The European Council is the institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the general political direction and priorities of the Union.[1] It comprises the heads of state or government of EU member states, along with its President and the President of the Commission.
European Council - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The current Finnish presidency over the Council has financed a report on Foreign Relations. Allthough this report does not represent the Official view of the European Council, many figures have contributed to the report like:
- Sweden's Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt
- Finnish Foreign Minister, Alexander Stubb
- Javier Solana, 1995-1999 NATO Secreatry General
- Joschka Fischer, 1998-2005 Foreign Minister of Germany
- Nobel Peace Prize holder, Martti Ahtisaari
The thank-you list of the authors of the report is long, I just listed some which are well-known to a wider audience. These were people who were given drafts of the report and gave back advice, comments and engagement to the report authors.
The content of the report itself was provided by interviewers of each EU member state, each of whom carried out a number of interviews with security elites about their perceptions of security risks for their respective country.
The report tries to equalize the situation in Europe to that of the USA on a global scale.
The report simply argues, that Europe is not monolithic, but increasingly becomes multi-polar, with Russia and Turkey becoming emerging poles for the security of the continent.
Between the triangular equatation lies a grey zone, which is pictured by the fact that since the dissolution of the Soviet Empire there have been more nation-states destroyed and established in Europe then in the De-Colonization era of Africa.
There are 15 new states in Europe, 4 unrecognized and yet others who would like to join them.
Russia is referenced as a nuclear-superpower and an independent pole, Turkey as a state which is an emerging pole in the periphery of core Europe (Balkans and Middle-East) which profits from the systemic power-shift in Europe and Middle-East.
The risk the report sees is an increasingly competition of those 3 poles over the former states of the Soviet-Union and ex-Jugoslavia. The bad sceanrio is an "axis of the excluded" between Russia and Turkey.
The report has been summarized (loosely) by The Economist
European security: The spectre of a multi-polar Europe | The Economist
The original report is 68 pages
http://ecfr.3cdn.net/d294639d029f24c751_ilm6y7pbp.pdf
An observation:
This report is EU-centristic. Kumbaya EU will deepen integration over the years.
If you want to read a scenario (more likely) where EU itself is dis-integrating, here it is:
(usmb.com thread)
http://www.usmessageboard.com/the-middle-east-general/120851-geopolitical-trends.html
European Council - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The current Finnish presidency over the Council has financed a report on Foreign Relations. Allthough this report does not represent the Official view of the European Council, many figures have contributed to the report like:
- Sweden's Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt
- Finnish Foreign Minister, Alexander Stubb
- Javier Solana, 1995-1999 NATO Secreatry General
- Joschka Fischer, 1998-2005 Foreign Minister of Germany
- Nobel Peace Prize holder, Martti Ahtisaari
The thank-you list of the authors of the report is long, I just listed some which are well-known to a wider audience. These were people who were given drafts of the report and gave back advice, comments and engagement to the report authors.
The content of the report itself was provided by interviewers of each EU member state, each of whom carried out a number of interviews with security elites about their perceptions of security risks for their respective country.
The report tries to equalize the situation in Europe to that of the USA on a global scale.
The report simply argues, that Europe is not monolithic, but increasingly becomes multi-polar, with Russia and Turkey becoming emerging poles for the security of the continent.
Between the triangular equatation lies a grey zone, which is pictured by the fact that since the dissolution of the Soviet Empire there have been more nation-states destroyed and established in Europe then in the De-Colonization era of Africa.
There are 15 new states in Europe, 4 unrecognized and yet others who would like to join them.
Russia is referenced as a nuclear-superpower and an independent pole, Turkey as a state which is an emerging pole in the periphery of core Europe (Balkans and Middle-East) which profits from the systemic power-shift in Europe and Middle-East.
The risk the report sees is an increasingly competition of those 3 poles over the former states of the Soviet-Union and ex-Jugoslavia. The bad sceanrio is an "axis of the excluded" between Russia and Turkey.
The report has been summarized (loosely) by The Economist
European security: The spectre of a multi-polar Europe | The Economist
The original report is 68 pages
http://ecfr.3cdn.net/d294639d029f24c751_ilm6y7pbp.pdf
An observation:
This report is EU-centristic. Kumbaya EU will deepen integration over the years.
If you want to read a scenario (more likely) where EU itself is dis-integrating, here it is:
(usmb.com thread)
http://www.usmessageboard.com/the-middle-east-general/120851-geopolitical-trends.html
