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Defense Industrialist

Oct 3, 2017

The military implications of Catalonian secession—an update

By James Hasik

assuming that Catalonia was admitted to NATO, what would the newly independent country contribute? At the 2014 Strategic Foresight Forum at the Atlantic Council, Anne Marie Slaughter of the New America Foundation opined that an independent Catalonia would do a fine job of defending itself. After all, Catalonia is a country of over 7 million people, with more than $300 billion in GDP. Spending just 1.6% of that—well below the widely-ignored NATO threshold, of course—provides over $4.5 billion annually. y de-emphasizing the military forces that any landlocked country will have, and instead steering investments towards those it is comparatively positioned to provide, Catalonia could punch above its weight in European political affairs.

Defense Policy Eastern Europe

New Atlanticist

Oct 2, 2017

EU Membership on the Line: Independence Would Prove Costly for Catalonia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Catalonia would lose membership of the European Union (EU) if it were to declare independence from Spain—a development that would have serious economic consequences for this affluent region, according to the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. “That means barriers will go up immediately; no free movement for people who have Catalan passports; no free movement of […]

European Union International Organizations

In the News

Sep 28, 2017

Gedmin in The Hill: EU culture wars: Legal Debate Over Refugees Masks Deeper, Explosive Issues

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Read the full article here.

European Union International Organizations

In the News

Sep 28, 2017

Gedmin in The Hill: EU Culture Wars: Legal Debate Over Refugees Masks Deeper, Explosive Issues

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Read the full article here.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2017

European Ambassadors Defend Iran Nuclear Deal

By Ashish Kumar Sen

European ambassadors to the United States on September 25 defended the nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is working, while warning that reopening negotiations would be a nonstarter and walking away from the deal would have serious consequences. This joint defense comes as US President Donald J. Trump, who has to certify to the US […]

European Union France

EconoGraphics

Sep 25, 2017

Crude Awakening

By Ole Moehr

On August 2, 2017, US President Donald J. Trump signed into law H.R.3364, a new set of economic sanctions aimed primarily on Russia (with additional measures adopted against Iran and North Korea). Essential to the success of any sanctions regime is its alignment.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

MENASource

Sep 20, 2017

What the EU gets right about the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Mariam El Atouabi

 US President Donald Trump waived economic sanctions on Iran’s banks and oil exports on September 14, as part of a law passed by Congress in 2015, following the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement—or Iran nuclear deal. The law requires every 120 days for the US president to decide whether to waive the […]

European Union Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2017

Not the United States of Europe

By Reginald Dale

Britain’s conservative Daily Telegraph splashed its front page September 14 with the banner headline “A United States of Europe.” The page was embellished with a half-photo of the face of Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, framed by the blue, gold-starred flag of the European Union. The eurosceptic Telegraph was not, of course, hailing […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Event Recap

Sep 15, 2017

What’s next for the Greek Economy? A Conversation with Minister Pappas

By Global Business & Economics Program

On September 15, the Atlantic Council’s EuroGrowth Initiative hosted a private roundtable discussion with H.E. Nikos Pappas, Greek Minister of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Media and Chief Strategist to Prime Minsiter Alexis Tsipras.

Economy & Business European Union

Report

Sep 14, 2017

The Euro’s Difficult Future

By Luigi Bonatti

In The Euro’s Difficult Future – Competitiveness Imbalances and the Eurozone’s North-South Divide author Luigi Bonatti, a professor of economics at the University of Trento in Italy, stresses that the existing North-South competitiveness divide creates growing tensions between member countries and fuels hostility towards European Union institutions. The paper illustrates why this competitiveness divide is […]

European Union Fiscal and Structural Reform

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