Dear Friend  2007 has been another grim year.  The many problems with which the year began are still unresolved.  We end the year with serious troubles in Afghanistan, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine and Sudan, to mention only the major ones.   We have to cope witb a Putinesque Russia and an increasingly [...]

A two hour China-EU Summit in Beijing on 28 November was followed by a five day (and part night) negotiation between officials before the Joint Statement could be agreed.  Why a 47 paragraph statement has to be issued when very little of its contents were discussed at the summit is hard to comprehend.    Neither [...]

Dear Minister You explained on 18 December why we must not take the pressure of Iran.  I too am totally opposed to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, but regret that you do not appear to be taking into account Iran’s experience of the West.  You say: “Since 2002, the international community has striven to resolve our differences [...]

Perhaps I’m missing something, but to me Bali was a failure although not a disaster. I’m no expert on climate change but two questions bug me: What has Kyoto really achieved, after several years of negotiations and the 10 years which have since elapsed? What will the new treaty achieve at the end of a [...]

European officials breathed a collective sigh of relief when they returned to Brussels after the 10th China-EU Summit on 28 November. European expectations were low and many saw damage limitation as their top priority. Frustration had increased over the trade deficit, which is rising at the hourly rate of €15m; the fall in the value [...]

Why did the British Prime Minister sign the new EU Reform Treaty in Lisbon on 13 December alone, three hours after the official signing ceremony?  Certainly not because a House of Commons committee meeting takes precedence.  We know that Gordon Brown is not a social soul and prefers ‘talking turkey’ to sipping champagne.  The only rational [...]