WHAT TO DO WITH THE IRISH?   BY BINOY KAMPMARK | June 16, 2008

Otto von Bismarck had one suggestion as to how to deal with the Irish Question, that burning issue of Irish independence that dogged Britain throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. If the Dutch were kind enough to come over to Ireland, they would turn it into an immaculate field of greenery and efficiency. If the Irish were good enough to go to the Netherlands, they would let the dykes fall into disrepair and drown. Read more

EUROPE AFTER LISBON   BY FAYE KARAVASILI | April 17, 2008

Perhaps European enthusiasts should pause for a second and realize that when the fruit is not yet ripe, any forced bonding would not be effective to begin with. The EU has a lot to assimilate, especially with the two latest Enlargements and all the additional complications they entail. Taking the time necessary to formulate a new identity might be the only way forward but the idea of a tight-knit political union might be to soon to pursue, no matter how alluring it might be. Read more

TRUTH UNDER SNIPER FIRE IN BOSNIA   BY MO SACIRBEY | March 30, 2008

I really do not begrudge Hillary Clinton the "misstatement" of "sniper fire" upon her landing in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Even as the Dayton Accords were concluded, in Sarajevo a Serbian fired missile from the surrounding hills tore through a tram, and its civilian occupants, just resuming operations. Around the same time, on my way out of Sarajevo with Gen. Wes Clark and several US diplomats, our US Air Force plane took evasive action presumably because of real or potential ground fire. Read more

THE REFORMED EUROPE    March 26, 2008
 

- an interview with Amb. Fernando M. Valenzuela, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations. Read more | Video

SERIOUS SECURITY CHALLENGE FOR THE REGION   February 25, 2008

- an interview with Mr. Pavle Jevremovic, Permanent Representative of Serbia to the United Nations.

Read more | Video

KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE   BY SEBASTIAN AULICH | February 23, 2008

Perhaps the best way to describe what happened in Kosovo last weekend is to say that the dispute over 11 thousand square kilometers of land divided the Earth in a very dangerous manner. The Western superpowers rushed to recognize the new state. While Russia fiercely objected and Serbian Parliament annulled the Kosovars’ declaration. So who won this diplomatic battle? Is the American diplomacy victorious and Russian’s defeated? Read more

POLISH FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY   BY DR. KERRY LONGHURST | January 12, 2008

Warsaw’s participation in the US Missile Defence Shield and on what terms, will be a litmus test for Poland’s new take on Transatlantic Relations. Sikorski and Tusk want a better balance between Poland’s obligations and the US’s commitments. Read more

SLOVENIA’S EU PRESIDENCY   December 3, 2007

- interview with Dr. Danilo Turk, the President of Slovenia, which assumes the rotating presidency of

the European Union since January 1, 2008. Read more

FUTURE OF THE BALKANS   November 8, 2007

- interview with Dr. Haris Silajdzic, the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Read more

FRANCE vs. IRAN   BY ELODIE VANDEHENDE | October 25, 2007

Despite repeated threats against Iran, it is difficult to imagine that France would become involved in a military action in the region. The war in Iraq remains a vivid example that the unilateral use of force in the Middle East can have disastrous consequences. Read more

EUROPEAN APARTHEID   August 21, 2007

[...] I am totally convinced through my experience at the United Nations that the further you are from being Christian and the less you are white, the more likely the violations against you, against international law, violations of human rights will be ignored and the genocide will be tolerated. Read more

A CONVENIENT GENOCIDE   July 30, 2007

Our first interview with Mr. Muhamed Sacirbey former Bosnia's Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995-96) and Ambassador to the United Nations (1992-2000). Read more

EU’s ENERGY POLICY   BY BINOY KAMPMARK | July 19, 2007

Measures taken by the EU have been targeted by Russia as potential threats to energy hegemony.  The EU finds itself caught between its energy needs and a country to the East intent on modernising its economy along ideas formulated by Soviet economists. Such a policy has outflanked European efforts to take the golden road to energy independence. Read more

