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	<title type="text">Stanley's blog</title>
	<subtitle type="text">Rated 6th most influential EU blog by Waggener Edstrom. European of British nationality, for nearly 30 years Bruxellois. Deep believer in the principle of 'mutuality' and Monnet's axiom "Thought cannot be divorced from action", equivalent to Wang Yangming's "Zhixingheyi".</subtitle>

	<updated>2010-09-03T21:51:14Z</updated>
	<generator uri="http://wordpress.org/" version="2.6">WordPress</generator>
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	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[United States and Islam: Mosque at Ground Zero]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/09/03/united-states-and-islam-mosque-at-ground-zero/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/09/03/united-states-and-islam-mosque-at-ground-zero/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/09/03/united-states-and-islam-mosque-at-ground-zero/</id>
		<updated>2010-09-03T21:51:14Z</updated>
		<published>2010-09-03T21:51:14Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A worrying and increasingly bitter debate continues in the United States on whether a mosque should be allowed at Ground Zero.  But how widely is it understood  that:
• The building is two blocks away from Ground Zero and cannot be seen from there
• The building is not a mosque as we know it, but a communal centre [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ground Zero" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="United Sat" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Democracy in China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/23/democracy-in-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/23/democracy-in-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/23/democracy-in-china/</id>
		<updated>2010-08-23T17:18:02Z</updated>
		<published>2010-08-23T17:18:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Academic papers and books on democracy continue to proliferate.  Mainstream western opinion supports views such as:
• Rapid economic development quickens democratisation.
• The liberal democratic path is the only sustainable route to modernity.
• Non-democratic regimes are necessarily ridden with corruption and cronyism.
Two questions which require far more attention than they receive are:
• What is meant by democracy?
• What are the conditions [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese democracy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="democracy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China South Sea boiling up]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/china-south-sea-boiling-up/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/china-south-sea-boiling-up/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/china-south-sea-boiling-up/</id>
		<updated>2010-08-21T12:01:59Z</updated>
		<published>2010-08-21T12:01:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Problems relating to the South China Sea have been bubbling below the surface for a long time.  However, the public entry of the United States into the arena has brought these problems to the surface.
The South China Sea is now being spoken about in China as a &#8220;core interest&#8221; of its sovereignty: hitherto the term [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="South China Sea" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Negotiation with Iran]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/negotiation-with-iran/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/negotiation-with-iran/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/21/negotiation-with-iran/</id>
		<updated>2010-08-21T11:48:38Z</updated>
		<published>2010-08-21T11:48:38Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[ I have blogged before both on negotation and Iran.  A fascinating book by John W Limbert (‘Negotiating with Iran’, 2009) brings the two aspects together.  The author spent 33 years in the US Foreign Service, is a fluent Farsi speaker and has taught at the University of Shiraz.  He was a captive at the siege [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="negotiation" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[BLOG  China South Sea boiling up]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/11/blog-china-south-sea-boiling-up/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/11/blog-china-south-sea-boiling-up/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/11/blog-china-south-sea-boiling-up/</id>
		<updated>2010-08-11T08:11:59Z</updated>
		<published>2010-08-11T08:11:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Problems relating to the South China Sea have been bubbling below the surface for a long time.  However, the public entry of the United States into the arena has brought these problems to the surface.
The South China Sea is now being spoken about in China as a &#8220;core interest&#8221; of its sovereignty: hitherto the term [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China South Sea" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-US conflict" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lawyers and the Commission register of lobbyists]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/02/lawyers-and-the-commission-register-of-lobbyist/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/02/lawyers-and-the-commission-register-of-lobbyist/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/08/02/lawyers-and-the-commission-register-of-lobbyist/</id>
		<updated>2010-08-02T17:53:38Z</updated>
		<published>2010-08-02T17:53:38Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The European Commission launched in 2008 a voluntary register for lobbyists seeking to influence its policymaking.  Interest representation is a legitimate part of a democratic system. The register was established in a Commission effort to enhance public confidence.  The accompanying Code of Conduct is intended to bring more transparency to interest representation, its actors and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lawyers" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="register of lobbyists" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Recommendations to improve China-EU relations]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/31/recommendations-to-improve-china-eu-relations/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/31/recommendations-to-improve-china-eu-relations/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/31/recommendations-to-improve-china-eu-relations/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-31T10:47:27Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-31T10:47:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Chinese Mission to the EU organized a workshop on China-EU relations on 17 June 2010.  The following recommendations are supported by the Europeans present at the worshop, in the light of the discussions between them and representatives of the Mission, led by HE Song Zhe:
Long-term
1. Mutual understanding
2. Jean Monnet methodology
3. 2011 China-EU Youth Year
4. Strategic thinking
Short-term
5. Market economy status
6. Dialogues
7. Rule of law
8. European Parliament
9. Communication
Long-term
1. Mutual understanding
This is [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Might the law be an ass?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/22/might-the-law-be-an-ass/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/22/might-the-law-be-an-ass/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/22/might-the-law-be-an-ass/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-22T19:59:02Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-22T19:59:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Seven individuals smashed up a Brighton factory owned by ITT of the US, at a cost of £187 000 and were recently found not guilty. In 2008, six Greenpeace members were acquitted of causing £30 000 damage to a power station owned by the German Eon energy group.  In 2000, 28 Greenpeace members were found [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Rhetoric threatens to outweigh reality at G20 events]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events-2/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events-2/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events-2/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-18T20:21:17Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-18T20:21:17Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article was published in Global Times on 30 June:
Was the Toronto G20 summit from June 26 to 27 an impetus for action or a display of rhetoric? This is a difficult question to answer.
The Toronto negotiations began well before the meeting. For instance, US President Barack Obama wrote to the G20 leaders well [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[European blogging progresses]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/blog-european-blogging-progresses/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/blog-european-blogging-progresses/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/18/blog-european-blogging-progresses/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-18T13:08:11Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-18T13:08:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[‘Political’ blogging in Europe lags considerably behind the activity in the US.  But the positive trend is clear. 
Independent bloggers writing about EU policy are nipping at the heels of their big media rivals, according to a survey on the EU&#8217;s English-language blogosphere recently carried out by Waggener Edstrom - &#8220;Brussels Blogger Study 2010&#8243;.
Recent [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Blogging" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Perceptions and the growth of protectionism]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/12/perceptions-and-the-growth-of-protectionism/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/12/perceptions-and-the-growth-of-protectionism/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/12/perceptions-and-the-growth-of-protectionism/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-12T19:18:02Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-12T19:18:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article was published in New Europe on 12 July:
China is rightly proud of its achievements – particularly the way it came through the global and financial crisis – and also in its successful organizing of the Olympic Games and Shanghai Expo.  But China faces the danger of the growth of protectionism.  Protectionism will [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US-China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Rhetoric threatens to outweigh reality at G20 events]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/07/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/07/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/07/rhetoric-threatens-to-outweigh-reality-at-g20-events/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-07T11:36:55Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-07T11:36:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article appeared in Global Times on 30 June
By Stanley Crossick
Was the Toronto G20 summit from June 26 to 27 an impetus for action or a display of rhetoric? This is a difficult question to answer.
The Toronto negotiations began well before the meeting. For instance, US President Barack Obama wrote to the G20 leaders [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Climate change:  what has happened in Washington since 1969?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/05/climate-change-what-has-happened-in-washington-since-1969/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/05/climate-change-what-has-happened-in-washington-since-1969/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/07/05/climate-change-what-has-happened-in-washington-since-1969/</id>
		<updated>2010-07-05T10:10:17Z</updated>
		<published>2010-07-05T10:10:17Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Nixon Presidential Library has just released some fascinating correspondence on climate change.  Within the White House, Patrick Moynihan wrote to John Ehrlichman on 17 September 1969:
“this [carbon dioxide] very clearly is a problem, and, perhaps most particularly, is one that can seize the imagination of persons normally indifferent tp projects of apocalyptic change”.
“It [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="climate change" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[How the world sees the United States]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/19/how-the-world-sees-the-united-states/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/19/how-the-world-sees-the-united-states/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/19/how-the-world-sees-the-united-states/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-19T18:00:57Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-19T18:00:57Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The 22 Nation Pew Global Attitudes Survey  published on 17 June makes interesting reading.
US favourability rating
• Overwhelmingly favourable in Western Europe: eg 73% in France and 63% in Germany.
• Improved sharply in Russia (57%), up 13% since 2009, in China (58%), up 11% and in Japan (66%), up 7%.
• Highly positive in South Korea (79%), Poland (74%) and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Pew survey" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A worrying American view of China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/a-worrying-american-view-of-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/a-worrying-american-view-of-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/a-worrying-american-view-of-china/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-16T16:46:24Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-16T16:46:24Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The German Marshall Fund of the US and The Centre Asie Ifri, held a joint seminar on 15 June on “Responding to China&#8217;s Rise: Balancing Hard and Soft Power”.  The presentation by Gary Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute was very disturbing.  Although The AEI is ‘neocon’ in philosophy, I fear that much of what [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Gary Schmitt" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US-China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Why does Obama call it Britsh Petroleum ?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/why-does-obama-call-it-britsh-petroleum/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/why-does-obama-call-it-britsh-petroleum/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/why-does-obama-call-it-britsh-petroleum/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-16T10:11:24Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-16T10:11:24Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“Kicking ass” is not a phrase Europeans would expect to hear from a President, but it is understandable why President Obama used it.  What is not understandable is why he calls the company ‘British Petroleum” and not “BP”. 
Ironically, British Petroleum changed its name to BP after the merger with US oil giant Amoco in 1998 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama’s British Petroleum" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Western democracy in crisis]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/western-democracy-in-crisis/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/western-democracy-in-crisis/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/16/western-democracy-in-crisis/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-16T09:41:55Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-16T09:41:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The credibility gap between the political class and the people is widening in most Member States, but there is no consensus as to what to do. 
The economic and financial challenges facing Europe require decisive leadership, but most national electoral systems make this difficult.  The remedies to overcome the economic and financial crisis involve ‘pain now [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="democracy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="high level groups" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Leadership" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU a laughing stock over mercury]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/12/eu-a-laughing-stock-over-mercury/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/12/eu-a-laughing-stock-over-mercury/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/12/eu-a-laughing-stock-over-mercury/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-12T17:57:48Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-12T17:57:48Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Do the EU leaders really want strong external representation?  The dispute over who should have represented the Union at the international talks on phasing out mercury in Stockholm on 7-11 June, puts this into doubt.
The EU was unable to speak with a single voice, or even negotiate, at the First Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="mercury" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="shared competence" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Iran: an unrealistic solution?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/10/iran-an-unrealistic-solution/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/10/iran-an-unrealistic-solution/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/10/iran-an-unrealistic-solution/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-10T11:14:52Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-10T11:14:52Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Living three years in Iran, with extensive negotiating experience representing sometimes western companies and sometimes Iranian enterprises, taught me never to try to analyse Iranian thinking as if they were thought like us. The  Iranian negotiating approach, whether natural or planned, is to confuse, enabling them to pick their way through confusion more easily than [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="embargo" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="fatwah" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China-Africa relations]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/07/eu-china-africa-relations/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/07/eu-china-africa-relations/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/07/eu-china-africa-relations/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-07T16:18:16Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-07T16:18:16Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[BICCS (Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies invited 30 participants from 15 European institutes to participate in an intensive workshop, on 17-19 May, about China’s response to security challenges in Africa. The aim of this meeting was to examine the new security threats with which China has been confronted, the way China perceives these challenges [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-Africa" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-Africa" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China-Africa" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[European Parliament must drive integration]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/european-parliament-must-drive-integration/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/european-parliament-must-drive-integration/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/european-parliament-must-drive-integration/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-03T21:23:05Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-03T21:23:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Guy Verhofstadt, president of the European Parliament (EP) Liberal Democrats and former Belgian prime minister, briefed the European Policy Centre today on his vision for Europe.
In his view the main underlying issue at stake is whether the EU uses the ‘Community method’ or intergovernmentalism.  The Union will only progress if it reduces its intergovernmental approach, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Euro" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Community method" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="economic governance" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="intergovernmentalism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Verhofstadt" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[MEPs should set an example]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/meps-should-set-an-example/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/meps-should-set-an-example/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/meps-should-set-an-example/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-03T18:50:55Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-03T18:50:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The European Parliament on 19 May voted themselves an additional €9.4 million for staff salaries, to help them cope with the additional work created under the Lisbon Treaty. Monthly staff budgets are currently €17 540 per MEP. 
However justified this might be, this is hardly an appropriate time to increase MEPs’ expenses and shows an insensitivity [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="mep expenses" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Politics: the world of the unexpected]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/politics-the-world-of-the-unexpected/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/politics-the-world-of-the-unexpected/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/politics-the-world-of-the-unexpected/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-03T14:26:13Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-03T14:26:13Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[With all that is surprising us in the world of politics, my mind looks back at 1984. 
The French proposed Claude Cheysson as president of the European Commission.  Margaret Thatcher vetoed the appointment and supported the candidature of Jacques Delors, in the mistaken belief that he was an economic liberal and more likely to steer the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cheysson" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cockfield" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Delors" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Thatcher" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Gaza flotilla: the facts]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/gaza-flotilla-the-facts/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/gaza-flotilla-the-facts/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/03/gaza-flotilla-the-facts/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-03T10:17:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-03T10:17:00Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Israel has been widely condemned for its assault on a flotilla of humanitarian aid bound for Gaza.  This was to be expected, but not some of the extreme statements coming from moderate countries.  Even the EU response was biased.  The EU condemned the use of violence and called for an independent enquiry.  How could the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="blockade" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="flotilla" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hamas" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China-US Strategic &#38; Economic Dialogue: rhetoric or action?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/01/us-china-china-strategic-economic-dialogue-rhetoric-or-action/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/01/us-china-china-strategic-economic-dialogue-rhetoric-or-action/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/06/01/us-china-china-strategic-economic-dialogue-rhetoric-or-action/</id>
		<updated>2010-06-01T19:13:18Z</updated>
		<published>2010-06-01T19:13:18Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The China-EU Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED), held in Beijing on 24-25 May, brought a pack of high-ranking officials on both sides. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, accompanied by 16 cabinet secretaries or agency heads, led a group of 200 Americans, while State Councilor Dai Bingguo and Vice Premier [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Strategic Economic Dialogue" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Hermann van Rompuy: an underestimated politician]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/25/hermann-van-rompuy-an-underestimated-politician/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/25/hermann-van-rompuy-an-underestimated-politician/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/25/hermann-van-rompuy-an-underestimated-politician/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-25T12:16:27Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-25T12:16:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Over 350 mainly young people gave  European President Hermann van Rompuy an enthusiastic reception, at an event organized today by the European Movement, and held at The Bavarian Representation to the EU.
He spoke for just 15 minutes on &#8220;After the LisbonTreaty - what can citizens expect?  Moving from design to delivery&#8221;, and answered questions for [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Van Rompuy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[UK goes continental – with British characteristics]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/uk-goes-continental-%e2%80%93-with-british-characteristics/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/uk-goes-continental-%e2%80%93-with-british-characteristics/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/uk-goes-continental-%e2%80%93-with-british-characteristics/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-22T14:52:48Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-22T14:52:48Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[‘David &#38; Nick’, prime minister and deputy prime minister leading a five year coalition.  No political commentator seems to have predicted this.  I don’t intend to go over events that have already been covered by thousands of words – just a few reflections. 
• Five days to agree the principles of a coalition deal, the first of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Brown" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cameron" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Clegg" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="coalition" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Multpolarity vs multilateralism]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/multpolarity-vs-multilateralism/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/multpolarity-vs-multilateralism/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/22/multpolarity-vs-multilateralism/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-22T11:32:21Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-22T11:32:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[These terms are frequently used and often appear interchangeable.  But what do they mean?  Is there any common understandable. 
Multipolarity is a system of power distribution in which several countries have very substantial influence. 
Our deepest challenge,&#8221; US national security advisor Henry Kissinger wrote in 1969, will be &#8220;to base order on political multipolarity even though overwhelming [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multilateralism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multipolarity" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Stars and Dragons: The EU and China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/20/stars-and-dragons-the-eu-and-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/20/stars-and-dragons-the-eu-and-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/20/stars-and-dragons-the-eu-and-china/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-20T19:21:39Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-20T19:21:39Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The UK House of Lords EU Committee published on 23 March an extremely thorough report of the state of the EU-China relationship.  The following are its key conclusions and recommendations, and some comments on them:
A strategic relationship
The role which China and the EU can play in shaping 21st century global affairs will be crucial to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China relations" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="House of Lords" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Britain’s destructive media]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/britain%e2%80%99s-destructive-media/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/britain%e2%80%99s-destructive-media/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/britain%e2%80%99s-destructive-media/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-18T19:45:23Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-18T19:45:23Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The United Kingdom is in economic and budgetary crisis.  The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have joined forces to provide a strong government, able to take the necessary unpleasant measures.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg and their parties have admirably compromised to establish a much needed consensual political culture.  There of course remain major differences. 
The coalition will [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK coalition" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK media" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Withdraw the €500 note]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/withdraw-the-e500-note/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/withdraw-the-e500-note/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/18/withdraw-the-e500-note/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-18T17:56:22Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-18T17:56:22Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[UK banks are no longer allowed to accept €500 notes, as they are mainly used by criminals. 
The European Commission should examine the extent to which such notes are legitimately used, and to consider withdrawing the €500 note altogether.
&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="€500 note" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Commission’s 2010 Programme]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/commission%e2%80%99s-2010-programme/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/commission%e2%80%99s-2010-programme/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/commission%e2%80%99s-2010-programme/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-17T21:09:24Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-17T21:09:24Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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&#8217;s social market economy.
2. Building a citizens&#8217; agenda which puts people at the heart of European action.
3. Developing an ambitious and coherent external agenda
with global outreach.
4. Modernising EU instruments and ways of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Commission 2010 Programme" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Europe 2020 Agenda" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Is China a responsible stakeholder?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/is-china-a-responsible-stakeholder/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/is-china-a-responsible-stakeholder/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/17/is-china-a-responsible-stakeholder/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-17T21:02:25Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-17T21:02:25Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The seventh session of the Informal European Parliament Dialogue on China took place at the European Parliament on 13c April and was organised by the Brussels Institute of China Contemporary Studies (BICCS).  The Dialogue was attended by some 60 MEPs, European and Chinese diplomats, think tank analysts, academics and others. 
Elmar Brok MEP and Reinhard Bütikofer [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="responsible stakeholder" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Europe still needs Schuman]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/09/europe-still-needs-schuman/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/09/europe-still-needs-schuman/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/09/europe-still-needs-schuman/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-09T00:53:05Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-09T00:53:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 Europe and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="founding fathers" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Schuman Declaration" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China relations: a Chinese perspective]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/04/eu-china-relations-a-chinese-perspective/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/04/eu-china-relations-a-chinese-perspective/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/04/eu-china-relations-a-chinese-perspective/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-04T12:05:50Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-04T12:05:50Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Feng Zhongping*, a politically influential scholar, gave an interesting perspective on the EU-China relationship. 
He insisted that Europe was important to China.   However, it came third behind the US, and the neighbourhood countries of Russia and Japan.  The EU is China’s number 1 trade partner and a valuable supplier of technology.  But the EU’s political value [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China relations" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[ASEM: Who?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/02/asem-who/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/02/asem-who/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/05/02/asem-who/</id>
		<updated>2010-05-02T02:08:14Z</updated>
		<published>2010-05-02T02:08:14Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[How many Europeans know that an ASEM Summit will be held in Brussels on 4-5 October this year, attended by prime ministers or presidents of 45 countries plus the EU/Commission?  Indeed, how many are aware of the existence of ASEM, which is distinct from ASEAN?
 
ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) embraces the 10 ASEAN members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="AEM" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Asean" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="ASEF" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="ASEM 8 Summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-Asia" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China: a de facto federation]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/28/china-a-de-facto-federation/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/28/china-a-de-facto-federation/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/28/china-a-de-facto-federation/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-28T21:59:16Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-28T21:59:16Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A lecture by Professor Li Jinshan of Zhejiang University on 27 April surprised the BICCS (Brussels Institute for Contemporary China Studies) with the complexity of the Chinese governing structure.  This illustrates why the enforcement of laws passed by the Central Government is not easy, as foreign companies have found to their disadvantage. 
China has five levels [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese government" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China vs America: fight of the century]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/15/china-vs-america-fight-of-the-century/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/15/china-vs-america-fight-of-the-century/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/15/china-vs-america-fight-of-the-century/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-15T01:07:42Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-15T01:07:42Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Ian Bremmer’s article in the March 2010 issue of Prospect is well worth reading.  The world&#8217;s two great powers are growing dangerously hostile to one another. Could this be worse than the cold war?
Previous posts have raised the increasing conflict between China and the US.  President Hu Jintao’s attendance at the nuclear disarmament conference and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Bremmer" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China vs US" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A fascinating election]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/a-fascinating-election/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/a-fascinating-election/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/a-fascinating-election/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-06T17:33:57Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-06T17:33:57Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The UK has never faced such a fascinating General Election than the forthcoming one on 6 May.  The list of uncertain factors is long.  For example the effects of:

the size of the turnout
tactical voting
the influence of Scottish and Welsh nationalists
achieving or preventing a hung parliament on the Liberal Democrat vote
social networking, email and text-messaging
the Brown-Cameron-Clegg [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK general election" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China and US: good sense prevails]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/china-and-us-good-sense-prevails/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/china-and-us-good-sense-prevails/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/china-and-us-good-sense-prevails/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-06T15:07:41Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-06T15:07:41Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I have expressed growing concern over the dangers of the deterioration of US-China relations – the Obama visit, Taiwan arms sales, Dalai Lama, Google, cybersecurity and the trade deficit, with the likelihood of China being branded a ‘currency manipulator’ by the US Treasury on 15 April. 
The leaders on both sides have realized these dangers and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-US relations" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Afghanistan; our man Karzai]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/afghanistan-our-man-karzai/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/afghanistan-our-man-karzai/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/06/afghanistan-our-man-karzai/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-06T13:12:06Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-06T13:12:06Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It is now widely accepted that the surge is only a means to an end: the end to establish a stable society in Afghanistan.  This is a mammoth task requiring honest, fair leadership.  The hopes of America and the West are pinned on President Hamid Karzai, the questionable election victor. 
Karzai has to find a way [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="afghanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Karzai" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[What common threat?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/01/what-common-threat/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/01/what-common-threat/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/04/01/what-common-threat/</id>
		<updated>2010-04-01T01:52:26Z</updated>
		<published>2010-04-01T01:52:26Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Three days ago, 39 commuters were killed by two female suicide bombers in the Moscow metro system.  Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, told Canadian network CTV, &#8220;Whether you are in a Moscow subway or a London subway or a train in Madrid or an office building in New York, we face the same [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chechen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Moscow metro" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="terrorism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[RMB: countdown to 15 April?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/30/rmb-countdown-to-april/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/30/rmb-countdown-to-april/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/30/rmb-countdown-to-april/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-30T12:34:54Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-30T12:34:54Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The US Treasury is expected to issue its semi-annual report on 15 April.  Will it declare China a “currency manipulator”?  This would be &#8220;for purposes of preventing effective balance of payments adjustments or gaining unfair competitive advantage in international trade.&#8221;  This could lead to the imposition of countervailing duties on Chinese imports. 
The possibility of the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="currency manipulator" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[UK-US special relationship over]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/uk-us-special-relationship-over/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/uk-us-special-relationship-over/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/uk-us-special-relationship-over/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-28T04:50:29Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-28T04:50:29Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The British House of Commons all-party Foreign Affairs Committee has concluded that the phrase &#8220;the special relationship&#8221; no longer reflects the current Anglo-American relationship.  The MPs believe the link to be &#8220;profound and valuable&#8221; but the British government needs to be &#8220;less deferential&#8221; towards the US and more willing to say no to Washington.  
 
