The EU’s new diplomatic service
Introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, the European External Action Service is intended to give the Union a greater role in foreign policy. Yet its scope and competences are the subject of fierce debate among EU countries.
The German Economy Is Essentially ?Intact?
According to Bundesbank President Axel Weber, Germany?s economic recovery is ?essentially intact? and is set to benefit from stronger demand in countries outside the euro region.
?I firmly believe that the recovery process that began in summer 2009 is essentially intact, and that it will continue despite the slower growth dynamic in the winter semester. An additional factor in this context is that the German labor market continues to be in extremely robust shape.?
From Greece, an economic cautionary tale for the U.S. – by Dana Milbank
Look into the face of George Papandreou, America, and see your future.
The Greek prime minister is in town this week as part of a world tour seeking help for his beleaguered homeland. Greece is broke, its government on the verge of default. As Papandreou landed in Washington, there were strikes in the streets of Athens over his tax increases, his wage cuts for government workers and his scaling back of retirement benefits.
EDGE: “Europe, Where the Idea of Competition in the Internet Space Appears to Focus on Litigation, Legislation, Regulation, and Criminalization”
Does Europe especially need to reconsider their approach to the Internet? EDGE would say yes:
Edge: TIME TO START TAKING THE INTERNET SERIOUSLY By David Gelernter: “Introduction: Our Algorithmic Culture” by John Brockman:
Groups in EU social media: not so ridiculously easy
A while back I and a number of others were blogging about how a very light, bottom-up usage of Web2-style tools and techniques (bloggingportal, delicious, tagging, google alerts, etc.) could help build links between national and EU online discussions and develop the slowly emerging European public space.
The importance of this was brought home to me
Visualising EU law
It’s just a thought that I had a minute ago because I am working on images in politics right now: Why not try to visualise EU law?
Earlier this morning, via the EU Law (WordPress) blog, I came across the newly published Rules of Procedure of the European Commission.
I don’t think many people outside the institutions will actually read this. It is boring. It is interlaced. As most EU law.
France offers support to Greece
Eurozone aid for Greece comes one step closer
French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised on Sunday (7 March) that eurozone countries would help Greece if its financial problems worsened. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he plans to make proposals soon on a new European institution to help ensure the stability of the euro zone.
Greece, boredom and representative democracy
I am so bored by news on Greece.
I have understood that the country is in financial trouble and that this could threaten the Eurozone and the Euro. I have understood that Eurozone leaders aren’t willing to give unconditional help but that some kind of support might be necessary to get Greece out of the shit. I have also understood that not everyone in Greece seems to share the assessment of the situation.
Why not extend and reverse Nabucco?
This just in from London-based Polish gas expert Greg Pytel
Greg Pytel
Extended and reversible Nabucco ? competitive and secure natural gas market for Europe
There has been an ongoing debate about constructing Nabucco pipeline: a pipeline designed to transport natural gas from Central Asia, Middle East, Caspian and even North Africa via Turkey and then Balkan countries to Hungary and Austria. Nabucco would bring a degree of diversification of gas supply routes to Europe from southern and eastern directions. At present there is a renewed initiative to make Nabucco happen.
Merkel backs IMF-style fund for eurozone
More news on the eurozone front this weekend as we learned that France and Germany are preparing plans for an IMF-style European Monetary Fund (EMF). German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said he will “present proposals soon” for a new eurozone institution that has “comparable powers of intervention” to the International Monetary Fund.
What should NATO?s new strategic concept say about Russia?
by Tomas Valasek
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, NATO has strived to reduce mutual suspicions with Russia and to build a more co-operative relationship. So it is vexing that 20 years on, Russia continues to view NATO as a hostile alliance. Moscow competes with NATO for influence in Eastern Europe, it seeks to halt NATO?s eastward enlargement and its recent security proposals for a new European security architecture were aimed in part at weakening NATO’s role in European security. Moscow?s policy worries the Central European members of NATO, who have been demanding that the alliance draft defensive plans for the unlikely, but not unthinkable, possibility of a conflict with Russia.
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.