Strasbourg not yet ready for MEPs
The European Parliament’s temporary relocation to Brussels from Strasbourg reignites a row about where it should be based.
found in Small Food Nation
(Pieter Aertsen, Butcher’s Stall with the Flight into Egypt, 1551. Source.)
Commission to test free access to EU research
A pilot project that will give unrestricted online access to EU-funded research results was launched yesterday (20 August), which the Commission claims will ensure better exploitation of scientific studies and guarantee a "fair return" for taxpayers. But specialist publishers are unhappy with the move.
Memories of Czech invasion
Two BBC website readers share their experiences of the Soviet invasion and living under communist rule in Czechoslovakia.
The end of illusions?
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 caused the Soviet empire to lose its internal logic even for the communist faithful. Yet today, the naivety of the reform communists serves as a pretext for the dismissal of any vision of a better political system.
Hopes dashed
How one Czech journalist reported ’68 Soviet invasion
SLATE: The last two weeks have been a disaster for U.S. foreign policy. – by Daniel Benjamin
The west is strategically wrong on Georgia
The Georgian fiasco heralds the end of the post cold-war era. But it does not mark the return of any new cold war. It marks an even bigger return: the return of history, writes Kishore Mahbubani
Fact and fiction
Uncovering human rights abuses in the Georgia conflict
Russia scales down Georgia toll
Russia says it has evidence of 133 civilians killed in the conflict over South Ossetia – far lower than its initial estimate of 1,600.
US-Russia in war of words over missile shield deal
The signing of a Polish-US agreement to base an American missile shield on Polish soil triggered a war of words between former Cold War enemies, adding to the tensions over the crisis in Georgia. Washington has denied that the missile shield is aimed at Russia but Moscow said the deal contains new elements perceived as a direct threat.
Georgia conflict: Russia asserts itself
Russia’s invasion of Georgia has shown the world that the US, the EU and NATO are all "paper tigers" in that region, writes former US ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro William D. Montgomery for Belgrade media service B92.
CECIMO supports the Communication on the new industrial property rights strategy for Europe
Georgia, Bulgaria and the Second Balkan War
So, the Second Balkan War.
Unless you’re a history buff, or Bulgarian, you probably don’t know about this. And that’s fine. Unless you’re a history buff, or Bulgarian, there’s no reason to. Still, I think it might have some relevance to recent events.
Short version: back in 1912, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece teamed up to attack Turkey. They won. In fact, they won big, grabbing huge slabs of territory from the hapless Ottomans… but they couldn’t agree on how to divide their spoils. The disagreement got so sharp that just a few months later, the Bulgarians tried to resolve it with a surprise attack on the Serbs and the Greeks.
Georgia, Between Hope and Fear
I cannot help being anxious about what’s happening to Georgia. My daughter is in Tbilisi with my grandson. Her husband, Sandro Kvitashvili, is the minister of health and social services. I don’t know how dangerous his job is each day, whether he is on the streets, possibly exposed to gunfire. I don’t know how he will cope with all the dead and wounded, how he is helping the refugees.
Conflicts Put NATO to the Test
An alliance under fire from the Caucasus to the Hindu Kush.
NATO’s Troubles and Ukrainian Lessons for Pakistan
So, NATO decides to suspend its ties with Russia; Moscow one-upped the alliance by simply cancelling the upcoming exercises and contacts altogether. So the suspension of the NATO-Russia Council doesn’t seem to have been that big a deal.
Merkel on point?
Talking to the Russians
MUCH has been made (for better or worse) of Nicolas Sarkozy´s diplomatic dealings with Moscow in recent days. With France holding the rotating European Union presidency at a time of particularly delicate relations with Russia, the French president has understandably been thrust to the fore.But some analysts argue that the more low-key Angela Merkel is the European leader who truly has the ear of leaders in Moscow these days.
EU neighbours seek help in post-Georgia climate
Information Cold War in Georgia
Matthew Derek Crosston: The West needs some serious balance in the way it analyzes and discusses the Georgian conflict.
A Common US-EU Strategy of Democracy Promotion is Feasible
MAIN FOCUS: US missiles in Poland | 21/08/2008
Yesterday the US secretary of state an
d the Polish foreign minister signed an agreement on the stationing of a US missile defence system on Poland’s Baltic coast. The Russian government has harshly criticised the plans. Is Europe facing the prospect of a new arms race?
European beaches, from the Croatian islands to the Black Sea
Crossing via the urban sands of northern Europe to the fun-filled southern Salentine peninsula – there is a stretch for all those who want to try something new, even in the capital
Brussels, collateral damage in the Belgian conflict
Neither Flemish nor Walloon, Brussels is the battlefield of choice for the divisive struggle that is plaguing Belgium. Faced with a situation that does not seem to be getting any better, some residents of Brussels have decided to form a new political party. We meet one of them