The [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="special relationship" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China&#8217;s Future Role on the World Stage]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/chinas-future-role-on-the-world-stage/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/chinas-future-role-on-the-world-stage/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/chinas-future-role-on-the-world-stage/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-28T00:01:49Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-28T00:01:49Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The World Commerce Review of March 2010 contained the following article:
China&#8217;s Future Role on the World Stage
Stanley Crossick
The world stage is changing fast and China is changing fast. In order to examine China’s future role on the world stage, we must first address the ways the world and China are changing.
It can safely be said [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-US relations" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China”s international role" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Trading With China: Win-Win Or Zero Sum Game?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game-2/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game-2/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/28/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game-2/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-27T23:50:35Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-27T23:50:35Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article appeared in the World Commercial Review of December 2009
Trading With China: Win-Win Or Zero Sum Game?
Stanley Crossick
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 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="trade" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Better Times Ahead: The Lisbon Treaty]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/better-times-ahead-the-lisbon-treaty/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/better-times-ahead-the-lisbon-treaty/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/better-times-ahead-the-lisbon-treaty/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-25T23:59:18Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-25T23:59:18Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article appeared in the Beijing Review on  24 Decemeber 2009
Better Times Ahead
The Lisbon Treaty and a new EU hierarchy point to greater stability and a resurgent dynamism
By Stanley Crossick
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 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A Final Delivery: the Lisbon Treaty]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/a-final-delivery-the-lisbon-treaty/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/a-final-delivery-the-lisbon-treaty/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/26/a-final-delivery-the-lisbon-treaty/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-25T23:47:02Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-25T23:47:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article was punlished in the Bejing Review on 17 December 2009:
A Final Delivery
Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty will make for more simple and easier communication between European governments
by Stanley Crossick
After years of debate, disagreements and false starts, the European Union (EU) gave birth to the Lisbon Treaty, at long last, on December 1. [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[&#8216;China model&#8217; result of determined leadership]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/24/china-model-result-of-determined-leadership/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/24/china-model-result-of-determined-leadership/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/24/china-model-result-of-determined-leadership/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-24T03:56:11Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-24T03:56:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following article was published in the Global Times on 18 March 2010
By Stanley Crossick
By now, China&#8217;s economic success over the last 30 years is an accepted fact and does not need the citing of statistics. But what are the main characteristics of the Chinese development model, and is it sustainable?
It is not possible to define [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="development model" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Global Times" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Expulsion of Israeli diplomat hypocritical?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/expulsion-of-israeli-diplomat-hypocritical/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/expulsion-of-israeli-diplomat-hypocritical/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/expulsion-of-israeli-diplomat-hypocritical/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-23T17:37:39Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-23T17:37:39Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, today announced the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat for the use of forged UK passports in the killing of a terrorist in Dubai. 
Eddie Meyer tried hard, on the Radio Four’s PM programme, to persuade Milliband to confirm that the UK intelligence community never uses forged passports from other countries.  [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Dubai" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="forged passports" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Miliband" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Comitology vs transparency]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/comitology-vs-transparency/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/comitology-vs-transparency/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/comitology-vs-transparency/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-23T17:05:36Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-23T17:05:36Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Transparency is a buzzword which the EU institutions use all the time.  But do they practise it?
Utrecht University published last year a study which concluded that, “Expert bureaucrats decide on most EU regulations after proposal has been adopted.”
Experts from the Commission and Member States in so-called comitology groups are responsible for deciding the content of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="comitology" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="transparency" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Utrecht University" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton’s AIPAC speech]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/hillary-clinton%e2%80%99s-aipac-speech/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/hillary-clinton%e2%80%99s-aipac-speech/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/23/hillary-clinton%e2%80%99s-aipac-speech/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-23T13:54:40Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-23T13:54:40Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In interpreting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s long speech of 22 March, the audience - the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) - has to be taken into account. 
Her support for Israel was effusive:
• The relationship between the US and Israel has never been more  important.
• The US has long recognized that a strong and secure [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="AIPAC" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Clinton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="settlements" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Israel-Palestine: it&#8217;s now or never?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/22/israel-palestine-its-now-or-never/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/22/israel-palestine-its-now-or-never/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/22/israel-palestine-its-now-or-never/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-22T11:32:24Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-22T11:32:24Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[EU foreign policy supremo, Cathy Ashton, visited Gaza last Thursday  During her visit, rockets were fired into Israel, killing a Thai worker.  Israel retaliated with air strikes on Gaza.  Yesterday, the Quartet, meeting in Moscow, condemned Israel’s recent announcement that     1 600 new housing units for Jews would be built in East Jerusalem.  Next Thursday [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Gaza" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Palestine" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="peace settlement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="West Bank" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Technology: the world at China’s feet]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/21/technology-the-world-at-china%e2%80%99s-feet/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/21/technology-the-world-at-china%e2%80%99s-feet/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/21/technology-the-world-at-china%e2%80%99s-feet/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-21T18:16:59Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-21T18:16:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Keith Bradsher’s article in the New York Times of 17 March is breath-taking but worrying for the West. 
It confirms the incredible drive by China to lead in all relevant technological developments. Just imagine that China may produce this year two-thirds of the global output of PV panels, despite Europe’s long start.   And [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Applied Materials" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="PV panels" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Xi&#039;an" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chinese hard-line security policies will lead to social unrest]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/19/chinese-hard-line-security-policies-will-lead-to-social-unrest/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/19/chinese-hard-line-security-policies-will-lead-to-social-unrest/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/19/chinese-hard-line-security-policies-will-lead-to-social-unrest/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-18T22:02:18Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-18T22:02:18Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I’ve just come across a speech by Yu Jianrong on 26 December 2009.  Professor Yu is director of social issues research at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and advises top leaders – clearly an insider.  What he said is disturbing – and surprising.  It is rare for someone of Yu&#8217;s official [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese social unrest" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Yu Jianrong" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Heavy-handed propaganda alienates Europeans from China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/17/heavy-handed-propaganda-alienates-europeans-from-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/17/heavy-handed-propaganda-alienates-europeans-from-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/17/heavy-handed-propaganda-alienates-europeans-from-china/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-16T22:21:53Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-16T22:21:53Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following interview appeared in Global Times on 15 March 2010:
Editor&#8217;s Note:
China constantly complains of being misperceived by the West, but how much of that is China&#8217;s own fault? Do Europeans still see China through an ideological lens, or does China fail to present itself in a way acceptable in the modern world? Global Times (GT) [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="English" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Gllobal Tiimes" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Copenhagen: a tale of ‘undiplomacy’ (continued)]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/15/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99-continued/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/15/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99-continued/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/15/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99-continued/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-15T15:47:45Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-15T15:47:45Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Yesterday’s post reported on the non-attendance of Premier Wen Jiabao at the small leaders’ meeting on 17 December.  Wen’s explanation of what happened was the same as previously reported in the Chinese media, except that the latter said that the meeting was held by the US.  Wen did not repeat this.  It’s hard to understand [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Copenhagen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chinese yuan: currency manipulation?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/chinese-yuan-currency-manipulation/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/chinese-yuan-currency-manipulation/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/chinese-yuan-currency-manipulation/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-14T20:32:13Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-14T20:32:13Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Writing in BusinessWeek on 12 March, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said global economic growth would be about 1.5% higher if China stopped restraining the value of its currency and running trade surpluses.   “We should not be afraid of what the Chinese might do if we pressure them to stop this currency manipulation,” Krugman said.
Krugman [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China; yuan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="currency manipulator" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="renminbi Krugman" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Copenhagen: a tale of ‘undiplomacy’]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/14/copenhagen-a-tale-of-%e2%80%98undiplomacy%e2%80%99/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-14T15:14:28Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-14T15:14:28Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This morning in Beijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao explained at his press conference what actually happened in Copenhagen on 17 December 2009 on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference, which gave rise to criticism of Chinese behaviour and even allegations of arrogance.  It is remarkable that this is the first official version of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Copenhagen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen JIabao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Fighting corruption in China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/fighting-corruption-in-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/fighting-corruption-in-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/fighting-corruption-in-china/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-13T13:47:48Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-13T13:47:48Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[My blog post of 12 March reported Premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual address to the National People’s Congress, stating that corruption threatened the rule of the CCP.  China’s former state auditor, Li Jinhua has, in the official ‘People’s Daily’ on-line, identified the business dealings of Party officials as the main source of public dissatisfaction.  [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="corruption; People’s Daily" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Will US declare China a “currency manipulator”?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/will-us-declare-china-a-%e2%80%9ccurrency-manipulator%e2%80%9d/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/will-us-declare-china-a-%e2%80%9ccurrency-manipulator%e2%80%9d/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/13/will-us-declare-china-a-%e2%80%9ccurrency-manipulator%e2%80%9d/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-13T12:25:19Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-13T12:25:19Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The US Treasury, in its semi-annual report delivered every April and October, can formally label China as a “currency manipulator” on account of the yuan’s substantial undervalue.  This would allow the Department of Commerce to impose countervailing duties on a wide range of Chinese products.
US Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner told the Senate Finance Committee at [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="currency manipulator" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="trade war" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="yuan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Corruption threatens Chinese Communist Party rule]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/12/corruption-threatens-chinese-communist-party-rule/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/12/corruption-threatens-chinese-communist-party-rule/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/12/corruption-threatens-chinese-communist-party-rule/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-12T12:36:13Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-12T12:36:13Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Corruption has always been addressed by Premier Wen Jiabao in his annual address to the National People’s Congress, but this year he went much further than before by stating that corruption threatened the rule of the CCP. 
In his speech on 5 March 2010, the Premier affirmed  that the battle against graft would be a critical [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="corruption" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="National People’s Congress" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen JIabao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[American exceptionalism is alive and well!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/11/american-exceptionalism-is-alive-and-well/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/11/american-exceptionalism-is-alive-and-well/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/11/american-exceptionalism-is-alive-and-well/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-11T16:04:30Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-11T16:04:30Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The decision of Northrop Grumman and EADS not to bid on the tender to supply the US Air Force with $50 billion worth of air refuelling tankers is very disturbing.  They won the contract in 2008 but, after Boeing’s protest, a new tender was issued, with the technical terms sufficiently changed so that the larger [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="American exceptionalism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EADS" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US Air Force air refuelling tankers" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A European Monetary Fund]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/09/a-european-monetary-fund/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/09/a-european-monetary-fund/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/09/a-european-monetary-fund/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-09T13:03:57Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-09T13:03:57Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[An objective of the Maastricht Treaty was EMU - Economic &#38; Monetary Union. 16 countries have achieved monetary, but not economic, union. Indeed, even economic policy cooperation still leaves a lot to be desired. The original criticisms of the euro were the lack of economic coordination and the absence of any central fund. Greece has [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EMF" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Monetary Fund" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Van Rompuy at Bruges]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/04/van-rompuy-at-bruges/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/04/van-rompuy-at-bruges/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/04/van-rompuy-at-bruges/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-04T15:33:32Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-04T15:33:32Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 &#8220;The challenges for Europe in a changing world&#8221;.  The gist of the speech follows.
Our main challenge [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Foreign Policy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Van Rompuy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Triangularity: China, EU and US go head to head]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/01/triangularity-china-eu-and-us-go-head-to-head/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/01/triangularity-china-eu-and-us-go-head-to-head/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/03/01/triangularity-china-eu-and-us-go-head-to-head/</id>
		<updated>2010-03-01T00:23:21Z</updated>
		<published>2010-03-01T00:23:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Triangularity" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A common value]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/28/a-common-value/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/28/a-common-value/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/28/a-common-value/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-28T13:42:14Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-28T13:42:14Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[There is much talk about values and frequently comparisons between Western and Eastern values.  There is at least universal agreement on one value, as spelt out below:
Buddhism
“Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga 5.18)
Christianity
“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.” (Matthew 7:12)
Confucianism 
“Do not do [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Buddhism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Christianity" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Common values" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Confucianism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hinduism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Islam" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Judaism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Afghanistan in Sixteen Characters]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/afghanistan-in-sixteen-characters/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/afghanistan-in-sixteen-characters/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/afghanistan-in-sixteen-characters/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-25T19:37:35Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-25T19:37:35Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“By May 1928 the basic principles of guerilla warfare&#8230;had already been evolved; that is, the sixteen-character formula: The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.” (Mao Zedong, 1936).
This post is inspired by the columnist Gwynne Dyer.
