Would it? Ian Bremmer in the IHT seems to think Turkey might split the EU and the US.
Category: European Politics
Will Turkey join the EU club?
Katrin Bennhold of the IHT asks if Turkey is set to join. The most important statistic, at least in my opinion:
With 70 million inhabitants, Turkey is already the second-most populous country in the region, behind Germany with 82 million; by 2020, Turkey’s population is projected to reach 85 million, while Germany’s is expected to ease slightly, United Nations forecasts show.
And this will mean:
The question at the heart of Giscard’s argument is this: Even if Turkey is given a date to begin accession talks later this year, how likely would it be that it would win the required unanimous approval from all existing EU members a decade from now, when it would carry the most weight in EU decision making from the start?
Plotting Europe's eastern border
Viktor Yushchenko, candidate in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections, makes some interesting points about the future of the Ukraine, and worries concerning the expanded European Union.
He states:
While welcoming the enlargement of the European Union, Ukrainians are anxious about European integration halting at our western frontier and in fact creating a new dividing line.
Our neighbors in Belarus, Moldova and Russia feel the same way. Our anxiety is also shared by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic states – neighbors who understand the gravity of problems resulting from the incomplete unification of Europe and the emergence of a new phenomenon: a bipolar Europe
There is an interesting concept. What is also interesting is that Ukraine has a population of some 48 million people. A healthy injection of people in the future, for Europe’s aging population. A bipolar Europe is a worry, but Europe really has to decide where exactly Europe stops and Asia/Middle East begin.
Is there ever a case for EU borders extending all the way to the Eastern parts of Belarus and Ukraine? Turkey will almost certainly join within the next 6 years, meaning that an EU country would border Iraq – a strange thought indeed.
It’s all quite hard to call, but important decision on the future expansion of Europe will have to be made.
EU plays a strong role on Darfur
Bernard Bot, minister of foreign affairs of the Netherlands and the current president of the EU Council of Ministers writes about Europe’s efforts in relation to Darfur.
If the European Union talks to the rebels, we will declare a unilateral cease-fire,â? said Vice President Ali Osman Taha of Sudan after his meeting with a Dutch government delegation visiting Khartoum on Jan. 30. This was one of the first results of the EU’s diplomatic involvement in the crisis in Darfur, an involvement that began long before the international media became interested in events there.
Russia warns Georgia after threat
In other Georgian news:
Moscow has reacted angrily to a Georgian threat to open fire on ships which “illegally” enter the waters of its breakaway province of Abkhazia. Russia, which has close ties to the Black Sea province, said it would respond to any attack on its citizens with “the necessary rebuff”.
The situation over Abkazia seems much more volatile than Ossetia, despite recent reported skirmishes between Georgian soldiers and South Ossetians. This is more to do with Russian interference, even though Russia is involved in both regions. Abkazia has some valuable Soviet-era airbases, besides all the beach resorts.
With regard to any problems in these regions, suspect Putin/Russian involvement in all cases.
The Workplace: Blowing whistles and the EU: Marta Andreasen
Marta Andreasen blew the whistle on dodgy practices inside the European Union, she now resides in limbo.
The saga dates to May 2002, when she started alerting her bosses and then ultimately their bosses that the government computer software was vulnerable to error and fraud just five months after she started her job.
“It was not as though I was asking them to build a cathedral or send a man to the moon,” said Andreasen, who is still on the payroll. “Had they followed my advice, today there would be effective measures in place, and the funds would be protected. Instead, I was suspended, and the EC said they already knew about the problems.”
Today the commission is hard pressed to explain precisely why disciplinary proceedings against Andreasen have lingered. A commission official, who asked to remain anonymous, said authorities had moved slowly to “make sure that justice is done.” It took time, he added, because the author of a report about the matter held another full-time job.
The accusations against Andreasen are also a little complicated. She was not suspended because of her withering criticism, which gained support from, among others, Jules Muis, the commission’s former internal auditor.
He observed in a blunt internal memo that Andreasen’s concerns appeared “factually substantive and correct.”
In reality, she was suspended for violating Articles 12 and 21 of staff regulations: failure to show sufficient loyalty and respect. She had ignored the established hierarchy by expressing her concerns directly in letters to the commission’s president and 10 legislators.
Sufficient loyalty and respect? Are these guys crazy?
Jack Straw on the European Constitution
Jack Straw adds his two cents to the debate on the European constitution, criticisng the Economist’s position on it.
Keep the UFO flying
The Guardian continue their series of extracts from Timothy Garton Ash’s new book, Free World: Why a Crisis of the West Reveals the Opportunity of Our Time .
EU's headlong rush toward a flawed constitution: David Howell
David Howell has some views on the EU’s constitution – why is there no plan B?
Read on…
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Dublin Elevation
Feel like controlling some beams of light above Dublin? Get your 15 seconds of arty farty stuff here. I do wonder what May 1st will be like in Dublin, perhaps I should take a trip up.