This is evident from the 2010 annual report of the European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros, which was published Monday.

In 2010, the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, received the greatest number of complaints about the EU administration from German (375) and Spanish (349) citizens, companies, NGOs, and associations. Relative to the population, however, the greatest proportion of complaints came from Luxembourg, Cyprus, and Belgium.

In total, the Ombudsman received 2 667 complaints in 2010, compared to 3 098 in 2009. The number of complaints received, which lay outside his mandate, decreased by more than 400. This reduction was achieved thanks to the Interactive Guide on the Ombudsman’s website, which advises users of where to turn to seek redress, be it at the European, national, or regional level.

In over 70% of all cases, the Ombudsman was able to help the complainants by opening an inquiry, transferring a case to the competent body, or giving advice on where to turn. The number of opened inquiries (335) and closed inquiries (326) remained stable in 2010 as compared to the previous year.

The most common subject matter of inquiries closed by the Ombudsman in 2010 was lack of transparency in the EU administration (33%), including refusal to release documents or information. Other cases concerned problems with the execution of EU contracts or calls for tender, unfairness, abuse of power, or discrimination.

At the presentation of his Annual Report 2010 in Brussels, Mr Diamandouros said: “The Ombudsman’s main priority is to help the EU administration to become more open, proactive, accountable, and citizen-friendly, in order to increase citizens’ trust in the European public service. Quite a lot remains to be done in this respect. I am, however, delighted that in more than half of the cases I closed in 2010, the institution concerned accepted a friendly solution proposal or settled the matter.”

In 2010, the Ombudsman issued 33 critical remarks (35 in 2009) and sent one Special Report to the European Parliament concerning the failure of the Commission to cooperate sincerely and in good faith with him in an access to documents case (see case examples).

Most of the inquiries opened in 2010 concerned the European Commission (65%), followed by the European Personnel Selection Office (10%), the European Parliament (7%), and the Council (2%). Taken together, the EU Agencies accounted for 10 % of all inquiries opened in 2010.

The Ombudsman’s Overview 2010 (in the 23 official EU languages) and the full Annual Report 2010 (in English) are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/activities/annualreports.faces

Based on provisional data available, the European Audiovisual Observatory estimates that 2010 gross box office takings in the European Union increased by 5% year-on-year to around EUR 6.45 billion, the highest level on record. In contrast to 2009 box office growth was exclusively driven by an increase in average ticket prices as admissions actually decreased by 1.6% to 967 million tickets sold.

These data seem to reflect the impact of 3D films in their second year on the market. While it can be assumed that the novelty factor of 3D had significantly contributed in driving growth in cinema attendance in 2009, 3D films failed to further increase ticket sales in 2010 but kept cinema attendance at the second highest level since 2004 and caused the average ticket price to increase by an estimated 6.8%. A surge in 3D screens helped an increasing number of stereoscopic blockbusters to better exploit their market potential and caused market shares for 3D films to increase dramatically in major European markets like France and Germany, where they took 16% and 17% of total admissions, or the UK and Russia, where they took 24% and 20% of total GBO.

On the level of individual markets 2010 was a year of mixed results with cinema going trends varying significantly across the individual European countries. Admissions decreased in 14 and increased in 13 of EU markets, while GBO increased in 18 and decreased in 8 of the EU markets for which provisional data were available. Theatrical markets which performed particularly well were Italy, with admissions up 11% and France, where GBO rose 5.6%.

3D blockbuster Avatar topped last year’s European charts, selling an estimated 43 million tickets in 2010, after having generated over 22 million admissions in 2009. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 took a strong second place with 31.2 million admissions followed by 3D blockbusters Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland. The EU charts were once more dominated by US 3D blockbusters which accounted for 10 out of the top 20 films. Leaving aside the latest Harry Potter instalment and Robin Hood, both UK inward investment films financed by a US studio, no European film made it into the top 20. The most successful European films without incoming US investment were French comedy Les petits mouchoirs, attracting an audience of over 5.4 million people across the EU, followed by German 3D horror action film Resident Evil: Afterlife which sold 5.3 million tickets.

More detailed information on European as well as international theatrical markets can be found in FOCUS 2011- World Film Market Trends prepared by the European Audiovisual Observatory for the Cannes Film Market and available from mid-May onwards on this page: www.obs.coe.int/oea_publ/market/focus.html.

The Dutch paid 266.70 euros Net per person in 2008 for the European Union. This is based on the last known EU report, which appeared late last year.

The Netherlands has contributed 4.4 billion euros in total to the EU. That is the difference between the payments to the EU and received subsidies.

”I can not understand a lot of money. And that amount is even after the 1 billion euro discount that we receive each year since 2007,”said Van der Stoep.

The Dutch government granted the discount in 2005, after tough negotiations by then-Minister Gerrit Zalm (Finance) and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. The reduction was an end to the Dutch position of largest net contributor per person.

”The most important is that this year the negotiations begin for the 2014-2019 budget period. I have a hard head that we still keep the discount. The Dutch government must use it for full or tolerance to other countries”, said PVV’er, which hopes that other parties concerns.