“The ability to run away is the essence [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mao Zedong" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Chinese Confucian Party?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/the-chinese-confucian-party/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/the-chinese-confucian-party/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/25/the-chinese-confucian-party/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-24T22:45:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-24T22:45:00Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Daniel Bell, in the Globe and Mail of 19 February 2010 wrote an interesting article about the revival of Confucianism.  Only recently, the Chinese Communist Party approved a film about Confucius, starring the handsome leading man Chow Yun-Fat.
Bell’s addressing Confucian values in practice is particularly interesting.  Confucian intellectuals have put forward political proposals that aim [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Confucianism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Confucius" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[European destructuring]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/european-destructuring/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/european-destructuring/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/european-destructuring/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-22T20:54:02Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-22T20:54:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Two items struck me in tonight&#8217;s newscasts.
Lufthansa pilots are striking for four days, costing the company €100 million.  They are demanding a 6% pay increase and that pilots in Lufthansa&#8217;s foreign subsidiaries be paid at their rates. 
French frefinery workers are striking against Total&#8217;s decision to close a refinery.
Whatever the facts behind these two issues, it [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lufthansa" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="strike" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Total" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Appointment of EU ambassador to the US  under fire]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-the-us-under-fire/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-the-us-under-fire/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/22/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-the-us-under-fire/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-22T16:13:20Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-22T16:13:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister, wrote on 19 February to foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton complaining about the manner in which way Joao Vale de Almeida was recently appointed ambassador in Washington (see post dated 19 February). 
Bildt asks how the appointment was made, pending adoption of new rules governing the procedure, but with diplomatic [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Barroso" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Bildt" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Ambassador to US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Vale de Almeida" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China and India: Prospects for Peace]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/china-and-india-prospects-for-peace/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/china-and-india-prospects-for-peace/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/china-and-india-prospects-for-peace/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-19T19:16:21Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-19T19:16:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Reproduced below is the review in The Economist of 4 February 2010 of my BICCS colleague&#8217;s new book:
China and India: Prospects for Peace.  (Columbia University Press; 234 pages; $37.50 and £26. Buy from&#160;Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk)
FOR a book about two countries whose most recent war was five decades ago, “Prospects for Peace” seems a quirky subtitle. [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China  India" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Holslag" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Appointment of EU Ambassador to US: a bad practice continued]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-us-a-bad-practice-continued/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-us-a-bad-practice-continued/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/19/appointment-of-eu-ambassador-to-us-a-bad-practice-continued/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-19T16:08:09Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-19T16:08:09Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Barroson Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EEAS" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Washington Ambassador" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Vale de Almeida" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Ashton under attack]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/ashton-under-attack/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/ashton-under-attack/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/ashton-under-attack/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-16T15:57:09Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-16T15:57:09Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Further to the post of 25 January, Baroness Ashton is still under attack for not going to Haiti, notwithstanding  that the UN had requested that dignataries do not visit the island, so as not to disrupt the emergency aid activities.  She stated  then that Development &#38; Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, would go when [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Haiti" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="High Representative" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU external unity]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/eu-external-unity/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/eu-external-unity/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/16/eu-external-unity/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-15T22:06:44Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-15T22:06:44Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The EU has failed its first test of external unity under the Lisbon Treaty.  It is normal for governments to address messages of congratulation to heads of government/state after being democratically elected or confirmed.    Such messages are usually synchronised in the EU, and this was agreed last week by EU ambassadors in Kiev in the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU external policy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ukraine" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[We all need China to succeed and to start leading]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/12/we-all-need-china-to-succeed-and-to-start-leading/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/12/we-all-need-china-to-succeed-and-to-start-leading/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/12/we-all-need-china-to-succeed-and-to-start-leading/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-11T22:10:46Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-11T22:10:46Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[ With the above words, Peter Mandelson, former EU Trade Commissioner and now UK First Secretary of State,  concludes a perceptive op-ed in today’s New York Times.
Lord Mandelson identifies a mismatch between our expectations of China and China’s own assessment of its role and responsibilities. Today’s Chinese leadership is defined by two decades of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="global governance" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mandelson" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multilateralism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s deteriorating international relations]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/10/china%e2%80%99s-deteriorating-international-relations/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/10/china%e2%80%99s-deteriorating-international-relations/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/10/china%e2%80%99s-deteriorating-international-relations/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-10T19:58:39Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-10T19:58:39Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[China’s influence on the world stage steadily increases but European media reporting remains generally prejudiced against China.  This is probably due to two main factors.  First, bad news makes  good news in the news world.  Second, there are well-organized lobby groups hostile to China, namely Taiwan, Tibet and human rights, and also industrial sectors seeking [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China’s international standing" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s Challenge to American hegemony]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/09/china%e2%80%99s-challenge-to-american-hegemony/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/09/china%e2%80%99s-challenge-to-american-hegemony/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/09/china%e2%80%99s-challenge-to-american-hegemony/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-09T17:30:01Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-09T17:30:01Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Chas W. Freeman Jr spoke to the Global Strategy Forum on 20 January 2010 on the mounting speculation about China’s emergence as a global hegemon to rival and, perhaps in time, surpass the United States.  This is the thrust of what he said:
The US – which spends more on its military than the rest [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="hegemony" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multilateralism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multipolarity" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-US Summit: a surfeit of summitry]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/06/eu-us-summit-a-surfeit-of-summitry/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/06/eu-us-summit-a-surfeit-of-summitry/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/06/eu-us-summit-a-surfeit-of-summitry/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-06T13:02:43Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-06T13:02:43Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[President Obama did the EU a favour by deciding not to attend the scheduled 24-25 May EU-US summit in Madrid, for two reasons.  First, because he prevents Spain from ignoring the spirit of Lisbon.  Second, it will force the EU to rethink the whole issue of third country summits.  Athough originally apparently a US practice, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU summitry Madrid" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-US summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Spanish Presidency" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chinese New Year Greeting]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/05/chinese-new-year-greeting/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/05/chinese-new-year-greeting/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/05/chinese-new-year-greeting/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-05T18:14:27Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-05T18:14:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[TO ALL CHINESE READERS 
This last year was an extremely difficult one for all of us.   China has performed extraordinarily well economically in the global recession, which has helped see the acceleration of the trend of economic and financial gravity away from the West and to Asia . 
Barack Obama entering the White House was perhaps the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese New Year" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Golden Tiger" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Revisiting China arms embargo]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/04/revisiting-china-arms-embargo/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/04/revisiting-china-arms-embargo/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/04/revisiting-china-arms-embargo/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-04T03:07:20Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-04T03:07:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[France and Germany sought the lifting of the EU arms embargo in 2004 but Washington insisted on the embargo being maintained.  The embargo was lifted against Uzbekistan last October, despite continuing concerns about human rights in the central Asian nation.  This leaves China in the company of a handful of countries, including  Congo, North Korea, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="arms embargo" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Partnership &amp; Cooperation Agreement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="PCA" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-US summit: egotistical wrangling]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/02/eu-us-summit-egotistical-wrangling/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/02/eu-us-summit-egotistical-wrangling/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/02/02/eu-us-summit-egotistical-wrangling/</id>
		<updated>2010-02-02T01:20:58Z</updated>
		<published>2010-02-02T01:20:58Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Everyone agrees that the European Union must get its act together.  The wrangling over the next EU-US summit shows that the EU won’t get it’s act together until the egotism of Member State leaders is brought under control. 
Now it’s the turn of Spain, the current EU Presidency, which insists on hosting the summit and, thus, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-US summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Zapatero" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Haiti: action before photo-ops]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/25/haiti-action-before-photo-ops/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/25/haiti-action-before-photo-ops/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/25/haiti-action-before-photo-ops/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-25T18:20:53Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-25T18:20:53Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Criticism of Catherine Ashton not going to Haiti shows why a Commission not directly answerable to the electorate has its advantages.  Most national politicians fly to disaster areas for domestic political reasons.  The last thing Haiti wants is herds of VIPs using valuable airport space and requiring attention, but with nothing to offer solely because [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="De Gucht" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Haiti" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lisbon Treaty : managing expectations]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/23/lisbon-treaty-managing-expectations/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/23/lisbon-treaty-managing-expectations/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/23/lisbon-treaty-managing-expectations/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-23T02:24:34Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-23T02:24:34Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 &#38; 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, and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Copenhagen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Van Rompuy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Trading With China: Win-Win Or Zero Sum Game?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/trading-with-china-win-win-or-zero-sum-game/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-21T15:08:51Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-21T15:08:51Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international trade" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="trade deficit" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[An unfair assessment of Ashton]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/an-unfair-assessment-of-ashton/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/an-unfair-assessment-of-ashton/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/21/an-unfair-assessment-of-ashton/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-20T22:14:23Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-20T22:14:23Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following letter will appear in European Voice on 21 January:
Your report of Catherine Ashton’s hearing gave her two stars out of five (“Commissioners’ hearings”, 14-20 January).  You found her performance “uninspired and uninspiring” and stated that some members of the European Parliament were “exasperated” at “her evasive replies”. These views seem to echo those [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European parliament hearings" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Better Times Ahead]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/better-times-ahead/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/better-times-ahead/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/better-times-ahead/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-20T16:32:25Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-20T16:32:25Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 turnout [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Western democracy under scrutiny]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/western-democracy-under-scrutiny/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/western-democracy-under-scrutiny/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/western-democracy-under-scrutiny/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-20T15:21:11Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-20T15:21:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The loss by the US Democrats of Senator Kennedy’s seat in the home of liberalism, could be a wake-up call for the West to take time out from preaching democracy to others, in order to take a good look at how  democracy is faring in our own countries.  In most of them, the government and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="filibuster" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Massachusetts" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Mind the Gap]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/mind-the-gap/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/mind-the-gap/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/mind-the-gap/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-20T15:15:58Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-20T15:15:58Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“The right of the European citizen to move freely throughout the EU is the clearest and most important demonstration that the EU Treaties are ultimately concerned with individual freedom.”  This is how Professor Sir David Edward, former European Court justice, prefaces a report published yesterday by ECAS (European Citizen Action Service) on better enforcement [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="citizens’ rights" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="ECAS" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="enforcement of EU law" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="free movement of persons" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[400th Post]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/400th-post/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/400th-post/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/20/400th-post/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-20T15:01:05Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-20T15:01:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In my first post of 11 October 2007, I wrote:
“This is the beginning of an unknown journey for me. I hope that you find I have something worthwhile to say and that you will bear with me until I professionalise my blogging.”
All I can say that I knew I was talkative but not that much!
I [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A Final Delivery]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/a-final-delivery/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/a-final-delivery/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/a-final-delivery/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-18T18:57:43Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-18T18:57:43Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Implementation of the Lisbon Treaty will make for more simple and easier communication between European governments By STANLEY CROSSICK
Published in the Beijing Review 17 December 2009
After years of debate, disagreements and false starts, the European Union (EU) gave birth to the Lisbon Treaty, at long last, on December 1. First conceived on December 15, 2001 [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Haiti: humanitarianism before politics?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/haiti-humanitarianism-before-politics/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/haiti-humanitarianism-before-politics/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/18/haiti-humanitarianism-before-politics/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-17T23:16:43Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-17T23:16:43Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Haiti is one of just 23 countries that recognize Taiwan.  China has in the past used aid to encourage countries to ‘de-recognize’ Taiwan.
And yet China was one of the first countries to announce aid to Haiti, which is also receiving aid from Taipei.  A cargo plane left Beijing on 16 January with $2 million of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Haiti" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Taiwan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Human rights: a Chinese perspective]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/15/human-rights-a-chinese-perspective/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/15/human-rights-a-chinese-perspective/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/15/human-rights-a-chinese-perspective/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-15T12:19:12Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-15T12:19:12Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The paper written by Prof Li Junru for EU-China Observer Issue 6, 2009 is worth closer examination, bearing in mind the importance of the author.  Prof. Li Junru is former Vice President of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. He is now Vice Director of the China Reform [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Li Junru" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Multilateralism that can work]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/14/multilateralism-that-can-work/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/14/multilateralism-that-can-work/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/14/multilateralism-that-can-work/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-14T13:23:00Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-14T13:23:00Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following letter was published in the Financial Times on 12 January 2010:
From Mr Stanley Crossick.
Sir, Richard Haass recognises that multilateralism is necessarily superseding hegemony and bilateralism, but finds difficulty in identifying a multilateral system that works ( The case for messy multilateralism January 6th). There is only one solution: to remove the veto and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Happy New Year!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/11/happy-new-year-3/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/11/happy-new-year-3/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/11/happy-new-year-3/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-11T13:43:38Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-11T13:43:38Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
 
