In The News

Ben Aris April 26, 2004
Soon to become part of the European Union (EU), Hungary is now "busily trying to dump its Soviet-era trappings," says this article in the Guardian. Symbolic moves, like canceling Stalin's honorary citizenship and prohibiting the public display of communist red stars, are being taken to distance Hungary from its communist past. But economic concerns aren't so easy to legislate...
Patrick E. Tyler April 26, 2004
As the situation in Iraq worsens, radical Muslims in Europe are stepping up their recruitment efforts. In the streets of countries such as England, France and Germany, more and more young Muslim Europeans are gathering to hear radical clerics' preaching on violence and martyrdom in the service of Islam. Ironically, it is often exactly the characters of the western societies that these...
Thomas Schmid April 23, 2004
Osama Bin Laden's latest move to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe shows how "al-Qaida terrorists see Europe as a political unit with which they can play strategic games," writes Thomas Schmid in Germany's FAZ Weekly. An internet pamphlet titled "Iraq in the Jihad - Hopes and Risks" has made this all too clear. Laying out a kind of terrorist domino...
Luke Allnutt April 20, 2004
While Western Europe worries about droves of people pouring across their borders from the newest members of the European Union, immigration into Eastern Europe goes unnoticed. But there are already signs that countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary are shifting from states of net emigration to ones combining emigration, immigration, and transit, according to a recent survey by...
Ian Traynor April 19, 2004
Even though it won't become a full EU member until May 1, Poland has been stirring up controversy and posing challenges to other member states. As recently as last December, Poland blocked adoption of a new EU constitution, arguing that a proposed re-structuring of voting rights would mean that the terms of its accession were altered after it had already joined. As the months since have...
Heike Göbel April 9, 2004
Last week, workers in several European countries took to the streets demanding socially just reforms and warning against any potential government cutbacks. On the surface, these protests would suggest that Europe's unions have many shared interests. Not so, says this op-ed in Germany's F.A.Z. Weekly. In reality, unions' criticism always focuses on national concerns. German...
April 5, 2004
The devastating bombings of March 11th left Spain – and Europe as a whole – feeling newly vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Now, in an effort to crack down on what is seen as a widespread threat, governments across the continent are seeking increased police power to stop another attack. The suicides of suspected organizers of the Madrid bombings on April 3rd were the dramatic consequences of...