The Balkans – A Little Local Difficulty?
It was a “little difficulty in the Balkans” in the summer of 1914 that resulted in the deaths of 16 million European soldiers by November…
EU
In the Balkans, the Power of a Name
Greece and Macedonia appear to be inching toward a settlement on a decades-long dispute over who owns the name “Macedonia.” But with nationalism in both…
The Year That Was – 2017
Where to start on a subject encompassing so much it’s impossible to fit it all in? – A month – a country? OK- January –…
Britain and Europe’s Messy Divorce
A divorce can be nasty business. In most cases, one party wants to leave and the other party wants them to stay. In some cases,…
Brexit and the Irish backlash
Talks about a future commercial relationship between the EU and Britain have (at least temporarily) imploded, with both shuffling awkwardly to make the announcements. Even…
Things We Lost In The Mire…. 48
EGYPT/RUSSIA – The 2 countries have agreed a draft 5-year agreement permitting each other’s military planes to use one another’s air bases. Egypt’s government has…
Britain and Europe: Who Needs Whom?
Brexit has so far proven to be an excruciating game of political volleyball between London and Brussels. In the recent past, Prime Minister Theresa May…
Poland Challenges the European Identity
I am writing this from a hotel room in Warsaw, surrounded by memorials to Frederic Chopin, the great Polish composer and champion of self-determination for…
Things We Lost In The Mire – 38
IRAN/KURDS – The Iranian military launched military exercises near the Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday, the day before the region’s independence referendum. Iran, which has a…
Ciao, Brexit
With Theresa May due to deliver a significant Brexit statement in Florence on the 22 September, John Bleasdale looks at Britain’s decision to leave the…