According to Article 2 of the EUT the European Union and its Members are based on fundamental values, including democracy and the rule of law. In case of clear risk of violation of these values by a Member State the Council may take action according to Article 7. In Romania such a risk presently exists… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
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English, Enlargement & Neighbours, EU, EU Priorities and Opinion, Romania |
June 5, 2012
The Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has raised an outcry in his country and beyond by opening a crusade against abortions and pleading for at least three children per family. He has called upon his government to prepare appropriate legislation to ban or restrict abortions and caesarian births to strictly medical indications. Abortion, which is legal… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
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English, Enlargement & Neighbours, EU Priorities and Opinion |
Serbia has elected a new President. Against all odds and polls Tomislav Nicolic has won over the incumbent, Boris Tadic, though by a narrow majority. The new President has dubious political credentials. For most of his political career, he has been associated with the extreme right. He has been vice president of the Serbian Radical… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
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English, Enlargement & Neighbours, EU Priorities and Opinion |
March 5, 2012
The week of February 27th to March 3rd is likely to write history in the short annals of European diplomacy. For the first time, the EU has played tit for tat with Belarus, its annoying Eastern neighbour country that excels above all by its authoritarian, repressive regime. On February 28th the EU foreign ministers condemned… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
December 16, 2011
Sometimes stupid conflicts between people, families or countries persist over many years because of intransigence of the parties or lack of proper outside mediators. The conflict between Greece and Macedonia is one of these. It lasts ever since the breakup of Yugoslavia two decades ago and the independence of the Yugoslav republics , all of… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
October 24, 2011
At an emergency meeting on Syria held in Cairo October 16th the Arab League foreign ministers have called for an immediate end of violence and invited the Syrian government and opposition forces to urgently engage in a dialogue. They fell short of suspending Syrian membership, as they had done in February with Libya in protest… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
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English, Enlargement & Neighbours, EU Priorities and Opinion |
October 17, 2011
The condemnation of former Ukrainian prime minister Julia Timoschenko for having negotiated unfavourable terms in the 2008 gas agreement with Russia has raised a storm of outrage in EU quarters. However justified, passion should never be a guide to external relations which need to be rationally defined on the basis of long-term political and economic… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
September 19, 2011
During the last two months relations between Turkey and Cyprus have worsened to an extent unheard of for years. In the most recent days, Turkish politicians have gone the point of threatening with naval force in case the Cypriot government would go ahead with drilling for gas in its economic zone and, even worse, the… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
The biggest socio-economic problem North Africa will face in the coming 20 years is to put its millions of young people to work. Egypt alone will need to absorb one million youngsters newly arriving annually at labour market, in addition to several million chronically unemployed. To that end it will have to engage in massive… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
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Africa, English, Enlargement & Neighbours, EU Priorities and Opinion, unemployment |
January 26, 2011
During the last 30 years Tunisia has received more economic assistance from the EU than any other North-African country with the exception of Palestine. Its very rapid economic development sine the beginning of the century, with an annual GDP growth of 5 percent would not have been possible without the Association Agreement guaranteeing Tunisian industry… » read more
Posted by Eberhard Rhein
Thoughts on energy and climate, the Mediterranean and whatever comes to mind.
