In The News

United Way to a New Political Europe

Dominique de Villepin June 30, 2005
Debate over Europe's identity crisis, ignited by the rejection of the EU Constitution, was further stoked this week when British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke before the EU Parliament. Blair enters his term as EU President armed with a plan to modernize Europe and redirect funds from agricultural subsidies to industry and research. His proposals have attracted support from all corners of...

Europe's New Protectionism

June 30, 2005
The European Union has begun to acknowledge that China's growing exports pose a new challenge to its economy. However, there is a growing divide amongst EU countries as to how to deal with China and the globalizing world as a whole. One path is that espoused by Tony Blair, who advocates increasing the competitiveness and quality of European economies while retaining free trade. The other...

Giving Voice to British Arab Culture – And Its Discontents

Omar Waraich June 29, 2005
When Reem Maghribi, a 26-year-old British Arab designer, realized that Arabs lacked a voice in the United Kingdom, she founded Sharq, a magazine devoted to the promotion of “British Arab Culture.” With an increasing number of British Arabs questioning their identity amidst a climate of “Arabaphobia,” the self-supported publication is offering them the opportunity to delve into their unique...

Unlikely Hero in Europe's Spat: The 'Polish Plumber'

Elaine Sciolino June 27, 2005
Responding to the recent flood of bad publicity about the potential loss of French jobs to Polish immigrants, Poland has come up with a marketing plan to improve its reputation in France. Hiring a model to pose as a "Polish plumber" – a figure who has come to symbolize French labor concerns – in its advertisements, the Polish Tourism Bureau is attempting to assure the French that the...

Europe in Disarray – Part II

Jonathan Fenby June 23, 2005
"Europe faces a challenge for which, in its present state, it may not be prepared," writes Jonathan Fenby in the second installment of YaleGlobal's two-part series on turbulence in the European Union. Fenby suggests that domestic leadership failures in European nations created the vacuum at the heart of the EU. Citing the French and Dutch rejections of the EU constitution, Fenby...

Mixing Oil, Gas, and Politics

June 21, 2005
The Russian government has become a majority shareholder in Gazprom, one of the country's largest oil producers. The buyout is aimed at opening the company up to foreign investment and bolstering the Russian stock market. The move was also likely designed to put the government in a more favorable position to purchase large blocks of other oil companies, with the goal of creating an enormous...

Europe Turning Cold on Turkey

Yigal Schleifer June 20, 2005
The fallout of the referendum fiasco on the European Union’s expansion plan is coming to light . A report in the Christian Science Monitor says that all references to Turkey joining the EU have been removed from an upcoming European Union summit declaration. There is now a general consensus that opposition to Turkey’s EU membership was a factor in the French and Dutch rejection of the proposed...