Research
NATO, new allies and reassurance
12 May 2010
NATO spends too little time thinking about potential conflicts close to home and developing the means to react. Some of its members – mostly in Central and Eastern Europe – worry that the alliance would not be able to come to their defence in a crisis.
Closing the gap between rhetoric and reality is key to the euro's survival
10 May 2010
Europe faces a critical choice between greater integration and disintegration. The gap between the rhetoric of a united and integrated Europe and the reality of national interests and politics has always dogged Europe.
The dangers of a disgruntled Germany
07 May 2010
Germany has finally agreed to help bail out Greece. The negotiations were acrimonious and took months. Angela Merkel’s hesitation and prevarication have increased the cost of the bail-out and unsettled financial markets.
Human rights cannot be a luxury in Afghanistan
07 May 2010
The Afghans with whom I worked in Bamyan province, Afghanistan, often asked me why foreigners were so concerned about the destruction of historical monuments yet seemingly so indifferent to the human suffering that occurred.
Should the Nabucco pipeline project be shelved?
05 May 2010
Nabucco - a pipeline to bring Caspian and perhaps Middle Eastern gas to Europe - is the flagship project of the EU's fledgling energy diplomacy. Nabucco would add to the EU's energy security, strengthen its neighbourhood policies and improve relations with Turkey.
Turning Japanese?
30 April 2010
Japan has long had the highest level of public debt of any developed economy. The country’s public debt to GDP ratio is around 200 per cent of GDP, far in excess of even the EU’s worst performers.
Can the EU be more effective in Afghanistan?
27 April 2010
The EU and its governments make a substantial financial, civilian and military contribution to Afghanistan - yet European influence in the country is limited. For too long the EU has had too many offices and representatives there, sometimes working at cross purposes.
Clameronism
21 April 2010
Britain's 'national government' of 2010 was not unprecedented. Britons had accepted patriotic coalitions before during the First Great Recession and Second World War. Still, David Cameron's Conservatives fought hard in the aftermath of that year’s general election to preserve a minority government propped up by an unlikely assortment of regional parties and independents.
China and the global financial crisis
16 April 2010
China has come through the global financial and economic crisis in a confident manner. Economic growth is strong and China's foreign policy has become more assertive. Bobo Lo's essay challenges many western assumptions about the rise of China.
Whatever happened to the G20?
14 April 2010
George W Bush convened the first G20 summit in Washington in November 2008, at the height of the global financial and economic crisis. At two further summits in 2009, G20 leaders pledged to co-ordinate their economic stimulus packages (as well as exit strategies), avoid protectionism, address global imbalances, triple the resources of the IMF, and work out stricter rules for banks, hedge funds and other financial players.
There can be no eurozone stability without economic growth
01 April 2010
The German government believes that tougher fiscal rules are the solution to current strains in the eurozone. No doubt such rules are necessary. But they are not enough.
Should Britain leave EU police and justice policy?
01 April 2010
Despite its narrowing lead in the opinion polls, the Conservative Party is still likely to form or lead the government after Britain’s general election in May.
The EU must deliver on its commitment to Pakistan
01 April 2010
In April 2010 the EU will hold its second summit with Pakistan. The EU started holding these summits last year, as part of an effort to address security threats stemming from the country, especially the Islamist militants who use it as a safe haven to undermine the allied war effort...
Turkey's turmoil
01 April 2010
Political convulsions are nothing new in Turkey. But recent events have made some observers gloomy about the fate of the country and its suitability as an EU member. Tensions are escalating between the ruling AK party, on the one hand, and the army and the secular opposition, on the other.
Issue 71 - 2010
26 March 2010
- There can be no eurozone stability without economic growth, Simon Tilford
- Should Britain leave EU police and justice policy?, Hugo Brady
- The EU must deliver on its commitment to Pakistan, Clara Marina O'Donnell
Why Christine Lagarde is right about Germany
26 March 2010
Greece’s recent fiscal travails have, slightly unexpectedly, thrown the spotlight on Germany’s current-account surplus. In mid-March, France’s finance minister, Christine Lagarde, urged Germany to do more to boost domestic demand – a call echoed by the European Commission’s president, José Manuel Barroso.
The Lisbon scorecard X: The road to 2020
15 March 2010
The EU's Lisbon agenda has failed to deliver what it promised. Although most member-states have made some progress towards the targets they set themselves in 2000, their commitment to reform has been half-hearted.
Weak carbon prices threaten the EU’s environmental leadership
05 March 2010
TGAE report
The EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) works by capping the output of carbon dioxide and then distributing allowances to emit the gas to large energy users.
Building a European external action service: A difficult birth?
05 March 2010
TGAE report
In foreign policy terms, the EU’s global partners often have to deal with the competing external relations bureaucracies of the European Commission, the EU’s Council Secretariat (itself acting separately for both the HR and the six-month EU Presidency) as well as the different diplomatic services of the member states.
The EU and counter-terrorism: Next steps
05 March 2010
TGAE report
Several years after bombs claimed over 250 lives in London and Madrid, Europeans still face risks from terrorism. Recent events in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have served as a reminder to western governments and their allies that Islamist terror cells remain active worldwide and continue to plot attacks at home and abroad.