EU & Europe

Photo: Vladimir Putin meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in New York City, 29 September 2015. CC BY 4.0

Libya and Ukraine were Big American Mistakes with Russia

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

Under Obama the spirit of cooperation had nearly all gone. But President Donald Trump wants to bring the era of goodwill back again. Unfortunately, because of his erratic leadership, no one is quite sure whether to trust him. Moreover, he says one thing about friendship with Russia while his Administration increases sanctions and does a go-slow on arms control.

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Two mistakes, committed on President Barack Obama's watch, were the triggers for the end of the long post-Cold War period of good relations with Russia. They were the attack on Libya by the U.S., France and the UK and the subsequent killing of its long-time dictator, Muammar Gadhafi. The second was the crisis in Ukraine.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 August 2018

Photo credit: The University of Lincoln.

UK University Launches Distance Learning PhD For Diplomats

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) – Employees of United Nations agencies and other international organizations as well as accredited diplomats now have an opportunity to pursue a globally recognized postgraduate academic degree DProf (Professional Doctorate) that has the same status as PhD, the Doctor of Philosophy.

The University of Lincoln, a public research university in the cathedral city of Lincoln in England, has launched a two-year distance learning for the purpose. With origins tracing back to 1861, the institution achieved university status in 1992 and its present name and structure in 2001.

: Robert Johnson; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 14 August 2018

Photo: Vladimir Putin (right) and Donald Trump (left) at a news conference after their summit meeting in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. Credit: en.kremlin.ru

Trump and Putin Can Put the Brakes on a New, Potentially More Dangerous, Arms Race

Viewpoint by Thomas M. Countryman, Kingston A. Reif and Daryl G. Kimball

The following analysis is the Arms Control Association's latest Issue Brief with the caption Can Trump and Putin Head Off a Nuclear Arms Race? authored by Thomas M. Countryman, former Acting Under Secretary Of State for Arms Control and International Security and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association, Kingston A. Reif, Director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy, and Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director. It is being reproduced by arrangement with the Association. – The Editor.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – The much-anticipated July 16 summit meeting in Helsinki between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin did not go well for the United States.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 09 August 2018

Photo: EU and Western Balkans Summit: Strengthening cooperation at all levels to support the region’s transformation. Credit: eeas.europa.eu

EU-Facilitated Dialogue Vital For Kosovo-Serbian Accord

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the second report from Kosovo, stressing the importance of an EU-facilitated dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade. The first is titled Kosovo Looks Forward To UN Membership. – The Editor

BERLIN | PRISTINA (IDN) – In the wake of the Kosovo War, in the whirl and muddle of Yugoslav Wars, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Kosovo, as part of Serbia and Yugoslavia, was placed under United Nations administration UNMIK by virtue of the Security Council Resolution 1244.

NATO launched the bombing campaign against Yugoslavia on March 24,1999 because "efforts to achieve a negotiated, political solution to the Kosovo crisis" had failed. But it did so "without seeking explicit Security Council authorization".

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 03 August 2018

Photo: Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj (second from left) talking to a media team end of June 2018 at his office in Pristina. He is flanked by Kosovo government officials. Credit: Cia Pak | Scannews.

Kosovo Looks Forward To UN Membership

By Ramesh Jaura

This is the first of two reports from Kosovo, on its efforts to garner international recognition in the aftermath of unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008 subsequent to the breakup of Yugoslavia after Josip Broz Tito's death in the 1980s. – The Editor

BERLIN | PRISTINA (IDN) – The United Nations Security Council has engaged with the situation in Kosovo and its relations with Serbia three times already this year. But when the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly opens on September 18, 2018, Kosovo will be missing. It is the only among seven breakaway states of former Yugoslavia that is not yet a member of the UN.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 03 August 2018

A U.S.-Russia Summit That Left Trump In The Hot Seat

Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN | INPS) – In a historic bilateral summit, the United States President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018. The summit took place notwithstanding myriad objections, conjectures and apprehensions from many U.S. political leaders who oppose rapprochement with Russia over a plethora of issues: Crimea, East Ukraine, Syria, and Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Just two days before the summit, the U.S. Justice Department indicted 12 Russians for interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, giving impetus to a steady drumbeat of demands that Trump cancel the meeting. The New York Times reported, "according to an internal government document, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on 213 Russian-related targets".

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 21 July 2018

Photo: Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed (right) meets with Senida Mesi, Deputy Prime Minister of Albania. 16 July 2018,. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Evan Schneider.

For Albania EU Accession and Agenda 2030 Go Hand in Hand

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – Since the political turbulence of 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which engulfed entire Eastern Europe, Albania has been resolutely sailing west. In 2009 the country became a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and it has made great strides towards membership of the European Union. The accession negotiations are expected to open in June 2019.

Accession to the European Union (EU) is "an over-arching priority with full political consensus and nationwide support," said Deputy Prime Minister Senida Mesi in an interview with IDN. The focus, she added, is on "strengthening democracy, with a competitive, stable and sustainable economy, and with guarantees of fundamental human rights and liberties."

: Ramesh Jaura; UN INSIDER; 20 July 2018

Photo (left to right): President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, China's President Xi Jinping, and President of the European Council Donald Tusk. Credit: European Union

Climate Change 'Main Pillar' of EU-China Relations

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Collaboration between the European Union (EU) and China on climate change and clean energy is set to become "a main pillar" of their bilateral partnership, including in their economic relations, according to a joint statement.

Titled EU-China Leaders' Statement on Climate Change and Clean Energy, the statement underlines their "highest political commitment to the effective implementation" of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

It emphasizes their "firm determination" to work with all stakeholders to tackle climate change, implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, climate-resilient and sustainable development globally.

: Robert Johnson; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 18 July 2018

Competitive Diplomacy Under the Trump Administration – Part 2

Viewpoint by Michele Nobile*

This is the second of a two-part article which was written before the July 11-12 NATO summit in Brussels – The Editor.

ROME (IDN) – It is evident that the reduction or even wiping out of U.S. spending on United Nations agencies is essentially irrelevant from the point of view of reduction of its public debt and revival of its domestic economy. The reason for cuts can only be political and ideological.

With regard to family planning, contraception and abortion, it is a question of satisfying the domestic fundamentalist right. In more general terms, the Trump administration's competitive diplomacy is a way of blackmailing the United Nations because of the prevailing disagreement in organising certain positions of the US government: the most recent case is that of Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 16 July 2018

Photo: Angela Merkel. Credit: Federal Government/Steffen Kugler

Why Germany Is Important For Survival Of Multilateralism

By Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI | BERLIN (IDN) – A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of right-wing nationalism that is anti-immigrant and, in many pockets, feeding racism and xenophobia. Germany, which stood tall and firm against this gathering illiberal tide by throwing open its doors in 2015-16 to over a million refugees – mainly from the war in Syria – is today facing a crisis over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy on refugees.

With the U.S. turning its back on globalization and the global order facing an erosion of liberal and humanitarian values, Germany rose as a new pole of power in the West. It is Germany that has been calling the shots on behalf of the advanced industrial nations, and not only at the recent G7 summit, which saw Chancellor Merkel taking a tough line against President Donald Trump.