europe

What we now have is a chaotic E.U. policy toward Russia, with some member states holding the others hostage. Surely it is time governments realized that medium- and long-term interests are better served by consistency rather than bilateralism.

An old debate among scholars and opinion makers on whether Turkey is sliding away from West towards East has again picked up speed, but this time with the open involvement of politicians in the West.

June 14, 2010

The “Barcelona Process” promoted by Nicolas Sarkozy to restart regional cooperation was bold. But the project is now reduced to a long series of hollow, self-referential conferences. Europe’s policy regarding the southern rim of the Mediterranean is again in stalemate.

For decades, the German-French relationship has been the most important one in the European Union. These days, however, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy can hardly stand each other. Why can't they just get along?

Citizens of Belarus are largely uninterested in the EU, while sympathies in Ukraine are divided between Brussels and Moscow. By contrast, a large majority in Moldova would like to see a deepening of the country's relations with the Union, reveals a University of Aberystwyth survey seen exclusively by EurActiv.

June 10, 2010

Now it is India’s turn to complain that Obama is too much the Pacific president and not enough the Indian Ocean president. Whereas the Indian government is not officially complaining, what might be called the Indian foreign policy establishment of business leaders, strategic thinkers, journalists and former diplomats are.

"We now see a huge number of possibilities from South-South trade and a lot of our effort is being deployed there," [Trade and Industry Minister Rob] Davies told a news conference. The weakness of the euro and the European economy in general was encouraging this process, he said.

The EU's refusal to accept Turkey as a member swiftly has partly caused Ankara's foreign policy shift and the deterioration in its relations with Israel, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.

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