"Energy: Europe needs to make up its mind
Europe's sputtering political engine
We must hope that Nicolas Sarkozy realises sooner rather than later that nurturing the Franco-German axis is in the interests of France, the EU and himselfEnergy: Europe needs to make up its mind
With the US, China and Russia all vying for energy resources, EU weakness is compounded by its lack of a single voice, writes Josu Jon ImazEurope must use its head to boost research
The proportion of the EU's gross domestic product spent on research and development has actually dropped since the Lisbon strategy was launched, says Bruno van PottelsbergheDOSSIER: The EU harshens its tone against tax evasion | 05/03/2008
Following the massive Liechtenstein tax evasion scandal recently revealed by the German justice system, the EU's finance ministers gathered in Brussels on Tuesday, March 4th, to examine European legislation on the subject. While they remain divided over banking secrecy, the European countries agreed on the necessity to reinforce the means of fighting tax evasion.
French Muslims push 'cool Islam'
The BBC's Robert Pigott reports on how young French Muslims are using the arts and commerce to rebrand Islam.Javier Solana’s wise words...
By James RogersSurvey: Parliament 'powerful', but 'what does it do?'
EU citizens largely consider the European Parliament to play an increasingly important role within the Union, but the majority also admit that they are not well-informed about its role and functions, a special Eurobarometer reveals.Should there be a referendum on Europe and, if so, on what question?
The House of Commons will be debating this week the call for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. There are two questions at stake, even if the Speaker in his wisdom will only allow one of them to be put to the vote.The first is whether or not to hold a referendum on Europe at all: the second is, if so, what the question should be. The Speaker has already ruled on the answer to the second question – the Lisbon treaty and not EU membership – so only the first one is to be decided on Wednesday. This is a pity, because the second question is actually more significant....
Interview: French grid chief denounces EU 'ideology'
Dominique Maillard, head of the French electricity network operator RTE, explains why he believes splitting up energy firms is unnecessary in France. He spoke to EurActiv.fr just days after German energy giant E.ON stunned Europe by offering to sell off its electricity transmission network.Kosovo Recognition and Possible Trade-offs
Where we now stand: 24 states have recognized the independence of Kosovo--alongside the United States, mainly European ones. 18 states--those with concerns about separatist movements in their own borders, which stress the importance of territorial integrity. or those who took particularly issue with the U.S. and key European states bypassing the UN--have announced they will not recognize, ranging from Argentina, Spain and Cyprus to Russia, Vietnam and Venezuela. Several Islamic states are on this list--Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.'Every Unsavoury Separatist is Gloating': Questions About Kosovo
Via Crooked Timber (and also 3QD), there is a learned critique by Pratap Bhanu Mehta in Indian Express, of the recent "engineering" of independence for Kosovo by western European powers and the U.S. The key paragraph in the argument for our purposes (i.e., with South Asia in mind) might be the following: In the 19th century, there was a memorable debate between John Stuart Mill and Lord Acton.La mer Noire, nouvelle frontière de l’Europe
La Tribune (France), 5 mars 2008Noëlle Lenoir *
L’histoire n’est peut-être pas condamnée à n’étudier que des jardins clos de murs “, a écrit l’historien Fernand Braudel. Il pensait à la Méditerranée, lieu d’échanges marchands et source de gisements de toutes sortes, qui a façonné la civilisation européenne. D’autres mers ont influencé la culture et le développement de l’Europe. C’est le cas de la mer Noire, nouvelle frontière de l’Union européenne depuis l’entrée de la Bulgarie et de la Roumanie en 2007.
EU reaffirms Western Balkan membership perspective
The Commission presented new measures on 5 March to accelerate EU pre-accession preparations with all the Western Balkan countries, including visa liberalisation, negotiations on a 'Transport Community' and better funding for education exchange.Union pour la Méditerranée : Sarkozy renonce à son projet initial
Les Echos (France), 5 mars 2008, p. 7Cathérine Chatignoux et Karl de Meyer (à Berlin)
Devant le refus persistant de l’Allemagne, la France a renoncé à son projet de coopération avec les seuls pays riverains de la Méditerranée. Le compromis annoncé ressemble davantage à une revitalisation du processus de Barcelone.Belgium's unsackable central bankers
Brussels sees 2008 as `decisive' for the Balkans
The EU's Ring of Friendship: Buddies in Baku, Amigos in Armenia
International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - NewsDOSSIER: NATO wants to stretch its borders towards the east | 07/03/2008
The foreign ministers from the 26 member countries of the North Atantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) gathered in Brussels on Thursday, March 6th, to study the future enlargement of the military alliance. While Croatia and Albania will probably be integrated during the Bucharest summit in April, Macedonia, Georgia and Ukraine are seeing their chances shrink.
Expansion Issues Divide NATO; Rice Urges More Troops
Foreign ministers of the NATO alliance failed to narrow differences over whether to make interim membership overtures to Georgia and Ukraine.DOSSIER: Ian Paisley's mixed legacy | 06/03/2008
The protestant leader Ian Paisley announced on Tuesday, March 4th, that he is to stand down in May as leader of the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) and as First Minister of Northern Ireland, after a year of power-sharing with Sinn Fein's Catholic Martin McGuiness. The European press ponders the paradoxes of this famously intransigent politician.
Inflation and its causes
Wolfgang Munchau has an interesting piece up on the relative uselessness of economic forecasting models on his eurointelligence blog. He notes that most economic models have failed to accurately predict inflation, which is supposed to be low but is consistently turning out higher than predicted.The Paranoid Style in EU Politics
rz of Re:Europa discusses some grave examples of eurosceptic paranoia. As I've indicated before, the most authoritative source for understanding eurosceptic discourse on EU politics remains Richard Hofstadter's seminal essay 'The Paranoid Style in American Politics'.Contention About the New "EU President"
If the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force, there is going to be a new position in the European Union - that of European Council President.The incapacitation
The welfare state is considered one of Germany's greatest achievements. But even Bismarck called his own social legislation a kind of "state socialism", promising an authoritarian, guaranteed security rather than freedom.European fantasies about Medvedev
Luxembourg leads the wayThe Building Blocks of Europe?
By Sylvia Niles
This week, MPs rejected proposals to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. The only casualty thus far appears to be Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg. His decision to hold a three-line whip forcing his colleagues to abstain has cost him three shadow ministerial colleagues. The Tories yet hope to claim a Pyrrhic victory in the House of Lords on the grounds that at the last election, all three major parties promised a referendum on the EU constitution which the treaty replaces. Under the Salisbury convention, the upper chamber does not vote down government manifesto commitments, in the form of government Bills at second reading. Liberal Democrat peers could play a pivotal role but the convention is unlikely to be honoured let alone lead to a referendum.
