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Irish perspectives on European governance

Defense and the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU

As the Irish European Council presidency draws to a close, all eyes are on the big ticket items the Irish Government pledged to address: substantive progress on economic governance and banking union; jobs, growth and the single market; the MAFF; EU-US free trade; fisheries and agriculture reform and a host of others. Somewhat overlooked has been the issue of security and defence. The Irish presidency has worked tremendously hard to contribute to a positive momentum in the run-up to the dedicated Read more [...]

EU’s rich north benefits from the Eurocrisis

Various studies confirm that public and even official debate about "bailouts" has been badly mis-framed as a question of whether the better-off northern member states are willing to contribute their taxpayers' money to aid their struggling Eurozone partners. In fact, as reported today by Reuters, the richer countries have benefitted massively from the huge decline in their own borrowing costs in recent years, without having lost one euro through loans to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. In addition Read more [...]

EU shares responsibility for the mistreatment of migrants in Greece

Media coverage of the mistreatment of migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece has focused, quite rightfully, on the responsibilities of the Greek government -- both its duty to ensure that all individuals are processed according to legal guidelines and its duty to ensure their protection from violent abuse by vigilante gangs and even by public officials. This recent film highlights the Greek government's persistent failings in both regards. However, there is substantial evidence that the EU as a Read more [...]

Armaments, corruption and debt

A recent report found that “the governments of countries of lending countries – like Germany and France – are emphatic on the priority of [Greece] settling outstanding bills with arms suppliers…, while at the same time insisting on swingeing cuts in public spending and other austerity measures”, despite the fact that there is evidence of corruption in at least some such armaments contracts. This article from Irish Left Review argues that core country decision makers can legitimately be Read more [...]

European migration policy and the Greek crisis it is provoking

Greece is at the hard end of another European policy problem, related to austerity, but this time to do with immigration, and it’s turning into a serious human rights and humanitarian crisis. According to Europe’s border control agency Frontex, 93% of migrants to Europe came through eastern and central Mediterranean routes in 2011. With the tightening of the patrolling of Spanish and Italian access routes, most of these arrived first in Greece, with legal rights under the European Convention Read more [...]

Enough is enough — it’s time to sanction Hungary

The challenge of managing the EU's on-going economic crisis has distracted the Union from worrisome political developments within some of its member states. The worst offender here is Hungary, where the government has initiated legislative and constitutional changes and used political rhetoric and symbolic actions that are clearly incompatible with its obligations as an EU member to ensure democratic safeguards, respect for human rights and the rule of law. As such, the EU as a whole -- and the Read more [...]

The Europeanization of Military Training and Education

This guest post by Dr. Tamir Libel, currently a Non-Resident Fellow at the UCD Centre for War Studies, reports on research he conducted as a Marie Curie Fellow at the UCD School of Politics and International Relations in 2012-2013: In the aftermath of the Cold War, European militaries have drastically transformed national systems of officer education. Several have consolidated their military education institutions, which had once enjoyed considerable autonomy, into a new arrangement of National Read more [...]

Does the European Union need to become a community?

Analysts of European integration often contend that the European Union must build not only institutions but also an identity. Assuming that the Union cannot get by on (at any rate uncertain) popular perceptions that it is economically beneficial, they argue that only a shared sense of belonging to an overarching European communal unit could help Europeans develop the trust and commitments a democratic polity needs.   Accordingly, difficulties in the European integration process – the present Read more [...]

Will the Irish EU presidency get serious about political extremism in Europe?

We've all heard of Silvio Berlusconi's recent praise for Benito Mussolini on Holocaust Memorial Day. But he's not alone. The European Commission observes that political parties across Europe are seeking to win voters from extremist movements by borrowing their hate-filled language and imagery. And we know that these movements are growing. Have a look at this report on ethnic scape-goating in Europe, and at this comprehensive database on extremist movements active across Europe. Even national Read more [...]