Dear Friend
 
I wish you and your family a Happy, Healthy &#38; Successful New Year and look forward to a continuing relationship in 2010.  
 
The world appears to be emerging from recession, but there is no assurance that it won’t slip back.  And there is very slow process in introducing legislation to reduce the risk of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s trade with US decreases in importance]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/08/china%e2%80%99s-trade-with-us-decreases-in-importance/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/08/china%e2%80%99s-trade-with-us-decreases-in-importance/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/08/china%e2%80%99s-trade-with-us-decreases-in-importance/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-08T15:23:01Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-08T15:23:01Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[James Kynge in today’s Financial Times disputes the received wisdom that, with the collapse in US consumer demand, China has no alternative but to increase domestic demand. 
He argues that the huge increase in China’s trade with south-east Asia and Africa, Brazil and India, has been largely ignored. 
During the first 10 months of 2009, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Asean" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-US trade" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Terrorism: Still a growing problem]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/02/terrorism-still-a-growing-problem/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/02/terrorism-still-a-growing-problem/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2010/01/02/terrorism-still-a-growing-problem/</id>
		<updated>2010-01-02T14:29:26Z</updated>
		<published>2010-01-02T14:29:26Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It is only a matter of time when a major terrorist attack will occur in the West.  Until Christmas day, there was a feeling of relative security and that governments had matters under control.  The extensive airport security has been re-assuring until Umar Faral Abdul Mutallah, a Nigerian trained in Yemen tried to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mutallah" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="nigerian" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="north-west airlines" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="schiphol" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Stormy weather ahead for China?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/stormy-weather-ahead-for-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/stormy-weather-ahead-for-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/stormy-weather-ahead-for-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-31T14:03:10Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-31T14:03:10Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[China has so far weathered the financial and economic storms remarkably well.  Despite problems in Tibet and Xinjiang, the CCP remains in control and legitimate in the eyes of most Chinese.  The country’s influence on the world stage steadily increases.
However, whatever the successes of China, its perception in the West is increasingly negative. [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="akmad shaikh" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Leadership]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/leadership-2/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/leadership-2/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/31/leadership-2/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-31T13:35:10Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-31T13:35:10Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[If only our presidents and prime ministers were as good at the leadership game as they are at the blame game.  Recent examples:
Copenhagen: British climate change minister, Ed Miliband, publicly blamed China for vetoing two key commitments on emission cuts.  China accused Miliband of trying to stir discord among developing countries.
Protectionism: China called the EU [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Copenhagen Conference" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Leadership" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Procectionism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Copenhagen: an unmitigated disaster]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/23/copenhagen-an-unmitigated-disaster/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/23/copenhagen-an-unmitigated-disaster/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/23/copenhagen-an-unmitigated-disaster/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-22T22:34:19Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-22T22:34:19Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Copenhagen conference was an unmitigated disaster as an exercise in global governance.  The only hope is that it will act as a wake-up call for a real effort to be made to establish a system.
The exercise was doomed from the outset. 
• We are still trying to solve the problem without fully identifying and agreeing upon [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="climate change" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Copenhagen Accord" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UN Conference" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Antidumping duty extensions a bad idea]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/22/antidumping-duty-extensions-a-bad-idea/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/22/antidumping-duty-extensions-a-bad-idea/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/22/antidumping-duty-extensions-a-bad-idea/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-22T21:46:09Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-22T21:46:09Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The EU Ministers yesterday extended the antidumping duties on footwear imports from China and Vietnam for a further 15 months as of January 2010.    In 2006, the EU imposed a two-year anti-dumping duty of 16.5 % on Chinese leather shoes. 
It is not for me to comment on the legal correctness of this decision.  However, it [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="anti-dumping" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="BEUC" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="footwear" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[An insecure China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/16/an-insecure-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/16/an-insecure-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/16/an-insecure-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-16T15:19:30Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-16T15:19:30Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Tightened domestic security this year was understandable, in the light of the Uighur unrest in Xinjiang province, the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.  However, the signs are that security is being permanently tightened and press and internet freedom restricted.
The CCP (Communist party) has been very effective [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese secuity" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="mass incidents" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[More fuel for the protectionist fire]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/more-fuel-for-the-protectionist-fire/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/more-fuel-for-the-protectionist-fire/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/more-fuel-for-the-protectionist-fire/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-13T12:56:51Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-13T12:56:51Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[My post of 2 December expressed concern about growing protectionism and China’s contribution to this. 
China published a circular on 15 November, establishing “an Indigenous Innovation Product Accreditation system”.  To be eligible for public sector contracts, firms must have obtained accreditation by 10 December 10.  The new rules require that products should be linked to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese public procurement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Balance of power or mutuality of interest?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/balance-of-power-or-mutuality-of-interest/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/balance-of-power-or-mutuality-of-interest/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/13/balance-of-power-or-mutuality-of-interest/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-13T02:01:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-13T02:01:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[US Undersecretary of State, William Burns, said in April of the US and Russia that “more unites us than divides us”.  The same can be said of the US and China, and of Russia and China. 
The way these three powers behave towards each other in the next decade will shape the future of the world.  [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="balance of power" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s exchange rate policy]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/09/china%e2%80%99s-exchange-rate-policy/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/09/china%e2%80%99s-exchange-rate-policy/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/09/china%e2%80%99s-exchange-rate-policy/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-09T16:17:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-09T16:17:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[ 
Martin Wolf, China, renminbi/RMB, protectionism
Martin Wolf, in todays’ Financial Times considers unfair Premier Wen Jiabao’s statement last week at the end of the China-EU summit, that:
“Some countries on the one hand want the renmimbi to appreciate, but on the other hand engage in brazen protectionism against China.  This is unfair.  Their measures are a restriction on [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Martin Wolf" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="renminbi/RMB" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Thatcher: the political case for EC membership]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/thatcher-the-political-case-for-ec-membership/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/thatcher-the-political-case-for-ec-membership/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/thatcher-the-political-case-for-ec-membership/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-08T03:39:05Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-08T03:39:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[ 
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. It is [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Membership" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Thatcher" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China-EU summit: reflections]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/china-eu-summit-reflections/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/china-eu-summit-reflections/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/08/china-eu-summit-reflections/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-07T22:30:34Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-07T22:30:34Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[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 nothing [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="RMB" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Trilateral China-EU-US relationship]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/04/trilateral-china-eu-us-relationship/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/04/trilateral-china-eu-us-relationship/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/04/trilateral-china-eu-us-relationship/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-04T11:17:50Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-04T11:17:50Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Set out below is my contribution to the debate, organized by the Forum for American/Chinese exchange at Stanford, at Peking University in 19 November 2009 in China-EU-US trilateral relations. 
We have been asked to address six questions:
But first, some broad remarks:
I can’t resist commenting on Michael Chapman’s provocative and entertaining contribution.  Until this morning, I believed [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU-US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Will Afghanistan prevent a second Obama term?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/will-afghanistan-prevent-a-second-obama-term/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/will-afghanistan-prevent-a-second-obama-term/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/will-afghanistan-prevent-a-second-obama-term/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-02T16:10:58Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-02T16:10:58Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Lyndon Johnson forfeited a second presidential term because of his decision to escalate the Vietnam war.  I do hope that Barack Obama”s decision to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan will not have a similar consequence.
The strategy is founded on the belief that al-Qaeda needs Afghanistan as a base.  But does it?  Terrorist attacks [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="afghanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Al-Qaeda" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The EU and China: Time for a Change?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/the-eu-and-china-time-for-a-change/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/the-eu-and-china-time-for-a-change/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/the-eu-and-china-time-for-a-change/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-02T10:53:19Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-02T10:53:19Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following paper, written with Dr Kerry Brown Senior Fellow, Asia Programme, Chatham House, has been published as an Asia Programme Paper: ASP PP 2009/03 by the Royal Insitute of International Affairs:
The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chatham House, its [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China fuels rise in protectionism]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/china-fuels-rise-in-protectionism/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/china-fuels-rise-in-protectionism/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/china-fuels-rise-in-protectionism/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-02T10:13:42Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-02T10:13:42Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“Some countries on the one hand want the renmimbi to appreciate, but on the other hand engage in brazen protectionism against China.  This is unfair.  Their measures are a restriction on China’s development.” 
Why did Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking at the end of the China-EU summit in Nanjing on 30 November, adopt such an aggressive [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="renmimbi" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[President Sarkozy puts self interest first]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/president-sarkozy-puts-self-interest-first/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/president-sarkozy-puts-self-interest-first/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/12/02/president-sarkozy-puts-self-interest-first/</id>
		<updated>2009-12-02T09:00:27Z</updated>
		<published>2009-12-02T09:00:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“Do you know what it means for me to see for the first time in 50 years a French European commissioner in charge of the internal market, including financial services, including the City [of London]?&#8221;
&#8220;I want the world to see the victory of the European model, which has nothing to do with the excesses of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU financial services" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Michel Barnier" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Nicolas Sarkozy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lifting arms embargo on China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/lifting-arms-embargo-on-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/lifting-arms-embargo-on-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/lifting-arms-embargo-on-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-30T17:28:59Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-30T17:28:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Crossick: Lifting arms embargo can break EU-China stalemate 
Published: Friday 27 November 2009 Euractiv:
Although the EU will enter today&#8217;s (30 November) EU-China summit with a revamped outlook provided by the Lisbon Treaty, no major turning point should be expected from the meeting unless Europe commits itself to lifting its arms embargo against China, argues Stanley Crossick, founding chairman of the European Policy Centre [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="china arms embargo" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China: reflections &#38; recommendations]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/eu-china-reflections-recommendations/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/eu-china-reflections-recommendations/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/eu-china-reflections-recommendations/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-30T16:06:20Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-30T16:06:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[After more than two weeks in China, and a third visit in two months, I offer a number of reflections and recommendations, including on developing the so-called &#8220;strategic partnership&#8221;. 
EU-China relationship
This is best characterised as: “Europe, we still love you.  We’ll love you even more if you get your act together externally – as a counterweight [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="market economy status" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Partnership &amp; Cooperation Agreement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen JIabao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Life &#38; Development International Forum]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/life-development-international-forum/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/life-development-international-forum/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/life-development-international-forum/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-30T15:18:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-30T15:18:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This forum was held in Hangzhou, from 8 to 10 November 2009,   organized by the Europe Research Centre of Zhejiang University and sponsored by the Hangzhou municipality.
This was an impressive, demonstrating a clear desire by the municipality to improve the quality of life, which is already comparatively high in Zhejiang province.
Hangzhou exudes entrepreneurialism, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hangzhou" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lifestyle" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Zhejiang" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China &#38; EU: tackling global challenges]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/china-eu-tackling-global-challenges/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/china-eu-tackling-global-challenges/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/china-eu-tackling-global-challenges/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-30T13:58:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-30T13:58:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following are my closing remarks at the 6th China-EU Think Tank Roundtable in Changzhou on 21-22 October 2009:
We have had a rich and fruitful discussion facilitated by excellent time discipline. 
Underpinning all discussions was the search for mutual understanding and the elimination of misperceptions.  We do not sufficiently trust each other.  Trust comes from working [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="think tanks" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Meeting with Wen Jiabao]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/meeting-with-wen-jiabao/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/meeting-with-wen-jiabao/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/30/meeting-with-wen-jiabao/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-30T13:43:21Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-30T13:43:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[During the “Forum on China-EU Partnership” in Beijing on 20 November 2009, sponsored by the Chinese government (see post of 27 November), the European scholars, led by former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, met Premier Wen Jiabao for an hour-long discussion. 
It was significant that the premier devoted this amount of time to us, and he [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen JIabao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Forum on China-EU Strategic Partnership 19-20 November]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/27/forum-on-china-eu-strategic-partnership-19-20-november/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/27/forum-on-china-eu-strategic-partnership-19-20-november/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/27/forum-on-china-eu-strategic-partnership-19-20-november/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-27T08:37:26Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-27T08:37:26Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The prime question is: why did Beijing choose to hold such a major event?  The decision was only taken in late September.  There were some 200 delegates and another 100 observers.  The Chinese official line-up was impressive, including Li Keqiang, Li Junru, Dai Binguo, Zhang Zhijun and a separate meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao (see [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The new EU appointees: first reactions may be wrong]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/21/the-new-eu-appointees-first-reactions-may-be-wrong/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/21/the-new-eu-appointees-first-reactions-may-be-wrong/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/21/the-new-eu-appointees-first-reactions-may-be-wrong/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-21T11:37:47Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-21T11:37:47Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Many reactions to the appointments of Herman van Rompuy as president of the European Council and Catherine Ashton as foreign policy chief have been negative.  They deserve a second thought.
While the secrecy in which the appointments were made is disappointing, it is understandable that consensus was needed on this occasion; hopefully not next time round. 
As [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Council President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Foreign Policy High Representative" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Van Rompuy" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s Myanmar dilemma]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/china%e2%80%99s-myanmar-dilemma/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/china%e2%80%99s-myanmar-dilemma/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/china%e2%80%99s-myanmar-dilemma/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-18T05:29:47Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-18T05:29:47Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I also commend to you the International Crisis Group’s report of 14 September 2009, the key conclusions of which are summarized below:
• Beijing has pushed its neighbour to undertake political reforms, but not in the way the West would like.
• China was the first to congratulate Aung San Suu Kyi on her election in 1990. 
• China continues to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Burma" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Myanmar" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[North Korea: China’s debate]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/north-korea-china%e2%80%99s-debate/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/north-korea-china%e2%80%99s-debate/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/18/north-korea-china%e2%80%99s-debate/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-18T04:49:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-18T04:49:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I commend to you the International Crisis Group’s report of 2 November 2009.  Its key conclusions are summarized below:
• “Our mindset has changed, but the length of our border has not”  a high-level Chinese diplomat is quoted as saying.  The border is 1 416km. 
• China’s overriding interest remains peace and stability, with non-proliferation a secondary priority. 
• Given its [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="DPRK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="North Korea" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s new assertive foreign policy]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/17/china%e2%80%99s-new-assertive-foreign-policy/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/17/china%e2%80%99s-new-assertive-foreign-policy/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/17/china%e2%80%99s-new-assertive-foreign-policy/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-17T13:26:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-17T13:26:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[“Bide time, conceal capabilities, but do some things.
 “China should adopt a low profile and never take the lead.”
Deng Xiaoping’s famous foreign policy axioms were apparently modified, as result of China’s 11th Ambassadorial Conference in July 2009, but the new formulation is not yet known.
Hu Jintao emphasized in his speech to the conference the importance of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese foreign policy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Deng Xiaoping" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="hu jintao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lisbon Treaty: single voice or cacophony?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/15/lisbon-treaty-single-voice-or-cacophony/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/15/lisbon-treaty-single-voice-or-cacophony/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/15/lisbon-treaty-single-voice-or-cacophony/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-15T01:32:01Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-15T01:32:01Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[We now have our new treaty, which is supposed to enhance the EU’s ability to act by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its institutions and decision-making process.  At last, third countries will deal with a more unified entity; and will know the telephone number to call.  Or so we dream…
What do we have in [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chris Patten" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="David Miliband" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Council President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="High Representative for CFSP" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Peter Mandelson" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Tarja Halonen" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Blogging holiday]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/05/blogging-holiday/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/05/blogging-holiday/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/05/blogging-holiday/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-05T09:46:52Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-05T09:46:52Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I&#8217;m off to China for 16 days
Expect silence and then a flurry of posts
Stanley Crossick
&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[David Cameron’s poisoned chalice]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/david-cameron%e2%80%99s-poisoned-chalice/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/david-cameron%e2%80%99s-poisoned-chalice/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/david-cameron%e2%80%99s-poisoned-chalice/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-02T16:40:00Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-02T16:40:00Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I recommend that David Cameron views the four episodes of the BBC’s 1996 documentary on Britain and Europe, entitled The Poisoned Chalice, and he then has another look at the end of the political careers of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
A foolish commitment in 2005 to the Conservative euro-sceptics forced him to strip his MEPs [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cameron" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Conservatives" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Poisoned Chalice" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chindia or China vs India?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/chindia-or-china-vs-india/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/chindia-or-china-vs-india/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/11/02/chindia-or-china-vs-india/</id>
		<updated>2009-11-01T22:49:20Z</updated>
		<published>2009-11-01T22:49:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The recent deterioration of the relationship between China and India is deeply disturbing.  Significant was the recent editorial on the People’s Daily  website which attacked “India’s superpower dreams” and  “thought of hegemony”.
The fundamental disputes are over the eastern western ends of their long border, unresolved since a war in 1962. In the east, China claims [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chindia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="India" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lisbon Treaty: Foreign Policy Chief more important]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/lisbon-treaty-foreign-policy-chief-more-important/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/lisbon-treaty-foreign-policy-chief-more-important/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/lisbon-treaty-foreign-policy-chief-more-important/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-31T16:45:04Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-31T16:45:04Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It looks at last that the Lisbon Treaty will come into force – even as hoped for – on 1 January 2010.  Discussion so far has been mainly on whether Tony Blair should be given the first post, and to a lesser extent on what should be the determining criteria.  It seems clear that Blair [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Blair" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Council President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Halonen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="High Representative" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Miliband" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Patten" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Afghanistan: creating islands]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/afghanistan-creating-islands/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/afghanistan-creating-islands/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/31/afghanistan-creating-islands/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-31T15:29:25Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-31T15:29:25Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Everyone is waiting for President Obama’s decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, and if so, how many. 
There is no acceptable and achievable way to ensure peace, stability, and reasonably prosperity in the whole of Afghanistan.  What then does the West do, bearing in mind the huge negative contribution made to the present [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="afghanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China and EU: tackling global challenges]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/24/china-and-eu-tackling-global-challenges/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/24/china-and-eu-tackling-global-challenges/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/24/china-and-eu-tackling-global-challenges/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-24T11:24:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-24T11:24:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following are my concluding remarks at the 6th China-EU Think Tank Roundtable (CIIS-EPC) held in Changzhou, PRC on 21-22 October 2009:

 
We have had a rich and fruitful discussion facilitated by excellent time discipline.  
 
