Commentary

Iron diplomacy

How is it that Spain, a country that has recently known a long dictatorship, is so insensitive to activists for democracy and human rights in other countries?

Time to rally the European troops, General Ashton

Baroness Ashton may be judged on how well she dons a general’s beret. In building Europe’s military capabilities, there is fortunately both much to rectify and build on

When bad news goes unnoticed

With the rest of Europe preoccupied with the van Rompuy and Ashton appointments, the French Europe Minister, Pierre Lellouche, picked the best time to announce some bad news: there will no joint Franco-German minister

Van Rompuy is the right man for the job

Belgian leadership consists of bringing consensus to a fractious coalition, exactly what the president of the EU has to do

Reflecting for action

What will Europe’s leaders do with the reflection group’s report, which aims to be straight talking, concise and legible, when Felipe Gonz?lez delivers next year?

La eficacia del diablo

The EU was “diabolically efficient” in picking Rompuy and Ashtong to preserve the power of national capitals

After all the horse-trading, the final two

The names Hermann van Rompuy and Cathy Asthon have baffled Europeans today. But they may prove to be exactly the type of names Europe needs at its top

Europe’s new leaders

Stop the traffic, they won?t, but Van Rompuy and Ashton will do better: they will build a traffic system