Europe

On a backdrop of rising nationalist sentiments in Europe, the refugees of the Arab Spring have put pressure on one of the EU’s most significant achievements; the Schengen Agreement. This agreement allows unrestricted travel between Schengen’s 25 participants. The project that in a very tangible way symbolizes the idea of an integrated and united Europe […]

US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza has been denied permission to visit the Armenian cemetery in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.  Bryza had promised to go to the (former) cemetery, located in the village of Djulfa, during his confirmation hearings before the US Senate last year after he had been criticized for what was perceived […]

Today, the military decisions to go to Libya mandated by the UNSC Resolution 1973 seem to be pretty far as the West is getting bog down in Libya. France, the UK, and the US have been now involved militarily in Libya for over a month. Colonel Qaddafi has been intensely fighting in order to maintain […]

Since the beginning of the strategic bombings of Libya enforcing a no-fly zone mandated by the United Nations Security Council resolution 1973, the Euro-Atlantic community has gone through a rough political and diplomatic period. President Sarkozy of France was one of the architects behind the UNSCR and leading the path to implementing a no-fly zone. […]

When given the choice, most Europeans identify themselves according to their national heritage rather than as Europeans. According to the European Union’s polling data, only 33 percent of Europeans believe their voices count in Brussels compared to 52 percent who believe their voices count in their national governments. The EU is determined to change this.

As Portugal taps into the bailout fund it is time to take stock of the EU’s Euro Summit of March 11, and the March 24-25 summit, which finalized the EU’s attempts to halt the euro crisis and harmonize member state economies. The results of these summits have been hailed as a “turning point” by European […]

With the election of President Obama, many in Europe thoughts that the ‘hawks’ or neoconservatives, conservative American politicians emphasizing on the ‘exceptional’ character and role of America, would have understood that their times ended with the final minutes of the Bush’s presidency in 2009. Unfortunately, they have just stayed underground waiting for the right moment […]

Azerbaijan experienced the latest in a series of rallies on Saturday, with several hundred (or perhaps several thousand, depending on the source) people attempting to demonstrate against the government of President Ilham Aliyev in central Baku. Police arrested as many as two hundred protesters during what was billed as a “Day of Rage” or “Day of […]

Following the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, citizens of Libya have been calling for democratic transition since February 2011. For almost two months, the European Union has been invisible and quiet on the Libyan case at the exception of several irrelevant statements delivered by the High Representative Ashton. It is only on April 1st, […]

The Libyan dilemma around the question of intervention versus non-intervention to provide protection of civilians should remain at the heart of the political debate and should not disappear in Libya’s ruins. The approval of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 on March 17, 2011 was an important step for the international community to […]

Police in Azerbaijan have arrested “several youth and opposition activists” ahead of a protest rally scheduled for 2 April in Baku, RFE/RL reports.  Three of those arrested have been released, but at least three others have apparently been given “administrative sentences” of between five and ten days. However, an Azeri source tells me that more […]

A judge ruled today that the trial of controversial Dutch minister Geert Wilders trail can resume in two weeks. Wilders has compared the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf. “I’ve had enough of Islam in the Netherlands – ban that fascist book,” he said. In fact he was wrung up on both comments individually; the judge […]