Frozen Conflicts 3: Welcome to South Ossetia

By Douglas Muir

I’m working through the frozen conflicts in ascending order of awfulness. Two posts about Transnistria can be found here and here.

So, South Ossetia. Little mountainous region up in the back of the Caucasus. Used to be part of Georgia. Declared independence in 1991, just as the Soviet Union was falling apart. There was a shooting war for about a year, which left around a thousand people dead, some tens of thousands ethnically cleansed. When it ended, most of South Ossetia had de facto independence, which they’ve maintained since then with strong support from Russia.

Single European Sky

By Jon

Yesterday afternoon I was sat in the 10ºC sunshine at 1200m above sea level sipping a beer in Châtel (Haute Savoie) after 3 days of skiing, with no sign of snow in the village. Yet climate change and energy efficiency were on my mind - it was more interesting to think of that than nurse my aching limbs, and I was feeling guilty for having flown from Brussels rather than go by train (that would have cost twice as much - sob).

Spring Summit to address economy and climate change

As EU heads of state and government prepare to descend on Brussels for an annual summit to discuss the EU's CO2 reduction commitments and the 'growth and jobs' agenda, a new report warns European leaders about waves of immigration driven by intensifying climate change.

Interview: EU regional funds to help tackle globalisation

As the local level plays an increasingly important role in tackling global challenges such as climate change, energy supply or demography, the EU's regional funds need an overhaul to become more closely linked to national policies, Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner told EurActiv in an interview.

Survey: EU lobbyists wary of media, civil society

Journalists are the least trusted when it comes to integrity and honesty, according to lobbyists surveyed for the European Centre for Public Affairs (ECPA). The poll also found Parliament to have "a strong civil society bias" while the Commission and Council are seen as more favourable to business arguments.

Serbian government faces collapse over Kosovo

Serbia's freshly re-elected pro-Western President Boris Tadic has signalled his intention to call early parliamentary elections following the collapse this weekend (8 March) of the coalition government over disagreements on how to deal with Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Kosovo rift pushes Serbia into early poll

Parties in Serbia's divided government agreed to hold elections again in May to choose whether to continue pursuing European Union integration or sever ties because of...

EU citizens welcome regional policy benefits

A large majority of Europeans approve of the EU's regional policy focus on helping the bloc's poorest regions catch up with the rest of the EU, although citizens in the eastern and central European member states are more aware of the policy's benefits, according to a recent poll.

LaStampa: Why EU and China need Russia, 2 - by Anna Zafesova and Francesco Sisci

ESA Portal - Europe launches its first re-supply spaceship – Jules Verne ATV – to the ISS

julies verne

By The Evil European

From the very small to something rather bigger. The Automated-transfer vehicle, ATV, was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket at 403GMT yesterday from French Guiana to resupply the International Space Station. Called Julies Verne, it is the largest and most complex craft every fielded by the European Space Agency, ESA. It will undertake the first fully automatic docking, supply three times as much cargo as the Progress modules used to date.

This week in Network Europe

Inflation, Deflation

By nanne

Jerome has a really good post up on the European Tribune on the kind of inflation and deflation we are currently facing. As I indicated last thursday, there are good reasons to believe that current inflationary pressures are not monetary phenomena and that central banks can do little about them. Jerome's makes the argument that inflation is caused by increasing scarcity of commodities due to the physical limits of the economic system in a more elaborate, but still understandable manner.

Macedonia the Great

By nanne

The dispute between Macedonia and Greece over the name of Macedonia (via Nosemonkey) is really rather strange.

Greece opposes Skopje’s use of the name “Republic of Macedonia” even though it has been recognised by over 120 countries. Athens argues the name suggests Skopje could make territorial claims over Greece's own northern province of Macedonia.

Germany's Shrinking Middle Class

By Joerg Wolf

No Transatlantic Strategy but "Multilateralism a la carte"

By Joerg Wolf

Helga Haftendorn, professor emeritus at the Free University of Berlin and one of the leading experts on transatlantic relations, argues that "a common transatlantic strategy for global challenges is nowhere in sight -- even in the event of a Democratic US administration come 2009."

Women's Day, a European clause

Uniforming the laws concerning the rights of women in the EU from the top down is an exciting idea and a necessity that is gaining support from militants all across the EU

How Sarkozy Exercises Power

Sarkozy headlines

By Boz

All the news organizations have tried to formulate their own way of describing the results of yesterday's first round of municipal elections, some more creative than others. Here are a few:

Voters Deal Setback to Sarkozy

By Molly Moore and Corinne Gavard

PARIS, March 9 -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling party appeared to suffer major losses in municipal elections across the country Sunday in what some voters and public surveys described as a rebuke of his personal escapades and uneven economic programs.