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 Fund, Cathy Ashton finally opened up and […]
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” That is how a famous prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi starts; the very saint that Pope Francis took his name from, a saint known for his philanthropy and love of nature. As though a reflection of Saint Francis, the Pope, in his inaugural address, said “let […]
Writing in 1931, Aldous Huxley used Cyprus as the setting for a social experiment gone wrong in his dystopian novel “Brave New World.” The failed experiment sent a warning to future generations regarding the perils of excessive social tampering. Fast-forward nearly a century and Cyprus is yet again the setting, but this time for a […]
To American policymakers working through the sequester, Cyprus’ 10 billion euro bailout must sound like a rounding error. Context is key: the amount equals nearly half of Cyprus’ annual GDP. Euro-watchers first warned that the disjointed political path to the bailout agreement — including a proposed tax on all Cyprus bank deposits — adds to the […]
The vice grip of prolonged violence suffocating Syria is sending the humanitarian situation there careening towards the fading lights of a blackout. With a death toll looming somewhere between 70-90,000 and a refugee population of over a million in two years time, international intervention to this point has been largely limited to food aid and […]
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, I could not resist continuing the discussion on Iran, […]
“Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,” exclaims Shakespeare’s Henry V in his fervid St. Crispian’s day speech on the eve of the battle of Agincourt in 1415. In the observance of this month’s 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq there appears to be no danger of consigning this event to oblivion. Most […]
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 Treaties, both positions are renewable. […]
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 have to chip in. As […]
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 politics, have both published insightful […]
In the U.S., sequestration threatens a shaky recovery. In the eurozone, unemployment rose to record levels this week. In response, both sides of the Transatlantic partnership are recasting what was traditionally a strategic partnership as an economic one, aimed at enhancing global security by facilitating economic growth. For the past several years, economic anxiety […]
“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 Soviet ruling. The movie, Barbara, directed by Christian Petzold […]
“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 the EU? Or for its largest partner the U.S.? […]
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 same roof; so far he […]
Just prior to the inauguration, The Brookings Institution released a briefing book, “Big Bets and Black Swans,” examining the key foreign policy challenges President Obama faces as he begins his second term. The section on the Eurozone, written by Justin Vaiesse and Thomas Wright — identifies a potential euro failure as a “black swan” — […]