Kosmopolit's Favorite Links on eu from Diigo

Österreich: Zuerst kommt der EU-Austritt. Was passiert dann?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:57:05 -0000

very amusing piece about the consequences of Austria leaving the EU (in German)

Wien, im Dezember 2020
Von: Bundeskanzler Prof. Werner Faymann
An: Frau Dr. Eva Dichand, Herausgeberin der Tageszeitung Krone heute
[...]
Es war ja wirklich nicht anzunehmen, dass man uns mitteilt, wir würden bei einem Austritt auch alle Vorteile der Mitgliedschaft verlieren und ein ganz normales Nicht-EU-Land wie Panama oder die Mongolei werden. So was Hinterfotziges!

Tags: linkroll Austria EU

Posted by: kosmopolit

Continental drift (pdf)

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:50:01 -0000

More on the difficult relationship between Britain and the EU: "Britain is becoming semi-detached from the rest of the EU – and an establishment in denial of the political nature of the European project is to blame, argues Peter Sutherland". Also read the response by Certain ideas of Europe: http://www.economist.com/blogs/certainideasofeurope/2008/07/misplaced_optimism_about_brita.cfm

Tags: UK EU Great Britain euroscepticism anti-EU

Posted by: kosmopolit

EU Affairs Calendar

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:37:35 -0000

Tags: eu calendar

Posted by: kosmopolit

Democratic deficit or simply boredom?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:47:53 -0000

An opinion piece by Lisbeth Kirk: "In a word, the danger is not so much that the EU is perceived as undemocratic but that it is seen as increasingly boring and irrelevant." She continues by asking "What if the US were like the EU?"

Tags: EU future vision democratic deficit linkroll

Posted by: kosmopolit

Romania corruption scoop

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:49:41 -0000

The European Commission will publish a progress report later this month, hopefully with some clear statements regarding corruption. A strong statement could be to trigger the safeguard clauses...

Tags: romania corruption EU linkroll

Posted by: kosmopolit

The Wider Black Sea Region in the 21st Century: Strategic, Economic, and Energy Perspectives (pdf)

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:27:37 -0000

The Black Sea region, once on the periphery of European consciousness, has become the next frontier in transatlantic strategic thinking in terms of energy security, trade, migration and other key policy areas. In this volume leading international experts examine the new dynamics of the Black Sea region, including perspectives from the region, trans-regional issues such as energy security, cross-border conflicts, democracy, civil rights, the rule of law, and future relations with Russia, the EU, NATO and other key actors.

Tags: black sea EU Neighbourhood linkroll

Posted by: kosmopolit

EU-Russia Relations, Toward a Way out of Depression (pdf)

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:25:45 -0000

EU - Russia relations: A period of stagnation (2003–2006), followed by a period of depression (2006-present)...

Tags: EU Russia linkroll CFSP foreign policy

Posted by: kosmopolit

Grahnlaw: Anti-EU by any other name

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:43:38 -0000

Is the label "euroscepticism" misleading? The idea is that labels such "anti-EU" or "anti-Europe" would be more suitable to describe "Eurosceptics" since most people that would put themselves in this category actually oppose any Europe wide approach. Very interesting thought!

Tags: linkroll EU euroscepticism anti-EU

Posted by: kosmopolit

Centre for European Reform: Tough choices to avoid euro-paralysis

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:14:23 -0000

Hugo Brady proposes the most likely outcome of the "EU crisis" after the 'No' in Ireland. And he mentiones one interesting point: "Many voters do not see the continuity between EU treaties and think that old guarantees are over-written by new texts."

Tags: linkroll lisbon treaty ireland referendum EU

Posted by: kosmopolit

Timothy Garton Ash: Instead of bullying the Irish, Europe should be working on plan D - and E

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:39:29 -0000

Timothy Garton Ash actually favours the "Nice plus" arrangement.

Tags: TGA linkroll lisbon treaty referendum ireland

Posted by: kosmopolit

So much for bringing Europe closer to the people

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:41:29 -0000

Everyone is right and wrong at the same time...a tragic dilemma!

Tags: EU europe lisbon treaty ireland linkroll

Posted by: kosmopolit

The Irish ‘no’ and the EU’s “nuclear”

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:31:40 -0000

Daniel Gros (CEPS) argues for "a radical solution – the other EU members should propose to leave the old EU and create a new one with the Lisbon Treaty as its founding document."

Tags: lisbon treaty EU europe referendum Ireland

Posted by: kosmopolit

The European Council on Foreign Relations | Ireland's creative destruction

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:25:58 -0000

Daniel Korski calls European leaders to save "one of the main ideas behind the Treaty - to make the EU a more effective foreign policy player". The rest is truly depressing: "Real business is likely to be pushed aside and a new bout of Euro-pessimism could set in."

Tags: ireland linkroll referendum European forein policy lisbon treaty

Posted by: kosmopolit

Joschka Fischer: Das vereinte Europa ist gescheitert

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:10:54 -0000

Joschka Fischer has no hope anymore...

Tags: joschka fischer linkroll EU referendum ireland

Posted by: kosmopolit

Wolfgang Munchau - Europe’s hardball plan B for the Lisbon treaty

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:36:35 -0000

"An alternative would be a referendum with a differently worded question, such as: “Do you want to remain in the EU on the basis of the Lisbon treaty?” Of course, this bundles two questions many people would like to answer separately. Yes, stay in the EU, No to Lisbon. But folding the two into a single question is politically more honest because it is Ireland’s only real-world choice."

Tags: linkroll EU lisbon treaty ireland referendum

Posted by: kosmopolit

Fintan O'Toole: The fear factory devastated Ireland's flaccid political class

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:17:17 -0000

"You forgot us in Shannon." -- "Our sons are too good-looking for the army" --"rightwing Catholics" -- "leftwing anti-militarists" -- "a mysterious group that emerged from nowhere with a great deal of money to spend" -- "Imported British Euroscepticism" -- "a very efficient factory of fears" -- "an extensive menu of anxieties" -- "the scattergun of negativity only had to hit one sensitive spot"

Tags: referendum eu lisbon treaty linkroll ireland

Posted by: kosmopolit

Die ganze EU-Misere in 24 Stunden · Reflexionen

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:02:10 -0000

Spot-on take on the wide range of problems of the EU including the lousy media coverage ... (in German)

Tags: EU linkroll media

Posted by: kosmopolit

EU fails to agree on simplified divorce rules

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:44:23 -0000

Really, why is so difficult to agree on a common set of rules for divorce between couples of different European nationality? Plus, I am still wondering how Malta managed to get in the EU without allowing its citizens to divorce...

Tags: divorce linkroll EU

Posted by: kosmopolit

Get involved over Georgia or invite a war

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:12:12 -0000

"The west could be sleepwalking into a war on the European continent. Georgia, which burst into view with a moving display of democratic ambition during the Rose Revolution of 2003, is teetering on the brink of war with Russia over the separatist Georgian enclave of Abkhazia. The outcome of this crisis - involving a fledgling democracy with aspirations to join Nato and the European Union - will help determine the rules of the post-cold-war security system. But western diplomats are not sending strong enough signals to either side."

Tags: georgia EU CFSP Russia linkroll

Posted by: kosmopolit

Brussels Blogger : Comments on the logo of the French EU Presidency

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:00:28 -0000

The logo of the French EU presidency... only one word can describe it: ugly

Tags: presidency french EU council logo

Posted by: kosmopolit