Even though we are still commemorating great political, social and military achievements, their meanings and symbolisms are fading away. History is all around us, is present and shapes our lives everyday, but remains unknown and too often misunderstood. History should be learned not because it fits a cause, a policy, …
May 8, 1945 symbolized the end of World War II on the European continent. It is a symbol of victory over the Nazis, not Germany. This day is of supreme importance to the making of Europe as we know it. Pictures can only tell a better story than words. This …
With nearly 70,000 dead Syrians since the beginning of the unrest, the Syrian conflict certainly join a select group of international massacres. At this path Samathan Power will have enough facts and material in order to write volume two of “A problem from Hell” looking at the ghosts of Syria. …
How can the EU still advertise itself on the global stage as being the embodiment of democracy and human rights? This question should be raised and asked in Brussels as many of EU member states are seriously flirting with the extremes. The latest developments in Greece – only …
Margaret Thatcher, also known as the Iron Lady, has died on April 8th. The media and think tank planets have not missed the occasion to discuss her policies, attitudes and legacies. I will neither write an obituary nor a commentary on Ms. Thatcher, but rather list below the most outstanding …
Several weeks ago, HR Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, announced that she will be done at the end of her mandate in 2014. In an interview – posted below – orchestrated by Steven Erlanger, Paris Bureau Chief of the New York Times, and organized by the German Marshall …
On March 22, 2013, WVUM, the student radio of the University of Miami, invited me into its station in order to discuss the mess taking place in Cyprus. Despite talking for almost 15 minutes on the roots of the crisis in Cyprus and the ECB’s ultimatum, …
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, called it quite. They both announced in a matter of days that they would retire from their respective positions at the end of their mandates. Based on the …
The press and the European public opinions are not impressed by the latest agreement made behind closed doors between the recently elected president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, and the EU in order to assure a €10 billion bailout for Cyprus. According to the agreement on the bailout, all Cypriots will …
The questions on the functioning and success of EU Foreign Policy are back at the forefront of the debate. Three years after the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon leading to the establishment the European External Action Service (EEAS), the excellent ECFR and CEPS, two leading think tanks on European …
“You cannot be happy over there” tells Barbara to what seems to be her boyfriend. Barbara, a German doctor, sent in an somewhere in East Germany in 1980 as a punishment for undisclosed reasons tries to escape from the reality of an underdeveloped and oppressive East Germany under …
“Right now all of the European Union is in distress.” This opening statement sets the tone in the Great Decisions’ documentary, “Imperfect Union: The Eurozone in Crisis,” produced by Foreign Policy Association. The documentary revolves around the following questions: What would a failed euro mean for …
After spending several weeks in France for the holidays, it was not difficult the sense the current malaise floating over France. Despite the current economic difficulties, the malaise is mainly social. One of François Hollande’s platforms during his presidential campaign was to reunite all social classes, ethnic groups under one …
The threats to the EU come from inside and outside: outside, as proven by the instabilities in Northern Africa and the Sahel; and inside, with the latest speech by British Prime Minister Cameron fitting within the euroskeptic narratives. The French intervention in Mali should concern all EU Member States and …
Finally, the French government has launched a military operation, under the code name Serval, in Mali after a distress call by the Malian President and in accordance with the U.N. Charter. The degradation of the internal situation in Mali and the growing risks of terrorism in Mali and its spread …
