When given the choice, most Europeans identify themselves according to their national heritage rather than as Europeans. According to the European Union’s polling data, only 33 percent of Europeans believe their voices count in Brussels compared to 52 percent who believe their voices count in their national governments. The EU is determined to change this.
As Portugal taps into the bailout fund it is time to take stock of the EU’s Euro Summit of March 11, and the March 24-25 summit, which finalized the EU’s attempts to halt the euro crisis and harmonize member state economies. The results of these summits have been hailed as a “turning point” by European […]
With the election of President Obama, many in Europe thoughts that the ‘hawks’ or neoconservatives, conservative American politicians emphasizing on the ‘exceptional’ character and role of America, would have understood that their times ended with the final minutes of the Bush’s presidency in 2009. Unfortunately, they have just stayed underground waiting for the right moment […]
Azerbaijan experienced the latest in a series of rallies on Saturday, with several hundred (or perhaps several thousand, depending on the source) people attempting to demonstrate against the government of President Ilham Aliyev in central Baku. Police arrested as many as two hundred protesters during what was billed as a “Day of Rage” or “Day of […]
Following the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, citizens of Libya have been calling for democratic transition since February 2011. For almost two months, the European Union has been invisible and quiet on the Libyan case at the exception of several irrelevant statements delivered by the High Representative Ashton. It is only on April 1st, […]
The Libyan dilemma around the question of intervention versus non-intervention to provide protection of civilians should remain at the heart of the political debate and should not disappear in Libya’s ruins. The approval of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 on March 17, 2011 was an important step for the international community to […]
Police in Azerbaijan have arrested “several youth and opposition activists” ahead of a protest rally scheduled for 2 April in Baku, RFE/RL reports. Three of those arrested have been released, but at least three others have apparently been given “administrative sentences” of between five and ten days. However, an Azeri source tells me that more […]
A judge ruled today that the trial of controversial Dutch minister Geert Wilders trail can resume in two weeks. Wilders has compared the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf. “I’ve had enough of Islam in the Netherlands – ban that fascist book,” he said. In fact he was wrung up on both comments individually; the judge […]
This post can also be seen in FPA’s Latin America Blog. An idea was floated by LEX at the FT.com by author Edward Hadas to have BRIC economies help with the European debt crisis by absorbing them into their own countries, namely Brazil could absorb its former colonial master, Portugal, and easily handle their debt […]
The euro’s chance of survival has since the onset of the debt crisis been up for debate. The impossible seemed an alarmingly realistic alternative: The abandonment of the euro in the face of unpopular austerity measures and bailouts. This led to questions regarding the viability of the EU as a whole. The March 25 […]
Elections in two German states (Länder) led to one historic result while confirming the national government’s unpopularity and its perceived mishandling of a number of (inter)national and local issues. A historically unprecedented development is the emergence of the Greens as a third major party which will lead a coalition on eye level – there is […]
Okay, I’m ready to reconsider my previous criticism of Catherine Ashton and her seeming fecklessness on hammering out a common EU foreign policy. Though it’s been clear since the Libyan crisis began that EU coordination has been disorganized at best, this summary from Deutsche Presse-Agenteur demonstrates that any hope for a coherent security policy, in […]
So posits Teresa de Sousa, a columnist in the Portugese daily Público, anticipating yesterday’s announcement that Prime Minister José Sócrates is resigning after parliament rejected his austerity plan. De Sousa points out that the country was poised to receive favorable terms on accessing the Eurozone’s provisional rescue fund if it adopted the EU’s so-called competitiveness […]
Long op-ed in La Repubblica yesterday about the failure of Europe to resolve its Mediterranean question, defined as a lack of economic integration, the ongoing immigration crisis, corruption and environmental concerns. The piece recounts the litany of declarations, conferences and organizations over the past few decades that grapple with these issues, culminating most recently with […]
On March 19, 2011, the West led by France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched Operation Odyssey Dawn. In contrast to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which violated International Law and public opinion, the military operation in Libya grounds its legitimacy in the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973, “demanding an […]