Opinion pieces

  • Recent elections were good for Turkey but it must now roll up its sleeves, by Katinka Barysch
    Progress online, 06 September 2007

    Turkey is to be congratulated on the outcome of both its parliamentary and presidential elections. To see why, just consider possible alternatives.

  • Russia: Analyst sees potential in Europe's new relationship, by Katinka Barysch
    Radio Free Europe, 17 July 2007

    Katinka Barysch, the head of the Russia research program at the London-based Centre for European Reform, has written extensively about politics and economics in Eastern Europe and advised Britain's House of Lords and European Commission on foreign policy.

  • State of the Union: The good deal, by Charles Grant
    The Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2007

    The deal in Brussels on a new treaty this weekend is good news for those who hope the EU can become a more confident and effective contributor to global security.

  • We do not need a referendum, by Charles Grant
    The Guardian, 23 June 2007

    Thank goodness for the agreement in Brussels last night. Without a deal, the EU would have been mired in arguments on treaties, institutions and process for a prolonged period.

  • Treaty would not concede new powers on foreign policy, by Charles Grant
    Financial Times, 21 June 2007

    Sir,

    Martin Wolf's critique of the proposed new EU treaty ("This is a cynical plan for an unnecessary European treaty", June 20) wrongly asserts that the new posts of "president" and "foreign minister" would "centralise decision-making in areas affecting security".

  • Constitutional fudge, by Charles Grant
    The Guardian, 19 June 2007

    So far, Britain's stance on the German attempt to revise the EU treaties has been - from a British perspective - broadly reasonable.

  • What future? France's Socialist party needs a rethink, by Charles Grant
    The Guardian, 07 May 2007

    France's Socialist party needs to rethink its identity and its strategy. Having lost three presidential elections in a row, the party needs to learn from centre-left parties not only in Britain, but also in Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Spain.

  • Sarkozy - the new Napoleon, by Charles Grant
    The Guardian, 23 April 2007

    As a former activist in the French Socialist Party, it pains me to welcome the success of a right-wing populist in the first round of the presidential election. But I think that a Nicolas Sarkozy victory may be the best outcome for France and for Europe.