European Union

Euro Fall Spells Trouble for the Balkan EU Perspective

By Borut Grgic

The Euro crisis is far from over despite – or perhaps because of – the decision by the ECB to set-up a 750 billion euro emergency fund to protect the euro-zone countries from going bankrupt.  The economic outlook is grim, which is likely to have some profound political consequences, not least on EU’s enlargement policy.

Turkey’s Zero-Problems Foreign Policy

By Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Policy

From Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Policy:  During the Cold War, Turkey was a "wing country" under NATO’s strategic framework, resting on the geographic perimeter of the Western alliance. NATO’s strategic concept, however, has evolved in the post-Cold War era — and so has Turkey’s calculation of its strategic environment. Turkey’s presence in Afghanistan is a clear […]

Finnish PM Says Finland Should Keep NATO Door Ajar

By Xinhua

Lavrov Tells EU, NATO Not to Meddle in CIS Affairs

By RIA Novosti

From RIA Novosti:  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Wednesday the European Union and NATO against interfering in the internal affairs of post-Soviet states. Lavrov told the lower house of parliament that events such as the Ukrainian elections and the Kyrgyz revolution prove that interference in the internal affairs of independent states can produce […]

NATO: Reboot or Delete?

By Sarwar Kashmeri

It would be a pity to let NATO fade away; because it will then have to be reinvented someday. And that will not be easy. Today’s NATO is an increasingly dysfunctional organization, still searching for a new role two decades after the end of the Cold War. Left dangling in this state NATO will soon […]

Goodbye to Europe?

By James Joyner

"It is more than a little ironic that NATO has committed itself to defining a new strategic concept at precisely the moment the transatlantic relationship counts for less than at any time since the 1930s."  So begins an FT op-ed by CFR president Richard Haass.

The EU, NATO and the Limits of Burdensharing

By Charlemagne, the Economist

From Charlemagne, the Economist: Since 1949, Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty has bound NATO members to a solemn vow: an armed attack on one of the alliance shall be treated as an attack against all. With international markets closed to Greece, and contagion threatening Portugal and Spain, European Union leaders agreed to a […]

In First Move, Cameron Cultivates UK Role in Europe’s “Triangle of Power”

By the New York Times

Greek, Turkish PMs Meet, Discuss Defence Cuts

By Reuters

From Reuters: The prime ministers of longtime rivals Greece and Turkey met on Friday to ease tensions and discuss cuts in defence spending, a crucial step for Athens as it struggles with a debt crisis that is shaking the euro. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Athens with 10 ministers and about 80 businessmen to […]

Whither Europe (and NATO)?

By Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy

From Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy:  In the past, Euro-optimists like Princeton’s Andrew Moravcsik have argued that crises like this just make Europe stronger, by forcing it to get its house in order and strengthen the relevant supra-national institutions. Maybe, but I’d be more convinced if my friend Andy hadn’t described Europe as being "stronger than […]