EU Presidency and Thomas Moore Institue : Weekend 17th Oct Scoring 11.5/20

Thomas More Institute for European studies. (en , fr)
The independent Brussels-based think-tank has argued the French presidency of the EU deserves a mark of 11.5 out of 20 for its mid-term performance

information found via EUObserver, Elitsa Vucheva, Barroso and Sarkozy plead for permanent EU presidency.

Magazines : Weekend 17-19th October

Europe and the financial crisis : The end of the beginning? The Economist (en)
German education : Bottom of the form. The Economist (en)
The Caucasus : After the war . The Economist (en)

A deep recession would be a big challenge for the European Union. Charlemagne, The Economist (en)
" ... FEW governments enjoy recessions. But the looming one poses a special threat to the European Union—a group of countries held together by overlapping pacts of solidarity. In the EU, solidarity is guaranteed by law, rhetoric and plenty of money. Take away the money, and it can start to look awfully fragile ...
... It is a cliché of European politics that the EU achieves its greatest advances in times of crisis. That seems optimistic this time. Generosity and enlightened self-interest are at the heart of the European project. But neither today’s enlarged EU nor Europe’s single currency has been through a really deep recession: European solidarity is facing its severest test. "

No Sex With Humans for Euro-Politicians. Elaib Harvey, The Brussels Journal (en)
" ... In a letter, 37 MEPs asked Hans-Gert Pöttering, the President of the European Parliament, to curtail the “encouragement of prostitution by members of the EU Parliament”. Every hotel, which is used by the 785 MEPs and their staff on business trips, should give a “guarantee statement” that denies access for prostitutes to the rooms. Furthermore, MEPs should be banned from welcoming prostitutes in their hotel rooms .."

Barroso and Sarkozy plead for permanent EU presidency. Elitsa Vucheva, EUObserver (en)
" ... "We need a president of the Council [the institution representing EU member states] that does not change every six months," Mr Barroso told journalists at the end of an EU leaders' meeting in Brussels on Thursday (16 October). "To lead [EU] member states, we need a very strong presidency." ...
... (Sarkozy)"It is not because one is not president of the Council that one can say nothing in Europe. France will continue to say things [after its presidency ends on 31 December]. We will perhaps still have the right, no?" he said. ..."

EU-15 mostly on track to meet Kyoto targets. Leigh Phillips, EUObserver (en)
" ... The EU-15 as a whole, excluding member states that joined in 2004 and 2007, should meet its collective target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent for the period 2008-2012 compared with 1990, the Kyoto agreement's baseline year ...
... The EEA figures show that as of 2006, four EU-15 Member States - France, Greece, Sweden and the UK - had already reached a level below their Kyoto target ...
... Eight additional other states - Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal - project that they will achieve their targets in the future ... While Denmark, Italy and Spain are behind ..."

Teaching. One hell of a profession . Cafe Babel (en)
" 6.25 million of them in Europe are shaping future generations. Their work conditions, like their salaries, vary inevitably from one country to another, whilst training to become a teacher is as trying as ever. Are young people still feeling called by the calling?

Cartoon : Weekend 17th October EU Recession

A deep recession would be a big challenge for the European Union

The Economist 2008

Webzines : Weekend 20th September

Eurocrats Step In Where MEPs Fear to Tread. Elaib Harvey, The Brussels Journal (en)

Romania: EU dreams, but prostitution and poverty reality. Mocanu Madalina, Cafe Babel (en)
" ... Right opposite the Mausoleum is a car park, ostensibly for visitors to the building. During the day, the car park becomes an ad-hoc car wash, with or without the consent of the owners. By night, the area is transformed into a paradise for pimps, prostitutes and truck drivers. The authorities seem powerless to intervene. And although many local residents display profound respect for the monument dedicated to national heroes, poverty has long since degraded the purpose and dignity of the Mausoleum ... For many people in Marasesti ... there is still deep scepticism as to exactly how much real long term impact EU membership will have on the daily lives of people in Vrancea County."

Lukashenko Calls on West to 'Accept' Belarus . Deutsche Welle (en)
"... "Belarus does not want dialogue with the West through the 'iron curtain' it has built on its border," Lukashenko said in an interview with Western journalists ahead of the parliamentary polls. "We want dialogue in all areas."
"We want you to accept us and to recognize our elections," Lukashenko said"

Czech Republic seeks EU institute on totalitarianism. Renata Goldirova, EUObserver (en)
" ... The Czech Republic, sitting at the EU's helm from January 2009, is to seek the establishment of a new European body that could serve as a research institute into totalitarianism and a museum of victims of totalitarian regimes. "The institution could cover our totalitarian past from Portugal through Greece to the Baltic States," ..."

Russia’s armed forces : Advancing, blindly The Economist (en)

" ... What Vladimir Putin, Russia’s prime minister, has called a “punch in the face” for Georgia may have been an attempt to demonstrate the restoration of Russia’s military power. But it also exposed the poor results from Russia’s recent surge in defence spending. This has doubled in nominal rouble terms since 2004. Yet much of the extra money has been eaten away by inflation ...

