Days prior the Defense december summit (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here), the EU is finally trying to educate European citizens about the Common Security and Defense Policy. In a 10 minutes web documentary accessible on the EEAS website, here, the EU is finally attempting to explain CSDP the way NATO has been […]
After a two-week marathon, wherein the world was expecting military strikes against Syria in order to punish the Assad regime, the situation is finally settling down. Two reasons behind this abrupt shift from missiles to diplomacy: Russia and western public opinions. First, Russia, a close Syrian ally, has been trying to avoid any sort […]
The European External Action Service matters; the foreign policy instrument of the Union is active and well alive. Despite severe criticism of the head of the EEAS, HR Catherine Ashton, she has become a key international player. For instance, she is the sole international leader to have visited Mohammed Morsi of Egypt, held prisoner by […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
As the EU is dragged into coping with the ongoing financial crisis, there has been a lively discussion what will be the consequences on the EU’s foreign policy in the long-term forecast. Most of the arguments deal with a question of how the nature of the EU Crisis Management will change in the upcoming years, as EU […]
Pro-democracy and human rights movements beyond the EU borders will have a new access to grants from a budget of the newly established European Endowment for Democracy (EED). However, even though The Board of Governors of the EED held its meeting in Brussels on 9 January 2013, which also marks its official launch, the future […]
The socio-political development of the Arab Spring has been a real wake-up call for the EU’s policy-makers. Rapid changes in the South Mediterranean once again pointed the finger at the EU’s inability to act swiftly, decisively and audaciously to the events unfolding beyond the EU’s southern borders. Numerous policy changes have recently occurred in the […]
Two and a half years after the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU showed up with a new human rights face for its external relations. The often repeated words of Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stating that human rights have to be a “silver thread” that runs […]
What to watch this weekend: the US golf open in San Francisco, the Euro 2012, the third game of the NBA Finals–Go Heat–or the latest Ridley Scott’s Prometheus? In fact the place to look and observe should be the Mediterranean. This weekend the world will be watching, especially in the US and Europe, the outcomes […]
In its latest issue, the weekly British magazine the Economist called Mr. Hollande, the Socialist candidate to the French presidency, the most dangerous man of Europe. Even though this statement is not only a smart marketing move, it appears out of line considering the behavior of Britain in Europe. Without launching an anti-British attack, it […]
These last several weeks Alain Juppé, French Foreign Minister, has been outspoken against the incompetence of the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and the European External Action Service (EEAS). The latest attack was a letter sent by Juppé to Ashton on March 9th, wherein the French minister lectured Ashton on the shortfalls of the EEAS. […]
“How can the world do nothing?” The massacre of the Syrian people has taken place for too long now with no end in sight. In addition to the atrocious violence perpetuated by the Al-Assad regime, American and French journalists, Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, lost their lives several days ago leading to international public outcries. […]
S&P finally downgraded France’s credit rating several weeks ago, along with a few other EU Member States. The decision could undeniably cost Sarkozy the reelection in May 2012; many believe Sarkozy is solely responsible for the downgrade. But May 2012 is still far away from a political standpoint. Since his election in 2007, Sarkozy has […]