NATO’s North Atlantic Council convenes an emergency meeting to discuss Libya, President Sarkozy arrives in Turkey on Friday to discuss the EU’s response to Middle East turmoil, and the EU downplays Italy’s fears of a mass Libyan exodus to Europe.
HEADLINES:
NATO Secretary General convenes emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NATO)
During a visit to Budapest, the NATO Secretary General made the following statement:
What is happening in Libya is of great concern to all of us. It’s a crisis in our immediate neighbourhood. It affects the lives and safety of Libyan civilians and those of thousands of citizens from NATO member states. Many countries are now evacuating their citizens from Libya – clearly, a massive challenges.
To bust the deficit, Britain tries a revolution in volunteerism (Washington Post)
In his crisp black uniform punctuated by the dome-shaped helmet of London bobbies, there are few clues to what separates Peter Whitney from other constables at Scotland Yard.
Sarkozy to Face Tough Questions in Turkey (The Wall Street Journal)
Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Ankara on Friday for his first visit to Turkey since he became president of France. He is in for a rough ride.
Turkish leaders plan to tell Mr. Sarkozy during talks that the European Union has been "absent" during the current turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, and needs to show "that it cares about spreading democracy" in the region, according to a Turkish official familiar with the preparations.
German right and European left square up for eurozone battle (EUobserver)
German governing MPs have bound the hands of Chancellor Angela Merkel and finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in negotiations with the rest of the European union over a ‘grand bargain’ solution to the eurozone crisis. Meanwhile, Europe’s centre-left parties have begun calling the options on the table "shameful."
Libya unrest: Cameron backs ‘war crimes’ investigation (BBC News)
The UK wants an investigation into whether the Libyan regime has committed "war crimes" in its crackdown on protests, David Cameron has said.
EU ministers reject Italian request for help with feared Libyan ‘exodus’ (Deutsche Welle)
In the wake of Tunisian migration to Italian territory, Italy has voiced fears more refugees will flee unrest in Libya. But EU ministers have turned down a request to take in Libyan migrants if they reach Europe.
EDITORIALS AND COLUMNS:
Europe’s not so wonderful example (Thorsten Knuf, Presseurop/Frankfurter Rundschau)
What must a North African currently following news from the “European community of shared values” be thinking? It’s not just that the community’s support for the fight for freedom around the Mediterranean has been half-hearted. It’s that it is taking its own members’ violations of the values the community espouses rather calmly.
The Cultural Contradictions of Multiculturalism (Paulina Neuding, Project Syndicate)
State-sponsored multiculturalism has failed. That proclamation by British Prime Minister David Cameron, following hard on the heels of similar renunciations of multiculturalism by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, suggests that a page is being turned in European society. But is it?
Compiled with the assistance of Klee Aiken.
Image: transatlantic.jpg