A few bits and bobs that have caught my eye over the last week or so:

Robert Amsterdam on Donald Rumsfeld’s legacy to Europe:

he was the original master artist of disaggregation – a man who saw and skillfully exploited the very fissures of the contemporary European Union which today threaten its purpose and continued existence as an alliance of nations… And this week, the Rumsfeldian conception of “old and new Europe” is making a comeback in the debate over how to handle Moscow’s threat to put missiles in Kaliningrad”

It’s not just over Russian missiles – old vs. new Europe seems to be an emerging theme in the ongoing confusion over how to tackle the growing economic storm, according to Eurozine:

Even if a common set of regulations and measures were to be reached, differences would be manifest between member states, and above all between West and East: unemployment, inflation, budgetary deficits would affect each country differently. The problem is that a recession would have more severe consequences in the fragile and unpredictable eastern European countries, including at the political level.

Also on the economy, Obsolete is (as ever) really rather good on the bizarre collapse of the Tory poll lead during the current crisis:

The man who promised an end to Tory boom and bust has succeeded in abolishing boom, while the prospects for the bust look increasingly ominous. The economy which he boasted was among the best placed to deal with the global downturn is in actual fact one of the worst placed to deal with it, according to the IMF and the European Union. Unrelenting, the Labour party believes that the solution is to borrow more to fund the tax cuts to stimulate the economy. As Larry Elliot has pointed out, this is a direct contradiction of what Gordon Brown formerly believed. At the weekend the same man attended a conference which he claimed would back up his solution to the downturn; it did nothing of the sort, and predictably only agreed to more or less meet again. Gordon Brown, by rights, ought to be finished.

Elsewhere, Jon Worth asks do you think Barroso is rubbish? With more in a similar vein from Jean Quatremer:

Si, jusqu’à présent, les voix critiques étaient rares, elles commencent à se faire entendre, ce qui montre que la campagne pour le renouvellement de la Commission a bel et bien commencé.

Complementing Quatremer’s overview, the Financial Times’s (new look) Brussels Blog asks

why are political parties of the left in such poor shape across much of Europe? It’s the worst financial crisis since the early 1930s, the worst economic recession since the early 1990s, if not the 1970s – and where is the left?

And finally, a very promising signal from the European Parliament:

MEPs today overwhelmingly backed calls to strengthen the EU’s anti-fraud unit OLAF to enable it to tackle fraud more effectively…

[report author Ingeborg Grässle MEP] said that the Parliament’s zeal to strengthen OLAF and how it worked was not shared by the member states. “The Council [of Ministers] doesn’t want to strengthen OLAF,” she said… She said the Council did not want awkward discussions about the fight against fraud.

Once again, one of the EU’s biggest problems and PR disasters can be blamed nice and neatly on the reluctance of the Council of Ministers – on the governments of the member states – to press ahead with reforms to increase both efficiency and transparency.

Busy and knackered, sorry… Should have something for you tomorrow. In the meantime, don’t forget the Nosemonkey Netvibes Universe – all kinds of European bloggy goodness, with a number of new additions over the last week or so.

And in case that doesn’t keep you going, some highlights from blogs and the press from the last couple of days, worthy of more attention/discussion:

Deutsche Welle – Making the Case for a Multi-Speed Europe
Deutsche Welle – EU Should Become Union of European Regions, Expert Says
Coulisses de Bruxelles – Commission: Barroso for ever?
Julien Frisch – Will the Euro become the leading global currency?
Financial Times – Reforms that would help euro punch its weight
Certain Ideas of Europe – Why do some Belgians want to become French?
Ironies Too – Belgium split threatens Europe not just the EU and the Lisbon Treaty!
EU Observer – Business favours Blair as EU president
Open Europe Blog – Why did the Doha talks collapse?
Centre for European Reform Blog – Should Europeans care about Doha?
International Herald Tribune – Berlusconi sends troops to back police
EurActiv – Roma MEP defends Italy’s fingerprinting measures
Spiegel Online – France and Other States Experiment with Direct Democracy
Publius – Réforme constitutionnelle et Europe

Three things that have caught my eye this morning, in ascending order of importance:

1) Following a fun article on the impact a Tory victory in the next UK general election may have on the EU in this week’s Economist, there’s an interesting round-up of Conservative European election posters from the last couple of decades over at the Open Europe blog – a perfect illustration of the fundamental shift in Tory thinking on the EEC/EU that’s taken place over the last 30 years or so.