After the Dutch Sweden were paying the highest fee per person (194 euros) , followed by Denmark (135 euros) and Germany (133 euros). Then the inhabitants of five countries. Nineteen of the 27 EU countries were net recipients in 2008.

The European Commission itself does not publish its own calculations of the net contribution of countries per capita any more.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has already voted Thursday morning in his hometown Capelle aan den IJssel.

Also Deputy Prime Minister Andre Rouvoet (Christian Union) was early. He voted in his home town of Woerden. PVV leader Wilders made his vote in Den Haag.

Vice Prime Minister Wouter Bos (PvdA) has in his hometown Amsterdam voted. Afterwards he continued to campaign in the capital.

New to the Netherlands back the old red pencil to use, because of the recent ban on voting machines.

Dutch and British voters kicked off elections on Thursday, June 4, to elect a new European parliament

Most countries vote on Sunday. Total, a record number of 375 million Europeans vote in the European Parliament.

For the first time the residents of Aruba and the Antilles are able to vote as well for a new Europarlement.

Overall, a record number of 40,000 voters registered letter, of whom half from the Antilles and Aruba.

The Dutch are more sceptical about the EU parliamentary elections than they were before and believe EU institutions are a waste of public money. Euro-scepticism grows in the Netherlands, EU enlargement proved especially unpopular and they reject the idea of any more countries being admitted to the union.

The 25 chosen in the Dutch Europarlement decide on rules for traffic, environment, budget and many other things. Their power is increasing as the new EU treaty comes into force.

The next vote for the Europarlement will be in 2014.

New York celebrates the historical event this year because it is 400 years since Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan and declared it as an ideal natural harbour.

In celebration of this historic event, Governor David A. Paterson and the New York State Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Office will launch the “River Day” celebrations.

On Friday, June 5, 2009 Ships will assemble in front of Liberty Island in the harbor against the Manhattan skyline. The Onrust, a 17th century replica of the first ship built in New York and The Half Moon, a replica of Hudson’s ship will head to New York City to take part in an event commemorating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage.

Also there will be some Historic Tall Ships including the Sloop Clearwater and Schooner Mystic Whaler plus the Woody Guthrie, a wooden replica of an 18th-19th century Hudson River Ferry Sloop; the 1890′s-style pilot Schooner Adirondack; the Manhattan, an open boat originally built as a life boat to explore the canals of Amsterdam; and the Shearwater, a classic Maine Schooner.· Other participating boats include: The Circle Line; NYC Water Taxi; SeaTow; Launch 5; Coast Guard, the Discover Boating Cruiser and more.· Escort from the sky – historic bi-planes will escort the flotilla from the Rhinebeck Aerodrome.

The full River Day Celebration begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2009, at the Statue of Liberty. The flotilla will spend eight days moving north on the Hudson, with stops scheduled at participating yacht clubs and marinas, cities and communities with special events and educational programs planned at each port.

Click here for more information is on New York’s 400th – River Day 2009 the Hudson River Day Flotilla is available at

The European Union has recently approved the use of a special protein which makes ice cream melt at a much slower rate. And the number of calories will be lower as well. The protein has already been approved in the US, Australia and a number of Asian countries. The Anglo-Dutch food company Unilever spent ten years developing the special protein.

The new protein can also make the ice cream less fatty, while retaining the same texture. Another option is to put more fruit in to the ice cream without turning it into a solid block of ice.

The product has been tested extensively, millions of these ice creams have been sold over the past few years and there have been no complaints about allergic reactions”.

Europeans have to wait one more year because of the adjustments at the ice cream factories to change the production process. The European Commission did not approve the use of the protein until April, much later than in other countries.

Only one more year of sticky fingers, and fast melting ice cream cones will be a thing of the past in a number of European countries.

source Slower melting ice cream thanks to protein – Radio Netherlands Worldwide – English.

Russell Shorto has been playing the part of the American in Holland, alternately settling into or bristling against the European way of life.

Russell Shorto sounds the praises of the Dutch welfare state. He raves about the ‘kinderbijslag,’ or child benefit, he receives quarterly and the annual check to cover the expenses for his children’s schoolbooks. Should America follow the model of the Netherlands on taxation and regulation? Absolutely.

The Netherlands has “succeeded” by greatly reducing state intervention into the economy and, in bargaining with the powerful Dutch labor unions, scaling back generous sick leave and unemployment benefits.

Shorto argues that the top Dutch tax rate of 52 percent might seem high, but when all of the various taxes in this country are tabulated the differences melt away.

Shorto also focuses on the wonders of the Dutch system of universal health care, while neglecting to mention that in 2006 the government undertook a series of market-based reforms in an effort to save what was once a sclerotic and expensive system.

Russell Shorto is rather disingenuous in portraying the Dutch welfare state as a fairy tale come true and has Dutch natives begging to disagree with his article in The New York Times.

There are indeed lessons to be learned from countries like the Netherlands. Which means that supporters of the “European model” must acknowledge that most of these successes are the result of a significant overhaul of base social democratic assumptions about government control of labor markets and health care systems. America is the land of the free, but the Dutch know how to work and how to live.