... On September 16th, Mr Putin announced a 27% increase in spending next year on “national defence and security”. Yet much of that money goes on maintaining Russia’s nuclear deterrent. During the cold war it was the West that relied on nuclear weapons to offset the Soviet Union’s conventional superiority; now it is the other way around ...

... Outside experts estimate that one-third of defence spending is embezzled or otherwise mis-spent ... “the Russian army is a black hole” into which money simply disappears. The result is a military fantasy in which Russia sends barely functional bombers and warships on long-range missions. Take the Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s only aircraft-carrier ... It has undergone interminable repairs since being commissioned in 1985. It took part in rare exercises in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean between December 2007 and February this year ... Russia’s announcement in July that it will build five or six more aircraft carriers has been met with derision. Russia does not have shipyards able to build such vessels; the Admiral Kuznetsov was built in a shipyard that is now in Ukraine ..."

Russia and its neighbours : Bang, crash. The Economist (en)

" Ever since Vladimir Putin and his ex-KGB friends came to power in Russia, they have had one big advantage: a booming economy, rising prices for oil and gas exports, and strong capital inflows from abroad. All of a sudden, that has changed ... As regulators and politicians in Moscow struggle to contain the damage, and firms worry about bonds due later this year, a big question is how the economic turmoil will affect Russian politics at home and its policies abroad ..."

Cartoon : 19th September (en)

Chapatte, 2008

Magazine Weekend : 13th September

A worrying new world order. Charlemagne, The Economist (en)
" ... Seen from Brussels, the Georgian crisis has exposed a tectonic shift in the global balance of power. It is not just that Russia is back. The crisis has also confirmed Europe’s sense of an America in relative decline ...
... Russian officials fought against displaying the EU flag at the press conference, wanting only French and Russian flags on the podium. Their disdainful message was clear: Russian leaders cut deals with powerful countries, not insignificant clubs. Yet that is to miss a key point. Mr Sarkozy’s weight as a negotiator stemmed from a mandate, agreed by 27 EU heads of government, to demand that Russia pull back its troops ...
... Some talked of an “apolar world”, a phrase coined by Niall Ferguson, a British historian ...

... Alexander Stubb, the Finnish foreign minister, talked of a new “era of overlapping systems”, in which assertive nation-states challenge the idea of an open global system, governed by international rules, common values and multilateral organisations ...

... Europeans had imagined the new world would be a “post-modern” paradise of dialogue and compromise, but that was “a bit naive”...

... The neo-polar order is easier to define by what it is not. The old multipolar world, as dreamt of by Mr Chirac and his friends, supposed that a European pole would form in opposition to American “hegemony”. But that is not happening ..."

Identity (ies) : 13th September

MEPs find recipe for happy European citizen. David Charter, The Times (en)
" The Ode to Joy, a snappy motto and a waving flag: this is the recipe for a proud and happy European citizen, MEPs have decided.
... “ [They] convey an emotional image of the underlying values of the organisations they represent, they play a part in making abstract ideas intelligible, they facilitate communication and participation and they help to bring the organisations that they symbolise closer to the citizens, thereby contributing to their legitimacy.”

Special US : Word Mapping Comparing DNC and RNC

The Words They Used, NYT (en) 2008
"The words that speakers used at the two political conventions show the themes that the parties have highlighted. Republican speakers have talked about reform and character far more frequently than the Democrats. And Republicans were more likely to talk about businesses and taxes, while Democrats were more likely to mention jobs or the economy."

Weekend : 8th to 10th August

Geopolitics (1). A bowl of thin alphabet soup. The Economist (en)
Geopolitics (2). Win today’s wars first The Economist (en)
Russian intellectuals. The hand that feeds them The Economist (en)
Bavaria. Old soldiers march into the unknown The Economist (en)
Germany’s Social Democrats. A dangerous flirtation The Economist (en)
Italy. The thin green line The Economist (en)
The Caucasus. Bang bang, who’s dead? The Economist (en)
Turkey. After the storm The Economist (en)

Food for Thought : 2nd August

"The psychology of the Human animal is malleable, with his personality dependent upon the proximity of other members if the species and the pressures exerted by them."
-Erasmus, Laboratory notes

Interview : Bernard Kouchner on France24

B.Kouchner, ministre Affaires étrangères
Uploaded by FRANCE_24

This is a Video interview from the France based International News channel.
The French foreign affairs minister gives his take on the relations with Iran, the situation in Iraq, the recently-created Mediterranean Union and his daily work with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

However, the most interesting part of the interview is At the beginning of the 8th Minute.
We can watch a 'portrait' or a Biography of the Minister made by a reporter.

In his Blog, La Mouette makes a strong analysis of the Minister's Reactions.