2) As EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson issues a stark warning about the need for unity over WTO talks, I stumble across EU Trade Policy: Approaching a Crossroads – a handy (mercifully short) briefing paper from Chatham House on the continued lack of a breakthrough in EU trade negotiations as we rumble towards the end of the Cotonou agreement and squabbles with the likes of Russia and China continue. Short version: it doesn’t look promising.

3) Medvedev Criticizes West in Tough Foreign Policy Speech – the usual Russian posturing, or the start of something new? Either way, “The EU and US have been warned”, apparently. Thanks for that, Dmitry! Meanwhile, the Financial Times urges standing up to Russia over Georgia – a much-ignored new Caucasian crisis that’s hardly getting any better, and Europe’s World has an article (promising-looking, but I haven’t had a chance to read in full just yet) on The EU, Russia and the crisis of the post-Cold War European order. From what I’ve seen so far, this looks like essential reading:

“The EU today cannot be described anymore as federalist state in the making – it is something much more complex and undefined. It resembles something closer to post-colonial India, with its mixture of languages, legal regimes, traditions and sensitivities, than it does post-War Germany or France. In the powerful metaphor of Jan Zielonka the post-enlargement EU is not a kind of Westphalia federation; it is more a kind of neo-medieval empire. There is no European demos and there probably never will be – but there is kind of European public. There are no final borders but moving borders and variable geometries. And it was Count Sergei Witte, Prime Minister under Nicholas II, who said there was no such thing as Russia, but only a Russian empire.”

• The Lisbon Treaty – 6 questions
  “My confusion exists on a whole bunch of levels. So bear with me as I try to disentangle them and lay them before you in a discrete manner, as opposed to the Escher-designed gordian knot made entirely of pan-dimensional moebius strips in which they curren
  (tags: EU Ireland)
• Interesting interview with a pro-multi-tier Barroso
  Spun to make it sound nasty and capture attention from the Eurosceptics whose eyes are now all on Ireland (“Irish veto could be ignored!” etc.), but it’s more interesting for confirmation that the EU is heading towards a multi-speed system
  (tags: EU Ireland)
• Cherie Blair’s firm hired to stop EU treaty
  Yawn… Maybe I should hire a lawyer to take the government to court for not implementing any number of other manifesto pledges? A pointless waste of time with no chance of success. Why do rich people waste taxpayers money on such things?
  (tags: EU Euroscepticism)
• Putin’s affair with a woman young enough to be his daughter: the newspaper that broke the story is shut down
  Well THERE’s a surprise.
  (tags: Russia)
• Brown deal bars Blair from top EU job
  Ah! Petty personal rivalries between grown men! Don’t you just love ‘em?
  (tags: Britain EU)
• Breaking the grip of Gazprom
  Nicely balanced, short and snappy overview of the single biggest challenge currently facing the European Union – Russia’s ever-growing dominance of European gas supplies. Read. Now.
  (tags: Russia EU energy)
• Serbia’s Tadic says he would choose Kosovo over EU membership
  Why are people such idiots? A tiny region with no economic worth vs. access to one of the world’s most successful markets. Can someone please explain?
  (tags: Serbia Kosovo idiocy)

• Coolest thing ever
  Not least because one of the engineers has the gloriously Pynchonian name Wayco Scroggin… (Yes US army prototype-Gundam robosuits have nothing to do with the EU, but I want one.)
  (tags: Random)
• EU parliament under fire for lack of transparency
  “If the two largest political groups oppose enhanced transparency arrangements it must be because they have something to hide”. Nice one, MEPs. Way to inspire confidence.
  (tags: EU)
• National positions on EU budget reform
  It’s up there with the CAP (largely because of the CAP) as one of the most difficult areas of the EU to reform, so what’s the current thinking on the way forward, and is there any chance of agreement?
  (tags: EU)
• Council of Europe Declares Unlimited Abortion an Unconditional Right for all of Europe
  At least, so claims an anti-abortion Christian group. Doubtless not quite that simple – but would be an important and overdue step in the right direction, towards overturning the outmoded dominance of medievalist Catholic doctrine
  (tags: Religion Civil_Liberties)
• Russia Expands Support for Breakaway Regions in Georgia
  Ah.. The Kosovo precedent! Looks like politics is being played in the Caucasus with South Ossetia and Abkhazia gaining support from Moscow – but Russian eyes are firmly on the Balkans and the planned new gas pipeline through Serbia
  (tags: Russia Georgia Serbia Kosovo Energy)
• How Will Berlusconi’s Return Affect EU, NATO, Trans-Atlantic Relations?
  Is Silvio planning to cozy up to Russia? It rather looks like it, what with Putin being the first foreign leader Berlusconi’s meeting with (today) since regaining the office of Prime Minister. A potentially very interesting development…
  (tags: Italy Russia)

