China & Russia
Can the EU thaw frozen conflicts
30 June 2008
The Czech government floated proposals in May that would see the EU take a more active role in solving frozen conflicts in eastern Europe. The Czechs hold the EU’s rotating presidency next year, so their wish may become reality.
Humanising China
05 June 2008
An extraordinary thing happened to China the other week. Not the Sichuan earthquake, even though that was an enormous, catastrophic event. Nor even the phenomenal popular response to this tragedy.
Four pillars for an EU-India partnership
02 June 2008
Until recently, neither the EU nor India took their relationship very seriously. That is starting to change, thanks to burgeoning economic ties.
Towards better days in EU-US relations
02 June 2008
As the field of candidates in the US presidential election dwindles, the future of US foreign policy is becoming clearer. The changes, as seen from Europe, will be mostly for the better.
Issue 60 - 2008
30 May 2008
- Towards better days in EU-US relations, Tomas Valasek
- Four pillars for an EU-India partnership, Charles Grant
- Europe can afford to curb greenhouse gases, Simon Tilford
Can Europe and China shape a new world order?
01 May 2008
A new world order is emerging, with multiple centres of power. But will this order be multilateral, with governments accepting global rules and institutions? Or will the strongest states assert their interests unilaterally, without regard to international law?
For a new Iran policy
01 April 2008
For almost six years now the West has tried – and failed – to stop the Iranian nuclear programme. Instead, nuclear enrichment has become a matter of Iranian national pride and sovereignty.
Dmitry Medvedev - Putin clone or the new man?
13 March 2008
As Dmitry Medvedev walked across Red Square to join the concert celebrating his crushing victory in the Russian presidential elections, he could have been forgiven for wondering whether he had reached the pinnacle of achievement or been handed a poisoned chalice.
Time for the Export-Weltmeister to start consuming
13 February 2008
Too many Europeans are blaming the US for the economic slowdown in Europe, as if everything would have been fine if only the Americans were not so irresponsible. This is complacent.
Poland’s bold new foreign policy
01 February 2008
For the rest of Europe, the worst thing about Poland’s Law and Justice government, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was its foreign policy. His approach towards Russia, Germany and (sometimes) the EU – supported by his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski – was confrontational.
Don't be fooled: Bali was no breakthrough
18 December 2007
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali produced as much as it was ever likely to do. There was no breakthrough, contrary to the claims of some that attended the conference.
Preparing for the multipolar world: European foreign and security policy in 2020
18 December 2007
The world is becoming increasingly multipolar. Will that mean democratic poles lining up against autocracies, in two competing camps? Or will all the leading powers support multilateral institutions?
China is losing its EU friends
29 November 2007
The EU is getting tough on China. That, at least, is the impression one gets from high-ranking EU officials that arrived for the annual EU-China summit in Beijing this week. Economics is the main reason for Europe’s changing mood.
The euro as the world’s reserve currency?
15 November 2007
Back in the 1970s President Nixon’s treasury secretary, John Connally, famously quipped that “the dollar may be our currency, but it’s your problem”.
EU-Russia: No more ambitions
01 November 2007
The CER organised a conference on EU-Russia relations in Brussels on October 30th, together with ‘Russia Profile’ magazine. I have been to dozens of these EU-Russia meetings in the last couple of years.
Can the EU learn to live with Chinese mercantilism?
29 October 2007
Not long after its launch, the euro was famously dismissed by a disgruntled currency trader as a “toilet currency”. How things have changed.
A grand bargain with Russia?
19 October 2007
Relations between the Russia and the West have not been so prickly since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Viewed from the US and the EU, Russia is being obstructive across a whole swathe of issues, such as its blockade of trade with Georgia, its refusal to accept independence for Kosovo, and its opposition to further UN sanctions on Iran.
What should Europe do about sovereign wealth funds?
01 October 2007
Several EU governments have become alarmed about sovereign wealth funds (SWFs). Germany, for example, is thinking of preventing such funds from buying local companies in sensitive sectors.
Transatlantic relations after Bush
01 October 2007
Answer this: which US president bombed Iraq, attacked Afghanistan, and started a war without UN Security Council approval? Here is a hint: the same president, explaining why he launched the strike on Iraq, said: “Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to threaten his neighbours or the world with nuclear arms,...