Research
Big bang that began with a whimper
07 May 2004
E!Sharp
Like many historical events, it now seems as if the enlargement of the European Union on May 1 was always inevitable.
Arrival delayed
22 March 2004
The Parliament Magazine
The fact that the EU is not going to meet all its targets should not lead commentators to condemn the whole Lisbon programme, writes Alasdair Murray. At the Lisbon summit in the spring of 2000, EU leaders signed up to an ambitious economic reform programme that is designed to close...
Europe's defence agency cleared for take-off
12 March 2004
E!Sharp
Even though 15 EU governments collectively spend €160 billion on defence, they are struggling to remedy the problem because they spend their money very poorly. The cost of new military technologies is soaring and European defence ministries need to extract more value out of each euro they spend.
Big three join forces on defence
05 March 2004
E!Sharp
While attention focused on the collapse of the talks on a new EU constitution at last December's summit, a crucial step was taken towards creating a common defence policy, writes Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
From strength to strength
23 February 2004
The Parliament Magazine
Will the strong euro strangle Europe's economic recovery asks Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform. Every year since 2000, economists have predicted a recovery in the eurozone. Every year, they have been disappointed. Will 2004 be any different?
Top Brussels appointment has to be right
23 February 2004
Financial Times
The European Commission, for many years the driving force of European integration, is in a sorry state. Some of the larger countries in the European Union openly flout the Commission's authority in areas such as the stability and growth pact.
Mighty Europe
05 February 2004
The Wall Street Journal
London, Paris and Berlin are working hard to put the past behind them. After a year that began with bitter rancor over Iraq and ended with the collapse of negotiations over the European constitution, the desire of pro-Europeans to face the future is understandable.
Beneath the rows and gesture politics, Europe's...
Beneath the rows and gesture politics, Europe's...
Iran between worlds
03 February 2004
Open democracy
How do Iranians see the world – its foreign policy establishment, its dissident intellectuals, and its ordinary people? Charles Grant, just returned from a week in Tehran, presents a vivid portrait of a political system under pressure.
The rest of the world has become used to viewing Iran as a stable...
The rest of the world has become used to viewing Iran as a stable...