TURKEY’S EUROPEAN DREAM   BY FAYE KARAVASILI | April 21, 2007

The fact that Turkey is a Muslim country should not be considered an obstacle on its European path. The very fact that Turkey is so different than the rest of the European states could be a positive catalyst, helping Europe with the creation of a multicultural society [...] she claims to envision in her fledgling constitution. After all, there is no good reason why Europe should be exclusively a “club” of Christian states. Read more

UNITED STATES OF EUROPE?   BY SEBASTIAN AULICH | April 8, 2007

One may argue that Europe still has a lot of influence over the U.S. and that the deterioration of transatlantic relations, which has been undermining Europe’s global importance, was only temporary. This comeback to close cooperation between the U.S. and EU is supposedly seen in coordination of endeavors to peacefully resolve the crisis over Iranian nuclear program. This argument is questionable. Read more

EUROPE’S MUSLIMS: THEIR IMPACT ON TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS

BY DR. KONRAD PEDZIWIATR | January 15, 2007

Muslim partners and experts are in growing demand. [...] For example the magazine  European Voice in late November, 2006, nominated the Swiss-Muslim intellectual and preacher, Tarik Ramadan, as Citizen of the Year. The same person is in the U.S. being accused of supporting terrorism and treated as persona non grata. Read more

USA-EU: TRANSATLANTIC CATHARSIS   BY GRZEGORZ LEWICKI | January 5, 2007

The United States will be unable to claim a position of moral correctness for many years. They unintentionally brought about the conflict of cultures with Europe [...] Winston Churchill used to say that America has a habit of committing every possible mistake but making proper choices in the final outcome and in decisive matters. The first part of Churchill’s statement has been proven. The second has yet to be seen. Read more

USA-EU: GOOD COP – BAD COP?   BY MARTA CICHOMSKA | December 3, 2006

America is a danger to global security. Its plans for global hegemony, its self-centered efforts to secure its own interests, and its disregard for the views of other nations, have to be stopped. An anti-American counter-force needs to be created in the shape of a new, European superpower. Read more

USA-EU: RIVALRY OR COOPERATION? (THE EUROPEAN VIEW.)

BY ALEKSANDRA KORYCKA | October 14, 2006

The discussion of whether the United States and the European Union remain partners or become rivals in the years ahead, may seem to be a debate between political liberals and realists. But how the two most important economic and political centers in the world behave toward each other will not be determined by current doctrines or by today's decision-makers. Read more

USA-EU: FUTURE OF TRANSATLANTIC ECONOMIC RELATIONS   BY MACIEJ JARECKI | September 3, 2006

The United States and the European Union are, along with Japan, the most important and influential players in global economy. Nowadays, we can observe not only sophisticated cooperation between the U.S. and the EU but also some forms of serious conflicts as well. Read more

EUROPE: HUMAN RIGHTS FOR APES   BY SEBASTIAN AULICH | July 9, 2006

In April, 2006, the ruling socialist coalition in Spain proposed a bill, which would give great apes (chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos) the basic, fundamental rights, which are enjoyed by human beings under international human rights law. This legislative action started a wide public discussion and attracted criticism from numerous right wing politicians. Read more

RACISM AND INTOLERANCE IN EUROPE   BY SEBASTIAN AULICH | July 3, 2006

On June 15, 2006, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the increase in racist and homophobic violence in Europe. The adoption of the document was a reaction to a rapid and worrying rise of anti-discriminatory, racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic behavior in many European states. Read more

THE EUROPEAN UNION’S PATH TO GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOMINANCE

BY SEBASTIAN AULICH | June 15, 2006

In March of 2000, the European Council which met in Lisbon, Portugal, adopted so-called Lisbon Strategy/Project designed to transform the European Union to the most competitive and dynamic economy block in the world. Read more