EU archivos - Page 8 of 10

A blogger’s dream come true: Europe to form its own army

Europe’s security, just like its economy, should be integrated for greater efficiency and impact. United, Europe’s defence mechanism could deter any potential outside threat. The idea is not to merge all national armies or replace them by a pan-European one, rather to create a force that will complement and assist them in case of emergency. Hopefully Mr. Juncker’s call will find strong support from the majority of EU members. We should not wait for a crisis to come to our door to try to tackle such important issues under duress. Now is the time to lay the foundations for the future continent that we would like our children to live in.

DEBATE: Should we arm Ukraine or not?

As violence continues in Ukraine, following the agreements reached in Minsk II, the debate now focusses on the West’s support for Kiev, with the shipment of arms – or not – to the Ukrainian government. Esglobal asked experts for and against arming the country and each has defended their position with different arguments.

Greece and the euro: has the moment of truth finally come?

Among other issues, the year 2015 will continue to be marked in Europe by renewed tension between the European Union and its somewhat “problematic” Member State, Greece; tension of almost unprecedented nature, certainly long-lasting and with unpredictable consequences for everyone. At the political level, this is a tension that pits a relatively radical version of the left, which is dominant in the new Greek government, against conservative liberalism, which is little questioned by social democracy that is associated with power in Germany and Europe more generally, as a moderately influential minority partner.

Mogherini at the UN

This is what she said: Mr President, It is an honour for me to address the Security Council in my first months as High Representative of the European Union. I would like to thank the French presidency of the Council for this opportunity to discuss our partnership. And I would like to thank you, Mr…

Setting the ground for Eastern partnerships

The Fourth Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit to be held in Riga in May 2015 will mark an “opportunity to evaluate progress achieved in political association and economic integration” between the EU and the post-Soviet states of Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Georgia. According to this semester’s Latvian EU Presidency, the summit will send a “strong signal of long-term strategic support” to the EaP countries. There will be discussions about trade, mobility and energy. A declaration of Heads of State will be negotiated and published, probably reaffirming the EU’s commitment to a more adaptable and tailored-made EaP based on its current four priorities: democracy and good governance, economic integration, energy security and people-to-people contacts. That said, EU relations with Eastern Partnership countries are far from simple.

Urgent need for better irregular migration policy in Europe

Dialogue , Op-ed , EU
1 March, 2015

By Tristan du Puy “Europe needs to manage migration better.” This statement was made on 19 February 2015 by EU Commissioner Avramopoulos, in charge of Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, and is spot-on. Europe’s irregular immigration and asylum policies are failing on several fronts. Although one could argue that these questions remain a part of national policies, it should also be stated that the chaotic organization at the European level only brings inefficiency on migration issues. The current situation does not afford the luxury for EU member states to go on quarreling on the righteousness of managing irregular migration at the EU level.

Poland’s complicity in CIA torture programme confirmed

The European Court of Human Rights has confirmed that the Polish government was complicit in the CIA’s secretive programme of rendition, detention and interrogation. The Court in Strasbourg rejected a challenge from the Polish government to a landmark ruling from last July, a decision which now makes that original judgement final. July’s judgment said that two current Guantánamo inmates, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, were held in a CIA prison in Poland, that they had been subject to torture, and that Poland failed in its duty under European human rights law to protect them or investigate what happened.

ISIS ante portas, and behind…

The recent beheading of Egyptian Copts working in Libya by ISIS and the subsequent air bombardment by the Egyptian air force of ISIS installations in Libya show how close the war and ISIS have come to Europe. If Syria and Iraq are considered still far from the EU heartland, Libya is only a few hundred nautical miles away from the coasts of Italy, Malta and Greece. This is too close for comfort. What can Europe do to address these emerging threats that are getting closer and closer to its soil? What it can certainly not afford to do is stay idle and wait. In this article I suggest a few measures that should at least be considered by the European leaders and the EU Institutions. One may think that such measures would move the EU closer to integration in defence and security matters, and that would probably be right, but that should not constitute a reason for panicking. On the contrary, one should start to worry about the future of a Europe facing determined enemies that stays fragmented and expects the US and others to do the heavy lifting for its security.

“Elections and democracy: one and the same thing?”

By Jasmina Dimitrieva

Are elections and democracy one and the same thing? Not only voters, but also elected officials sometimes confuse democracy with elections. Such mental attitude sees the internationally guaranteed right to public participation in decision-making reduced to elections. The inherent risk is that public participation in the formulation and implementation of public polices for common good, as enunciated in the constitutions of Europe, remains a philosophical concept, with the elections as a sole manifestation of democracy on the physical plan. While looking at the other side of the coin, it seems beyond imagination nowadays to have in place a democratic system of governance without first holding elections, and without a meaningful parliamentary opposition.

Modernizing Greece: which structural reforms?

Greece’s problem is not a lack of liberalization, deregulation and privatizations but rather the weakness of its public institutions, underpinned by a chronic revenue shortage. In effect, you may liberalize and deregulate as much as you want but this is not going to make things better for Greece. A progressive agenda aiming to cure the Greek malaise would have to address the competitiveness deficit, low productivity, an overextended and inefficient public sector, an unjust tax system and a couple more core challenges…