The euro crisis shows starkly that power in the European Union has shifted from France to Germany
When the financial crisis erupted in September 2008 President Nicolas Sarkozy was quick to seize the European lead. He summoned Britain’s Gordon Brown to emergency talks in Paris. He urged Europeans to stimulate their economies. He taunted Germany’s Angela Merkel for hesitating over a stimulus plan, declaring that “France is working on it; Germany is thinking about it.” The French counted at least as much as the Germans—indeed, they were setting the pace (in part fortuitously, as France held the European Union presidency at the time). READ MORE
A place for Russia in the Weimar Triangle
The Weimer Triangle is just one of the many prisms through which the EU looks at Russia. After a long break, the heads of state of Poland, Germany and France came together for a meeting of the Weimar Triangle on February 7. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski started the summit off with a bang by inviting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to attend the summit, and all future summits, as a guest. READ MORE
Polish Minister: Europe Is Much More Than Just France, Germany And The UK
The EU needs more unity and less controversy and is not just about what France, Germany or the UK wants, Polish State Secretary for European Affairs Mikołaj Dowgielewicz told EurActiv.fr in an interview. He discussed the plans of the Polish EU Presidency, which will begin in July 2011. READ MORE
Ukraine And The Transformation Of Europe
A potentially seismic geo-political shift is taking place in Europe. The pan-European settlement that has eluded the continent since the fall of the Berlin War is emerging into view. READ MORE
Vladimir Putin's new economic design for Europe
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is in Germany once again, for a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. His working visit will last two days: November 25-26. The entire European Union (EU) and the rest of Europe are watching this visit particularly closely. This is always the case when Moscow and Berlin are planning to redesign the architecture of Europe. Now Europe is paying additional attention to Putin's visit because the Euro is ailing and virtually all EU member states are in the grips of the financial crisis while Germany remains the only one in recovery. READ MORE
Anti-Missile Shield Against Nameless States
NATO Summit in Lisbon and other significant events with the participation of Russia and 20 states, cooperating with NATO, should become historic ones. The new adopted NATO doctrine is called to define the strategy of the Alliance within the following 10 years. READ MORE
Shale Gas Could Ensure Poland's Independence From Russia
Winter is approaching - a time in which Europe particularly feels Russia's grip on the energy market. This power play has caused Poland many headaches. But new know-how in gas production could mark a turn in events. READ MORE
Nuclear Deal With Iran All for Show
The Obama administration is preparing the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran by pushing to revive last year's ill-fated fuel swap deal. The renewed proposal to swap Iran's low enriched uranium for research reactor fuel is not a serious attempt at engagement, as the Unites States knows it will likely fail. Instead, it is intended to depict the United States as a reasonable negotiating partner, and Iran as a duplicitous state bent on obtaining the bomb at all costs. This could increase support for harsher international sanctions that are more strictly implemented. READ MORE
Britain and France Make a Deal
Britain and France last week announced that they would begin a new era of defense cooperation intended to conserve their military power at a time of shrinking military budgets. The plan involves sharing nuclear weapons research and other expensive weapons development programs, pooling aircraft carriers in times of crisis and jointly training rapid-reaction brigades that can fight side by side under a single commander. READ MORE
Is The Door To NATO Really Open For Georgia?
During the visit to Tbilisi on 30 September – 1 October, NATO Secretary General A.F.Rasmussen said that the door of the Alliance remains open to Georgia and that the decision made during the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008 is still in force. However, this statement could hardly be considered as an introduction to fast Georgia‘s integration into Alliance. It could first of all be based on several examples reflecting the dialogue between Georgia and NATO (or, to be more exact, the state of relations close to stagnation) during the recent years. READ MORE
