Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced on 31 March the Commission’s 2010 Programme, with 34 strategic priorities, under four main elements: 1. Tackling the economic crisis and sustaining Europe’s social market economy. 2. Building a citizens’ agenda which puts people at the heart of European action. 3. Developing an ambitious and coherent external agenda with global outreach. 4. Modernising [...]

The Schuman Plan of 9 May 1950 heralded 60 years of peace, stability and prosperity.  One death in Sarajevo in 1914 led to millions of deaths in Europe; thousands of deaths in Sarajevo in the 1990s did not for one moment affect the stability of western Europe.  Much has changed during these 60 years in [...]

The College of Europe has been addressed by many leading political figures and heard many important speeches. The speech of Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council (EurC), on 25 February 2010 is well worth reading.  His theme was “The challenges for Europe in a changing world”.  The gist of the speech follows. Our main [...]

There has been much talk in the past about China and the European Union having more in common in a number of policy areas than either has with the United States.  Thus Beijing saw the EU as a potential factor moderating US influence; Washington could see a world being led by a G2 of the [...]

I have in previous blog posts, strongly disagreed with criticism of Baroness Ashton.  The nomination of Joao Vale de Almeida to succeed John Bruton as EU ambassador in Washington is, however, worrying.  I believed that Hermann Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton were the right appointments but not necessarily for the right reason.  She was right [...]

The new treaty entered into force on 1 December; Hermann van Rompuy took office on 1 January; Cathleen Ashton, while already High Representative for Foreign & Security Policy, had to face her Europêan Parliament Hearing on 11 January; and the new Commission does not come into being until February.  And yet, to read the media, [...]

A casual reader of the European and American media might be forgiven for thinking that many people see the West losing out to China over trade. It is understandable that many, including of course those who have lost their jobs to China, see a rising trade deficit (EU €169 billion and US $268 billion in [...]

Lisbon Treaty and a new EU hierarchy point to greater stability and a resurgent dynamism” by Stanley Crossick, published in the Beijing Review 24 December 2009. “The year 2009 was a difficult one for the European Union (EU). The European Parliament elections, held in June, are always disruptive. The results were disappointing with a low [...]

  Margaret Thatcher, speaking in the British House of Commons on 8 April 1975, during the referendum debate on EC membership: “First, the case for being in the Common Market. I believe, with a number of hon. Members who spoke yesterday, that the paramount case for being in is the political case for peace and security. [...]

The 12th China-EU summit unusually took place, not in Beijing but in Nanjing, on 30 November.  The Chinese delegation was led by Premier Wen Jiabao; the EU by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, President of the European Council and Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.  Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner also attended.  The atmosphere was overall friendly but [...]