EU-DIGEST

EU must improve energy securit says EC report

The European Union must improve the security of its energy supplies with offshore wind turbines and gas pipelines to the Caspian region, according to a European Commission report. The 27-nation EU currently meets 54 percent of its energy needs with imports and its dependence on foreign sources has no chance of changing any time soon, according to a report the commission is to publish on Thursday.The report, obtained by AFP, singled out the EU's dependence on foreign gas as a particular cause of concern, with 61 percent of supplies coming from outside the bloc. Although the EU has a diverse range of gas suppliers including Russia, Norway, Algeria and other countries, some member states are particularly dependent on one supplier, as is the case with the Baltic countries and Russia.

Labels: Energy, EU, security

German Ministry of Foreign affairs protests mingling in EU energy security - by Vladimir Socor

According to German media reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Berlin has protested to the U.S. Embassy over an op-ed article by the U.S. Ambassador in Sweden, who criticized the Russo-German Nord Stream gas pipeline project on the Baltic seabed and other aspects of Russian energy policy in Europe. German business leaders such as Eggert Voscherau of BASF (the world’s largest chemical concern and a partner in the Gazprom-led Nord Stream consortium) and left-leaning politicians such as Martin Schulz (the Social Democrats’ leader in the European Parliament) in turn complained that the United States was now publicly opposing Nord Stream and in doing so was “destabilizing Europe.” Former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the chairman of the Nord Stream consortium, portrayed Russia as a fully reliable energy supplier and dismissed the need for a diversification of Europe’s supplies. Note EU-Digest: Despite protests from Georgia and other former Eastern European block nations the EU and in particular its member states Germany, France and Italy seem to be on the right track to align themselves with Russia in developing a common energy policy within an overall cooperative economic treaty.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

Labels: Alternative Energy Resources, Energy, EU

Labels: Energy, EU

GDF Suez to buy Dutch North Sea assets - by Rebecca Bream

Newly-formed French energy group GDF Suez said on Friday it was in exclusive talks to buy over €1bn worth of offshore oil and gas assets from a Dutch venture owned by Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil. The exploration, production and transportation assets are situated in the Dutch North Sea and includes stakes of between 30 and 60 per cent in five producing fields. Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (Nam), the Dutch venture, currently produces 3.3m barrels of oil equivalent per year from these assets.

Labels: Energy, EU, Netherlands

Labels: Energy, EU

Europe - A Hard Habit to Break, Even With Gasat $10 a Gallon - Elisabeth Rosenthal

Ten dollars a gallon may seem unthinkable to American drivers still smarting from the spike in gas prices to around $4 a gallon. But that was nearly the price that Marco Annarumi faced recently when filling his Jeep on his way home from work.Gas prices have persuaded some people to drive less. Traffic on the Eurostar train that links London and Paris was up 21 percent in the first three months of 2008. Gas purchases in Italy dropped 10 percent compared with the year before. Sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles have plunged across the continent, just as they have in the United States. But, at least so far, there are few signs of the wholesale shift away from current driving habits that environmental economists contend is needed for European countries to meet emissions control targets. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says meeting the targets is crucial if the world is to prevent the worst effects of global warming.

Labels: Energy, EU, Gasoline prices

Labels: Energy, Europe, Russia

Moscow transforms real-world game of RISK - by Shawn McCarthy and Matthew Campbell

In early 2002, some 200 U.S. Special Forces soldiers landed in the former Soviet republic of Georgia to train the Georgian army in anti-terrorism techniques, including how to protect a planned oil pipeline from secessionist or anti-Western saboteurs. With strong encouragement from Washington, Georgia was finalizing a deal with its neighbours, Azerbaijan and Turkey, and Britain's BP PLC to build a $3.9-billion (U.S.) pipeline from the oil-rich Caspian region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. The 1,768-kilometre, somewhat-circuitous route bypassed major U.S. rivals in the region, Russia and Iran, as well as Armenia, the traditional enemy of Turkey and Azerbaijan.It was part of the United States' effort to reduce Russia's dominance of the region's booming oil trade, and by doing so to encourage the development of independent-minded states on its rival's southern flank.

