About: Foreign policy Archives

"It is not possible […] to take an optimistic view of the trade relationship" between the EU and China, writes European Policy Centre founder Stanley Crossick in a May blog post reflecting on the High-Level Economic & Trade Dialogue (HED), which took place in Brussels on 7-8 May.

The EU's new foreign policy initiative, the Eastern Partnership (EaP), was written in "ambitious terms", but must show greater sensitivity to the intricacies of its target region, argues Helen Wallace of the London School of Economics (LSE) in a paper for the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).

"The US-China relationship is becoming the most important bilateral relationship in the world," writes Stanley Crossick, the founder of the European Policy Centre, in a March blog post reflecting on the outcome of the recent G20 summit in London.

"Afghanistan reveals Europe's incapacity to formulate coherent collective security strategies and dedicate the resources required to implement them," writes Fabrice Pothier, director of Carnegie Europe, in an April paper.

The EU must "restore self-confidence and cohesion" in its policy towards Russia, argues Arkady Moshes, programme director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, in a February paper for the Robert Schuman Foundation.

"Europe must develop into a global player" by adopting a worldview with a "strategic orientation as well as a dash of political shrewdness," writes Wolfgang Gerhardt, chairman of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNSF), in the spring 2009 edition of Europe's World.

Amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, resurgent violence and war in the Middle East, a row between Russia and the Ukraine over gas supplies which left Europe freezing, and skyrocketing expectations for the first Afro-American US President, EURACTIV asked European Commission director generals to spell out their hopes for 2009.

"China sees the European Union as a possible balance to the United States," argues Dingli Shen, deputy director and professor from the Centre of American Studies in Fudan University, in the autumn edition of Europe's World.

The war in Georgia divided the EU instead of uniting it, while differences between its members' positions will thwart the bloc's attempts to develop a common Russia policy, writes Tomas Valasek in an August paper for the Centre for European Reform (CER).

Russia's invasion of Georgia has shown the world that the US, the EU and NATO are all "paper tigers" in that region, writes former US ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro William D. Montgomery for Belgrade media service B92.

In the confusion following the failed Lisbon Treaty referendum in Ireland, EU leaders are still issuing contradictory messages, adding to the chaotic situation. In the meantime the Slovenian Presidency confirmed that no major decision on how to address the crisis is to be expected from the imminent EU summit on June 19-20.

"Le style c'est l'homme" as the French say, yet Nicolas Sarkozy's style does not suit all European policymakers, explains Joachim Fritz-Vannahme in a February paper for the Bertelsmannstiftung.

The United States and Russia's "tough and contradictory positions" over Kosovo may cause a policy split in the EU, leading to its "loss of credibility as a foreign policy player", warns Branka Trivic of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

The East-West clash is a myth: rather, political problems should be tackled within the East itself, argues Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül in an article published by the Financial Times on 16 January 2007.

Russia has suspended transport and postal links with Georgia after a spying row. EU presidency urges both parties to avoid provocations.  

The authors of this issue of Foreign Policy in Dialogue, published by Deutsche-Aussenpolitik.de, put the foreign policy under the new German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, into a broader context by looking at the "legacy" of the previous German government and the challenges and opportunities ahead, particularly in relation to EU politics and transatlantic relations.

With or without the Constitution the EU urgently needs to think about streamlining itself, says EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in a interview with EURACTIV.sk

The International Herald Tribune journalist Dan O'Brien argues that rather than pushing for an EU Foreign Minister in the new Constitution, EU leaders should create the post of an EU Economics Minister.

The Convention's Praesidium has proposed draft articles of the Constitution on enhanced cooperation which aim to simplify the current provisions and reinforce the role of the Commission and the European Parliament.

The proposal to create a new post of the EU
Foreign Minister was widely accepted by the members of the
European Convention at its last two-day meeting on 15 and 16
May. However, the Convention remains deeply split on the
proposal to create a post of a permanent EU
President.

The European Convention has started debating the
most divisive issues of the enlarged Union's institutional
reform on 15 May. The Convention remains deeply split on the
proposal to replace the rotating presidency with a permanent
president, with smaller countries insisting that the six-month
presidency is essential to ensure the equality of all Member
States.

The European Parliament Delegation to the
Convention has proposed that the Convention should extend its
work into July instead of finishing on 20 June as requested by
the European Council.

The German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has
called for the creation of a post of an independent EU Foreign
Minister.

The European Convention is meeting on 15 and 16
May to discuss the working method for the last month of its
work and the controversial proposals for a new institutional
architecture of the EU.