Τρίτη 4 Μαρτίου 2014

French federalists propose a Euro Community

A dozen French EU experts have written a manifesto proposing the creation of a new ‘Community’ for the eurozone. The self-styled ‘Eiffel group’ makes an intelligent case for a federal, political union that would exist alongside the existing European Union. The chances of such a Community emerging are, in my view, rather small. But the manifesto deserves to be read, because the authors are serious people with first-hand knowledge of how the EU works. They include Yves Bertoncini, director of the Notre Europe - Jacques Delors Institute; Laurence Boone, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Sylvie Goulard, a liberal MEP; Denis Simonneau, a member of the board of GDF Suez; and Shahin Vallée, economic adviser to President Herman Van Rompuy. If they get their way, the EU itself would become a second-class club with little appeal to members such as Denmark, Sweden or the UK.

French federalists propose a Euro Community

The Eiffel group’s analysis of the euro crisis is similar to that of the Centre for European Reform. The authors argue, for instance, that fiscal policy has been too restrictive. And they are unhappy with the way Germany exerts leadership in the eurozone. “The current situation, where German federal bodies (Bundestag or the Karlsruhe court) hold the fate of the euro in their hands is not good for Germany, placed in a position of hegemony, nor for Germany’s partners, reduced to complying.”

Ukraine and the 'Little Cold War'

We must consider the future of Eurasia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Since 1991, the region has fragmented and decayed. The successor state to the Soviet Union, Russia, is emerging from this period with renewed self-confidence. Yet Russia is also in an untenable geopolitical position. Unless Russia exerts itself to create a sphere of influence, the Russian Federation could itself fragment.
For most of the second half of the 20th century, the Soviet Union controlled Eurasia -- from central Germany to the Pacific, as far south as the Caucasus and the Hindu Kush. When the Soviet Union collapsed, its western frontier moved east nearly 1,000 miles, from the West German border to the Russian border with Belarus. Russian power has now retreated farther east than it has been in centuries. During the Cold War it had moved farther west than ever before. In the coming decades, Russian power will settle somewhere between those two lines.

China Backs Russia on Ukraine


China Backs Russia on Ukraine

Putin: Troops return to their permanent Bases;





Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of Russian troops participating in military exercises near Ukraine's border to return to their bases as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was on his way to Kiev. Tensions remained high in the strategic Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea with troops loyal to Moscow firing warning shots to ward off protesting Ukrainian soldiers.

Will Greece and Spain replace the UK as Europe’s fastest growers?



Countries on the eurozone periphery such as Greece and Spain have endured years of weakness but there have been recent signs of strength in these economies.

Ουκρανία: Θα μπορούσε η Ελλάδα να δώσει λύση στο πρόβλημα;

Σε προηγούμενη ανάλυσή μας (βλ. Ουκρανία και μεγάλη δυτική διπλωματική ανεπάρκεια στη διεύθυνση http://www.defence-point.gr/news/?p=96890) πριν μια βδομάδα καυτηριάσαμε την προφανή πια διπλωματική ανεπάρκεια της Δύσης στο θέμα της Ουκρανίας. Αναφέραμε τότε, σε μια πρώτη απόπειρα προσέγγισης στο θέμα, ότι μετά από τόσους λάθος χειρισμούς, είναι πιθανότατα αργά πια για τη δύση, αλλά και για την ουκρανική ηγεσία το να επιδιώξουν μια λύση με την Ουκρανία ενωμένη και ότι θα έπρεπε άμεσα η ΕΕ μαζί με τις ΗΠΑ να ηγηθούν μιας πρωτοβουλίας που θα οδηγήσει την χώρα σε κάποιο δημοψήφισμα με στόχο ο ουκρανικός λαός να αποφασίσει ποια θα είναι η μοίρα του (status quo, ομοσπονδία, διάσπαση).

Είχαμε πει επίσης ότι αν δεν γίνει αυτό, τότε η τύχη της Ουκρανίας μοιραία θα οδηγήσει σε διάσπαση με τον ένα ή τον άλλο τρόπο, και θα ξεγυμνώσει τις αδυναμίες της δύσης καθιστώντας την αναξιόπιστη και γεωπολιτικά αδύναμη.

Ουκρανία: Οπισθοχώρησε στο ζήτημα των γλωσσών των μειονοτήτων


Ο πρόεδρος του Κοινοβουλίου της Ουκρανίας, Αλεξάντρ Τουρτσίνοφ, αποφάσισε να μην υπογράψει  την απόφαση του Κοινοβουλίου για την κατάργηση του νόμου «Περί Γλώσσας».

Αυτό τόνισε  κατά την ενημερωτική συνάντησή του στο Κοινοβούλιο και ανακοινώθηκε από την υπηρεσία Τύπου του Κοινοβουλίου.