For more than a decade, Russia watched while the U.S. and Europe played the new “great game” of energy geopolitics in its own backyard. It was 10 years ago this weekend that Russia plunged into financial crisis by devaluing the ruble and defaulting on its mounting debt. With the Georgian invasion, the Kremlin has sent notice that it now controls the Risk board. And that it is willing to use its armed forces to back up what it regards as its national interest in neighbouring states. At stake is control over one of the world's most promising new sources of crude oil – one that could rival the impact of the North Sea a generation ago. The U.S., in particular, has worked strenuously to minimize Russia's influence over this energy development.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia, US

China seeks Caucasian crisis windfall - by M K Bhadrakumar

A geopolitical convulsion measuring six points on the Richter scale is bound to produce aftershocks. The reverberations of the conflict in the Caucasus are beginning to be felt. We may be unwittingly bidding farewell to the "war on terror". In any case, the international community has lost interest in Osama bin Laden. Rice is sure to try to rally European opinion and to make a strong pitch for Georgia's membership of NATO. But major European powers apprehend Moscow will take NATO's further expansion into the territory of the former Soviet Union as a grave provocation. If Washington succeeds in overcoming their reluctance, US diplomacy registers a signal victory. Moscow seems to estimate Europe may ultimately succumb to US pressure. Its decision to go slow on withdrawing troops from the Georgian hinterland needs to be seen in this perspective.

In real terms, Europe is competing with China for Russian energy supplies. This competition may begin to border on rivalry. According to the US Department of Energy, Europe's demand for gas will rise by more than 50% by 2025. There is simply not enough gas going for Europe to sidestep Russian supplies. (Russia already meets 30% to 50% of Europe's energy needs.)

Labels: China, Energy, EU, Russia

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

Labels: Energy, EU, Georgia, Russia

Weakness in the midst of Russia's strength - by Stefan Wagstyl

Ten years ago this month, the Russian financial crisis hit world markets. A decade later, everything appears to have changed. Russia is booming, its debts repaid, its foreign currency reserves climbing and its hotels full of Western business people. Russia's strongest card is its role as an energy supplier, notably to the European Union. But energy is a double-edged sword. The EU relies on Russia for over 25 per cent of its gas, but Russia depends on the EU for over 60 per cent of its gas revenues. Poor east European countries without suppliers are vulnerable, but not the EU as a whole.

Labels: Energy, Russia

France calls on gas-consuming countries to club together

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said European countries should club together to give them greater bargaining power in their negotiations with gas suppliers such as Russia. At a time of soaring energy prices, 'we believe it would be better to strike a common stance in Europe,' Kouchner told a joint news conference with his Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik. 'Russia negotiates with us as if Europe didn't exist. They negotiate on a one-on-one basis which is understandable but not to our advantage,' he said.

The idea of a European gas purchasing centre, as proposed by the previous EU president Slovenia and taken up by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would fit in with this, Kouchner argued, pointing out that such a facility already existed in the area of electricity. Note EU-Digest: This is an excellent idea and could also be applied in other areas related to energy supplies.

Labels: Energy, EU, France, Russia

Labels: Energy, EU, Germany

The way we see it - The energy crises

These days Europeans and most other people around the world feel they are getting soaked of every last penny from their government and big business on fuel prices. The question is who is right here and who is wrong, or is everyone to blame? The recent testimony of Big Oil executives on the US Capitol Hill is a classic case-in-point of the charade going on about energy and oil prices. Government policy spinners from both the left and the right marketed this hearing to the US public as a "stern interrogation" of those mainly responsible for the US’s rapidly deepening energy crisis. Afterwards the whole testimony turned out to be a dog-and-pony show. Despite the big oil corporations’ record profits, their pursuit of price gouging probably explains no more than 10 percent of the current price of gas at the pump. So, probably the whole focus on the oil companies, ruthless as they may appear to be, is simply a distraction.

