In his analysis of the informal EU summit at Hampton Court Palace, the European Policy Center’s Political Director John Palmer says the Union’s leaders faced a complex set of intertwined issues - ranging from globalisation and economic reform, to trying to agree on a new seven-year budget and how to find the money to boost Europe’s flagging innovation, research and development - every bit as daunting as the ancient palace maze. At the end of the day, they seemed to have moved closer to the exit but were still clearly capable of getting badly lost again.
The EU’s enlargement to the East has been an economic success. Trade between the old and the new members is thriving. Foreign investment by West European companies has helped to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in Central and Eastern Europe, and it has generated multi-billion euro profits for the investing companies. Workers from Poland, Hungary and elsewhere have plugged skill gaps in those EU countries that have opened their labour markets. Money from the EU budget is flowing into the East’s poorest areas. Even East European farmers – previously the region’s most ardent eurosceptics – are much happier now that they can sell their goods to the whole EU, and have at least some access to EU farm subsidies.
Politically, however, the EU has not digested the accession of the ten new members.
Frustrated with lacklustre momentum in the WTO Doha Round and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and mindful of free trade agreement (FTA) networks centered on the United States and Europe, Asian countries have joined the FTA game. By 2005, Asian countries (excluding China) had ratified 14 bilateral and regional FTAs and had negotiated but not implemented another seven. Asian nation are also actively negotiating some 23 bilateral and regional FTAs, many with non-Asia partners, including Australia, Canada, Chile, the European Union, India and Qatar. However, a regional Asian economic bloc led by China seems distant, even though China accounts for about 30 percent of regional GDP.
On October 11th, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a letter between two senior al Qa'ida leaders, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, that was obtained during counterterrorism operations in Iraq. This lengthy document provides a comprehensive view of al Qa'ida's strategy in Iraq and globally. The letter from al-Zawahiri to al-Zarqawi is dated July 9, 2005. The contents were released only after assurances that no ongoing intelligence or military operations would be affected by making this document public.
The theme of this pamphlet is global economic change and its impact on Europe; not just on the European Economy –on employment levels and standards of living- but on how European Union now develops. It is often said that in the new world of global economic change no country or continent, whatever its success now, can take its future prosperity for granted: and that not just nations, but continents, will rise and fall depending upon their ability to adapt to global change. This pamphlet central argument is that the policies relevant to this new global Europe will be different from those appropriate to the Europe of the trade bloc era. But, just as Europe successfully met the challenges of building a post-war prosperity from the ruins and devastation of war, we believe Europe can now develop the policies necessary for prosperity in the new global era.
The Pew Hispanic Center is dedicated to improving understanding of the diverse Hispanic population in the United States and to chronicling Latinos’ growing impact on the nation. The Center conducts nonpartisan research on Latino trends in demographics, economics, education, immigration and identity, and its polls and nationwide surveys explore Latino attitudes on public policy issues as well as their beliefs, values and experiences. This report was originally published as a chapter in Trends 2005, a Pew Research Center reference book that examines current developments and long term trends on issues such as politics, religion and public life, the media, the internet, the Hispanic people, the states, and national and global public opinion.
What are the priorities for your government in CFSP in 2005? What are the key issues for your country in 2005 (especially with regard to the negative referenda on the Constitutional Treaty in France and the Netherlands; after the recent EU enlargement and on behalf of the perspective of the upcoming accession round(s))? Research paper by Esther Barbé, Member of the Scientific Council of the Elcano Royal Institute, and Laia Mestres
The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic. With maps and regional summaries, the 2005 edition provides the most recent estimates of the epidemic’s scope and human toll, explores new trends in the epidemic’s evolution, and features a special section on IV prevention.
Recent terrorist attacks in England, Iraq, Turkey and elsewhere, as well as the anniversaries of 9/11 four years ago and of the Beslan school massacre last year have all been stark reminders that the fight against terrorism must remain high on the Alliance’s agenda. Terrorism has not always figured so prominently among NATO’s security concerns (NATO Review, Autumn 2005)
The themes of the 2006 Global Economic Prospects (GEP) are international remittances and migration, their economic consequences, and how policies can increase their role in reducing poverty. The GEP explores the gains and losses from international migration from the perspective of developing countries, with special attention to the money that migrants send home. The report also considers policy initiatives that could improve the developmental impact of migration, with particular attention to remittances.
After reaching annual average growth rates above 2% last year, economic activity in the euro area and the EU has been more subdued this year, but is expected to return to potential at the beginning of next year. The main factors behind the outlook include an accommodative macroeconomic policy mix, benign financial conditions, wider profit margins, a weaker nominal effective exchange rate and a robust global environment. Over the forecast horizon, the recovery is underpinned by an acceleration in domestic demand, with a slight stimulus in net terms from the external sector.
The countries of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, guided by the principles and objectives of the Barcelona Declaration, are united in the struggle against terrorism. The threat that terrorism poses to the lives of our citizens remains serious and terrorist attacks seriously impair the enjoyment of human rights. We remain determined to strengthen co-operation and co-ordination to respond to this global challenge. Today, we reiterate our total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it and to combat its sponsors.
