Free Republic

DUBLIN -- In a stainless-steel cabinet between two gurneys, Josh Moonman stores bottles of a pink fluid, labeled with skulls and crossbones, that is used for embalming bodies. "If I were to open one of those lids now and let you smell it, it would knock you back," says Mr. Moonman, an embalmer for Ireland's Fanagan Group of mortuaries. Because the fluid contains formaldehyde, which is poisonous, European Union regulators are considering banning the chemical as a potential threat to human health and the environment. Among the worries, environmentalists say: decaying bodies leaching toxic chemicals into the ground. But a...

The strange mixture of joy and grief that marks a traditional Irish funeral, with its week-long drink-fuelled wake, is under threat from a European directive. The Irish custom that sees corpses kept in an open coffin so the deceased can be viewed during the wake has been endangered by an edict issued by Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner. He wants chemicals used by embalmers to preserve the cadaver withdrawn under a new biocides directive. Such a move would see the end of the age-old ritual of "laying out" the body while games are played and food and drink are...

Despite the fact that four other countries - the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and Finland - also objected to the budget, the UK has borne the brunt of international criticism for the breakdown of the talks. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder criticised Britain and the Netherlands for being "inflexible", and for displaying "national egotism." He concluded that this is now one of the worst crises in the history of the European Union. French President Chirac condemned the UK Government's insistence on defending the budget as being "pathetic" and "tragic", and claimed that this behaviour had clearly precipitated a "grave crisis." The President...

Attempts to combat spam, the scourge of e-mail users the world over, would be hampered if the U.S. fails to introduce an outright ban, said a senior European Commission official Tuesday. A law banning unsolicited e-mail messages comes into force in the 15-member European Union in the fall. The Commission Tuesday announced an initiative that aims to go even further in stamping out that activity. The law prohibits e-mail marketers in the Union from sending their promotions to individuals unless those targeted have expressly asked to receive promotions. The U.S. government appears to favor an opt out approach, whereby marketers...

PORTO CARRAS, Greece (AP) - European leaders must reach out beyond New York and Washington and tell the American heartland about ``our brand of democracy'' to improve Europe's image in the United States, according to a memorandum submitted for discussion at the European Union summit. The memorandum, obtained by The Associated Press, will be submitted Friday by Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou to the 15 EU leaders and those of the 10 countries set to join next year. Greece holds the current rotating EU presidency. The memo says that the EU's goal at next week's U.S.-EU summit in Washington will...