EU FACES CONTINUED DIFFICULTY IN SECURING CASPIAN GAS (3/2)

By Aaron Brinckerhoff, European Affairs Editorial Assistant

Europe’s quest for gas from the Caspian Sea – by-passing the near monopoly supplier Russia -- continues to be dogged by failure to secure a single provider.  The planned Nabucco pipeline, which would run 4,000 kilometers, or nearly 2,500 miles, from eastern Turkey to Austria, has long been the EU’s chief hope of securing a reliable supply of natural gas from the Caspian region--Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Iraq. (The name Nabucco comes from the Verdi opera seen by the founding developers of the project.) For years, EU leaders and member states, along with successive U.S. administrations, have regarded this pipeline as crucial for Europe’s long-term security

Read more...
 

GREEK DEBT SUCCESS CONFIRMS EU COMMITMENT TO EURO -- DESPITE HARD ROAD AHEAD (2/23)

BY EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

Greece is the extreme basket case of the euro’s woes, so its apparent rescue from its creditors this week brought a sense of relief to people managing the crisis. The price of the breakthrough was costly both for private bondholders (in terms of their “haircut” in written-off bonds) and to the Greek people (who will have to bear even steeper cuts in payrolls and pensions).

Read more...
 

ON GREEK DEBT, “OWNERSHIP” OF THE ISSUES IS SPREAD TOO THIN (2/10)

After weeks of agonizing negotiations among Greek government officials, private lenders and other international creditors, the governing coalition in Athens has finally given approval to the latest round of austerity measures in order to receive a second bail-out – in time to meet its deadline for preventing a messy and potentially contagious default on its national debt in March.

Read more...
 

“MORALIZING CLICHÉS” ABOUT GREEKS MASK THE REAL STRUCTURAL DILEMMA (2/16)

Greece has had to bear the brunt of not only economic hardship but also relentless international criticism that the nation has a bloated public sector and an unsustainable social welfare system and is also beset by rampant systematic corruption and tax evasion.

Read more...