Publications

The countries of the Western Balkans are moving on: from postwar reconstruction and stabilisation to consolidating democratic states, implementing economic reform, and preparing for EU accession. The EU has confirmed that ‘The future of the Balkans is within the European Union’, and all the states of the region now share that vision. Much can be learned from the Central and East European experiences of transition and integration, and the EU itself is better prepared than it was in the early 1990s.

Since the end of the Cold War, the armaments sector in the Visegrad countries has gone through an important downsizing process. Shrinking home markets and the disruption of the Warsaw Pact cooperation mechanisms have put defence industries in the region under enormous pressure.

While various summits in June have introduced several plans to promote political reform and cooperation in the `broader' Middle East, none of them is likely to change the desperate situation of that region. They amount to giving aspirin and applying small plasters to someone who has suffered from a heart attack. The Middle East's afflictions are so complex and serious that they need another kind of treatment

Ora che il polverone della conferma a José Manuel Durao Barroso si è posato, vale forse la pena soffermarsi un attimo su quanto è accaduto. L'esito del voto a Strasburgo non è stato certo un successo per il nuovo Presidente della Commissione, nonostante abbia raccolto qualche decina di voti in più rispetto a quelli previsti o annunciati: 413 Sì contro 251 No e 44 astenuti non rappresentano certo un mandato pieno e indiscusso, un'apertura di credito senza riserve.