European Union

In recent months the EU security policy jargon has been filled up with catchy buzzwords, such as ‘permanent operational headquarters’ or ‘pooling and sharing.’ Some experts even coined the latter into an ironic phrase: “you pool, we share,” which to some extent reflects both the discrepancies between the standpoints of the EU states and the challenges for the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Be it as it may, these two aspects will be crucial for the future of effective common European defense and external operational engagement. However, there is one more buzzword which still has not been fully rediscovered, although it will be of even greater importance: a new strategy.

Guest Post by Artur Kluz, Guy Billauer
The European Union is walking a thin line.  Bloomberg News recently reported that European CEOs are actively considering the worst case scenario – namely, the end of the Euro. Spanish and Italian companies are increasingly moving funds to Germany in expectation of one or more Eurozone countries …

As Europe suffers a severe a cold snap, EU-Russian relations are experiencing a proverbial chill. The diplomatic cooling is the result of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s criticism of Putin’s democratic credentials. The sharpness of Ashton’s critique was for many a somewhat surprising, yet desirable …

Carlos Slim is well known in Latin America and abroad as one of, if not the wealthiest CEO in the world. He was even mentioned on the Colbert Report this past week introducing him to the American public as someone who’s net worth trumps that of Mitt …

The last two years were a bumpy ride for the European security policy. One may claim that the Europeans once again failed not only to convey a clear message about their security goals to the foreign partners, but also to take concrete actions in order to stave off the creeping erosion of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). Do we really face a European strategic decay in that domain? Indeed, some serious doubts about this statement may be raised. Therefore, it is high time to debunk three prophecies about European security in 2012.

These last couple weeks I have been watching numerous movies on British politics. Coincidence or calculations? Yesterday night, it was Tinker, Tailor, Sailor, Spy, the night before Page Eight (which by the way is one of my favorite spy movies), tonight most likely the Iron Lady. …

Anyone watching the end of the year documentaries on stations like the BBC and other international broadcasters likely feel the sense of slight growth in the United States mixed with slowing growth in places like South America and other regions that have thus far resisted the 2008 economic collapse effectively. …

This end of year has been quite tumultuous in Europe: European citizens are in the street, rating agencies threaten to downgrade the rating of some members of the Eurozone, the race to elections is going full speed in several EU countries, all this taking place in …

Yet another euro crisis summit is over, and yet another deal has been struck. This time, the deal has taken the shape of an intergovernmental agreement. If I am not mistaken, and I may very well have lost count by now, that makes nine summits and five deals …

At least 23 and perhaps as many as 26 of the 27 members of the European Union have agreed to an inter-governmental agreement that may or may not save the euro from the bond market vigilantes. A full-blown treaty failed because there was not unanimous support for the idea – …

Summary of 2011
For the EU, any summary of the 2011 will necessarily be dominated by the sovereign debt crisis. The crisis, starting in late 2009, seems to have no end. The past year, and the year before that, has seen a string of crisis talks resulting …

Reflecting on 2011: where to start? 2011 has been another busy year for writers, analysts and students of foreign policy: from the Arab revolutions, to the nuclear disaster of Fukushima, to the war in Libya, to the Euro crisis, to the domestic turmoil in the US, so on and so …

Wednesday, November 23, 2011, Germany sold 10-year Bunds at its debt auction worth 3.64 billion euro with an average yield of 1.98%, and the bid-to-cover ratio was 1.1 , while the Bundesbank retained the remainder of the 6 billion euro offering. To most people, that’s just …

Brussels has always had a bum rap in Europe. Brussels is that faraway place where decisions are made over the heads of people. Brussels is considered undemocratic and technocratic, and is contrasted unfavorably with the familiar closeness of national politics. In the past 40 years or …

The eurozone saga (it isn’t a crisis as the Greek word implies a short time-frame) could end happily today – and that has been the case since the whole sorry affair began. All that is necessary is for the European Central Bank to announce that is …