Europe & Eurasia

Serbia bows to EU, softens stance on Kosovo

By Reuters

From Reuters:  Serbia made a major concession to the European Union on Wednesday by agreeing to soften a draft U.N. resolution on the future of Kosovo and seek dialogue with the breakaway country. "We have found a formula to open a dialogue on future solutions," President Boris Tadic said in a statement. … Belgrade said […]

Uncoordinated Defense cuts threaten NATO’s future

By Tomas Valasek, the Wall Street Journal

From Tomas Valasek, the Wall Street Journal:  As European governments rein in spending, defense budgets are falling, often dramatically. Germany plans to cut its armed forces by a third and the U.K. wants to reduce military spending by as much as 20%.

NATO: A Fat, Bloated, Job Creation Project?

By James Joyner, the New Atlanticist

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Lost amidst the welcome news of British-French cooperation on military cost-sharing in some tough talk from their ministers of defense on NATO. Last week, I noted that the FT‘s superb reporter Ben Hall buried the lead, waiting until the 13th paragraph of a story to pass along Liam Fox‘s pronouncement […]

EU Financial Supervision Framework Passed

By James Joyner

The EU’s finance ministers agreed this morning to submit the outlines of their budget plans for approval by the European Commission.  The hope is that this will forestall another Greek-style bailout and the collapse of the euro. Jan Strupczewski for Reuters ("Ministers agree to EU vetting future budget plans"): The process, called the European Semester, […]

Govt scuttles talk of France aircraft carrier share

By Dave Clark, AFP

From Dave Clark, AFP:  France and Britain announced Friday they are talking about sharing the cost of military aircraft programmes, but rejected reports that they plan to merge their aircraft carrier fleets. "In terms of actually being able to share an aircraft carrier, I would have thought that that was utterly unrealistic," Defence Minister Liam […]

Europe and Benign Neglect

By Roger Cohen, the New York Times

From Roger Cohen, the New York Times:  “Europe is the object of benign U.S. neglect,” said Camille Grand, a prominent Paris-based defense analyst. “Obama has not established or re-established a strategic relationship with any single European country or with Europe as a whole.”

Russia, EU to establish defense and security coordination group – General Staff

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti: Russia and the European Union are set to establish a joint defense and security working group, the chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said on Friday. "We held a detailed, frank dialogue, and shared opinions on European security and outlined the steps to be taken, including the establishment […]

U.S. Air Force assumes command of NATO Baltic air policing mission

By defpro.com

From defpro.com:  The 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, assumed command of the NATO Baltic air policing mission Sept. 1 from the Polish air force at Lithuania Air Force Air Base. For the next four months, the squadron, comprising approximately 125 people, is responsible for ensuring the air sovereignty of […]

West gives Serbia tough message on Kosovo

By Adam Tanner and Ivana Sekularac, Reuters