| CER

Press freedom – the new accession criterion?

Insight by Katinka Barysch
16 May 2011

Countries that want to join the EU need to show that their democracies work well. However, press freedom – a key ingredient of any pluralist democracy – is under threat in most of the countries that are now queuing for accession.
Debt restructuring will not end the euro crisis

Insight by Simon Tilford
09 May 2011

Even as the ink is still drying on Portugal’s EU/IMF ‘bail-out’ agreement, it is becoming clear that Greece’s 2010 bail-out has failed to improve the sustainability of its public finances.
Surviving austerity: The case for a new approach to EU military collaboration

Report by Tomas Valasek
22 April 2011

A wave of budgetary austerity is weakening Europe’s defences. The armed forces of Europe will lose important skills and capabilities unless they can find ways of saving money through collaboration. Tomas Valasek examines previous efforts at pooling and sharing, and explains why some succeeded better than others.
Can the Arab spring bring peace to the Middle East?

Insight by Clara Marina O'Donnell
21 April 2011

Many western diplomats and observers argue that the popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East reinforce the need for Israelis and Palestinians to return to peace talks.
The EU and Russia: All smiles and no action?

Policy brief by Katinka Barysch
18 April 2011

The relationship between the EU and Russia has been warmer than it has been for year. Yet there has been little progress on a new bilateral treaty, an energy dialogue, the new modernisation partnership or security co-operation.
The June European Council: Migrants on their minds

Insight by Hugo Brady
08 April 2011

In June, EU leaders will meet in Brussels for their next quarterly summit chaired by Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Some of them – Britain's David Cameron and France's Nicolas Sarkozy – are currently fighting a war in Libya. Others, like Angela Merkel and Silvio Berlusconi, are facing political upheaval at home.
Europe's parliament: Reform or perish?

Essay by Denis MacShane
04 April 2011

National MPs feel less and less in control of decisions taken in Europe. Yet they are expected to defend these decisions with the same vigour as the national laws they vote for themselves.
Europe's damaging obsession with 'competitiveness'

Insight by Simon Tilford
31 March 2011

Many European policy-makers and business leaders believe that a country's economic growth prospects depend on its ability to capture a growing share of global markets.