Erkan's field diary

Sarkozy and Brown offer starkly different futures for EU

E.U. Pledges Assistance to Kosovo on Path Toward Independence

By John Ward Anderson

PARIS, Dec. 14 -- European Union leaders on Friday pledged 1,800 police and administrative officials to Kosovo, part of a package of aid and diplomacy intended to facilitate a well-choreographed, quick and peaceful march to independence for the breakaway Serbian province.

Arrogant Germans See Their Country as a World Power

By Joerg Wolf

When Bavarian born Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as Pope, a major German tabloid declared: "We are Pope." Germany is also "Export World Champion" and damn proud of that title as long as we have it; China is likely to defeat Germany in 2008. And we are also Soccer World Champion of the Hearts, just like Lady Di was Queen of the Hearts.

Brown happy with progress of EU's future

Gordon Brown yesterday denied claims that he was "on the back foot" over Europe as he insisted the European Union agenda was moving on from institutional wrangling to...

EU summit gambles on huge Kosovo mission · 1,800 expected to be sent in nation-building exercise · Move a response to 'strong pressure' from Washington

EU: Counter-terror laws can't go too far
(UPI) -- The European Parliament says the EU Commission and member states have overreached in their reaction to terrorism, endangering citizens' privacy and rights.

BBC Mardell's Euroblog
What would Oliver Cromwell have made of the Lisbon Treaty?

The EU as a Security Actor NUPI A 45-page Norwegian working paper examining the extent to which the EU has established political and administrative capabilities in relation to its security policy

Belgians stage big protest rally

Thousands of Belgians protest against rising prices and the failure of Belgium's politicians to form a government.

Innovative thinking for European business

Edmund Phelps asks whether the continent can shed the anti-corporate culture it acquired during the 20th century and argues that companies cannot do it alone

Bali: A Climate of Futility

By nanne

It looks like the world will fail to convince the US to actually do something about climate change. Big surprise.

I had a chat about this with a staffer in the German Federal Ministry of the Environment a few months ago. I tried to convince her that talks right now would not work and that we should wait until 2009, when there is a new US president. She thought that we need to work on an agreement now because otherwise the schedule for a post-Kyoto agreement might get too tight.

Kouchner can't win

By Boz

Whatever he deserves, Bernard Kouchner has had rough sailing lately. First he was lambasted by former socialist colleagues for not condemning the Muammar Gaddafi's visit, and now that he did speak out, he is being attacked by the Libyan foreign minister:

Lenarcic: Slovenian Presidency to 'add value' to existing EU policies

The upcoming Slovenian Presidency of the EU will seek to boosting the effectiveness of current EU policies rather than proposing "endless initiatives", the country's State Secretary for European Affairs Janez Lenarcic told EurActiv, adding that ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon, making progress on enlargement in the Western Balkans and improving the EU's climate and energy policies will be its main policy priorities.

DW: Europe Without Borders Threatens US Ex-Pats Without Visas

In a Europe Torn Over Mosques, A City Offers Accommodation

By Molly Moore on United States

C On a recent Friday, 200 Muslim worshipers crowded into a former carpentry workshop here for noon prayers. The men knelt on red carpets in a first-floor hall, the women squeezed into the tiny administrative office upstairs.

Sarkozy and Carla Bruni

In Nicolas Sarkozy

From our Paris Bureau ChiefTHERE'S a donor conference on aid to Palestine on in Paris today, with Mahmoud Abbas, Tzipi Livni, Tony Blair, Condoleezza Rice and others in town. Security is tight; the matter is pressing. But what are people...

Anthony Giddens on the Third Way after Blair

By Henning Meyer on Third Way

Watch Professor Lord Giddens explaining his understanding of the “Third Way” - the former buzzword of social democratic renewal he helped to coin - after Blair. He talks about how Gordon Brown fits into the Third Way model and why it could still be relevant today.

Immigration Promotes Innovation

Philippe Legrain , former advisor to the director-general of the World Trade Organization, describes immigration as a major driving force behind productivity. A diverse group of people solving a problem brings better and faster solutions.