constitution, published yesterday, is unacceptable in its current form, the Green Party warned last night.

Irish MEP John Cushnahan has said that countries hoping to gain access to the European Union must take action to combat counterfeit operations.

THE more that is revealed about the Prestige and its devastating oil spill off the Spanish coast, the more shameful it all becomes.

TRANSPORT Minister Séamus Brennan said yesterday it appeared Shannon Airport was not immediately affected by a ruling by Europe’s highest court against one-to-one deals between national governments and the US.

Today is the last official day of campaigning ahead of the re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum this Saturday. From midnight tonight, a media moratorium will be imposed to give voters the opportunity to consider their choices before casting their votes.

IRELAND'S international away games could also be protected from being bought up by Sky, the European Commission said yesterday.

The Communication Minister Dermot Ahern is being urged to compile a list of protected National sporting events without delay.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is meeting the Football Association of Ireland today for talks about its decision to sell the rights to home international matches to Sky TV in a multi-million pound four year deal.

The Government was tonight seeking clarification from the European Union about their powers to keep the coverage of Ireland’s home international soccer matches on terrestrial TV.

Irish MEP John Cushnahan has insisted that the Government can include Irish football internationals in a list of “free-to-air” cultural events without the co-operation of Irish sporting organisations.

THE Government will next week map out its plans to ensure sports fans will not face a repeat of the controversial FAI deal with Sky Television.

The Government has come under fire over the FAI-Sky deal.

Nice Treaty supporters are calling on Europe to stop a debate over abortion which may affect the upcoming referendum.

The information campaign ahead of October's Nice referendum is to begin in earnest next week.

The cabinet is meeting to finalise the text of the Nice Treaty, which voters will examine in the autumn referendum.

Alleged comments by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern regarding those who might vote no in the Nice treaty have been criticised by the opposition.

MEP John Cushnahan has hit out at plans to change the traditional symbolic flag of Europe.

Irish MEP John Cushnahan has called on the EU to pressurise Ireland into scrapping Vehicle Registration Tax.

A European ruling could lead to the end of the Shannon stopover on transatlantic flights.

The Sri Lankan army has blocked some 130,000 minority Tamil voters from reaching the polls.

MEP John Cushnahan has criticised Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary over his plans to mount a legal challenge to any state aid given to Aer Lingus.

Fine Gael MEP John Cushnahan has criticised RTE for inviting the Taoiseach onto its Premiership programme as a soccer pundit.

The Chinese Premier arrives in Ireland today for a three-day visit.

The total number of foot-and-mouth cases in Britain has rocketed through the 400 barrier - on the same day that the Netherlands has suffered its first case.

There is a call for Sinn Fein's two northern ministers to join an EU campaign to stamp out cigarette smuggling, following reports that the IRA is heavily involved in the trade.