EU security: a multipolar Europe

Source: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

The European Council on Foreign Relations has published a major report on European security architecture called ‘The spectre of a multipolar Europe’, written by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard, with Jana Kobzova, Dimitar Bechev and Andrew Wilson. The report argues that Europe is becoming increasingly multipolar, and in danger of lapsing into separate spheres of influence. It argues that the US is no longer willing to engage in Europe’s internal security, and instead, the main actors – the EU, Russia and Turkey – must come together in a trialogue to build a new European security architecture. Turkey’s EU accession process must also be strengthened alongside recognition of its recent emergence as a credible regional power.

First State of the European Union address

In his first State of the European Union address before the European Parliament on Tuesday, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso gave a bright economic outlook and said the European Union today is in better shape than one year ago, not in the least as a result of Europe’s determined action. He indicated five major challenges for the Union over the next year: dealing with the economic crisis and governance; restoring growth for jobs by accelerating the Europe 2020 reform agenda; building an area of freedom, justice and security; launching negotiations for a modern EU budget; and pulling our weight on the global stage.

Washington Post interviews former UN climate chief

Source: Washington Post | by Juliet Eilperin

Until this month, Yvo de Boer served as executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the body that oversees international climate negotiations. After supervising the Copenhagen climate talks last year, a process he has called frustrating, de Boer suddenly announced in February that he would be stepping down. After nearly four years on the U.N. job (he describes it as “three years and 11 months,” but who’s counting?), he just started work as an adviser on climate change and sustainability at KPMG International in London. The Washington Post’s national environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin spoke with de Boer last week about leaving the United Nations, why he never kept Al Gore out in the cold and how President Obama has his brain in the right place.

A global China policy

Source: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

China, emboldened by the impact of the economic crisis on the West, is becoming a huge test for Europe’s foreign policy. If it doesn’t rethink its strategy, the EU will lose its already limited influence over Beijing. If it does, on issues ranging from climate change to the Dalai Lama, Europe can build coalitions with others affected by China’s rise, and take advantage of the few areas where it has real leverage.

World leaders welcome the Copenhagen Accord

Source: COP-15 Copenhagen | by Rie Jerichow

Despite its lack of targets to curb emissions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders agree to defend the new climate deal.

Backgrounder: U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

Today began the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. The United Nations Office in Washington DC has prepared a background note to understand what the conference is and its importance in the negotiations towards a new international treaty to fight global warming.

Climate change: UN Chief in Washington to lobby US Congress

Source: United Nations

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the United States to take a leading role in forging a new international pact to combat global warming, warning that the consequences of failure outweigh the cost of tackling climate change.

UN chief damps climate treaty hopes

Source: Financial Times | By Ed Crooks

A new international climate change treaty is very unlikely to be signed at the Copenhagen talks next month, Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, signalled on Tuesday, saying people had to be “realistic” about what could be achieved.

He said he hoped for a “very strong binding political commitment” that could be turned into a treaty in the first half of next year.