Opinion pieces

  • Why closing the Irish embassy in Tehran is a mistake, by Edward Burke
    Politico, 24 April 2012

    The recent furore over the closure of closure of the Irish Embassy to the Vatican drowned out any discussion over the withdrawal of other embassies, including that in Tehran last month. Almost unnoticed, Iran has been lumped in with Timor Leste as one of two other Irish diplomatic missions that is surplus to requirements.

  • Is Britain on the way out of Europe?, by Charles Grant
    Social Europe Journal, 20 April 2012

    Ever since they joined the EU in 1973, the British have been sceptical about political integration in Europe. They have valued the economic benefits of membership, notably the single market, but opposed the concept of ‘political union’. The eurozone crisis is now increasing the gap between Britain and much of the rest of the EU.

  • Multilateralism à la Carte, by Charles Grant
    The International Herald Tribune, 16 April 2012

    Many problems cannot be solved without international co-operation, yet "multilateralism" — the system of international institutions and rules intended to promote the common good — appears to be weakening.

  • Die Dreistigkeit der Euro-Zone, by Simon Tilford
    Financial Times Deutschland, 12 April 2012
    Die Politiker und Vordenker der Eurozone haben keinen Zweifel: Durch die Vergrößerung des Rettungsfonds, des Europäischen Stabilitätsmechanismus (ESM), haben sie ihren Teil dazu beigetragen, die Mitglieder der Währungsunion zu stützen, die sich in Schwierigkeiten befinden.
  • L’audace de la zone euro et le FMI, by Simon Tilford
    Les Echos, 12 April 2012

    LE CERCLE. (par Simon Tilford) - Les décideurs et les hommes politiques de la zone euro ne doutent de rien : ils ont contribué leur part pour soutenir les membres de l’union monétaire en difficulté en accroissant le montant de son fonds d’urgence, le Mécanisme européen de stabilité (MES).

  • Eurozone Chutzpah and the IMF , by Simon Tilford
    Project Syndicate, 11 April 2012

    LONDON – Eurozone policymakers and politicians are in no doubt: they have done their part to support the currency union’s struggling members by increasing the size of its rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

  • Will Putin delete the reset?, by Charles Grant
    The International Herald Tribune, 04 April 2012

    In February 2009, Vice President Joe Biden called for the reset button to be pressed in the U.S.-Russia relationship, and for the next three years Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev fostered a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow.

  • The implications of multipolarity for Central Europe’s security, by Clara Marina O'Donnell
    Center for European Policy Analysis, 02 April 2012

    For years, Central Europeans have fretted that the United States might withdraw from the European security arena in order to focus on more pressing issues in other parts of the world. Over the last 12 months, these concerns have been exacerbated.