As a consequence of a court decision last year – concluding that German constitutional law required more parliamentary oversight over EU decisions – the German Bundestag and Bundesrat are required to vote on the Icelandic bid for EU membership. The German parliament’s say on these matters make it unique among the parliaments of member states. […]
As the turf war for the European diplomatic service (EEAS) continues, MEPs are claiming High Representative Ashton is inexperienced and that she is incapable of handling the task of setting up the new diplomatic service. Ashton is “simply out of her depth” says German Christian Democratic Union MEP Inge Grässle. Grässle adds that the EEAS […]
With the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, the hopes and fears of euro-skeptics and enthusiasts were stirred. The treaty’s objective of creating an independent and coherent EU foreign policy presence is – on paper, at least – just around the corner. The Treaty of Lisbon has provided the EU with its own diplomatic corps, […]
Facing the prospect of Greece’s financial woes destabilizing the European economy, EU finance commissioner Olli Rehn proposes that national budgets in the euro zone are to be subjected to a regulatory system akin to the German Finance Planning Council. In this system, German budget policies are co-determined by the federal government and the states. Stating […]
Poland and Poles worldwide of all political stripes are grieving the death of President Lech Kaczynski and his entourage and fellow passengers following the plane crash near Smolinsk, Russia that has claimed over 97 victims of Poland’s elite. Some of Poland’s most important leaders and political figures were on their way to a memorial for the […]
After months of negotiations, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have finally agreed to a nuclear arms reduction treaty. The pair first started negotiations as a follow up to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) in April of 2009, but were unable to reach an agreement, as the Kremlin disagreed […]
This post can also been seen in FPA’s Latin America Blog. No greater nightmare would have been imagined by the technocrats in Brussels when forming the guidelines for expanding the EU than one of the new and relatively unprepared nations joining the EU becoming a candidate for removal from the Union. All nations in applying […]
This blog has also been crossposted with FPA’s Latin America Blog. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs recently published an interesting article online discussing the EU policy towards Cuba, and its effectiveness in balancing trade, human rights and US-EU policy regarding Castro’s Cuba. COHA research associate Evgenij Haperskij points out that the EU’s “Common Policy” towards […]
For those of you unfamiliar with Stratfor.com, it’s one of the most compelling forecasting organizations in the U.S. today on international issues. Founded by George Friedman, who features heavily in this year’s Great Decisions Television series, their predictions are not always right, but always thought-provoking. Here is a video dispatch on what’s to come for […]
The relatively unknown Brit, former EU Trade Commissioner and UK minister, Baroness Catherine Ashton was selected last month to be the European Union’s first official High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The move came following the approval of the Lisbon Treaty, held up for almost a year by countries like Ireland and the […]
This past weekend, Pro-Russian incumbent President Sergei Bagapsh won a Presidential election in a region that many members of the global community refuse to recognize as a valid country. On December 13, Sergei Bagapsh was announced as the winner of the Presidential elections in Abkhazia, the breakaway region of Georgia that was a site of […]
Next Tuesday, Dec. 8th, EU foreign ministers are slated to discuss the draft of a new paper criticizing Israeli policies toward the occupied Palestinian territories. The document, which suggests that East Jerusalem should be the future designated capitol of a new Palestinian state has engendered a sharp rebuke from Israel and its supporters. Although some […]
On December 1st, the treaty of Lisbon entered into force, effectively changing the leadership dynamic of the European Union’s 27 member states. “It would be impossible to have a better choice of personalities for European Union leadership,” said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso in an EU briefing. Under the treaty, Herman Van Rompuy, the […]
Seventy years ago today, the Foreign Minsters of Russia and Germany singed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which neutralised Russia at the start of World War II. According to Radio Free Europe the pact “gave Germany a free hand to attack Western Europe without having to fear a war on two fronts. In return, its secret protocol […]