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Introducing equanomics
January 2009 – Governments need to rethink their economy policies to
make them more equitable and responsive to citizens’ needs. Read on
All continents on the western front
January 2009 – It is time European countries acknowledged the part
soldiers from their former colonies played in the first world war. Read on
Immigrant labours lost
January 2009 – Immigrants in Europe
are more likely to be over-qualified for the jobs or unemployed than the
native population. Read on
Moving times in Ukraine
May 2008
– Ukraine is undergoing
profound change and is grappling with the challenge of finding its place, and
identity, in Europe. Read on
Hell hath more fury
March
2008 – Why is it so many people seem to be hell bent on silencing others?
Neither should the Quran be banned nor the film
attacking it. Read
on
Diversity, not adversity
March
2008 – Turks in Germany
have found themselves at the centre of a squabble as Ankara
and Berlin
exchange blows over ‘integration’. Read on
Wisdom, not intelligence
February 2008 – Britain
needs political wisdom more than the intelligence services to prevent
terrorism on its shores. Read on
An uncertain future
January
2008 – The year that was: As an enlarged EU searched for a raison d’etre, Belgium
spent much of this year struggling with its own identity crisis. Read on
Where the Sun never shines
November
2007 – The Sun is urging its readers to ‘say no to a United States of
Europe’. But whatever the tabloids think, EU integration is good for Britain.
Read on
Villains of the pax
October
2007 – A controversial anti-Islam demonstration in Brussels, slated for September 11, has
descended from tragedy to farce. Read on
War of words at the heart of Europe
September 2007 – The
collapse of talks to form a federal government is testing Belgium’s legendary capacity for
political compromise to the limit. Read on
Our ecomonic alchemy
August 2007 – JK
Rowling’s billion-dollar success is certainly awe inspiring, but has she
earned too much money? Read on
A Christian jihad?
August
2007 – Many in the West fear the threat posed by political Islam. But there
is a more ominous menace closer to home. Read on
A history of violence
July 2007
– British-born ‘jihadis’ have been wreaking havoc
at home and abroad for generations, lured by a heady mix of idealism, romance
and rebellion. Read on
Testing times
June 2007
– Across Europe, the real challenge when dealing with minority groups is not
integration but marginalisation. Read on
A war on error
June 2007
– It is time to dispel the myths surrounding Muslims – namely, that we are
all terrorist anti-feminist teetotallers. Read on
A war on error (2)
June 2007
– It is time to dispel the myths that conservative Muslims often propagate
about 'the west'. Read on
Madrid
II: towards a civil peace in the Middle East
November 2006 – Prompted
by the dire situation in Gaza, Spain, France
and Italy have floated an
unexpected Middle East peace drive. This
initiative will almost certainly join other similar aborted road maps and
peace plans slowly decaying in the graveyard of international diplomacy. What
the EU needs to do is to abandon the deadlocked political level and organise
a high-profile Madrid II conference targeted at civil society to set in
motion a ‘people’s peace process’. Read on
How
I learned to start worrying and hate the bomb
November
2006 – With North Korea’s recent nuclear test and Iran’s suspected nuclear
designs, Khaled Diab
explains why he learned to start worrying and hate the bomb and suggests how
the proliferation of nuclear weapons can best be arrested – and reversed. Read on
Using
a carrot and stick for peace
September
2006 – Given the fragile situation in Lebanon, the pledge by EU member
states to provide troops to police the UN-backed ceasefire was well-timed.
However, to avoid a fresh crisis from erupting, Europe will have to aid
efforts to forge lasting peace in the Middle East.
