European Union

Polish ForMin: “We should be prepared for the day when Europe has to take care of its own security”

By Radek Sikorski, the Economist

Adapting the US-EU Summit for a Globalized World

By Fran Burwell and Annette Heuser

As President Obama prepares to meet with European leaders for the first U.S.-EU Summit since the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, the Atlantic Council and the Bertelsmann Foundation have prepared a joint strategy arguing that such meetings can only advance policies of interest to Washington and Brussels if the gatherings are restructured and less exclusive. […]

Is an independent Europe a more honorable alternative to NATO?

By Martin Kettle, the Guardian

From Martin Kettle, the Guardian:  The great achievement of Nato is that it has helped to keep the peace in Europe – with occasional exceptions – for more than 60 years. The longer this peace lasts, and the more distant the memory of war becomes, the more it needs to be reiterated that this is […]

Getting Natural Gas to the Balkans

By Borut Grgic

Following years of conflict, international isolation and slow growth, the Balkan countries are on an economic revival track, with GDP growth hovering around 5 percent. Sure, the numbers are more impressive in China, India, Brazil and Turkey, but when compared to the rest of Europe, the Balkan economies are doing great. That is the good […]

Breaking the Security Cooperation Logjam Between Russia and the West

By Tomáš Karásek and Jakub Kulhanek

NATO is gearing up to meet in Lisbon to sign off on its new strategic doctrine and Russia is in the spotlights again with a new offer of partnership with the Alliance in the pipelines. Yet, despite vague proclamations the current rapprochement on security matters lacks any solid foundation on which the West and Russia […]

Former US Ambassador to NATO previews key issues at Lisbon Summit

By the Council on Foreign Relations

From the Council on Foreign Relations:  Excerpts from interview of Robert E. Hunter (Senior Advisor at the RAND Corporation and U.S. ambassador to NATO from 1993 to 1998) by Bernard Gwertzman (Consulting Editor, Council on Foreign Relations).

Save NATO: Merge it with CSDP

By Sarwar Kashmeri

In this issue brief, Sarwar Kashmeri, Atlantic Council Nonresident Senior Fellow and recent author of “NATO 2.0: Reboot or Delete?”, proposes the responsibility of managing NATO be turned over to the Europeans through a merger with the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.Download the PDF

Hu Woos the EU: China’s Enhanced Engagement of Europe

By Patrick deGategno

Last week, as President Obama fought false expectations and diminishing rates of strategic returns during his trip to Asia, his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, quietly traveled to Europe for a series of meetings in France and Portugal. Hu’s trip was far more successful than Obama’s.

Avoiding the Next War in the South Caucasus

By Borut Grgic

While most European governments are cutting defense spending to balance their budgets and curtail debt, there are at least two countries on the Continent that are doing the exact opposite: Azerbaijan and Armenia are both ramping up their defense spending, and have been doing so for the last several years. The two countries are locked […]