Underpinning all discussions was the search for mutual understanding and the elimination of misperceptions.  We do not sufficiently trust each other.  [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China-EU" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chindia: how they compare]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/15/chindia-how-they-compare/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/15/chindia-how-they-compare/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/15/chindia-how-they-compare/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-15T12:48:31Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-15T12:48:31Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Pallavi Aiyar, recently lived for over five years in China, speaks Chinese and has written a charming and engaging book seeing China through young Indian eyes.  Smoke and Mirrors closes with her insights on China and India:
• India is good at software, China has hardware.
• India should learn from China to invest in infrastructure, while China should [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chindia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="India" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China - EU strategic partnership: state of play]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/13/china-eu-strategic-partnesrship-state-of-play/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/13/china-eu-strategic-partnesrship-state-of-play/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/13/china-eu-strategic-partnesrship-state-of-play/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-13T20:50:21Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-13T20:50:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Introduction
This is a revised version of the paper delivered to the FUDAN CES/IFRI/SIES/CSEUS roundtable in Shanghai on 24 September 2009.  It has been revised in the light of discussions at the roundtable and in Beijing with senior Chinese government officials, EU officials, business representatives, journalists and scholars.  It is inevitably based on western perceptions but [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[G2, G3, G7, G8, G20…]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/09/g2-g3-g7-g8-g20%e2%80%a6/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/09/g2-g3-g7-g8-g20%e2%80%a6/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/09/g2-g3-g7-g8-g20%e2%80%a6/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-09T15:27:04Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-09T15:27:04Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A G20 summit was held in Pittsburgh on 24-5 September 2009.  Hosted by President Obama, there was quite a turnout.  Leaders in attendance were:
States
Argentina   Cristina Fernández de Kirchner President 
Australia   Kevin Rudd     Prime Minister 
Brazil   Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva  President 
Canada   Stephen Harper    Prime Minister
China   Hu Jintao     President
France   Nicolas Sarkozy    President 
Germany   Angela Merkel    Chancellor 
India    Manmohan Singh    Prime 
Indonesia   Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono  President
Italy   Silvio Berlusconi    Prime Minister 
Japan   Yukio Hatoyama    Prime Minister
Mexico [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Add new tag" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G2" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G3" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G7" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G8" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Eight ideas behind China&#8217;s success]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/07/eight-ideas-behind-chinas-success/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/07/eight-ideas-behind-chinas-success/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/07/eight-ideas-behind-chinas-success/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-07T17:15:38Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-07T17:15:38Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Professor Zhang Wei-Wei, in an op-ed published in the New York Times on 30 September, on the eve of the 60th anniversary celebrations, offers eight ideas which have enabled China to change within one generation from a poverty-stricken country to one of the world’s largest economies.
Zhang, of the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wei-Wei" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Happy Anniversary!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/happy-anniversary/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/happy-anniversary/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/happy-anniversary/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-06T21:00:05Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-06T21:00:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following greeting is addressed to Chinese readers
Dear Friend
Happy Anniversary!  Who would have thought, sixty years ago, that we would be celebrating 60 years of the PRC amidst such remarkable progress?  To mention just some of results of the Chinese miracle:
• 3-400 million citizens have been lifted out of poverty.
• China will become the world’s second largest [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="60th anniversary" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obtaining a Schengen visa in China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/obtaining-a-schengen-visa-in-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/obtaining-a-schengen-visa-in-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/06/obtaining-a-schengen-visa-in-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-06T04:39:45Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-06T04:39:45Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[There appears to be some misunderstandings over the issuing of a single visa in China to include all the Schengen area countries.  This post clarifies the position.
• If a visa is granted by any Schengen area country, it is automatically valid in all 25 Schengen area  countries.
• These are: all EU Member States except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Schengen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="visa" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[British Conservatives: gazing in a rear-view mirror]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/05/british-conservatives-gazing-in-a-rear-view-mirror/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/05/british-conservatives-gazing-in-a-rear-view-mirror/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/05/british-conservatives-gazing-in-a-rear-view-mirror/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-05T17:11:46Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-05T17:11:46Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The op-ed in today’s Financial Times by David Milliband, the UK Foreign Secretary, convincingly argues that the Tories are stuck in the past over Europe. 
The outcome of the domestic political battle in the UK today will have major implications for Europe and indeed internationally.
When and if David Cameron becomes prime Minister, the Lisbon Treaty ratification [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cameron" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="milliband" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="referendum" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK withdrawal" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[David Cameron&#8217;s interview marred!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/04/1060/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/04/1060/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/04/1060/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-04T16:35:42Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-04T16:35:42Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Andrew Marr’s interview of David Cameron on the BBC’s AM today was disappointing on Europe.  Marr tried to persuade the Conservative leader and likely next British prime minister to say what he would do if the Lisbon Treaty is fully ratified before the general election.
Cameron refused to answer this question, saying that it would be [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cameron" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK election" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK referendum" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lisbon Treaty: awaiting Santa Klaus]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/lisbon-treaty-awaiting-santa-klaus/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/lisbon-treaty-awaiting-santa-klaus/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/lisbon-treaty-awaiting-santa-klaus/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-03T16:31:05Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-03T16:31:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[25 down, two to go.  With the Irish referendum behind us, the focus is now on Poland and the Czech Republic.  Polish President Lech Kaczy?ski will presumably honour his commitment to sign the ratification instrument if the Irish vote in favour.  That leaves the irrepressible Czech President, Vaclav Klaus. 
I know nothing about Czech constitutional law, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Czech Constitutional Court" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Czech Republic" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Klaus" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[BLOG EU appointments race begins]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/blog-eu-appointments-race-begins/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/blog-eu-appointments-race-begins/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/blog-eu-appointments-race-begins/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-03T15:11:49Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-03T15:11:49Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Following the Positive Irish referendum result, the race for who completes the EU leadership trio quickens. 
The President of the Commission will be José Manuel Barroso (EPP, Portugal).  He will be joined by the President of the European Council and the EU ‘Foreign Minister’. 
It would be preferable for the President of the European Council to come [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Blair" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Foreign Policy High Representative" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Halonen" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Patten" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[China’s 60th anniversary celebrations: a spectacle rivalling the Olympics]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/china%e2%80%99s-60th-anniversary-celebrations-a-spectacle-rivalling-the-olympics/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/china%e2%80%99s-60th-anniversary-celebrations-a-spectacle-rivalling-the-olympics/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/10/03/china%e2%80%99s-60th-anniversary-celebrations-a-spectacle-rivalling-the-olympics/</id>
		<updated>2009-10-03T08:20:04Z</updated>
		<published>2009-10-03T08:20:04Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I had the good fortune to be in Beijing on 1 October and witnessed the parade and evening gala concert.  Only superlatives do justice to the quality and organisation of the events, which involved perhaps 250 000 participants.
Contrary to what a number of commentators have said, I believe that the military parade, which began the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="60th anniversary" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="arms embargo" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Are tyres carrying us down the protectionist road?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/18/are-tyres-carrying-us-down-the-protectionist-road/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/18/are-tyres-carrying-us-down-the-protectionist-road/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/18/are-tyres-carrying-us-down-the-protectionist-road/</id>
		<updated>2009-09-18T10:23:18Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-18T10:23:18Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The United States has imposed a tariff on China-made tyres of 35 percent the first year, 30 percent the second year and 25 percent the third year. This is a clear victory for the complainant, the United Steelworkers Union, over tyre importers and some US tyre manufacturers with plants overseas. Under section 421 of the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="trade war" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Tyres" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A new Barroso?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/17/a-new-barroso/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/17/a-new-barroso/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/17/a-new-barroso/</id>
		<updated>2009-09-17T19:18:43Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-17T19:18:43Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[José Manuel Barroso was yesterday given a second term as Commission president by the European Parliament, which voted 382 for, 210 against with 117 abstentions.  This was an unexpectedly large majority – in fact the absolute majority which the Lisbon Treaty would have required. 
Barroso rightly claimed “reinforced authority” after this decisive victory, but what does [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Barroso" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Commission" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obama must look to LBJ]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/16/obama-must-look-to-lbj/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/16/obama-must-look-to-lbj/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/16/obama-must-look-to-lbj/</id>
		<updated>2009-09-16T20:52:26Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-16T20:52:26Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Steven Hill of the New America Foundation wrote a brilliant piece in today’s Financial Times.  Frequently likened to Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hill argues that, for the coming battle over healthcare reform, he needs to step into the shoes of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. 
Obama is a fine orator, but has not so far [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="healthcare reform" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Johnson" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Future role of national parliaments in the EU]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/07/future-role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/07/future-role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/07/future-role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/</id>
		<updated>2009-09-07T17:21:59Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-07T17:21:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The German Constitutional Court judgment is likely to provoke parliaments in other Member States to seek ways of controlling their governments when acting in the EU Council.  Were they all to choose the Danish model, the consequences for Council negotiations would be dramatic. 
Danish ministers, before attending EU Council meetings, require a negotiating mandate from the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU national parliaments" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="german constitutional court" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Myparl" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Poettering" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Walstrom" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Coming to terms with the past]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/03/coming-to-terms-with-the-past/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/03/coming-to-terms-with-the-past/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/09/03/coming-to-terms-with-the-past/</id>
		<updated>2009-09-03T19:01:57Z</updated>
		<published>2009-09-03T19:01:57Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The causes of World War II are complex but certain facts are clear.  In 1939, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact included a secret protocol dividing Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Germany and the Soviet Union then invaded their respective sides of Poland, dividing the country between them.
But contrast what Angela Merkel [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Germany" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hitler" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Merkel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Poland" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Putin" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ribbentrov-Molotov" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Soviet Union" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Stalin" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Freedom of expression: Swedish idiosyncrasy]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/31/freedom-of-expression-swedish-idiosyncrasy/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/31/freedom-of-expression-swedish-idiosyncrasy/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/31/freedom-of-expression-swedish-idiosyncrasy/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-31T18:01:05Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-31T18:01:05Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Swedish government’s reaction to the story recently published by the popular Swedish daily tabloid Aftonbladet, suggesting that Israeli had harvested the organs of Palestinian victims for their own purposes, is difficult to understand. The article was entitled &#8220;Our Sons&#8217; Organs Were Plundered&#8221; and was based on interviews with Palestinian families - although no evidence [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Aftonbladet" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="anti-semitism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Bildt" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Bonnier" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Sweden" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Size is relative]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/size-is-relative/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/size-is-relative/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/size-is-relative/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T16:38:27Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T16:38:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It’s interesting to compare the populations of EU Member States with those of Chinese provinces:
• 14 Chinese provinces figure in the biggest 20
• 4 are bigger than Germany
• 8 are bigger than France and the UK
• 9 are bigger than Italy
• 14 are bigger than Spain
• 15 are bigger than Poland
These figures put in perspective the relative size of Member States, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Member States" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="populations" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Domestic dangers facing China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/domestic-dangers-facing-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/domestic-dangers-facing-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/domestic-dangers-facing-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T15:09:16Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T15:09:16Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Although there are differences between the situation in Tibet and Xinjiang, there are also similarities.  This note it is not judgmental and is intended as a constructive contribution to the need to solve a serious tension in Chinese society concerning ethnic minorities,
Satisfying the preservation of the unity of a country and the aspirations of its [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="autonomous regions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Uyghurs" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Xinjiang" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="• Is there sufficient freedom of language?" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lessons to be learned from Urumqi]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/lessons-to-be-learned-from-urumqi/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/lessons-to-be-learned-from-urumqi/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/lessons-to-be-learned-from-urumqi/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T14:57:52Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T14:57:52Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Now that some time has elapsed, it is useful to revisit the troubles that broke out in Urumqi on early July.  These comments are not judgmental and are intended to expose the lack of mutual understanding and misperceptions between Europeans and Chinese, and the need for dialogue in all sectors of society and at all [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Rebiya Nadeer" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Uighur Congress" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Uighurs" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Urumqi" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Battle over Chinese Internet censorship]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/battle-over-chinese-internet-censorship/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/battle-over-chinese-internet-censorship/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/battle-over-chinese-internet-censorship/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T14:51:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T14:51:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The China Daily of 15 August reported that the US is testing a new technology called ‘Feed over Email’ (FOE) that enables web users in countries with internet censorship to bypass the blocks put in place.  This could soon give the country&#8217;s 300 million web users another way to access information blocked by the Chinese [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Feed over Email" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="FOE" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Green Dam" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="internet censorship" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Is greater freedom of the press in China’s own interests?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/is-greater-freedom-of-the-press-in-china%e2%80%99s-own-interests/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/is-greater-freedom-of-the-press-in-china%e2%80%99s-own-interests/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/is-greater-freedom-of-the-press-in-china%e2%80%99s-own-interests/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T14:39:26Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T14:39:26Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Chinese authorities permitted the domestic and foreign media to go to Urumqi, immediately after the recent riots, whereas journalists were banned from Tibet after the riots in Lhasa in March 2009.  There are apparently differing views within the leadership. 
The unity of China is an ongoing preoccupation of its leadership.  There is a fear that [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="press freedom" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="transparency" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Urumqi" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chinese civil society’s absence internationally]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/chinese-civil-society%e2%80%99s-absence-internationally/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/chinese-civil-society%e2%80%99s-absence-internationally/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/chinese-civil-society%e2%80%99s-absence-internationally/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T14:36:20Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T14:36:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This note is based on Jason Tower’s article in China Review, summer 2009.
Civil society is developing well in China.  There are tens of thousands of ‘NGO’s. 
Chinese official activity in all realms of international society is ubiquitous.  However, Chinese civil society organisations are notably absent on the international scene.  This creates difficulties for China, its image [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese civil society" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international civil society" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Jason Tower" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[We lack the ability to communicate]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/we-lack-the-ability-to-communicate/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/we-lack-the-ability-to-communicate/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/we-lack-the-ability-to-communicate/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T13:07:40Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T13:07:40Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[

