Category: Blogs

Top News: Sisi Frees Presidency, Cabinet from Some Public Sector Labor Laws

By EgyptSource

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi issued a decree exempting him and the Prime Minister from following public sector labor regulations when it comes to hiring and firing top staffers. Articles 19 and 20 of the Civil Service Law, which was ratified in February this year, hold that senior and executive management positions in the public sector […]

EconSource: US Official Says Majority of Iraq’s Baiji Refinery Controlled by ISIS

By EconSource

Iraqi security forces are “all but cut off” at the Baiji oil refinery by the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and now only control about 20 percent of the facility, according to a senior US official.

TTIP Action | May 7

By Global Business & Economics Program

The Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell, EU Ambassador David O’Sullivan, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry & Analysis Marcus Jadotte, President and CEO of Center for Democracy & Technology Nuala O’Connor, and Managing Director of Rock Creek Global Advisors Daniel Price discussed the future of transatlantic cooperation on the digital economy at the Atlantic Council’s event […]

TTIP Action | May 5

By Global Business & Economics Program

European Union Ambassador to the United States David O’Sullivan Speeches & Official Announcements EPP Group – Position Paper on International Trade ” It is estimated that in 2015, 90% of world growth will be generated outside the EU. It is a truism that more trade leads to higher productivity, contributes to increased external competitiveness and […]

In Britain, it’s Cameron… Again

By Ashish Kumar Sen

British Prime Minister is now in a much stronger position to counter the euroskeptic wing of his Conservative Party, says Atlantic Council’s Dungan British Prime Minister David Cameron defied political pundits and pollsters May 8 by winning a second five-year term in office. With the results of all 650 seats declared, Cameron’s Conservative Party (the […]

Recalibrating the Regional Political Balance in the Persian Gulf

US President Barack Obama will convene a meeting of leaders from all six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries— Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—at the White House and Camp David on May 13 and 14, respectively. The meeting aims to address the Gulf states’ concerns about a nuclear deal that […]

EU Aspirants Face a Closed, if Not Locked, Door on Enlargement

By Robbie Gramer

Aspirant EU members Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are poised to leave the upcoming EU Eastern Partnership Summit disappointed, though not empty-handed. An advance draft of the Eastern Partnership declaration, to be unveiled at the summit on May 21 to 22 in Riga, Latvia, underscores the European Union’s drift away from stronger engagement with its partners.

More give, less take needed at the GCC Camp David summit

By Matthew Kroenig

The purpose of the upcoming summit at Camp David between President Barack Obama and leaders from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is clear. America’s traditional partners in the Gulf feel nervous in the wake of an announced framework agreement that will allow Iran to keep its latent nuclear weapons capability, while providing […]

Political Crisis Intensifies in Burundi: An Update

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the danger of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza’s intentions to run for a controversial third term, and how his efforts could undermine the country’s fragile peace. Much has happened in two weeks: the ruling party did, indeed, nominate Nkurunziza as its candidate for June’s presidential elections. When he accepted the […]

All the King’s Men Will Have a Hard Time Putting Yemen Together Again

By Adam Simpson

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition announced the end of Operation Decisive Storm on April 21 and rebranded the continued military intervention in Yemen “Restoring Hope.” Though the Saudis claimed to have completed their objectives, the ongoing bombing campaign and musings over a ground operation suggest this is patently not the case.