Foreign policy & defence
Recent elections were good for Turkey but it must now roll up its sleeves
06 September 2007
Progress online
Turkey is to be congratulated on the outcome of both its parliamentary and presidential elections. To see why, just consider possible alternatives.
State of the Union: The good deal
25 June 2007
The Wall Street Journal
The deal in Brussels on a new treaty this weekend is good news for those who hope the EU can become a more confident and effective contributor to global security.
Constitutional fudge
19 June 2007
The Guardian
So far, Britain's stance on the German attempt to revise the EU treaties has been - from a British perspective - broadly reasonable.
The EU's premier foreign policy is enlargement
09 February 2007
DW-World.de
At the annual security conference, which opens in Munich on Friday, Javier Solana will be awarded a prize for his efforts in promoting peace as the EU's foreign policy chief.
Welcome to the neighbourhood
15 January 2007
Russia Profile
The enlargement of the EU is slowing down. Bulgaria and Romania have just joined, bringing the membership to 27, but in many EU countries there is little enthusiasm for extending the Union's boundaries further.
Can the EU deal with its unruly neighbours?
21 December 2006
European Voice
What future security and defence challenges should the EU prepare for?Europe should be worried about the spread of weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD), failing states and terrorism. In fact it already is.
Turkey and the European Union: Don’t despair
27 November 2006
Open democracy
The accession of Turkey to the European Union is beset by troubles. It needn’t be if both sides concentrate on the positives, the big picture and the long term, says Katinka Barysch.
The relationship between Turkey and the European Union, never easy, has taken a turn for the worse. The dispute...
The relationship between Turkey and the European Union, never easy, has taken a turn for the worse. The dispute...
Failed EU entrance could mean stronger ties to Russia
26 November 2006
Zaman online
According to a British think-tank, the Centre for European Reform (CER), if EU membership negotiations were postponed, Turkey would look for a new alliance, perhaps in Russia.
What to do about Russia?
22 October 2006
The Guardian
Perhaps the most important challenge for EU foreign policy is to develop a more unified approach to Russia. The EU member-states have very similar interests in Russia.
At last, some hope for Ukraine
04 August 2006
The Guardian
The formation of a new government - four months after parliamentary elections - is good news for Ukraine. The coalition is broad-based: the party of President Victor Yushchenko, Our Ukraine, has strong roots in the rural west of the country; the Regions party, led by the new prime minister, Victor Yanukovich, dominates the east; and the Socialist party, the third member of the coalition, is popular among farmers in the centre.
Europe's crime without frontiers
21 June 2006
The Yorkshire Post
Europol, the European Union's police office, has warned governments of a clear and present threat from transnational gangs trafficking in arms, drugs and people; as well as running counterfeiting and money-laundering rackets.
What new transatlantic institutions?
01 June 2006
European Affairs
The last two years have seen a rapprochement across the Atlantic. The elevation of new personnel – such as Condoleezza Rice to the State Department and Angela Merkel as German Chancellor – has helped to remove some of the bitterness that the Iraq confrontation had left behind.
Belarus blue
15 March 2006
The Wall Street Journal
To a first-time visitor, the capital of Belarus seems normal. People look content, streets are clean and orderly, and cafés ring with lively and frank exchanges.
The great firewall of China will fall
26 January 2006
The Daily Telegraph
Google, the popular search engine that floated on the stock market last year, has not abandoned its corporate motto: "Don't be evil".
The real crisis for Europe
10 October 2005
Newsweek
So, is Turkey to start membership talks with the European Union? The reception could hardly be more hostile. As the public sees it, the EU is big enough already. Political leaders from France's Nicolas Sarkozy to Germany's Angela Merkel are opposed.
Slow train from Istanbul
27 September 2005
The Wall Street Journal
The talks on Turkey's accession to the EU are scheduled to start on Monday. But public support for Turkish EU entry continues to fall: less than one-third of voters in the "old" EU support Turkish membership, according to the EU pollster Eurobarometer.
Turkey offers EU more punch
01 September 2005
European Voice
Rather than undermine the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, Turkish membership of the Union could boost the bloc's power in trouble spots across the Middle East and Central Asia, argues Charles Grant.
Opponents of Turkish accession to the EU often claim that it would damage the cohesiveness of the EU's...
Opponents of Turkish accession to the EU often claim that it would damage the cohesiveness of the EU's...
A beacon of liberty flickers: Observations on Georgia
18 July 2005
New Statesman
President Bush proclaimed Georgia a "beacon for liberty" when he visited Tbilisi in May. Georgia has certainly made great progress since people power overthrew the corrupt and incompetent regime of Eduard Shevardnadze in 2003. Nevertheless, clouds are dimming the light of that beacon.
There is something amiss, for example, when none...
There is something amiss, for example, when none...
Variable geometry
01 July 2005
Prospect
The end of enlargement would be a tragedy. Perhaps it can be saved by "variable geometry".
The French and Dutch referendums have halted both deepening and widening in the EU. The two ideas have always been intimately linked. The political elites in core countries such as France were reluctant to accept...
The French and Dutch referendums have halted both deepening and widening in the EU. The two ideas have always been intimately linked. The political elites in core countries such as France were reluctant to accept...
Europe must keep its 'soft power'
01 June 2005
Financial Times
In the aftermath of the French rejection of the European Union constitution, on the eve of the Dutch referendum and amid political uncertainty in Germany, there is a growing risk that the EU will start to backtrack on its commitment to continued enlargement.
Yet, in recent years, Europe has prided itself...
Yet, in recent years, Europe has prided itself...