The myth of ‘Eurabia’ by MUHAMMAD ABDUL BARI
LONDON — There is a powerful narrative today about how many young European Muslims are susceptible to terrorism, how Islam leads to radicalization and how Muslims, because of their creed, choose to live in ghettos and therefore create swamps that breed terrorists.
Security guard the Lourdes Sanctuary as Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the Papamobile to celebrate Mass at La Prairie on September 14, 2008 where the pontiff is on a pilgrimage to the shrine where the faithful believe the Virgin Mary appeared to a peasant girl 150 years ago. The 81-year-old Benedict celebrated a Mass for more than 150,000 people on a field in the shadow of the sanctuary built over the cave where Bernadette Soubirous said the Madonna appeared and spoke to her 18 times in 1858.
REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE)
The EU and the Russia-Georgia war
Russia’s new willingness to act to extend its borders, the non-respect of international law and the "highly important energy game" are the main geopolitical issues raised by the country’s "energetic" demonstration of force in the war with Georgia last August, write Jean-Dominique Guliani and Michel Foucher for the Robert Schuman Foundation.
EU hails leadership in exploring universe’s origins
The most complicated and ambitious scientific project ever built successfully completed its first major experiment yesterday at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN). At the forefront of a revolution in particle physics, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is expected to shed light on conditions a few moments after the Big Bang.
When it comes to romance, the Sarkozy men are of the carpe-diem variety.
After a two-month engagement, Jean Sarkozy, the dashing 22-year-old politician and son of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, married his childhood sweetheart, Jessica Saubon, yesterday. The young couple exchanged vows in a small civil ceremony in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the posh Paris suburb. So privé was the wedding that guests were informed of the event only by text message. Apparently, President "Bling-Bling" Sarko (who married his current wife, former model and singer Carla Bruni, within four months of their introduction), didn’t plan the modest nuptials. In Another Sarkozy wedding stirs up controversy
The Irish are stupid, apparently
I don’t even have to check the usual eurosceptic sources to know how the Irish government’s research into the reasons for the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty is likely to be interpreted. Because, you see, they’ve found that the reason for the No vote was that the Irish people didn’t know enough about the treaty.
Cue screams of outrage from the eurosceptic hoardes: “You see! They’re going to tell us we don’t know what’s good for us! The people are stupid! They’ll press ahead with it anyway because they can use this to show we can’t be trusted! The elitist bastards!”
Europe’s Russia by IVAN KRASTEV*
SOFIA — The post-Cold War order in Europe is finished, with Vladimir Putin its executioner. Russia’s invasion of Georgia only marked its passing. Russia has emerged out of the war as a born-again 19th century power determined to challenge the intellectual, moral and institutional foundations of the post-Cold War European order.
MAIN FOCUS: Cristina and Edvige cause trouble | 11/09/2008
The introduction of two databases for the collection of personal information has set off a major controversy in France. Edvige (Exploitation documentaire et valorisation de l’information générale) registers criminals and suspects, while Cristina (Centralisation du renseignement intérieur pour la sécurité du territoire et les intérêts nationaux) gathers information on the fight against terror. What impact will the databases have on civil freedoms in France?
Scholar: Czech Presidency to push for removal of labour restrictions
The motto of the Czech EU Presidency, starting in January 2009, will be ‘Europe without barriers’, with the removal of labour market restrictions on newer member states among its top priorities, David Král, director of the EU policy programme at the Europeum Institute for European Policy in Prague, told EurActiv in an interview.
Koice to become Slovakia’s first EU capital of culture
Koice was nominated as Slovakia’s choice for European Capital of Culture in 2013 by a panel of international jurors meeting in Bratislava on 9 September. With additional reporting from EurActiv Slovakia.
Forests ‘forgotten’ in EU climate policy, MEPs warn
Deforestation is widely considered to be a key driver of global warming since tropical and other forests absorb CO2, thus mitigating the effects of emissions on the climate. But EU policymakers are struggling to define rules to keep trees standing.
The rise of new world order rhetoric and the current identity crisis
Two articles well worth a gander, both trying to work out the “new post-Cold War world order” that increasing numbers are identifying in the wake of the Georgia crisis, and slowly trying to define.
First up, from The Economist, this week’s Charlemagne:
US response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia
This will bear close analysis, even with the imminent change of regime in Washington. Running, as it does, to nearly 6,000 words, I don’t have the time just now, but will hopefully return to this on the morrow. For now, read for yourselves the statement made by the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (apparently from the 9th, though it has only just gone online):
A new job description for EU Commissioners?
That’s what Paul Adamson argues for
in today’s Financial Times. The basis of the argument is that we should acknowledge that the commissioners are not a dispassionate executive branch of the European Union, but people who bring their country interests to their respective portfolios — so why not make this explicit and let the commissioners be the interlocutors of their countries with the EU policy apparatus? Example: Charlie McCreevy
Eurozine at the European Social Forum, Malmö
Café Eurozine invites visitors to the European Social Forum in Malmö (17-21 September) to read issues of Eurozine partner journals over a cup of coffee. Including the seminar: "Creating a new European public sphere through cultural journals".
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