" C’est le masque, le crime de lèse majesté. Mister Hide remplace le Dr Jekkyl, n’hésitant pas à parler un «portrait discutable» et d’une «illustration bêtasse».
Le journaliste qui a fait le reportage n’a pas pris de gants. Le portrait est cruel, du sac de riz au « passage à l’ennemi » en n’omettant pas de mentionner que : «son pouvoir est plus que limité, tous les dossiers sensibles sont gérés de l’Elysée» et que l’homme politique a connu « un succès politique mitigé ». Aucun scoop, aucune contre-vérité mais le reportage place Bernard Kouchner face à ses contradictions. "

"This is the Mask, a crime of Lese-majesty. Mister Hide replaces Dr Jekkyl, talking about an ''questionable portrayal'' and a ''Sutpid exemplification''.

The journalist who made this documentary has not been politically correct. The portrayal is crual, from the rice bag to the ''Passage a l'ennemi'' (by joining Sarkozy's government) without omitting that ''his power is limited and that all the sensitive issues are directly treated at the Elysee Palace'' ...."

Short after the polemical report, we can actually see Bernard Kouchner loosing his temper. However, I have to say that I agree with all the arguments he is using and that eventually I would happy to have his job. I particularly liked when he compares his position with his predecessors and when he clearly argues that we cannot based a Foreign Policy only on Human Rights.


I put both version of the interview : the French one and the English one.



B.Kouchner, foreign affairs minister
Uploaded by FRANCE_24

Weekend's Links : The Economist

Turkey : A narrow scrape for democracy. The Economist (en)
Divorce : Divorce without borders. The Economist (en)
Romania : Mr Too Clean? The Economist (en)
Italy and Libya : Undoing the damage. The Economist (en)
High technology in Russia : Dubna’s tale . The Economist (en)
Bring out your models. Charlemagne, The Economist (en) *** Strongly Recommended

Quote of the Day : 26th July, Bernard Kouchner

"I didn't vote for Nicolas Sarkozy. But I get on well with him. It's not a relationship of subservience... I believed, like him, that French foreign policy needed to be changed,"

Bernard Kouchner. Interview with Charles Bremner, 26th July 2008.

Charles Bremner Blog.

Weekend's Links : 26th July (fr)

Prostests in Bosnia supporting Karadzic. LS, Le Figaro (fr)
Divorce : a reinforced coopération ? Jean Quatermer, Les Coulisses de Bruxelles (fr)
In Spain, housing and finance crashes raise unemployment. Le Monde (fr)
"Toute l'Afrique n'a pas rejeté le discours de Dakar". Henri Guaino, French President's Special Advisor, Le Monde.
Accords et désaccords entre socialistes français. Thomas Ferenczi, Le Monde (fr)

Weekend's Link : 26th July (en)

France : The reformist president. The Economist (en)
Lisbon Treaty : Vote early, vote often. The Economist (en)
Serbia and Radovan Karadzic : Arrest of a bearded man. The Economist (en)
Bulgaria, Romania and the EU : Balkan blushes. The Economist (en)
Smoking in Germany : Bans up. The Economist (en)
Defensive gestures. Charlemagne, The Economist (en)
Sarkozy catches Obama fever. Henry Samuel in Paris and Alex Spillius, The Telegraph (en)
Ryanair sparks row with Italy. Adrian Michaels, The Telegraph (en)
Cyprus summit may set talks timetable. The Telegraph (en)
UK : The election that could rock the nation. Alan Cochrane, The Telegraph (en)
Leading article: Europe today. Tomorrow, America. The Independent (en)
Peace in our time – or more Euro-squabbling? Chris Patten, The Guardian (en) ***
3 Hours in Paris, and Smiles All Around. Jeff Zeleny and Steven Erlanger, The NYT (en)
Turkey and Greece to Make New Attempt at United Cyprus. Sebnem Arsu. The NYT (en)

Best of Blogs : Weekend 26th July

Why Belgium ? Nosemonkey, Nosemonkey's EUtopia (en)
Heaven saves us from half-time MEPs. Julien Frisch, Julien Frisch's Blog (en)
Du journalisme sur le net. Jean Quatremer, Les Coulisses de Bruxelles (fr)
At home with Bernard Kouchner, Sarkozy's musketeer. Charles Bremner Blog (en)

Today's Links : 19th July, The Economist

Turkey’s future : Flags, veils and sharia. The Economist (en)
Plots and counterplots : Coup de grâce. The Economist (en)
Italy’s government : Berlusconi fiddles, Italy burns. The Economist (en)
Bosnia’s future : Balkan end-games. The Economist (en)
The Mediterranean Union : Sarko’s southern dream. The Economist (en)
France and Islam : burqa barrier. The Economist (en)
Poland’s history : Solid no more. The Economist (en)
Belgium’s government : Leterme’s limits. The Economist (en)
Flying lessons . Charlemagne, The Economist (en)

Today's Links : 13th of July

Merkel backs Siemens over job cuts. Bertrand Benoit, The FT (en)
US allies to press Obama over Iran. Daniel Dombey and Andrew Ward, The FT (en)
Ireland weighs up options over EU crisis. John Murray Brown, The FT (en)

Weekend's Links : 5th of July

The EU underline the disagreements on the Climate-Energy 'deal'. Laurence Caramel and Philippe Ricard, Le Monde (fr)
L'Inauguration of the first underground CO2 Retention Site in Germany. Marie de Vergès, Le Monde (fr)