Countries

European Union

1175 articles

français 672 English 172 عربي 24 Español 215 italiano 21 русский 46 Deutsch 12 Português 13

“Now It’s The Time To Turn Despair Into Opportunity”

by Peter Mandelson

17 June 2005
The peoples of France and The Netherlands already demonstrated, and the European politicians should think about it. There were several reasons for a “No”, but the corroboration is clear: there is disappointment regarding the European Union. Europe is too much exposed to criticism. This has created a vicious circle where politicians who, despite their calling themselves pro-Europeans, launch populist attacks against Brussels. Jacques Chirac also made the mistake of putting the blame of his (...)

“Coming Out Of the Pro-European Dogma”

by Hubert Védrine

17 June 2005
This electoral uprising coldly announced that May of 1968, forces us to face prohibited issues in our economic, social and European policies. What caused the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty? What consequences might it bring? What to do now?
Rather than to national or political issues, the voting result was due to a refusal of the bureaucratic creation of a unique market. The “political integration” words - the Holy Grail for some - sounded as a threat to others. It was spread against (...)

“A Future-Carrying No”

by Jean-Pierre Chevènement

17 June 2005
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing told that when he sent the ECT to Silvio Berlusconi, the latter used it to swat a fly and said “at least this Constitution was useful for something!” Today, this story takes all its meaning. Jacques Chirac once told me that that text was more a bylaw than a constitution. Then, why was it called a “Constitution”?
What has been rejected in relation to that Constitution was the intention to “enshrine in the constitution”, in the name of a non-existing “European people”, a (...)

“What kind of association for European renovation?”

by Franco Frattini, José Manuel Durao Barroso

15 June 2005
We live in times of change and thus the European Commission launched an appeal for the implementation of an association for European renovation. With this perspective, the Commission designed its working program for the next five years.
The first objective of this association is prosperity. The Commission gave new momentum to Lisbon’s strategy for expansion and employment that will allow for the release of the dynamic economic potential that Europe contains. Achieving the second strategic (...)

“We say no to the rest of Europe”

by Francine Bavay

13 June 2005
I was convinced that “no” would prevail in France because the liberal policy have annoyed the French for quite a long time. They could vote “no” because they felt Europeans, and championed the policy of solidarity with the rest of the European countries. The “no” accounted for the majority in France and the left wing. Many European friends helped us in the campaign. We made a call to Europe from the Greens to say “no”. They are happy that our success has given them the possibility to hold debates (...)

“A dead end”

by Jean-Marie Colombani

13 June 2005
The French “no” to the European Constitution was not an accident, but the result of a debate as few of them have taken place in the history of that country. The citizens were able to know the main articles as well as the statements made by the advocates from both sides. But they failed to perform an exegesis exercise in favor or against the Constitutional Treaty due to a specific or several of its 448 articles. A constitution is a contract subscribed among the citizens and its terms are less (...)

“A Master Piece of Masochism”

by Serge July

13 June 2005
On the occasion of the referendum, the leftist electorate has launched cries of fear, anguish and rage in front of the insanity that prevails in the world and the incompetence of those who has led us over the past two decades. Some leaders have taken advantage of the situation and, at the end, we have witnessed a general disaster and an epidemic of populism that has swept with everything: European construction, its expansion, the elites, regulation of liberalism, reformism, internationalism (...)

“Chirac’s failure to lead”

by David Ignatius

13 June 2005
France’s vote in the European Constitutional Treaty was, above all, a protest against the forces of economic globalization. The “NO” voters thought that by rejecting a set of technical amendments to European rules they could hold back a threatening future. The French elites who supported the “Yes” are devastated.
This “No” is a rejection of the text, of Europe, of the liberal way of life and of Jacques Chirac. Fear of the future is always an important political force. Europe will go on as before (...)

“Anti-Corruption Magistrates Say ‘Yes’ ”

by European Magistrates Against Corruption

3 June 2005
It has been almost ten years since several of us put forward the Geneva Appeal advocating that European justice put an end to impunity. That appeal was based on the fact that international investigations required years of work due to the limitations posed by the borders. Some countries allow delays for months-some even more-of the transmission of information, offering implicated individuals the possibility to protest in the same country in which they contested during the investigative (...)

“To vote ‘yes’ for Europe is to respect the environment”

3 June 2005
The issue of the environment is not prominent in debate in France on the Constitutional Treaty, not even among the Greens. Nevertheless, the French grant it great importance. In that sense, changes in our individual behaviors are indispensable, but international regulations are also required. In Europe there have been imposed, in a growing and natural way, the most pertinent of numerous regulations and actions to improve the quality of our atmosphere. Let us mention four examples:
The (...)

“Wake up! It’s Time to Vote Yes!”

by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing

3 June 2005
I would be the first to say that the European Constitution text is a better way to fight insomnia than the rest of the sleeping pills sold at drugstores. However, in France, this text has led the people to a major debate. The text, which defines the EU competitions and objectives, is relatively short. It’s made up of 60 articles and is easily available. However, its opponents are presenting it as incomprehensible and threatening because it speaks of “free competition”. They present it as an (...)

