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DEUTSCHE WELLE
16 May 2008
Each of the
15 European countries that use the euro is currently
represented individually at the IMF. "It makes
sense for the euro zone, which is run by a single central
bank, to have a common representation at the IMF,"
said Philip Whyte of the CER. "Unfortunately, I
do not see it happening any time soon," he told
DW. Whyte said "political jealousy" and resistance
to having a country's representation downgraded in international
forums are likely to stand in the way for years to come.
REUTERS
13 May 2008
Bucharest's struggle to clean
up [corruption] is raising concerns in the EU as diplomats
say Romania may have joined the bloc too early. ...
"The lesson is that if there are things you don't
seem able to resolve in the run-up to accession, then
we are not confident you will be able to achieve them
afterwards," said Katinka Barysch of the CER.
CNN
7 May 2008
Russia has been at odds with
much of Europe over the recognition of Kosovo, the eastward
expansion of NATO and the European Union, and US plans
for missile defence installations in Poland and the
Czech Republic. "There's no sign yet that Medvedev's
angle on the eastward expansion of NATO and the EU is
different from Putin's. I am sure he is firmly opposed,"
said Charles Grant, director of the CER.
INTERNATIONAL
HERALD TRIBUNE
6 May 2008
Simon Tilford of the CER endorses
the take-it-slow approach [to joining the euro]. "I
think that it's welcome that states are no longer rushing
into this," he said. "It can be much harder
to address [structural] problems from within the eurozone
as we now see with a number of countries that are currently
members, such as Italy."
VOICE
OF AMERICA
6 May 2008
Hugo Brady of the CER says
Interpol has made strides in recent years to be relevant
to its member-states on other issues besides its traditional
focus on organised crime and terrorism. International
paedophile rings are one example. "Paedophilia
crimes have been the subject of cross-border policing
efforts since the 1990s," said Hugo Brady. "Crimes
involving paedophilia networks, illegal pornography
and internet fraud are all hard to categorise neatly
as organised crime, yet still pose a real international
threat," Brady says.
THE
ECONOMIST
1 May 2008
In practice, the new PCA [Partnership
and Co-operation Agreement between the EU and Russia]
will not make much difference.
As Katinka Barysch,
deputy director of the CER, notes dryly, "the Russians
have a somewhat different approach to law, so whether
you can aim to solve all problems with a legal document
is open to doubt".
LA
CROIX
24 April 2008
"The Labour Party like
the Conservatives would give [Sarkozy] seven out of
ten", judges Charles Grant, director of the CER.
"They appreciate his attempts to shake up French
society and his liberal instincts, even if they would
like him to go further and faster. Above all, they are
grateful that he has broken with the Chiraquien brand
of Gaullism."
INTERNATIONAL
HERALD TRIBUNE
22 April 2008
By seeking more power over
Nabucco, Turkey is taking a page out of Russia's book,
exerting national control over export pipelines, said
Katinka Barysch of the CER. "The Turks want it
to be a Turkish pipeline," she said.
THE
ECONOMIST
3 April 2008
The same troubles would surely
blight any new attempt at [Britain-France-Germany] trilateralism.
Charles Grant, director of the CER, suggests that it
might play a role in foreign policy. The three already
steer European policy on Iran, for example. But for
internal EU business he sees two big problems, besides
the objections of other members to being told what to
do. One is the poor relationship between Ms Merkel and
Mr Sarkozy. The other, perhaps more intractable, is
the disengagement of the British government.
PUBLICO
[PORTUGAL]
12 March 2008
Portugal's ranking [in the
CER's annual Lisbon scorecard] is one of the worst in
recent years.
Portugal is penalised because the CER believes that
[among other things] it maintains too much redtape on
businesses and because it is lagging behind in reforming
its social security system.
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