In The News

Talks Collapse on U.S. Efforts to Open Europe to Biotech Food

David Leonhardt June 20, 2003
While the US thinks it is perfectly acceptable for the American people to consume genetically modified (GM) food, Europe remains adamant, unwilling to compromise consumer safety for consumer choice since the long term effects on human health of GM food are still unknown. The US has lodged formal complaints against the European Union with the World Trade Organization (WTO) alleging protectionism...

Deja-vu All Over Again

Tobias Buck June 16, 2003
At Doha-level trade meetings, the EU’s policies on agriculture are seen as hampering world trade liberalization. To ensure that Europe might have some influence at the next world trade talks, the EU farm commissioner has been pushing to reform widely its position on agriculture. But after yet another round of EU talks, this article argues, it can be expected that it will be an “uphill struggle”...

Easterners Fight for Shorter Working Hours, but 35-Hour Workweek is a Myth

Heidi Sylvester June 13, 2003
The already tight labor market in Germany receives yet another squeeze – but this time it's from within. East German steelworkers will enjoy western Germany's regular 35-hour workweek by 2009, but this concession has encouraged workers in other East German industry sectors. Metalworkers and electrical engineers seeking the same treatment have now resorted to strikes. This labor unrest...

Preemption an Option for EU

Elise Kissling May 30, 2003
A proposed new EU military doctrine identifies weapons of mass destruction as the major threat to EU security.. The new doctrine, if adopted, could authorize preemptive strikes against potential enemies, much like the "Bush doctrine" formulated by Washington last year. Despite opposing the US-led war on Iraq – which Washington claimed was necessary due to the imminent threat of Saddam...

European Union’s Southern Drive

Shada Islam May 30, 2003
Despite apparent attempts by the US to lead the world in every way and area, when it comes to northern Africa and the Middle East, the European Union has its own ideas. Europe's importation of immigrant labor to support its aging population has contributed to a buildup of over 13 million Muslims of Middle Eastern descent across the continent. In the face of continued economic shifts and...

Steel Striking for a 35-Hour Week

Heidi Sylvester May 30, 2003
The biggest German union, IG Metall, is pushing hard for shortened weekly work hours in eastern Germany's steel factories. The strikes, supported by 83 percent of the steel workers polled, are likely to start on June 2. A 35-hour work week would put eastern Germany's steelworkers on a par with their counterparts in western Germany. Many economists and politicians, however, are...

Blame It on Globalization

David Pozen May 21, 2003
For all the apocalyptic talk of globalization's corrosive effects on social provision, Western European welfare regimes have survived to date and will continue to survive in the future. Welfare regimes, generally operating within a national framework, involve states' actions for the funding, provision, distribution, and coordination of a wide range of benefits and services....