Foreign policy & defence
Turkey before the election
15 June 2007
I have recently come back from Turkey, where the mood is a mixture of relief, hope and anxiety: relief that the army has remained in the barracks; hope that the early election in July will result in a workable compromise between the AKP and the secularists; and anxiety that the crisis that started in April has done lasting damage to Turkish society and its political system.
Europe and America’s debate about foreign policy
01 June 2007
Washington’s holiday from strategic debates is over. In the years immediately after September 11th, feelings of solidarity with a president at war prevented serious discussions on the merits of US foreign policy.
Sarkozy, secularism and Turkey’s European future
01 June 2007
Can things get worse for Turkey? The presidential election is stalled; the army threatens to intervene; millions are protesting in the streets; EU negotiations remain partly suspended; terrorism in the South-East could prompt military forays into northern Iraq; and the new French president wants to see Turkey in a Mediterranean...
On oligodemocracy and people power in Ukraine
31 May 2007
There shall be no war, at least not now. On Sunday, President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich agreed to hold early elections in September. In doing so, they halted the country’s slide toward violence, which began with Yushchenko’s dissolution of the Ukrainian parliament in April and culminated this weekend with a standoff between Interior Ministry troops (loyal to Yushchenko) and traffic police (controlled by Yanukovich). But even if the Sunday agreement holds – and law-makers from the prime minister’s side already dispute it – Ukraine has become an uglier place for it. In the end, it was political and military muscle that settled the differences. A conflict may have been averted but Ukraine’s tentative steps to build democracy based on rules and institutions were dealt a severe blow.
Issue 54 - 2007
25 May 2007
- Sarkozy, secularism and Turkey’s European future, Katinka Barysch
- Europe and America’s debate about foreign policy , Tomas Valasek
- Industrial policy – back to the future?, Simon Tilford
Nicolas Sarkozy: Turkophobe and protectionist?
08 May 2007
Most EU governments wanted Nicolas Sarkozy to win the presidential election. They think his liberalising economic agenda stands a fair chance of boosting France’s lacklustre economic performance.
What future for EU development policy?
04 May 2007
The European Union, together with its member-states, is the world's largest source of development aid. Yet the Union under-performs as a donor: its various governments and the Commission seldom co-ordinate their efforts, and often fail to think strategically.
What Turkey’s crisis means for the EU
03 May 2007
Turkey has aborted its presidential election and called for an early parliamentary one. The army, it appears, is still on stand-by. Prime Minister Erdogan accused the country’s highest court of having fired “a bullet at democracy” by declaring the first round of voting on his presidential candidate, Abdullah Gul, invalid.
The EU and Arab reform
27 April 2007
The Arab Reform Initiative held its annual conference in Amman, Jordan, on 18th April. Founded in 2005, ARI is a consortium of a dozen research centres that advocate peaceful and gradual political, economic and social reform in the region. A few non-Arab think-tanks are also involved, including the Centre for European Reform, but it is very much led and managed by Arab research centres. The CER is part of ARI because it believes that ARI offers an excellent opportunity to encourage reform in a region that is deeply suspicious of outside influence.
Ukraine’s real problem
02 April 2007
A marriage of convenience is probably too charitable a description of the relationship between Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yushchenko, and its prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich.
Issue 53 - 2007
30 March 2007
- Britain and the EU: a crisis looms, Charles Grant
- We are all Nordic now, or are we?, Katinka Barysch
- Ukraine’s real problem, Tomas Valasek
In defence of missile defences?
14 March 2007
For those spoiling for another good transatlantic fight, the headlines from last week’s EU summit must have come as manna from heaven.
What's happening to Airbus?
23 February 2007
Top of the agenda when Jacques Chirac meets Angela Merkel today in Berlin will be the crisis at Airbus. The European aircraft manufacturer has been forced to suspend a restructuring programme following inferference from both the French and German governments.
If Turkey and the EU break up...
01 December 2006
The EU may decide to halt the accession talks with Turkey – or the Turkish government may walk away from them. But has either seriously thought through the consequences?
Turkish business and EU accession
01 December 2006
Turkish accession prospects were becoming bleaker at the end of 2006, just over a year after the start of accession talks. Both Turkey’s political elite and its people are disillusioned with the EU.
Issue 51 - 2007
24 November 2006
- If Turkey and the EU break up..., Katinka Barysch
- Time to get tough on carbon emissions, Simon Tilford
- Transatlantic trade: walk before you run, Aurore Wanlin
Absorption capacity – the wrong debate
09 November 2006
On November 8th, the European Commission published its new strategy report on enlargement. A non-event: drafts had been widely leaked to the press; and the most explosive question – whether accession negotiations with Turkey should by wholly or partly suspended because of Cyprus – has been put off until December.
Europe's blurred boundaries: Rethinking enlargement and neighbourhood policy
02 October 2006
In many parts of the EU there is growing hostility to further enlargement. Charles Grant argues that the EU must keep open the prospect of accession for its European neighbours, and suggests how opposition to enlargement can best be overcome.
Europe's flawed approach to Arab democracy
02 October 2006
The European Union's efforts to promote political reform in North Africa and the Middle East are running into the ground. After the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, Europe's leaders pledged to promote democracy in the region as a way of tackling the root causes of terrorism.
Turkey, Russia and modern nationalism
01 August 2006
The EU faces few challenges greater than working out a modus vivendi with two large and difficult neighbours. The way the Union chooses to deal with this duo will do much to determine its future character.