International Organizations

Iran Sanctions Saga: Enter the EU

By Emanuele Ottolenghi

Next week the European Union will introduce new sanctions against Iran. These new measures, which expand UN sanctions and follow comparable measures in the United States, will target Iranian energy, air transport and shipping lines, and financial institutions in an effort to compel Tehran to abandon its unlawful nuclear activities. In the past, the EU […]

Hungary’s strongest leader targets the media

By the Washington Post

Russia rotates its peacekeepers in Transdnestr

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russia starts on Monday a regular rotation of its peacekeeping contingent in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transdnestr. The peacekeeping operation in the region is carried out by the Collective Peacekeeping Forces (CPF), comprising 402 Russian, 492 Transdnestrian, 355 Moldovan troops and 10 Ukrainian observers. The peacekeepers man a total of 15 checkpoints […]

Official – Troops out of Afghanistan by 2014

By Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady, the Independent

From Jonathan Owen and Brian Brady, the Independent:  A communiqué containing a blueprint for British troops to pull out from Afghanistan in four years’ time has been leaked ahead of a major international conference this week. British troops are to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014, under a secret blueprint for drawing down coalition forces […]

Canada, EU on track for free trade deal in 2011: minister

By AFP

Sponsor of Flotilla Tied to Turkey’s Ruling Party

By Dan Bilefsky and Sebnem Arsu, the New York Times

EU reaches out for new powers at United Nations

By Leigh Phillips, the EUobserver

From Leigh Phillips, the EUobserver:  European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will in future be able to address the UN chamber no differently from US President Barack Obama or Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmedinejad under draft reforms agreed by member states. EU countries at meetings in Brussels and New York have agreed to table a resolution […]

New & Improved European Parliament? The View From Europe

By Scott Bleiweis

Last week’s approval of the SWIFT agreement demonstrates Parliament’s implementation of the “co-decision” powers granted by last December’s Lisbon Treaty. But what does its new status really mean? Several MEPs provided their takes to the BBC. Diana Wallis from the U.K. believes, [T]he European Parliament has clearly been the big winner, with new powers as […]

EU officials assure Turkey over accession

By AFP

From AFP:  EU officials assured Turkey Tuesday over its troubled bid to join the bloc and praised the country’s growing regional role after claims the lagging progress was pushing Ankara away from the West. The commitment came after a meeting in Istanbul between EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, enlargement commissioner Stefan Fule, Turkish Foreign […]

“Battle Royal” Over Internet Privacy: The View from Europe

By Scott Bleiweis

At the Atlantic Council last week, U.S. and EU officials pledged to work together on creating a common framework to regulate data sharing and privacy protection between them. But if it is to be put into practice, such an effort will have to overcome significant challenges and differing perspectives on these issues.