Articles

Why the EU should abstain on the Palestinian issue in the UNGA

Europeans have much to gain from unity during any vote at the United Nations supporting Palestinian statehood. However the best response to a complex situation is to abstain. A response to ECFR's recent memo in favour of a 'yes' vote.  

It’s CSDP – or live in a world run by others

In a response to an article by Jan Techau attacking Common Security and Defence Policy, Nick Witney argues that Europe can and must take on more shared responsibility for its own security in the multipolar 21st century.  

Why China wants a G3 world

Despite the fashionable talk about BRICS and the G2 of Washington and Beijing, we really now live in a G3 world that combines US military power and consumption, Chinese capital and labour, and European rules and technology.  

Europe’s options: brew beer or reform

The European financial crisis is not just about the immediate debt problem: it's about Europe's longer term viability in a more competitive world. For the sake of future European generations we need to start the hard bargaining process over real and painful reforms straight away.  

Should the euro be abolished?

In this contribution to an online Economist debate on the future of the euro, Thomas Klau argues that the single currency is indispensible if Europe is to punch its weight on the global stage in the 21st century.  

Can the EU do less good in the world?

Understandably, European governments are rethinking their aid budgets in the light of the economic crisis. But any cuts to aid and foreign ministry budgets should be judged according to results rather than a simple cost calculation.  

Who is the next Egyptian pharaoh?

Egypt's transition towards democracy is a delicate work in progress. The identity of the new leader – the new 'pharaoh' – of a third of all Arabs will be crucial if the transition is to be a successful one.  

Two challenges for Europe’s politicians

The longer term challenges for Europe's politicians are to contest real power at a European level and be honest with voters about the issues confronting the continent in the 21st century.  

True Europeans now need a ‘Plan B’

In an article for the Financial Times, George Soros argues that European leaders now need to search for an alternative to the crisis that has spread across Europe. This 'Plan B' for Europe will be a European solution, rather than the national solutions that so many are looking for.  

Germany’s contribution to the Arab Spring: arms sales

Berlin's failure to support intervention in Libya but willingness to arm Saudi Arabia shows the central contradiction in a foreign policy that is increasingly driven by the needs of a geoeconomic power's export industry.