Carnegie Inst: Putin, Power, and Punk

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. Pussy Riot (Photo credit: ostromentsky)

By Judy Dempsey, Carnegie Institute, August 9, 2012

What is the European Union going to do about Russia?

It’s a question that keeps popping up because Brussels has no strategy about how to deal with President Vladimir Putin or react to the kind of political and economic system he has established.

This question is becoming more relevant in the light of the trial of three young women – Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova who belong to the Pussy Riot punk band…
(more) http://ow.ly/1lTDFR

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GMFUS: Eerie Silence about the Euro Zone

Accession of Turkey to the European Union (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Joshua W. Walker, German Marshall Fund of the United States, August 02, 2012

The euro crisis has emboldened Turkey, the EU’s longest waiting candidate country. But in Brussels’ greatest hour of need, Ankara remains eerily silent and distracted about the euro zone crisis and its own accession process. Turkey focuses on the “Arab Spring,” not the “European Fall.” The direction of relations between the EU and Turkey during this critical juncture could determine the future direction of Europe as a global or parochial power along with Turkey’s own future. (more) http://ow.ly/1lNRHJ

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ECFR: Mario Monti’s special touch

Rome view: Mario Monti’s special touch –
Date: 13th July 2012  |  Author: Marco de Andreis

Did Mario Monti really come to Brussels, see Angela Merkel and conquer the euro crisis? Even though the Italian media (uniformly) and most foreign newspapers – including the NYT and Spiegel – portrayed the Italian prime minister in these semi-imperial terms, it is far from clear that he got what he wanted both at the June 28 European Council and at the July 9 Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers. http://ow.ly/1lklQR

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FRIDE: The EU Strategic Partnerships Review: Ten Guiding Principles

The EU Strategic Partnerships Review: Ten Guiding Principles
By Thomas Renard (13/04/2012) FRIDE Policy Brief

The EU must strengthen its relationship with its strategic partners to cope with a changing and challenging international environment. This brief offers ten basic principles that should guide the EU’s approach to strategic partnerships. http://ow.ly/1lklR1

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