Technically, communication has never been greater or faster than in today’s era of globalisation. But there seems to have been no progress over the last two decades or so in improving the quality of communication.
Effective communication between individuals is a vital element of our everyday lives but we are rarely taught this, or indeed reminded [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="communication" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="misperception" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mutual understanding" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Mutual understanding]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/mutual-understanding/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/mutual-understanding/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/27/mutual-understanding/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-27T13:03:15Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-27T13:03:15Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In the sixties, when EU-relations were probably at their best, EU Founding Father Jean Monnet proposed the creation of a high level US-EU Committee of Mutual Understanding.  Monnet’s argument that this was both side’s most important relationship, that relationships need nurturing, and that you start the nurturing when things are going well, was rejected.  Today, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Committee of Mutual Understanding" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Monnet" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mutual understanding" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Hamas 2.0]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/17/hamas-20/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/17/hamas-20/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/08/17/hamas-20/</id>
		<updated>2009-08-17T12:52:41Z</updated>
		<published>2009-08-17T12:52:41Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I commend to you the article in Foreign Affairs of 5 August by Michael Bröning, in which he argues that the January war in Gaza overshadowed the fact that Hamas is in the midst of an unprecedented ideological transformation, and it&#8217;s time for the West to pay attention.
I have always been in favour of recognising [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hamas" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Palestine" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Remember Niebuhr!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/31/remember-niebuhr/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/31/remember-niebuhr/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/31/remember-niebuhr/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-31T12:25:54Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-31T12:25:54Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Barack Obama, when leaving the Senate floor a couple of years ago, called Reinhold Niebuhr “one of [his] favourite philosophers” for his account of “compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world”.
President Obama, when grappling with the problems of Afghanistan, should again study Niebuhr, regarded as the most influential American theologian of the 20th [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="afghanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Afhanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Niebuhr" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Tories are in touch with public opinion]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/30/tories-are-in-touch-with-public-opinion/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/30/tories-are-in-touch-with-public-opinion/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/30/tories-are-in-touch-with-public-opinion/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-30T16:49:16Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-30T16:49:16Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following letter was published in the Financial Times on 28 July 2009 in response to my letter (see post of 24 July):
 

“Sir, Stanley Crossick (Letters, July 24) claims that William Hague’s use of Pitt the Younger’s statement that “England has saved herself by her exertions and will, I trust, save Europe by her example” tells [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Conservatives live in another world]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/24/conservatives-live-in-another-world/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/24/conservatives-live-in-another-world/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/24/conservatives-live-in-another-world/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-24T15:16:36Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-24T15:16:36Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
Following the post of 22 July, the following letter was published: on July 24 2009 in The Financial Times:
 
From Mr Stanley Crossick.
&#8220;Sir, In his speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London on July 21, William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, stated: “Two hundred years ago, in his most famous and shortest speech, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The British Conservatives’ European policy: the road to oblivion]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/22/the-british-conservatives%e2%80%99-european-policy-the-road-to-oblivion/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/22/the-british-conservatives%e2%80%99-european-policy-the-road-to-oblivion/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/22/the-british-conservatives%e2%80%99-european-policy-the-road-to-oblivion/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-22T16:03:10Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-22T16:03:10Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[‘Shadow’ Foreign Minister William Hague’s speech yesterday to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, seems not to have been influenced by the débacle marking the first stage of the new Conservative policy towards Europe.
 
The Conservatives gave up their alliance with the European Parliament  election winner, the European People’s Party (EPP), in which its [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="British Conservatives" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Conservatives &amp; Reformists" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Kaminski" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="William Hague" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Role of national parliaments in the EU]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/18/role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/18/role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/18/role-of-national-parliaments-in-the-eu/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-18T16:38:21Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-18T16:38:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
The German Constitutional Court judgment is likely to provoke parliaments in other Member States to seek ways of controlling their governments when acting in the EU Council.  Were they all to choose the Danish model, the consequences for Council negotiations would be dramatic.  
 
There is a need anyway for national parliaments to buy in to [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="German Constitutional Court judgment" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="MEPs" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="MPs" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="national parliaments" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[‘Buy Chinese’: is China fuelling protectionism?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/13/%e2%80%98buy-chinese%e2%80%99-is-china-fuelling-protectionism/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/13/%e2%80%98buy-chinese%e2%80%99-is-china-fuelling-protectionism/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/13/%e2%80%98buy-chinese%e2%80%99-is-china-fuelling-protectionism/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-13T16:29:32Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-13T16:29:32Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[A joint statement was issued on 26 May (but not posted until 4 June) by nine ministries and government agencies: the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC),  the legislative office of the State Council, the ministries of  industry and information, housing, railways, water resources, supervision, transport, and commerce ministries.  This notice states: 
 
 “Government investment projects [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Buy Chinese" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="government procurement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="level playing field" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Nuclear weapons are anti-Islamic]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/08/nuclear-weapons-are-anti-islamic/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/08/nuclear-weapons-are-anti-islamic/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/08/nuclear-weapons-are-anti-islamic/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-08T12:47:07Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-08T12:47:07Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Who issued a fatwa (religious decree) in 2004 against the use of nuclear weapons?
Who in a subsequent sermon, declared that “developing, producing or stockpiling nuclear weapons is forbidden under Islam.”?
No-one other than Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Last year Khamenei reiterated all these points after meeting with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="fatwa against nuclear weapons" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Khamenei" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Lisbon Treaty: 24 down, three to play]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/07/lisbon-treaty-24-down-three-to-play/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/07/lisbon-treaty-24-down-three-to-play/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/07/lisbon-treaty-24-down-three-to-play/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-07T07:45:50Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-07T07:45:50Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[German Constitutional Court, ratification of Lisbon Treaty
The German Constitutional Court cleared the way for German ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, subject to legislation being adopted requiring parliamentary approval of EU decisions which affect core German state competences.  The government plans to present the necessary bill for a first reading in August and a second [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Germany" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="german constitutional court" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="lisbon treaty ratification" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="vaclav klaus" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Chinese transparency]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/03/chinese-transparency-2/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/03/chinese-transparency-2/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/07/03/chinese-transparency-2/</id>
		<updated>2009-07-03T16:59:20Z</updated>
		<published>2009-07-03T16:59:20Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Last week, a People’s Daily editorial asserted that “Information transparency is of benefit to increasing public trust in the government.”  How right this is, but unfortunately this is not being sufficiently heeded in China.  This applies both to decision-making and the communication and explanation of decisions. Two recent examples:
Buy Chinese
A joint circular was issued on [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Buy Chinese" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese censorship" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese freedom of expression" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese protectionism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Green Dam" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Centre of economic gravity goes east]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/29/centre-of-economic-gravity-goes-east/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/29/centre-of-economic-gravity-goes-east/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/29/centre-of-economic-gravity-goes-east/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-29T13:03:37Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-29T13:03:37Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Vince Cable makes the point (see yesterday’s post) that the centre of gravity of the economic world has moved to the east, particularly to China.
 
Today’s Financial Times carries an op-ed by Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.  He rightly asserts that, unfortunately, many people have forgotten the old-fashioned principle of setting up [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China Banking Regulatory Commission" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Liu Mingkang" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Vince Cable" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The Storm : a very worthwhile read]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/28/the-storm-a-very-worthwhile-read/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/28/the-storm-a-very-worthwhile-read/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/28/the-storm-a-very-worthwhile-read/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-28T20:08:57Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-28T20:08:57Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Vince Cable (the UK Liberal Democrat “shadow” finance minister) has written a superb book on the world economic crisis and what it means, entitled The Storm (Atlantic Books, 2009).  In only around 160 pages, he writes clearly and with considerable economic authority.  Cable was one of the few who anticipated the current crisis.  The book [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Anglo-Saxon capitalism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="economic recession" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="financial crisis" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="financial regulation" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="gordon brown" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Keynes" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="sub-prime mortgages" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="The Storm" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Vince Cable" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[B for bastion!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/23/b-for-bastion/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/23/b-for-bastion/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/23/b-for-bastion/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-23T11:19:27Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-23T11:19:27Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[

Faites vos jeux!  Who will be the four bastions of the Union’s future when the Lisbon Treaty comes into force?  
 
Commission                Barroso?
Parliament                  Buzek?
European Council         Blair?
‘Foreign Minister’         Bildt?
 
The odds are shortening on the four Bs.  
&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Lisbon Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Commission President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU foreign minister" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU High Representative" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Council President" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament President" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Iran: the power struggle]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/16/iran-the-power-struggle/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/16/iran-the-power-struggle/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/16/iran-the-power-struggle/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-16T21:41:25Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-16T21:41:25Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The Guardian Council today announced that there will be a partial recount of the disputed presidential election results: this is not expected to change the outcome. It is surprising that the western media before today failed to report much beyond the public outrage and demonstrations. The two opposing sides are divided by class rather than [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ahmadinejad" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Khameini" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Mousavi" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Rafsanjani" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Have we forgotten our history?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/have-we-forgotten-our-history/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/have-we-forgotten-our-history/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/have-we-forgotten-our-history/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-15T18:55:45Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-15T18:55:45Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The columnist, Gwynne Dyer, has drawn my attention to an article, written by Colonel Sergei Kovalev, Director of the scientific research department at the Institute of Military History.  It is entitled  &#8220;Fictions and Falsifications in Evaluating the USSR&#8217;s Role On the Eve of the Second World War.&#8221;   
 
Kovalev asserts that the Poles, not the Germans, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Germany" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="balance of power" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="BRIC" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Community" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="multipolar world" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Shanghai Cooperation Organisation" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US hegemony" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[The new European Parliament: reflections]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/the-new-european-parliament-reflections/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/the-new-european-parliament-reflections/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/15/the-new-european-parliament-reflections/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-15T17:49:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-15T17:49:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
A few reflections on last week’s European Parliament Election results:
 
·              The results are broadly as expected, with the centre-right clear winners, the centre-left clear losers, and the extreme right and euro-sceptics doing well.  
·              In comparing the sizes of the old groups with the current sizes of the new groups, the reduction of the overall [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="euro-sceptics" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Parliament elections" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="extreme right" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Irish referendum" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK Conservatives" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[W(h)ither the EU-China relationship?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/13/whither-the-eu-china-relationship/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/13/whither-the-eu-china-relationship/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/13/whither-the-eu-china-relationship/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-13T16:15:51Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-13T16:15:51Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[This is a good time to review the state of the EU-China relationship, after the postponed summit which took place in Prague on 20 May and the High Level Economic &#38; Trade dialogue which met in Brussels on 7-8 May (see post of 14 May).
The official reports and communiqués, following both meetings, are full of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China High Level Economic &amp; Trade Dialogue" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China Parlership &amp; Cooperation Agreement" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G2" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wen JIabao" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Israel and the silent Jewish Diaspora]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/07/israel-and-the-silent-jewish-diaspora/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/07/israel-and-the-silent-jewish-diaspora/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/07/israel-and-the-silent-jewish-diaspora/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-07T17:04:53Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-07T17:04:53Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is further away than ever.  Animosity between Westerners and Muslims continues to grow.  Traditional anti-Semitism is on the rise. 
 
The composition of the current Israeli government is frightening.  Prime Minister Netanyahu does not acknowledge a two state solution.  Foreign Minister Lieberman continues to express his contempt for his Arab [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="anti-semitism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Jewish Diaspora" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East peace" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obama in Cairo seeks are new dawn]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/06/obama-in-cairo-seeks-are-new-dawn/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/06/obama-in-cairo-seeks-are-new-dawn/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/06/obama-in-cairo-seeks-are-new-dawn/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-06T04:48:34Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-06T04:48:34Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
 
President Barack Obama’s speech in Cairo University on 4 June, rivals the brilliance of John F Kennedy’s Ich bin ein Berliner 1963 speech in Berlin.  Shrewdly, the event was hosted by Cairo University, founded in 1908, al-Azhar University, founded in 975.  
I could not resist watching its entire 54 minutes.  Of course, words alone are [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Islam" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Cairo speech 4 May" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="democracy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israelis-Palestinians-Arabs" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="J F Kennnedy’s 1963 Berlin speech" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="John F Kennedy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="nuclear weapons" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="religious freedom" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="terrorism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="women’s rights" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[International trade: the rise &#38; fall of the Havana Charter]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/international-trade-the-rise-fall-of-the-havana-charter/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/international-trade-the-rise-fall-of-the-havana-charter/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/international-trade-the-rise-fall-of-the-havana-charter/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-04T20:44:22Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-04T20:44:22Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Whether or not the Doha Development Round collapses, thought needs to be given to reforming the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the current trading system.  A starting point would be to dust down the Havana Charter of 1947.   
The developing countries do not trust the developed world to dismantle its protectionist measures in the fields [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Doha Round" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="GATT" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Havana Charter" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="WTO" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU International presence: over-represented but underwhelming]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/eu-international-presence-over-represented-but-underwhelming/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/eu-international-presence-over-represented-but-underwhelming/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/eu-international-presence-over-represented-but-underwhelming/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-04T17:41:07Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-04T17:41:07Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
European Union countries hold:
 
·              two of the four UN Security Council permanent seats
·              four out of seven G7 seats
·              four plus the EU in the G20
·              31.7% of IMF voting
·              In practice the right to appoint the IMF president
 
However, the collective weight and influence of the EU and its Member States does not reflect this [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU over-representation" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G7" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G8" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="IMF" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UN Security Council" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[North Korea will become a nuclear state unless…]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/north-korea-will-become-a-nuclear-state-unless%e2%80%a6/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/north-korea-will-become-a-nuclear-state-unless%e2%80%a6/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/04/north-korea-will-become-a-nuclear-state-unless%e2%80%a6/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-04T14:53:12Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-04T14:53:12Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[It is only a question of time before North Korea becomes a nuclear weapon power with a missile capability that can reach, Japan and probably Hawaii. There are three good reasons why North Korea must not have nuclear weapons.
First, it is obvious that it would be potentially catastrophic as the régime is not rational and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Kissinger" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Korea" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Korea nuclear" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Korean peninsular" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="North Korea" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[How should the EU deal with China?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/03/how-should-the-eu-deal-with-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/03/how-should-the-eu-deal-with-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/03/how-should-the-eu-deal-with-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-03T17:44:01Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-03T17:44:01Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The op-ed of John Fox and François Godement in the Financial Times of 19 May  urges Europe to stop “pandering to China” but offers no effective advice as what then to do.  
 