Read on
Crisis in Lebanon and Gaza –
From complete failure to
comprehensive solutions
July 2006 – Israel’s massive onslaught against Lebanon – and before that Gaza – reveals a monumental failure on the
part of the international community to prevent an avoidable tragedy. Now it
is up to the European Union to avoid a replay of 1982 and revive the idea of
a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Read on
Dutch government limps on
July 2006 – The ruling
Dutch centre-right coalition has decided to limp on to early elections in
November after shooting itself in the foot with its hardline
immigration policy that almost cost one of its parliamentarians – the
controversial Ayaan Hirsi
Ali – her Dutch nationality. Read on
Out
but not down
May 2006
– Caught between a rock and her own hard line, the outspoken Ayaan Hirsi Ali is being
stripped of her Dutch nationality and has been forced to give up her seat at
the Dutch parliament following allegations of identity fraud. Read on and readers’ comments
The
EU’s new Palestine
dilemma
February
2006 – It may be better for the EU to provide more carrots and fewer sticks
for Hamas, writes Khaled Diab. Read on
Graven
images and poor reflections
February
2006 – It is perplexing that a few crude cartoons can spark an international
crisis overshadowing war, political oppression and economic and social
injustice. It has
hurt the image of Muslims and reflects poorly on their tolerance, while
unmasking the uglier face of western prejudice. Read on
Abuse
freedom and we all lose
February
2006 – It is not freedom of expression that is under threat, but the right to
human dignity, argues Tom Kenis. Read on
Will
Mubarak let Egypt’s people pick a president?
April
2005 – Citizens of the Arab world’s largest country have been promised the
chance to choose a replacement for their long-serving president. But not
everyone is convinced that Egyptian democracy will run smoothly. Read on
Turkey and Europe must
get ready to go back to the future
April
2005 – Turkey’s
rich history is no bar to its EU membership bid, argue Katleen
Maes and Khaled Diab. Read on
Islam
and Europe: Clash and mash
April
2005 – Khaled Diab and Katleen Maes examine the myths
driving anti-Islamic fervour in the EU. Read on
Time
to rethink the EU’s role in the Middle East
January
2005 – If Yasser Arafat’s death is to signify
anything more than the symbolic start of a new era, the European Union must
radically rethink its role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
to persuade the two peoples to work towards a new dawn. Read on
Commission
wants closer EU-Israeli ties
January
2005 – The European Commission and the EU’s former
envoy to the Middle East have both come out in favour of enhancing economic
and political ties with Israel.
But critics question the wisdom of extending a policy of good neighbourhood
to a country that has done little to make the neighbourhood a safer place to
live. Read on
Home
truths about the home secretary
October 2004 – David Blunkett
– like his boss – is growing blind to what his party stands for. In fact,
some of the home secretary’s recent pronouncements have sent a chill down Khaled Diab’s spine. Read on
Union
backing for landmine campaigner
September
2004 – The European Union has taken up the case of a leading Bangladeshi
civil society figure who has been held without charge for several weeks and
whom, human rights groups fear, may be the victim of torture. Read on
Why
I want to live in an EU superstate
August 2004 – The idea
of an EU superstate gets Khaled
Diab’s vote. He thinks Europeans should stop
thinking in terms of ‘national sovereignty’ – keep the culture, drop the
rest. Read on
Libya’s rocky road to
reconciliation
May 2004
– Spectacular diplomatic coups have been flying out of Tripoli in recent months, leading some to
call it Muammar Gaddafi’s own ‘perestroika’. Read on
Arab
world and African nations both struggle for EU-style unity
March
2004 – As the European Union prepares to expand eastwards, it success in
achieving security and prosperity through economic integration has become an
example for the rest of the world, yet Arabs and Africans are finding it
tough to forge their own regional blocs. Read on
Alternative
peace plan for Middle East ‘should be put to
the people’
Katleen
Maes and Khaled Diab
February
2004 – THE Middle East peace juggernaut
stalled before taking the first turn along the EU-backed road-map. But
prominent European politicians came out recently in favour of an alternative
peace plan. Despite the ongoing cycle of violence and political inertia,
Israelis and Palestinians are embracing other avenues to peace – and the EU
should aid them in their quest. Read on
Why anti-religious dress codes are no road to
liberty
February
2004 – The French government has proposed a law that will ban Muslim girls
from wearing headscarves in school. Such a ban will not help the cause of
multicultural tolerance in the EU. Read on
A church wedding
November 2002 – Marriage
is truly in the air. With Europe’s economic
union more or less consummated, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and his Convention on the Future of
