September 10, 2008
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
Better luck next time, Ukraine. One of these days the EU powers that be are going to realise that when you’ve got countries torn between a European and non-European identity, to keep on telling them “sorry, you’re not European enough … Continue reading
July 23, 2008
by Nosemonkey
6 Comments
It’s a question I’ve asked before, not least when the backwards Balkan oddity first joined. And now, finally, the EU powers that be seem to have noticed that, erm… letting in a notoriously corrupt, organised crime-ridden country with a dodgy … Continue reading
May 2, 2007
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on A Turkey mini roundup
Bloomberg and the Associated Press have good roundups of yesterday’s events – the constitutional court blocking ex-Islamist presidential nominee Abdullah Gul and all that, plus the various threats to re-write the constitution. The best place to start, however, is probably … Continue reading
May 1, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
(Hey, it’s May Day after all, and the fancy parades of Soviet military might are a thing of the past (oh yes, you still get them, but they’re nowhere near as cool) – I thought I’d get a bit of … Continue reading
April 14, 2007
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
One of my ongoing convictions about the worth of the EU is that its very presence, and the vague carrot of potential EU membership, can be a force for good in the lesser-developed states of the European fringe – following … Continue reading
April 3, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
It’s not just in Ukraine that things are happening. All around Europe’s eastern fringe, people seem to have become a tad unsettled by the onset of Spring. In fact, the most stable country on Europe’s eastern edge seems to be … Continue reading
February 13, 2007
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
OK, so what have I missed while I’ve been busy? The Centre For European Reform blog has been discussing the failure of the EU constitution and the need for a new kind of “pro-Europeanism”, in relation to that “Europe’s Story” … Continue reading
December 18, 2006
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
The BBC has a handy press summary of Europe-wide reactions to the EU’s mind-numbingly tedious and unproductive summit last week (which, like DJ Nozem, I simply couldn’t bring myself to pay any attention to, I’m afraid). EU Observer has a … Continue reading
November 28, 2006
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
Everyone’s focussing on the collapse of the talks about Turkish entry (Guardian, Independent, Times, Financial Times, Le Monde (in French), Le Figaro (in French), EU Observer, Deutsche Welle (German press review – in English), EurActiv) – but, let’s face it, … Continue reading
September 28, 2005
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Talking Turkey
(Sorry, my subbing skills seem to have gone out the window today – a truly terrible title…) Voting has been postponed on extending Turkey’s association agreement with the EU to the ten new member states, although the European Parliament has … Continue reading
December 15, 2004
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on “Politically incorrect, xenophobic, racist and who knows what else”
Nope, not the usual UKIP suspects, but – supposedly – European politicians’ real reactions to the proposed Turkish accession to the EU: Even after 40 years of attempts to get closer, Brussels and Ankara are still strangers. That could be … Continue reading