They argue that “Europe’s engagement-at-all-costs approach over the last two decades has given China access to all the economic and other benefits of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obama meets Netanyahu : a glimmer of hope]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/01/obama-meets-netanyahu-a-glimmer-of-hope/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/01/obama-meets-netanyahu-a-glimmer-of-hope/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/06/01/obama-meets-netanyahu-a-glimmer-of-hope/</id>
		<updated>2009-06-01T10:15:50Z</updated>
		<published>2009-06-01T10:15:50Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
Why, after the meeting between Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu, do I see a glimmer of hope?  On the face of it, what hope is there of real peace negotiations?   The Israeli prime minister leads a coalition which includes right-wingers, religious extremists and xenophobes: his own his past record militates against peace.  The Palestinians, on [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Arab world" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East peace" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Palestinians" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Road to Jerusalem begins in Tehran]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/31/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran-2/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/31/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran-2/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/31/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran-2/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-31T18:05:03Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-31T18:05:03Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[

Like many others, I’ve always believed that peace in the Greater Middle East begins with resolving the Israel-Palestine issue.  I have changed my mind.
I now believe that the key to peace begins with the Iran-US axis, not on the Israel-Palestine dispute.  And agreement with Iran is becomng a real possibility.  Barack Obama’s approach is a [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hamas" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hizbollah" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East peace" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Non-proliferation Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Palestine" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Peace in the Middle East: greater understanding a prerequisite]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/peace-in-the-middle-east-greater-understanding-a-prerequisite/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/peace-in-the-middle-east-greater-understanding-a-prerequisite/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/peace-in-the-middle-east-greater-understanding-a-prerequisite/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-30T16:17:46Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-30T16:17:46Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In a 2006 Gallup poll, 9% of the Muslim world thought that the Q’ran should be the only source of national law; 46% that it should be a source. Unsurprising? And what if I tell you that this is not true but is the transposition of the results of a poll of Americans, 9% of [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Islam" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Muslim" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="peace" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="understanding" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="war on terror" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Fighting corruption in China: use the press!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/fighting-corruption-in-china-use-the-press/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/fighting-corruption-in-china-use-the-press/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/fighting-corruption-in-china-use-the-press/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-30T15:43:30Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-30T15:43:30Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The media (in this case one paper) have recently exposed the activities of dozens of members of the UK Parliament in claiming expenses, in some cases fraudulently, and in other cases against the spirit of rules set by themselves. The exposure of the British parliamentary malpractices is an excellent example of what the media can [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Fighting corruption in China: use the press!" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China summit conclusions: all or nothing]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/eu-china-summit-conslusions-all-or-nothing/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/eu-china-summit-conslusions-all-or-nothing/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/30/eu-china-summit-conslusions-all-or-nothing/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-30T12:48:14Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-30T12:48:14Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The postponed 2008 EU-China summit took place in Prague on 20 May. The Beijing 2007 summit was followed by a joint declaration of over 47 paragraphs. The post of 23 December 2007 questions why such a statement has to be issued when very little of its contents were discussed at the summit.
However, after the Prague [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China summit" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[NO MORE BLOGGING FOR 10 DAYS OR SO!]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/18/no-more-blogging-for-10-days-or-so/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/18/no-more-blogging-for-10-days-or-so/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/18/no-more-blogging-for-10-days-or-so/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-18T15:47:40Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-18T15:47:40Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I am taking 10 day’s break in the Cypriot sun and will not be blogging until my return on 31 May
&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[A new US Ambassador to China at last]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/16/a-new-us-ambassador-to-china-at-last/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/16/a-new-us-ambassador-to-china-at-last/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/16/a-new-us-ambassador-to-china-at-last/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-16T14:15:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-16T14:15:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The post of 15 May on US ambassadorial appointments drew attention to the failure of President Obama to appoint ambassadors in Brussels and Beijing.
Today, however, Utah’s Governor Jon Huntsman has been nominated ambassador to China. The appointment is very interesting for a number of reasons, not least of which is that he is a Republican. [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="ambassador" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obama ambassadorial appointments]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/15/obama-ambassadorial-appointments/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/15/obama-ambassadorial-appointments/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/15/obama-ambassadorial-appointments/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-15T11:30:46Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-15T11:30:46Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[I have as yet not even heard serious gossip as to who President Obama will nominate as Ambassador to the European Union.  and was wondering whether this was a reflection of the relevance of Europe to the new president. 
However, Beijing too is still without a nomination; although possible names have been mentioned.  From 1 July, the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="ambassadorial appointments" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US ambassador to China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US ambassador to EU" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China High Level Economic &#38; Trade Dialogue love-in]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/14/eu-china-high-level-economic-trade-dialogue-love-in/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/14/eu-china-high-level-economic-trade-dialogue-love-in/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/14/eu-china-high-level-economic-trade-dialogue-love-in/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-14T06:56:54Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-14T06:56:54Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The High Level Economic &#38; Trade Dialogue (HED) took place in Brussels on 7-8 May. The atmosphere was very good. But what was achieved?
The annual Dialogue was established in November 2007 by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, in order to address the imbalance in trade flows between the EU and [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese intellectual property protection" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Chinese market access" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Commissioner Ashton" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China High Level Economic &amp; Trade Dialogue" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-China trade" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="HED" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="trade" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wang Qishan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Road to Jerusalem begins in Tehran]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/11/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/11/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/11/road-to-jerusalem-begins-in-tehran/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-11T11:54:21Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-11T11:54:21Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Like many others, I’ve always believed that peace in the Greater Middle East begins with resolving the Israel-Palestine issue.  I have changed my mind.
 
I now believe that the key to peace begins with the Iran-US axis, not on the Israel-Palestine dispute.  And agreement with Iran is becomng a real possibility.  Barack Obama’s approach is a [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hamas" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Hizbollah" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East peace" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Non-proliferation Treaty" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Palestine" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU leadership deficit]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/10/eu-leadership-deficit/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/10/eu-leadership-deficit/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/10/eu-leadership-deficit/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-10T18:31:28Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-10T18:31:28Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[We have a surfeit of leaders in the European Union (to borrow a phrase from The Economist’s Charlemagne) but a deficit of leadership. Barack Obama had recently to share the press briefing, following an uninspiring EU-US Summit in Prague on 5 April, with no less than the President of the Commission and the Prime Ministers [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU-US summit" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Jacques Delors’ latest message]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/jacques-delors%e2%80%99-latest-message/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/jacques-delors%e2%80%99-latest-message/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/jacques-delors%e2%80%99-latest-message/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-09T10:47:11Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-09T10:47:11Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Jacques Delors, in Alternatives Economiques, has produced an absorbing analysis of the current problems facing European integration.  
 
He rightly attributes the lack of interest in Europe of public opinion to the fading of memory as to the original aims of reconciliation, solidarity, freedom and the end to war.  
 
He identifies three reasons for the lack [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="France" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Germany" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Alternatives Economiques" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Delors" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Franco-German axis" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="industrial policy" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Le Maire" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[300th POST]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/300th-post/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/300th-post/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/09/300th-post/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-09T09:51:56Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-09T09:51:56Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[In my first post of 11 October 2007, I wrote:
 
“This is the beginning of an unknown journey for me. I hope that you find I have something worthwhile to say and that you will bear with me until I professionalise my blogging.” 
 
All I can say that I knew I was talkative but not that [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[EU-China: the importance of good communication]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/08/eu-china-the-importance-of-good-communication/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/08/eu-china-the-importance-of-good-communication/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/08/eu-china-the-importance-of-good-communication/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-08T16:54:59Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-08T16:54:59Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The second EU-China High Level Economic &#38; Trade Dialogue (HLD)  ended today in Brussel.  A debriefing will be posted next week.
  
The Financial Times published an op-ed today by the leader of the Chinese delegation, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, under the title, “China and Britain need to join hands over crisis” 
 

Readers may be surprised that the [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="communication" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="UK" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Wang Qishan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[US policy substance toward Europe unchanged]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/07/us-policy-substance-toward-europe-unchanged/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/07/us-policy-substance-toward-europe-unchanged/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/07/us-policy-substance-toward-europe-unchanged/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-07T21:31:18Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-07T21:31:18Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following interview in Chinese has appeared on over 250 Chinese websites.
It is accurate except on the theme of the heading.  You will see that I say that US policy substance has not necessarily changed.  
 
EU scholar says U.S. &#8220;policy substance&#8221; toward Europe remains unchanged
 
by Xinhua writers Wu Liming, Ban Wei 
 
    PRAGUE, April 4 (Xinhua) [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Aghaistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Europe" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="protectionism" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[G20 London summit: after the dust has settled]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/03/g20-london-summit-after-the-dust-has-settled/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/03/g20-london-summit-after-the-dust-has-settled/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/03/g20-london-summit-after-the-dust-has-settled/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-03T17:00:32Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-03T17:00:32Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following will shortly be published in the College of Europe&#8217;s new e-journal, EU-China Observer:
 
Now that the dust has settled, the results of the much heralded G20 summit in London on 2 April can be reviewed.
 
There is consensus that there are grave, linked economic and financial crises. There is no consensus on their causes nor [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="economic crisis" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="financial crisis" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G2" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="G20" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Global Plan for Recovery and Reform" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="stimulus packages" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Summary of the National Human Rights Action Plan of China]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/02/summary-of-the-national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/02/summary-of-the-national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/05/02/summary-of-the-national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china/</id>
		<updated>2009-05-02T17:21:29Z</updated>
		<published>2009-05-02T17:21:29Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The post of 30 April asked whether the National Human Rights Action Plan of China is rhetoric or reality.  Below is a summary of the main reforms, bearing in mind that the document exceeds 21 000 words.     
I. Guarantee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
(1) Right to work 
Efforts to be made to promote [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights action plan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[National Human Rights Action Plan of China: rhetoric or reality?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/30/national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china-rhetoric-or-reality/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/30/national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china-rhetoric-or-reality/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/30/national-human-rights-action-plan-of-china-rhetoric-or-reality/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-30T18:37:55Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-30T18:37:55Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
The first National Human Rights Action Plan of China has just been published for the period 2009-2010.  What are the motivations behind publication?  Is this a genuine attempt to improve human rights in China or just intended to show that officials take human rights seriously?  Is it an effort to ward off domestic concerns?  

Is [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights action plan" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Tragedy of Geneva anti-racism conference]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/24/tragedy-of-geneva-anti-racism-conference/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/24/tragedy-of-geneva-anti-racism-conference/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/24/tragedy-of-geneva-anti-racism-conference/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-24T18:04:01Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-24T18:04:01Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[

How did the United Nations and its leading member countries make such a mess of the racism conference in Geneva this week, dubbed ‘Durham II”?To try to answer this question requires other questions to be addressed:
How can the UN Human Rights Council have credibility, given its anti-Israeli bias?
With the experience of Durban I in 2001, [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="human rights" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Ahmadinejad" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="anti-semitism" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Durban" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Geneva" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="holocaust" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Israel" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="United Nations" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Obama&#8217;s first 100 days didn&#8217;t disappoint]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/23/obamasfirst-100-days-didnt-disappoint/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/23/obamasfirst-100-days-didnt-disappoint/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/23/obamasfirst-100-days-didnt-disappoint/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-23T09:54:50Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-23T09:54:50Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[The following interview was published ytesterday by EurActif :
 
 
US President Barack Obama has already taken substantial steps to improve the United States&#8217; relations with its Western partners, seek dialogue with the Muslim world and address hotbeds of tension, Stanley Crossick, the founding chairman of European Policy Centre, told EurActiv in an interview.
European Policy Centre founder Stanley Crossick, who describes himself as [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="China" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="international" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[US policy towards Russia: A changing mood?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/us-policy-towards-russia-a-changing-mood/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/us-policy-towards-russia-a-changing-mood/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/us-policy-towards-russia-a-changing-mood/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-21T16:49:02Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-21T16:49:02Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
The first meeting (on 1 April in London) between Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev went very well.  Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev have pledged to agree cuts in their countries&#8217; nuclear arsenals by December of this year, as part of a &#8220;fresh start&#8221; in US-Russian relations and a step towards &#8220;a nuclear free world&#8221;.  Obama [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Iran" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Russia" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="anti-missile system" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="defence shield" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European Union" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Medvedev" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[Ongoing Afghan dilemma]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/ongoing-afghan-dilemma/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/ongoing-afghan-dilemma/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/21/ongoing-afghan-dilemma/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-21T15:00:34Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-21T15:00:34Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[
I’ve been struggling since Barack Obama entered the White House over what attitude to take towards NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan.  One side of me does not believe we can achieve even limited goals; the other side says that we Europeans should support the new president.  
 
The principal objective of the Obama policy is to defeat [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Middle East" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="US" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="afghanistan" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Al-Qaeda" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="NATO" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Obama" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Taliban" />    
								</entry>
			
	<entry>
		<author>
			<name><![CDATA[Stanley Crossick]]></name>
                                         <uri>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu</uri>
		</author>
		<title type="html"><![CDATA[What happened to solidarity?]]></title>
                             <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/15/what-happened-to-solidarity/" />
              <!-- link>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/15/what-happened-to-solidarity/</link -->
		<id>http://crossick.blogactiv.eu/2009/04/15/what-happened-to-solidarity/</id>
		<updated>2009-04-15T11:27:54Z</updated>
		<published>2009-04-15T11:27:54Z</published>		
		<summary type="html"><![CDATA[Solidarity has always been an important part of the foundations of the European Union.  While it is clearly much more difficult to achieve solidarity among 27 Member States than 15 or less, this spirit is seriously lacking during the current economic and financial crises.  But sadly this is a reflection on human nature.  The Union [...]&nbsp;]]></summary>
              <category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="EU Treaty &amp; Institutions" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="Euro" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European cooperation" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="European solidarity" /><category scheme="http://crossick.blogactiv.eu" term="solving the economic crisis" />    
								</entry>
				</feed>
