You can tell how serious the situation in Syria is getting by looking at the recent actions taken by its neighbors. Earlier this week, the Gulf Cooperation Council—a regional intergovernmental grouping consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—released a condemning proclamation against the Assad Regime and recalled their ambassadors from Damascus. Yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an stated that Turkey is preparing a new initiativewith countries that oppose the current Syrian regime. Although the announcement was vague, the message was serious. Turkey has …
The European Union yesterday imposed an embargo on future oil imports from Iran in an unprecedented escalation of sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran into negotiations on its uranium enrichment program. Foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 member states agreed to ban new purchases of Iranian oil and phase out oil imports under old contracts by July 1. The oil sanctions will be phased in gradually and reviewed on May 1 to cushion the impact on Greece, Italy and Spain, which face severe economic problems and depend more heavily on Iranian …
As Iran’s nuclear weapons program pushes forward, the European Union is dragging its feet on implementing sanctions that would help cripple the Iranian regime’s progress. This week, eight U.S. Senators sent a letter to Lady Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, urging the EU to impose an immediate oil embargo as well as sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank. Despite Iran’s increasing belligerence—test-firing new missiles, threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and announcing the production of its first nuclear-fuel rod—Greece, Italy, …
Philip H Gordon, US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, has just delivered a speech in Berlin outlining “the state of transatlantic relations”. His remarks, given at the Korber Foundation on January 11, are a scene-setter for the Obama administration’s European policy in “its final year in office before elections this November.” Like most pronouncements on Europe coming from the Obama presidency, it is fixated on Washington’s dealings with the European Union, as well as with Hillary Clinton’s “reset” of relations with Moscow. This is hardly surprising coming from a …
Innovation and market disruption can be powerful forces for economic growth. But government involvement in the market tends to be a force against disruption, and hence a force against innovation. The drive to protect the dominant companies – often justified in the name of job preservation — prevents success for companies that offer better, cheaper, or different products or services. The European Union received a frank lesson in these economic truths when it brought Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary to speak at its recent innovation convention. In a rousing and thoroughly …
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi announced his resignation Tuesday after Italy’s ruling coalition lost its majority in the lower house. Although parliament voted to pass a key austerity budget bill demanded by the European Union, the government suffered a series of defections which made Berlusconi’s long-term position untenable. As the London Daily Telegraph reported: More than half of the members of the Italian lower house refused to take part in the vote, laying bare Mr Berlusconi’s lack of support in parliament as financial pressure from the eurozone debt crisis continued …
The European press has a death grip on the idea that China will provide the huge sums of money necessary to make a dent in the EU financial crisis. Like most things involving the EU, the crisis has progressed at a snail’s pace. This has given the media the chance to recycle the “China is coming!” story again and again, despite the lack of evidence. In fact, the barriers to a Chinese bailout are daunting for several reasons. 1. The Scale of the Problem The EU does not need €10 …
“We’re cutting our own throats here, I think,” Kim Murray, from the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, recently remarked in reference to the U.S. failure to pass pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. These agreements fell to the wayside in the midst of the debt ceiling debates; however, U.S. producers and workers have been feeling the pinch as other countries have already entered into FTAs with these nations. “While we stand still, the European Union’s trade agreement with Korea entered into force July 1.… …
Now that President Obama has signed the Budget Control Act into law following weeks of grueling debate, lawmakers are packing their bags and heading home for August recess. Both houses of Congress return the first week of September, but neither passed a formal adjournment resolution, denying Obama the opportunity to make recess appointments. Lawmakers wrapped up their work without finalizing an agreement on the Federal Aviation Administration funding bill. Thousands of civilian employees and construction workers have been out of work since the partial FAA shutdown last month. Heritage welcomes Roger …
It has been over two decades since Albania escaped the iron grip of communism, yet it is still struggling to sustain democracy. Since 2009, the same year it joined NATO, its elections have been marred by violence, with the Socialist Party using intimidation and mob rule to try to gain or maintain power. Sadly, Washington does not appear to be paying attention. Albania is a small country of about 3 million mainly Muslim people bordering Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece in the Balkan Peninsula. It is one of the poorest countries …
