OK, so it’s time for another chapter of the Strategic Defence Review as a Blog.
Chapter 2 begins as follows:
The use of force as an option is becoming more complicated. It is likely to become more difficult to use force in the way in which we have used it in the last two decades.
This is of [...]

To anyone who wasn’t immersed in the finer details of the Treaty of Lisbon, January was a confusing month.  Lisbon was supposed to put an end to that rotating presidency of the European Union by establishing a permanent Council presidency headed by Herman Van Rompuy and a high representative for foreign policy, in which case [...]

In November of last year, an economic research paper appeared on the website of the European Commission’s Economic and Financial Affairs section entitled The euro: It can’t happen, It’s a bad idea, It won’t last. US economists on the EMU, 1989-2002.  It’s by Lars Jonung and Eoin Drea.  There are 2 ways to read it.

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How did we not blog this earlier? The Orient Express has made its last trip. In fact, this is one of those events that has happened and re-happened; the last train that actually made the trip from Paris to Istanbul/Sirkeci did it in 1977, and most people will now associate the name with the luxury [...]

Well first of all, a very Happy Xmas to any of you foolish enough to be reading tiresome posts like this one on such a special day as this - a tiresome post which simply starts by going into some nitpicking follow-up detail to my earlier post on ECB liquidity and monetary policy separation - [...]

The collectif antilibérale makes the excellent point that there is no problem with the appointments to the new jobs created by the Lisbon treaty. Two things will control their in-trays, after all - the first is the job of getting a major new institution, the EU external action service, operating and building up its credibility [...]

Not quite those Germans.
What’s happening in Romania, then? Handelsblatt reports. It’s time to pick a president, and the Social Democratic candidate looks in a strong position - although he finished second by a few points in the first round of the French-style presidential election, he’s got promises of support from several other parties, notably the [...]

It’s now clear that the Thierry Henry assist on the William Gallas goal last night is going to generate more commentary and interest than tonight’s filling of the new EU jobs (Council President, High Rep. for Foreign Policy, and Secretary General of the Council), but nonetheless, we could be stuck with these people for a [...]

It’s the 9th of November…so, in total observance of my usual standard operating procedures, let’s think about the European presidency, or as my wonderful, wonderful Soizick puts it, who’s going to get the job of being Tony Blair.
It looks a lot like the lucky girl won’t be Blair; the reason why is more interesting and [...]

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, after much hemming and hawing, signed the Treaty of Lisbon this afternoon. It is expected to enter into force on 1 December 2009. This success is undoubtedly the highlight of the Swedish Presidency, which made concluding ratification a top priority.
Prominent changes include more qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers, [...]