• Irish MEP assaulted after Lisbon Treaty meeting
  It seems tempers are starting to flare in Ireland ahead of their referendum on the treaty. It seems I should look westwards for a change – especially as I’ve got a book review to do on the thing for the TLS by the end of the month…
  (tags: Ireland EU)
• Welcome to Berlusconi’s Italy
  “Let’s set up camps for jobless foreigners. You know, to concentrate them in one place so we can keep tabs on them. What would be a snappy name for such camps for concentration, I wonder?”
  (tags: Italy)
• And so the Barroso Commission starts to disband
  Yep – Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini, former Italian Foreign Minister during Berlusconi’s last government, looks set to head home as the Commission enters its final 18 months and they all start giving up on the thing.
  (tags: Italy EU)
• An appeal to slow down on biofuel
  I neither know nor care much about this, but it does strike me as silly to be burning food and encouraging deforestation in an effort to save the environment.
  (tags: EU environment)
• Even pro-EU federalists hate the CAP
  You know why? Because it’s the single most God-awful, indefensible part of the European Union, with so few redeeming features as to make it worthy of little beyond wholesale abolition.
  (tags: EU CAP)
• Russia: The New And Improved Single-Party State
  “Unified Russia is more than just a ruling party. It is the single reservoir of the country’s political, business, and bureaucratic elite.”
  (tags: Russia)
• More on the official confirmation of Putin’s new job, yesterday
  “Putin, 55, is set to become Russia’s most powerful prime minister ever, undercutting the presidency three weeks before he hands over”
  (tags: Russia)
• Deal to ease EU reliance on Russian gas
  Ah – now this is a promising first step. Even if it does mean having to rely on Turkmenistan. And even if we don’t yet have the pipelines to get the gas to us…
  (tags: EU energy Central_Asia)

• “The most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world” – maybe not
  “the picture for the EU is quite terrible. Bulgaria ranks lowest of the EU 27 – 68th place, below… El Salvador, Uruguay, Barbados, Tunisia, Egypt and Costa Rica” – what IS Bulgaria doing in the EU?
  (tags: EU Bulgaria)
• Could Slovakia screw the Lisbon Treaty’s chances?
  The vote’s already been delayed once… The Slovak government needs a 3/5ths majority (on a quorum, I believe) to pass the treaty – and the opposition are threatening to abstain en masse. Which would mean no ratification.
  (tags: EU Slovakia)
• Central Asia: EU Sees ‘Huge Scope For Cooperation’
  Interview with EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner on what the EU’s plans are for the strategically vital – yet decidedly dodgy – Central Asian region. Read between the lines, there’s some interesting clues.
  (tags: EU Central_Asia)
• Consolidated EU Lisbon Treaty
  Finally – the official consolidated treaty will be available from 15th April. This post from GrahLaw provides handy links to a bunch of other existing versions in various languages.
  (tags: EU)

• Most Danes want Euro
  Interesting shift in public opinion going on in Denmark, by the look of things. Are the Danes becoming less eurosceptic?
  (tags: Denmark economics Euroscepticism)
• Montenegro’s Vujanovic wins re-election
  “We’ll work together for our European future,” Vujanovic said, addressing a crowd of cheering supporters. “Montenegro belongs to the European Union, and we’ll join it.”
  (tags: EU Montenegro)
• The Financial Times on Italy ahead of the elections
  “sinking under a bloated public sector, over-regulation and crumbling infrastructure… It needs determined structural reform of the economy and political renewal. It does not look like it will get them” – nice…
  (tags: Italy)
• Is Iceland in danger of an economic meltdown?
  And is that the reason it was suggested they try to join the Eurozone a few weeks back, despite not being member of the EU? Economics, eh? Confusing – but this seems to do a good job of explaining the situation
  (tags: Iceland economics)
• Spain’s worst drought for a generation leaves water and comradeship in short supply
  Didn’t realise it was THIS bad: “The situation in Barcelona… could soon become critical. Water reserves there are at 19 per cent of capacity — they must be shut down when they reach 15 per cent because there is too much sediment”
  (tags: Spain)
• EU suffers defeat in banana wars
  It’s all far more complex than this short report makes it sound and I don’t pretend to understand the details but, as a rule, I’m in agreement with most things that further global free(r) trade – so well done World Trade Organisation. (I think)
  (tags: EU economics)
• Eurotunnel reports first profit
  About bloody time, you might think – it’s been going 22 years and the tunnel’s been open for 14. But it’s only a million euros (net). And is largely due to a bit of cunning restructuring. Will they manage to keep it up?
  (tags: economics)