“If EU Constitution Fails, U.S. Won’t Be Gloating”

by John Vinocur

3 June 2005
The Bush administration says it wants the European referendums to be approved. The rejection of this treaty would fill the future of the relationships between Europe and the U.S. with uncertainty, and this something that Washington does not want. But the U.S. wish is a challenge to Europe’s credulity. Consequently, nothing is said in Washington and people there act as though it were a minor issue. However, in case the referendums fail, nobody will gloat in the U.S. The Bush government knows (...)

“A call of EuropaNova in favor of the yes”

by Personalities of the EuropaNova group

25 May 2005
The debate about Europe has never been son passionate in France. It is not about going back to the debate between sovereignty and federalism. What is at stake is very different. What can the Europe we’re building do to have a fairer, safer and more equitable world?
Through the project of the European Constitution and for the first time in the history of mankind, 25 States have decided to create together a new form of political community based on the double legitimacy of the States and the (...)

“Getting rid of a dream to stay afloat”

by David Clark

8 May 2005
One of the most revealing indicators of the post-electoral projects of the New Labour is the way in which a possible adoption of the euro by the United Kingdom could serve to distract the attention from the scandal of legal consultancies of the Ministry of Justice before the war of Iraq. In order to fully appreciate the meaning of this distraction, it is necessary to recall that turning Great Britain into a European leader was one of the main ideas of Tony Blair’s project for 2007, which (...)

“The French Dilemma”

by Josep Borrell

8 May 2005
The European policy is seriously affected by the possibility of a French “No” to the referendum. The current environment in European institutions reflects the end of the romantic vision of the expansion to the East. Henceforth, fear prevails. The French government’s fear to look weak is what has determined its behavior with regards to the Chinese textiles, the commemoration of the Armenian genocide to remind everyone that the Turkish incorporation is not for tomorrow, or the freezing of the (...)

“A Dependent Europe or an Equal Europe”

by Justin Vaïsse

8 May 2005
The Constitutional Treaty must be judged by both its own merits and its chances of negotiating or not a better treaty with our 24 fellow members, but the position of non-European members, particularly the United States, must also be taken into account: that allows a better understanding, indirectly, of what this Constitution represents. If its text were to be rejected, and mainly by the French, that news would be received with great derision and a triumphant feeling by Washington’s (...)

“To our French friends”

by A group of German intellectuals

8 May 2005
Dear French friends, it is with great concern that we observe how the non-populist to the European Constitution gets stronger. Do the majority of the French actually want to be buried in the common grave of the right-wing and left-wing nationalists? We cannot accept this capitulation of reason. Rejecting the constitutional treaty would bring along with it chaotic consequences to the unification work to which we owe our peace; to your German neighbors who know that Europe can only be (...)

“We All (are) European”

by Jean-Marie Colombani

8 May 2005
In a month now, the French will have said yes or no to the constitutional treaty. A dozen of countries will follow them. The rest, by tradition or prudence, will hold their parliamentarians responsible for the ratification. The elementary parliamentary prudence was abandoned in France in the interests of a top risk: a referendum, that is, a principle that all republicans must reject as it may tend to become a plebiscite. The electors take the risk of pronouncing themselves on the basis of (...)

Guantánamo: The European Union Opposes an International Investigation

22 April 2005
Always willing to criticize Cuba, especially its treatment of imprisoned journalists-spies in the Island, the European Union decided to close its eyes this Thursday on the issue regarding the treatment of the prisoners of the “war against terror” arrested in Guantánamo. In fact, none of the 25 member States of the European Union supported Ivan Mora, the Cuban ambassador to the United Nation Human Rights Commission, who proposed that the United States should authorize an “unbiased and (...)

“The Christian Faith has something to Say about Morality”

by Benedict XVI

22 April 2005
Pope’s John Paul II is much attached to France for he owes it his theological formation. I particularly remember his visit during the commemoration of Clodoveo’s baptism anniversary as a moment of flowering for France’s baptism. The “elder daughter of the Western Church”, just to call it this way, has given a lot to the Church. The pope is worried about the ideological laicism strongly shown in our days. We favor the laicism but we oppose an ideological laicism that threatens to confine the (...)

“Benedict XVI feels a true friendship toward France and the French culture”

by Jean-Marie Lustiger

22 April 2005
The conclave lasted exactly 24 hours. It was a real spiritual experience of communion in an environment full of prayers and peace. It was not a political contract or a plebiscite, but a sort of gentle evidence. For all cardinals, the preceding debates allowed them to express all difficulties and problems.
Benedict XVI shares completely John Paul II’s legacy, but at the same time, it is quite obvious his personality and style are very different. Benedict XVI is the last great theologian (...)

Study on the American influence networks

When the CIA financed European Intellectuals

by Denis Boneau

27 November 2003
To counteract the Soviet influence in Europe, at the end of WWII the United States created a network of pro-American elites. Thus, the CIA financed the Congress for Cultural Freedom in which many European intellectuals participated. Among the most distinguished ones were Raymond Aron and Michel Crozier. Responsible for designing an anti-communist ideology welcomed by the conservative right as well as the socialist and reformist left of Europe during the Cold War, these networks were reactivated by the Bush administration. Today, they are the European sounding board of American conservatives.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6