Merkel Says Party On Track Even As Germans Question Her Leadership
A new survey has found that a majority of Germans think Chancellor Merkel has little control over her government. Merkel defended herself and her Christian Democrats, saying they were on the right path. READ MORE
Top EU Official Draws Line Between Enlargement, Neighborhood Policies
The first Eastern European to be trusted with a significant foreign-policy role in the European Union went through his confirmation hearing today and stuck closely to the established political consensus within the bloc on future expansion, arguing that all current candidates should be admitted. READ MORE
Germany's New Foreign Policy Orientation
Among the questions raised by Germany's elections in September 2009 was the impact Chancellor Angela Merkel's new coalition partners would have on Berlin's foreign policy orientation. A number of developments since then have provided hints of areas of continuity, as well as others of potential change and even internal conflict. READ MORE
CSU rejects Foreign Minister Westerwelle's Turkey policy
The Christian Social Union (CSU) remains locked in a bitter row with government coalition partners the Free Democratic Party (FDP), after the Bavarian conservatives rejected Westerwelle's overtures to Turkey. READ MORE
German-British Rapprochement Would Mean Dark Days For Europe
It is a fact long lamented by those two endangered species, British Germanophiles and German Anglophiles: apart from a few pockets of intense co-operation, such as in justice and home affairs, the potential of a German-British partnership has seldom been exploited in European policy. The political impetus to be generated by the German and UK heads of government moving together in elegant tandem has not been realised. READ MORE
German oil firm looks for new deposits at home
While oil exploration company RWE Dea often drills in the sands of Libya or under the waters of the Caspian Sea, a new project has the company looking for the black gold in a pine forest in Northern Germany. READ MORE
Russia Seeks To Sustain Its Energy Security
Moscow has reiterated pledges to improve Russian energy security by promising sizable investments to develop its hydrocarbon sector and power supply networks. However, the economic viability of such solutions appears to remain a matter of debate as Moscow’s ambitious plans require huge investments. Russian authorities have long pledged to replace obsolete and wasteful Soviet-era energy technologies and solutions by what officials describe as “energy-efficient” facilities. READ MORE
Patriots Appease Poland
Sometimes even a symbolic gesture carries a lot of weight, and the US’ decision to station troops and Patriot missiles in Poland, however minimal, is meant to stave off Polish defense fears and save political face. READ MORE
Moscow Backtracks From Strategy to Bypass Ukraine’s Gas Transit System
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko declared on November 16 that the Nord Stream pipeline on the Baltic seabed would not be used for diverting gas volumes away from Ukraine’s transit pipelines to Europe. In effect, this statement acknowledges that the Nord Stream pipeline, from Russia directly to Germany, is not a Ukraine-bypass project. READ MORE
Jouyet: German Reunification ‘Not Easy To Accept For Paris'
The 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union and led to the creation of the euro, came as an answer to French concerns over the German reunification process, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, former French State Secretary for EU affairs, told EurActiv France in an exclusive interview. READ MORE
