Southern and Southeastern Europe

Libya Unrest Worries Italy

By AFP

Italy is seriously concerned over unrest in Libya and the government’s ability to rein in local militias, Defence Minister Mario Mauro said Monday during a visit to Washington.

Chinese Military Ship Will Help Guard Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons

By New York Times, Reuters, & South China Morning Post

From Jane Perlez, New York Times:  The same day that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of the United States blasted the actions of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea as “irresponsible,” China announced that it would deploy a military ship to work with an American vessel involved in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

A Leadership Role for Greece

Roundtable discussion with Ambassador Anastasis Mitsialis, secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece On January 1, Greece will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program hosted Ambassador Anastasis Mitsialis, secretary-general of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday for a roundtable discussion on […]

A Conversation with Serbian Ambassador to the US, Vladimir Petrovic

On December 6, 2013, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program had the honor of hosting Serbia’s Ambassador to the United States Vladimir Petrovic, on the occasion of the completion of his successful tenure as ambassador. Ambassador Petrovic spoke candidly to a select group of Balkans experts from the Washington policy community in an off-the-record roundtable […]

Anarchy at Door, West Starts to Rebuild Libyan Army

By Patrick Markey, Reuters

Turkey, Italy, and Britain are leading the way with promises to train around 8,000 troops and police in skills from infantry basics to forensics. Other recruits are graduating from programs in Jordan.

US Plan for New, Western-Trained Libyan Force Faces Obstacles

By Abigail Hauslohner and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post

At the request of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, the United States, Britain and Italy have agreed to train 5,000 to 8,000 troops, many of whom will be drawn from existing militias.

Northrop Grumman Begins Building Drones for NATO’s AGS Program

By April M. Havens, Gulf Live

Many NATO countries have “a crying need” for the capabilities that will be provided by five unmanned aircraft being built by Northrop Grumman Corp., NATO’s Jim Edge said today.

Transatlantic Cooperation Towards the Middle East

On December 4, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations program hosted an off-the-record roundtable discussion with Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Italian Parliament, Lapo Pistelli. Pistelli has been an integral part of Enrico Letta’s government since his appointment in May 2013. The conversation also featured program directors from the Atlantic Council’s […]

American Leadership and the Future of the Transatlantic Alliance

By Marco Rubio, Chatham House

We are witnessing an attack on our shared values.

NATO: France Pulling Its Troops Out of Kosovo Mission

By AP and Reuters

From AP:  NATO’s supreme commander says France is pulling out of the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo because of commitments in Mali and Central African Republic.