Germany is Booming But What of Europe?
With Germany leading much of Northern Europe out of recession, the recovery gap with the south is gradually widening.
Western Europe
America’s Shadow War on Terror
Terrorists are fleeing to Africa and Asia. The United States should be careful about pursuing them.
Britain, France Teaming Up on Defense
As all of Europe braces for spending cuts, Britain and France are preparing to examine whether and how they might be able to work more closely together in the area of defense. French Defense Minister Hervé Morin described the venture as “a very ambitious operation” in parliament last month. According to Morin, the new Liberal-Conservative […]
Spending Cuts Ahead for UK Armed Forces
Britain has to cut and it has to cut dearly. Along with tax hikes, the new Liberal-Conservative government is preparing to slash public spending across the board in order to restore balance to the budget. The armed forces, having suffered budget cut after budget cut in the preceding years, won’t manage to escape this renewed […]
Cameron Calls for Stronger India Relation
The British prime minister wants a “stronger, wider and deeper” relationship with India.
Cameron Favors Turkish EU Membership
Britain’s premier says it’s wrong to let Turkey guard the camp but not allow it to sit in the tent.
The Strainful Relationship: Where’s the Beginning and the End?
Is worrying over Anglo-American relations no more than a curious pastime?
Former MI5 Chief Denounces Iraq Invasion
Former Director General of MI5, Britain’s internal security service, Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller described the invasion of Iraq as a mistake on Tuesday, noting that the attack had exacerbated the terrorist threat to the country and was a “highly significant” factor in how “home grown” Muslim fundamentalists justified their actions. Manningham-Buller told the Chilcot inquiry that […]
The Man Who Will Save UK Defense
Like most world nations, faced with massive debt and unemployment, Great Britain is currently planning deep cuts in government expenditure to balance the budget. Not surprisingly, many of these will fall on the military, already greatly strained with replacing Cold War era weapons stocks, while at the same time fighting an ongoing counterinsurggency in Afghanistan. […]
Cameron on the Special Relationship
The British leader dismisses his nation’s endless preoccupation with the health of the transatlantic relationship.
Cameron Defends Emergency Budget
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne delivered his first budget last week, outlining his plans to “balance the books” by 2016. Tax increases and benefit cuts are tough but “unavoidable,” said Osborne. Britian’s coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will raise the main value-added tax rate from 17.5 to 20 percent next year. Taxes […]
Now It’s France’s Turn
France is prepared to start negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program within the International Atomic Energy Agency “without delay,” said President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday while meeting with his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev. A spokesman for Sarkozy’s office said the talks would be held “on the basis of Brazilian and Turkish efforts and the […]
Sarkozy Foe Announces Presidential Bid
Former prime minister Dominique de Villepin announces he will run for president in 2012 on his own platform.
Merkel Government Threatened with Collapse
German media are urging Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition to give up.
Europe Ponders Tougher Budget Rules
Europe’s finance ministers agreed last week to review each other’s national budgets in the future to prevent one or several member states from imperiling the stability of the common currency as happened in Greece this April. The move may end being a step in the right direction but little more than that. The finance chiefs […]