Europe have been drawing up the prenuptials for a prospective political
union. Read on
EU
sticks with Middle East road map amid
uncertainty
November
2002 – The collapse of Israel’s ‘national unity’ government, following the
exit of the Labour Party, has sparked fears in EU corridors that a hardening
of Israeli politics could further endanger the prospects for a peaceful
resolution of the two-year-old bloody conflict with the Palestinians. Read on
€500
million Euro-Med project 'does not go far enough'
October
2002 – A €500 million-per-year initiative to boost development in the EU’s 12 Mediterranean partner countries has been
welcomed, but experts fear it does not go far enough to prepare the Union’s volatile southern flank to become a free trade
area by 2010. Read
on
The
price of war
October
2002 – Whether or not Iraq, after more than a decade of ‘containment’ and
sanctions, poses a threat to the United States and its allies, any military
action would most likely have serious economic and political ramifications
for Europe. Read
on
Greece accused of human rights
violations
September
2002 – Amnesty
International has accused Greece
of flouting European humanitarian law by employing police brutality and
torture in its treatment of detainees, particularly asylum-seekers and
minorities. Read on
Commission takes tough stance against illicit drugs production
September 2002 – The
European Commission has drawn up proposals for stringent new regulations
aimed at combating the growing profusion of illicit drugs by targeting the
production and distribution of dual-use chemicals, known as precursors. Read on
African
Union starts life as EU hits 50
August
2002 – Last week
witnessed the quiet passing away of one successful exercise in cooperation
and the hopeful birth of another. As the European Coal and Steel Community's
50-year mandate expired, the African Union (AU) emerged from the ashes of the
39-year-old Organisation of African Unity. Read on
EU urged to back 'clean
energy' drive
August
2002 – Greenpeace is
urging the EU to go to Johannesburg
armed with stricter targets and to weigh in behind radical proposals to
promote ‘clean’ energy. Read on
Fischler ‘surprise’ choice as
greenest commissioner
July 2002 – Agriculture
chief Franz Fischler has emerged with flying
colours as the surprise choice of NGOs as the ‘greenest’ member of the
European Commission. Read on
Tropical
diseases ignored by companies
July 2002
– The patent-busting battle to get affordable generic AIDS drugs to millions
of HIV-positive people in the developing world has received wide publicity.
The statistics for AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
are startling: in some countries, two out of every three adults are
HIV-positive. Read on
Cure
needed for sick man of Europe
July 2002
– The European drug industry is looking on with rising alarm as its American
rivals pull further and further ahead in the innovation stakes.
Pharmaceutical firms blame over-regulation in the EU for fuelling a
competitive crisis in an increasingly hostile global market. Read on
Is
parallel trade a malaise or cure?
July 2002
– As the EU prepares to expand eastwards, new battle
lines are being drawn in the confrontation over national price-setting for
prescription drugs - and in the cross-border parallel trade it engenders in
the light of free movement of goods across the single market. Read on
Pfizer
buys Pharmacia
July 2002
– The world's largest pharmaceuticals firm, Pfizer, has agreed to acquire
rival US drug company Pharmacia for a reported 52.5 billion euro in stock,
raising speculation that the fragmented industry will be seized by
merger-mania as other companies try to survive tough competition and the
slowing pace of innovation. Read on
EU
and NATO ‘not told’ in advance of Spanish invasion
July 2002
– Spain’s
premier José María Aznar
failed to inform the European Union and other key allies in advance of
yesterday’s (17 July) military offensive to regain a disputed Mediterranean
island, European Voice has learned. Read on
Israel says EU should
stay out of Middle East peace process
July 2002
– The European Union should confine itself to supervising reforms in the
Palestinian Authority rather than trying to play a central role in Middle East peace talks, according to a senior Israeli
cabinet advisor. Read on
Airline
industry set to find more turbulent skies ahead
July 2002
– Europe's embattled commercial airline
industry is currently navigating some rough skies. It has been mounting a
concerted effort to reverse the knocks it took following the Twin Tower attacks
in the US last autumn, which sent the global travel industry reeling. Read on
Budget
carriers soaring on back of ‘aggressive drive’ to boost demand
July 2002
– While the European aviation industry as a whole has been reeling from the
fallout from 11 September and the slowdown in the world economy, budget
airlines appear to have bucked the trend. Read on
Single
sky proposals fly in face of union opposition
July 2002
– The European Union is flying ahead with plans to launch a unified European
