Latest posts
A new home
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Thank you for reading this blog over the past 20 months. As of today the Europe editor's blog is moving to a new home, with a fresh format. Visit my new page to see all of my expert analysis in...
Portugal and the bail-out enigma
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Gradually the details are emerging of the EU's third bail-out deal. Portugal will be offered 78bn euros (£70bn) over three years. It is a substantial loan and higher than some expected. A total of 12bn euros will be set aside...
Putting pressure on Syria
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A few weeks back French President Nicolas Sarkozy held a late-night press conference in Brussels. He was in expansive form. He claimed that because of military intervention thousands of lives had been saved in Benghazi in Libya. One questioner asked.
Europe and immigration
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When the French and Italian leaders meet today their conversation will be dominated by the subject of immigration. The arrival of 26,000 Tunisian migrants on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa has strained relations between the two countries. For m...
The EU and the squabbles of Spring
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It has been a long, glorious spring in much of Europe, but not in the EU. Division has broken out like a rash. First there was Libya: French President Nicolas Sarkozy shocked his EU colleagues by unilaterally recognising the...
Finland rocks the EU
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Some time late yesterday evening a tremor hit the EU. Its epicentre was Finland. In elections an overtly anti-Euro party made huge gains, coming a close third. The consequences are unclear, but the True Finns party may now have real...
Libya: fear of stalemate
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PARIS In military operations politicians fear stalemate. They favour short, decisive campaigns. The words they don't like hearing are "deadlock" and "bogged down". The intervention in Libya is 27 days and counting. The first doubts and tensions are e...
Greece still in crisis
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An anniversary approaches. It sneaks up, but deserves recognition: 2 May 2010 was the day the European Union changed. In those drawn-out Sunday night hours the EU tore up its own rules. A single currency rule-book which excluded bail-outs was...
Banning the burka
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PARIS As I write this blog, a young woman from the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois is breaking the law. Even while she is dropping off her three-year-old at nursery she is breaking the law. For from today the wearing of...
Portugal: the danger is not over
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LISBON The threat of a bail-out had been hanging over Portugal for months. It perhaps explains why the initial reaction to the request for help was so muted. But talking to people in the warm sunshine you discover a different...
Portugal bailed out at last
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For months economists and observers had forecast this day. Portugal was heading for a bail-out. It is the third eurozone country out of 17 to need a rescue. Portugal suffers from low growth and an uncompetitive economy. It has also...
Berlusconi on trial
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MILAN Italy is one of the world's largest economies. It is a major European democracy. Some of its bases are being used for military action. It was Libya's closest ally in Europe. It should have been playing a leading role...
France and Islam
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Even while French planes are bombing Gaddafi's forces in Libya France itself is debating Islam and its place in society. Tomorrow Jean-Francois Cope, a rising star in the governing UMP party, will hold a debate on secularism and Islam. Its...
Turkey: The growing power
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In the era of awakenings, upheavals and revolutions: watch Turkey. It has become a hugely ambitious country, bristling with self-belief. In a turbulent Middle East it believes it is the democratic role model. It eyes the role as spokesman for...
Europe - catching the future
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In the soft light of early spring, Paris seems contented with its war. The face of the enemy hogs the billboards. Libya's "mad dog", looking stern and distracted, is on the magazine covers and revolves in the tabac windows. There...
The shadow over Europe
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In the soft spring sunshine it was possible to believe the Brussels briefings that Europe was finally getting on top of the crisis in the eurozone. But a shadow fell across the summit. It was not just the fact that...
Crises at Europe's door
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European heads of government are gathering yet again in Brussels. It is the third time this year. But events - those twists of fate - have intervened. The agenda is being set elsewhere. Leaders are divided over the most important...
Libya: Who's in charge?
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It is rare indeed that the allies in an international military intervention of the scale witnessed in Libya are unsure about who should command the operation. Initially it was run by the United States and their Africa Command out of...
Libya: The Knowns and Unknowns
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The Knowns The Libyan mission has been a victory for the nation state and an energetic leader. That's how it comes across in Paris. At the summit at the Elysee at the weekend, President Sarkozy beamed and embraced over a...
Libya and Sarkozy's moment
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If sometime in the future the Libyan opposition win and come to power in Tripoli, they might consider a statue to the French president. There could be a Sarkozy Square or even a boulevard named after him. There is no...
