Press

A French force

01 March 2007
Prospect
Nicolas Sarkozy's call for a "rupture" with France's past makes him an exciting figure. In the last five years—during stints as chairman of the Gaullist UMP party, finance minister and interior minister—he has proved himself a hyperactive and effective politician.

Ségolène’s speech at Villepinte

Aurore Wanlin
21 February 2007
Policy Network
For some time, Ségolène Royal, the French Socialist presidential candidate, benefited from a good degree of sympathy in the UK. Her charm, her praise of Tony Blair’s policies and criticism of some French policies like the 35-hour week had gained her support in British media and political circles.

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?

Daniel Keohane
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.

Europe must do more to embrace its neighbours

12 December 2006
Financial Times
The enlargement of the European Union has lost momentum. Bulgaria and Romania will enter the EU in January, but there is then likely to be a long gap before any other country joins.

Turkey and the European Union: Don’t despair

Katinka Barysch
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...

Failed EU entrance could mean stronger ties to Russia

Charles Grant, Katinka Barysch
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.

Europe-Amérique: un dialogue possible malgré les divergences

Katinka Barysch
14 November 2006
Les Temps
Sur l'Irak en particulier, la discussion peut reprendre, mais les divergences subsistent.Donald Rumsfeld parti, les fractures causées en Europe par le conflit irakien vont-elles perdurer? Et le dialogue transatlantique va-t-il se normaliser?

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.

How to ensure the eurozone does not unravel

Simon Tilford
04 October 2006
Financial Times
The euro has to be a success if Europe is to flourish. Unfortunately, diverging trends in competitiveness within the eurozone threaten its stability.

Slow reform could bust up eurozone

Simon Tilford
19 September 2006
Business Week
The eurozone risks breaking up in the near future putting the entire EU single market into jeopardy unless member states – particularly Italy - undertake crucial economic reforms, according to a new report.
Entitled Will the eurozone crack?, the report by the London-based Centre for European Reform, argues that instead of...

How Gordon sees the world

Mark Leonard
26 August 2006
The Spectator
Imagine the scene. It is 2007. The pale November sun is slowly melting the frosted roofs of Camp David. A throng of journalists — bristling with cameras, arc lamps and microphones — jostle for position around two podiums.

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.

Organised crime and punishment?

07 July 2006
E!Sharp
Open borders and new technologies have turned Europe into a land of opportunity for criminal gangs. Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform asks whether the EU is up to the challenge.

Adieu, Europe?

29 June 2006
Open democracy
The machinery of the European Union has recovered from the shock of the failed French and Dutch referenda, but not the heart that pumps it, says Aurore Wanlin.
When the French and the Dutch voted against the draft European Union constitution in May 2005, many thought this was an unprecedented crisis...

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.

Europe challenges organised crime

02 June 2006
G4S International
A new Europol threat assessment will focus efforts to tackle rising gang crime in the EU, writes Hugo Brady of the Centre for European reform.

Sluggish EU 'Lisbon Agenda' bodes ill for modernisation

Aurore Wanlin
01 June 2006
European Affairs
Europe has gotten off to a bad start in 2006 with a fresh battering of the 'Lisbon agenda.' Protectionism is on the rise across the European Union.

What new transatlantic institutions?

Charles Grant, Mark Leonard
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.