air traffic control system which, advocates say, will improve efficiency and
safety in the Union's skies. Read on
Single
sky plan gets boost from transport MEPs
July 2002
– The European Parliament’s transport committee has backed ‘single sky’
proposals to create a unified European air traffic control system, despite
protests from unions that the initiative compromises safety for profit. Read on
Air
safety tops agenda after crash
July 2002
– Last week’s tragic mid-air collision over Germany has propelled air safety
to the top of the agenda at tomorrow’s (12 July) meeting of Eurocontrol, the 31-member intergovernmental air safety
body has said. Read
on
MEPs wrap up vote on tougher ‘green’ packaging standards
July
2002 – The European Parliament’s environment committee has backed a
two-pronged scheme that would oblige manufacturers to make their packaging
more environmentally friendly. Read on
Greece rights concern
June
2002 – A coalition of
human rights groups from Europe and the Mediterranean has criticised Greece for its handling of detained
asylum-seekers and called on the EU to help ensure that Athens
complies with Union and international
accords. Read
on
Leave rights charter alone, experts warn
June 2002
– The EU should not toy with the idea of revamping the Charter of Fundamental
Rights as it would open a “Pandora's Box” of complications and be politically
counter-productive, experts at a forum warned this week. Read on
Sharon court ruling clears the way
for possible Brussels
invitation
June 2002
– A war crimes case against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon alleging his
complicity in the 1982 massacre of around 1,000 Palestinians in Beirut has been thrown
out by a Belgian appeals court, opening a possible new window for an EU peace
drive. Read on
‘Don’t pander to prejudice’, urges report
May 2002
– The European Union needs to do more to counter the increasing ‘demonisation’ of Muslims and asylum-seekers, which has
fuelled a wave of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant
sentiments since 11 September, according to two new reports. Read on
Israel may seek extradition of Palestinian militants in 2003
May 2002
– Israel may seek the
extradition of 13 Palestinian militants exiled to Europe
in an EU-brokered deal once their initial year-long period of asylum expires,
according to high-level Israeli diplomatic sources. Read on
'Flexicurity' key to future of EU, social experts tell forum
May 2002
– The European Union needs ‘flexicurity’ – a
balance of labour market flexibility and social security – to be competitive
and face up to the challenges of enlargement. Read on
Barcelona limps on despite Middle East crisis
April
2002 – Eleventh-hour diplomacy salvaged this week’s gathering in Valencia of
European and Mediterranean foreign ministers, seeking to ensure that economic
and political cooperation is not derailed by the Middle
East crisis. Read on
Plea for more help in Middle East
April
2002 – Israeli human rights groups have voiced grave concerns to the European
Union over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories. Read on
Pro-Palestinian groups take demonstration to streets
of Brussels
April
2002 – Thousands of protesters descended upon Brussels'
EU district on Sunday to show solidarity with Palestinians as Israel's
military crackdown in the occupied territories raged into its second week. Read on
EU and Syria trade pact delayed
March
2002 – A dispute over trade barriers has resulted in this week’s scheduled
talks on the association pact between the European Union and Syria being
postponed until mid-April. Read on
EU needs ‘resolute’ Middle East
stance
March
2002 – Europe must have a clear position on the Middle East and use its
political and economic clout to help the region out of its current impasse as
Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates, say academic experts from Europe and
the United States.
Read on
Attack
the machinery, not the machinations
March
2002 – MEPs and some of the UK’s top stars have petitioned Egypt’s
president to pardon 23 men allegedly jailed for their sexual orientation. For
the sake of even-handedness and to garner public support, the campaign must
call for the release of all political prisoners and the dismantling of Egypt’s
two-decade-old emergency laws. Read on
The
gains and pains of free trade
April
2002 – The successful launch of the physical Euro has fleshed out Europe’s aspirations for economic integration and many
hope it will pave the road towards political integration. Meanwhile an
increasingly divided Middle East slips a
notch closer to war as one “bloodiest week” in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict replaces another. Read on
Libyan oil fails to grease the wheels of normalisation
with the US
August
2001 – The United States is having trouble whipping up support amongst even
its allies for its unilateral sanctions against Libya after the United Nations
suspended embargoes against the oil rich North African state when it handed
over two Libyan suspected of involvement in the 1988 bombing of an American
airliner. Read on
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