European Union

* Web Check-in/Priority Boarding service entirely free
* Airport check-in desk service charged at £2/€3 per person
* All other passengers can purchase priority boarding online

23 August 2007 -- The State Department Thursday rejected comments by Austria's defense minister that the U.S. missile defense system planned for central Europe is unnecessary and amounts to a Cold War-style provocation. U.S. officials say the system, to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, is intended to counter a potential missile threat from Iran.

The State Department is vigorously defending the anti-missile plan in the face of comments by Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos that the program makes no sense, and will only re-ignite Cold War debates in Europe.    » read more »

Announces Expansion of EDAG Engineering and Design AG

August 23, 2007 -- FULDA, Germany - After meeting today with EDAG Engineering and Design AG officials at the company's facility in Fulda, Germany, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced the company plans to invest approximately $7 million to expand its operations in Auburn Hills and Troy over the next two years and create 140 new jobs.    » read more »

New Blood Glucose Meter to Provide Advanced Therapy Options for People with Diabetes Beginning in Canada and Europe

- MTV Games, Harmonix and EA Bringing Rock Band to Europe Featuring Localized Content for PlayStation2, Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION3 System In Early 2008
- Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and More Deepen the Catalog of On-Disc Master Tracks Featured in Rock Band

Geneva, Switzerland, August 22, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the signature of a distribution deal with GOA for the highly anticipated massively-multiplayer online (MMO) game, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR). Effective immediately, EA will be the exclusive distributor of the boxed product to stores across Europe.    » read more »

Aug. 21, 2007 -- “230 years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination.

Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens.

While we respect our friends in Europe, welcome their investment in our state and appreciate their interest in our laws, Texans are doing just fine governing Texas.”

Source: Texas Governors office

Meets with alternative energy experts, government leaders, industrialists

August 21, 2007 -- GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm continued her investment mission in Sweden today, meeting with the country's leading alternative energy experts and business and government leaders to develop new partnerships and encourage Swedish companies to invest and grow in Michigan.    » read more »

20 August 2007 -- The European Union says a Hamas plan to try to make money off EU fuel donations to the Gaza Strip means the suspension of fuel oil deliveries to the territory will continue.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been without electricity for days and there is no word on when power might resume.    » read more »

August 20, 2007 -- VÄXJÖ, SWEDEN - On the first day of her investment mission to Sweden and Germany, Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today met with executives from Trelleborg Automotive, and announced the company will invest $10.2 million in a new technical center in Northville Township to be used for advanced engineering and project development activities. The investment by Trelleborg Rubore, a division of Trelleborg Automotive, is expected to create 32 new jobs.    » read more »

18 August 2007 -- Hungary has granted political asylum to 29 Cubans held at the Guantanamo U.S. naval base.

Hungary's MTI news agency quotes the Hungarian Foreign Ministry as saying the 29 were among 44 Cubans at Guantanamo caught by U.S. authorities at sea in recent years and prevented from reaching U.S. shores.

MTI said many of those detained were opposition figures in Cuba and would be persecuted if they were sent back. Seventeen of them held a three-week hunger strike until Friday to protest the conditions of their detention and to demand admission to the United States.    » read more »

18 August 2007 -- Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was buried Saturday on his home island in the Baltic Sea.

Family members and close friends, including actresses Live Ullman and Bibi Andersson, attended the private funeral on Faro Island.

Bergman made more than 50 films and is considered one of the most influential directors of the 20th century. His films, including "Wild Strawberries," "Cries and Whispers" and "Scenes from a Marriage" explored human relationships, mortality and madness and were tinged with melancholy, anger, and humor.    » read more »

16 August 2007 -- The European Union is expected to review credit rating companies after allegations that they were too slow to warn of problems with the U.S. home loan businesses.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy has urged the group of seven industrialized nations to better monitor international financial markets in the face of global credit concerns. His appeal in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel was made public Thursday as the French stock market dropped to its lowest level this year.    » read more »

Shockwave to Deliver Shockwave Minis to Nokia Mobile Gamers

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 16, 2007 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Shockwave, one of MTVN Kids and Family Group's leading sites for casual gamers, today announced an agreement with Nokia to deliver Shockwave's portfolio of Flash Lite mini games to consumers through the Nokia Content Discoverer client, embedded in millions of Nokia devices available in markets around the globe.    » read more »

August 16, 2007 -- Michigan companies that do business in Europe are encouraged to learn more about the European Union's new Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) program. This new chemical management system went into effect on June 1, 2007 and has important implications for Michigan companies exporting to European Member States.    » read more »