Section: Europe’s World (Belgium)
Europe’s populists: A present and rising danger
Although there is a strong element of grievance in the politics of populism, one factor which is common to almost all of the continent’s populist parties is an anti-EU sentiment. It is the degree of this – and fundamentally its effect on governments – which is causing most concern among mainstream parties. A fanciful book, Apocalypse 2000,...
The tough lessons of the EU-Russia crisis
Relations between Russia and the European Union are in deep crisis – perhaps the most serious crisis since the end of the Cold War. As the Russian Federation’s former foreign minister, I particularly regret this bleak state of affairs as along with my European counterparts I myself invested much time and effort in building a stronger...
Still no good news for the “make-or-break” EU Juncker promised
From the challenge of Russia to the on-going tragedy unfolding in the Mediterranean to the persistent sense of economic drift, Europe finds itself at an inflection point. The disaffection of European citizens looms large, and institutions in Brussels are perceived as uninspiring and directionless. This leads to an uncomfortable but urgently...
The EU’s Eastern Partnership: Between promises and realities
Over the past ten years, there have been significant geopolitical shifts in the European Union’s (EU) near and far neighborhood. Crafted in 2003, the opening remarks of the European Security Strategy underline: “Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure nor so free. The violence of the first half of the 20th Century has given way to a...
One Belt One Road: Opportunities for Europe-China cooperation
Europe faces new opportunities for cooperation with China. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, comprising the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and the ‘21st Century Maritime Silk Road’, which envisages a comprehensive network of railways, roads, air and sea links, pipelines and...
The UK’s election upset: Political mould is broken across the country
A Tory government, sceptic on the EU, with a small majority sounds familiar – think of the Major government in the 1990s (though with a majority then of 21 well ahead of Cameron’s slender advantage). But little else looked the same as politicians, pundits and the public alike surveyed the new British political scene on Friday morning....
What rallying call could revive the EU’s public support?
It isn’t easy these days to be a pro-Europe politician. Trying to rally public support for the EU looks like a recipe for being thrown out of office come the next election. The anti-EU camp, by contrast, seems to have no problem at all in rallying its supporters. On the left, Greece’s Syriza rode to election victory on a plainly...
Healthcare equality must go to the top of the EU agenda
It’s not easy for European policymakers to stay ahead of the game in the face of today’s challenges. There are the high-profile external pressures from conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria, to the more distant yet hugely threatening Ebola virus. At the same time, the 28 member states of the European Union are confronting internal...
The Ukrainian crisis: Beware the disinformation
When it comes to the Ukrainian crisis, European policy-makers have something in common with the computing term GIGO: garbage-in, garbage-out. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “incorrect or poor-quality input will produce faulty output.” Here the garbage-in is in the form of media reports. Many stories have been riddled with unsupported...
NATO’s Response Force reloaded: How much support, to counter which threats?
NATO’s Wales summit last September suddenly acquired a sense of urgency, with Mr. Putin annexing Crimea and supporting the separatists in eastern Ukraine. The key outcome of the summit was a Readiness Action Plan “to ensure the Alliance is ready to respond swiftly and firmly to new security challenges”. But how ready are member nations to...
