Marini Blog Posts

• Madrid view: Now, Eurunemployed
  on May 16, 2013 in Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Madrid view, Reinventing Europe,
  The European economy now lies under a shadow - the severe situation of unemployment, stagnation and cutbacks in the welfare state, bringing hardship to millions of Europeans. The magnitudes areRead more…...
• Time to get real about the European dream - and the American one
  on May 16, 2013 in Michael E. Smith, Scorecard,
  As part of our Scorecard debate here is a new guest blog post - this time we hear from Prof. Michael E. Smith (University of Aberdeen). You can also follow him on twitter @ProfMESmith. May 9 wasRead more…...
• US - Turkey relations: a bitter honeymoon
  on May 16, 2013 in Dimitar Bechev, Europe and the world,
  Today relations between the US and Turkey are in a much better shape than a few years ago. Israel's decision to apologise to the Turks over the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident and offer financialRead more…...
• Bulgaria’s elections: change we disbelieve in
  on May 15, 2013 in Dimitar Bechev, Sofia view,
  “If elections changed anything they would have them banned”. So read a well-known piece of Sofia graffiti some years ago (inspired by political activist/anarchist Emma Goldman). Bulgaria’sRead more…...
• Will China become an Arctic observer?
  on May 14, 2013 in Jonas Parello-Plesner, China,
  Kiruna - a calm town in North Sweden - is currenty hosting the annual Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting. The Arctic Council is a regional organisation which usually does not receive a lot ofRead more…...
• The Chinese scramble into Greenland over-hyped
  on May 13, 2013 in Jonas Parello-Plesner, China,
  In Greenland the snows usually lie until May; this year I landed at the Cold War era airstrip at Kangerlussuaq in April and the bare hillsides were already visible. Under those slopes sit a wealthRead more…...
• Will cooler heads prevail on Syria?
  on May 10, 2013 in Fatima Ayub, Middle East and North Africa,
  Qatar’s gung-ho foreign policy (discussed in greater depth in ECFR’s latest Gulf Analysis) is so often depicted by big moves and big money. Before the Syrian uprising in 2011, Gulf powers,Read more…...
• Surkov follows the system he created
  on May 9, 2013 in Kadri Liik , Wider Europe,
  There is some symbolic value in the fact that Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov resigned one year and one day after the start of President Putin’s third term. It does not matter whatRead more…...
• Rome view: John Kerry in Italy
  on May 9, 2013 in Silvia Francescon, Europe and the world, Middle East and North Africa, Rome view,
  US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Rome from Moscow, where he convened with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to call for an international conference, possibly by the end of the month, toRead more…...
• A Gulf Union to bolster regional security?
  on May 8, 2013 in Fatima Ayub, Middle East and North Africa,
  Since 2011, member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have expressed interest in full political and economic integration in a much-touted Gulf Union. As regional organisations areRead more…...
• A conversation with Egypt’s soon-to-be minister for international cooperation
  on May 8, 2013 in Anthony Dworkin, Rule of law, democracy and human rights, Middle East and North Africa,
    On Tuesday 7 May the Egyptian cabinet was reshuffled – and one of the key portfolios for Egypt’s relations with the outside world went to Amr Darrag of the Freedom and Justice Party. Darrag wasRead more…...
• A conversation with Egypt’s new planning minister
  on May 8, 2013 in Anthony Dworkin, Rule of law, democracy and human rights, Middle East and North Africa,
    On Tuesday 7 May the Egyptian cabinet was reshuffled – and one of the key portfolios for Egypt’s relations with the outside world went to Amr Darrag of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom andRead more…...
• Transition time in Timbuktu?
  on May 7, 2013 in Olivier de France,
    It was barely a few months ago: the French president, Francois Hollande, was fighting his way through Timbuktu's massive crowds and happily swanning through the streets of Bamako. At home andRead more…...
• Madrid view: Bad blood
  on May 7, 2013 in Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Madrid view,
  The expression bad blood denotes the unpleasant turn taken in a relationship when one party is perceived to be hurting the other. The result is animosity, and an inability to communicate andRead more…...
• Transition time in Timbuktu
  on May 7, 2013 in Olivier de France,
  It was barely a few months ago: the French president, Francois Hollande, was fighting his way through Timbuktu's massive crowds and happily swanning through the streets of Bamako. At home andRead more…...
• UKIP gains: good news for British Europhiles?
  on May 3, 2013 in Nicholas Walton, London view , Reinventing Europe,
  Bad news for British Europhiles: the UK Independence Party, a group of bullishly Eurosceptic upstarts, did remarkably well in local elections (and one by-election) this week.  Good news forRead more…...
• Assessing the French White Paper
  on May 3, 2013 in Olivier de France, Europe and the world, Reinventing Europe, Security and Defence,
    In the follow up to ECFR’s recent European Strategic Cacophony Brief co-author Olivier de France was interviewed by Bruxelles 2’s Marine Formentini about the new French strategic defence reviewRead more…...
• Does Obama’s latest promise on Guantanamo mean anything?
  on May 2, 2013 in Anthony Dworkin,
  The US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay was in danger of fading from public awareness, but now it is back in the news. A hunger strike among detainees, which began as a protest against intrusiveRead more…...
• What does the EU’s neighbourhood policy have in common with IKEA?
  on May 2, 2013 in Jana Kobzova ,
  The EU’s neighbourhood policy has been around for a decade – but why are there so few success stories? One explanation might be that the EU has never really been an actor with a set of strategicRead more…...
• Letta’s European Grand Tour
  on May 1, 2013 in Silvia Francescon,
    Fresh from winning confidence votes in both the lower and upper houses of Italy’s parliament, Italy’s young prime minister has set off on a mini tour of Europe that began with a visit to MrsRead more…...