• Who’s Your Candidate?
  “The campaign for a transparent and democratically elected President of the European Commission” – Hurrah! I’m sure that (for once) we can all agree this is a good idea. (via Our Kingdom)
  (tags: EU)
• Putin’s Mixed Signals Sidelining Medvedev
  “appearances matter… Putin has acted and spoken publicly in ways that have reinforced the impression that he intends to remain the country’s ultimate decision maker” – good overview, and some things I’d missed
  (tags: Russia)
• Turkey’s risk, Europe’s role
  Nice open letter on openDemocracy: “the credible prospect of EU membership was the best way to achieve a democratic and reformed Turkey which was in European interest”
  (tags: Turkey EU)
• Europe Splits Russian, US Presidents at Final Meeting
  Yep – that’s the old Cold War superpowers still arguing over how Europe should be carved up. Hurrah for progress!
  (tags: US Russia Europe)
• Who ‘Won’ The NATO Summit?
  “The initial post mortems on this week’s NATO’s summit in Bucharest are reminiscent of the old fable about a group of blindfolded men trying to identify the elephant in their midst” – sounds like a familiar argument (ahem), but worth making again
  (tags: NATO)
• Serbia and elections
  “There are many paths that Serbia can take after May 11 elections. None of them is painless, none of them is easy”
  (tags: Serbia Kosovo)
• UK backs Japan-Europe trade deal
  Good. Can we also get a deal on free movement of workers while we’re at it? (And not just because the missus is Japanese, honest…)
  (tags: UK EU Japan)
• Introducing Biffo, Ireland’s Taoiseach waiting in the wings
  Ireland’s had the same people at the top for so long, a handy intro to the new guy was just what I needed (even if I should already have known more about the guy).
  (tags: Ireland)
• Italy’s upcoming election: another parliamentary stalemate in the making?
  Another good, timely overview of what the hell’s going on, for those who like their politics complex and confusing
  (tags: Italy Elections)
• Forza Nederlandia!
  Looks like something’s happening in the Dutch Right – something that’s not being noticed while all attention is focussed on the more obvious controversies over Muslim-baiting movies
  (tags: Netherlands)
• Europe must redefine its relationship with the US
  Hurrah! – “greater realism must be injected into the European approach to the relationship… This does not mean rupturing the relationship: realism, acknowledged and wisely applied, will strength
  (tags: US Europe)
• To Be or Not to Be … a Member of the Eurozone?
  Tip-top look at whether or not the Euro could be in the process of replacing the US dollar as the world’s top currency. Even I (mostly) understood it, and I’m an economic illiterate…
  (tags: economics EU US)

• ‘Historic day’ in Cyprus as another border crossing opens
  Good stuff. But reunification will pose some difficulties without Turkish EU membership…
  (tags: Cyprus EU Turkey)
• Fitna review
  Finally saw this the other day, and agree wholeheartedly with this line from this review: “There is no new footage”. It’s tedious and says nothing new. Polemicists used to be original and entertaining, surely?
  (tags: Netherlands Culture)
• Berezovsky Blamed in Politkovskaya Murder
  Hardly surprising, as he was also blamed for Litvinenko’s murder. It’s highly unlikely that there’s any basis to the claims, what with Berezovsky being the Kremlin’s biggest foe, but still. Interesting article.
  (tags: Russia)
• The perils of three-legged races
  “The futile notion that Europe can be run by its top trio”
  (tags: EU France Britain Germany)
• Italian Elections 2008 – Coalitions and Parties
  “158 parties with 181 symbols have been admitted to the Italian electoral pageant” – yep, it’s time for yet another attempt to understand the hilariously complex Italian political scene. Great fun!
  (tags: Italy Elections)
• Power games in Brussels
  On the decline of the current Commission as it enters its final 18 months
  (tags: EU)