Labels: Energy, Oil Prices, World Economy

Europe Joins 'Lights Out' for Earth Hour

From Rome's Colosseum to the Sydney Opera House, floodlit icons of civilization went dark Saturday for Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to highlight the threat of climate change. The environmental group WWF urged governments, businesses and households to turn back to candle power for at least 60 minutes starting at 8 p.m. wherever they were. The campaign began last year in Australia, and traveled this year from the South Pacific to Europe in cadence with the setting of the sun. Several U.S. cities also planned symbolic blackouts or dimmings of monuments, including at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. "What's amazing is that it's transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea," said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour. "It really seems to have resonated with anybody and everybody." Earth Hour officials hoped 100 million people would turn off their nonessential lights and electronic goods for the hour. Electricity plants produce greenhouse gases that fuel climate change.

Labels: Economy, Energy, Environment, EU

Russia's Raid On BP Raises Energy Questions - by Heidi Brown and Christopher Helman

A raid on the offices of BP and its Russian partner TNK-BP in Moscow has heightened concerns that the Kremlin is set to launch a new round of efforts to wrest control of Russian oil fields from private hands. In tandem with the raid on Wednesday, authorities took into custody two brothers, Alexander and Ilya Zaslavsky on charges of industrial espionage and for "illegally gathering secret commercial information for the benefit of several foreign oil and gas companies, in order to give them advantages over Russian competitors."

The brothers, who are American citizens, reportedly were released on Friday but told not to leave the country.

Labels: Energy, Russia

Europe idle as US battles meltdown - by Ambrose Evans - Pritchard

It is the first time since the Great Depression that the US Fed has stepped in directly to absorb credit losses, crossing a line deemed unthinkable just months ago. The dramatic late-night move on Sunday required dredging up Article 13 (3) of the Federal Reserve Act, which allows the Fed to shower money on almost anybody it wishes by a vote of five governors in "unusual and exigent circumstances".Jean-Michel Six, chief Europe economist at Standard & Poor's, said the Europeans were in no mood to rescue America. "There is monetary war going on. The ECB view is that Fed is a victim of its own mistakes and should pay for its past crimes. Frankly, they don't see why they should be cutting rates when inflation (3.3pc) is accelerating," he said.

There are now echoes of October 1987 when the German Bundesbank (and therefore Europe) refused to ease monetary policy, even though the dollar was in freefall and Wall Street was fragile. The spat was the backdrop to the Black Monday crash.

Note EU-Digest: The ECB is on the right track, the problems of the US economy are of the US her own making. If the ECB cuts the interest rates in Europe, inflation would rise and Europe's economy would also spiral into disaster.

Labels: Britain, Christianity, Energy, EU, EU Economy, euro, France, Gas Supplies, Healthcare, Iraq war, Islam, Italy, Romance, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex Appeal, Turkey, US, US Economy

Average gas price for Europe could rise to $400 in 2008 says Gazprom

Gazprom's CEO said on Friday that the average price for natural gas for Europe in 2008 could reach $400 per 1,000 cubic meters, 13% more than previously expected. "The price in Europe now exceeds $370. We believe the average price in 2008 could be $378 and could even reach $400 per 1,000 cubic meters," Alexei Miller said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Miller said the price hike was necessitated by the weakening U.S. dollar. However, he said the price increase would not affect the growing demand for natural gas on the European market. "Gazprom supplied 151 billion cubic meters of gas to the EU in 2007, and we plan [to ship] 157 billion cubic meters in 2008," he said.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

EU report warns of conflict with Russia over energy issue - by Jamie Smyth

A report on security challenges to the EU will bluntly warn the union's summit next week that Europe could face conflict with Russia over access to energy reserves in the Arctic and a dangerous surge in immigration due to the impact of climate change. And the report warns that the EU must address the reality that fragile states in Africa, Asia and the Middle East will be much worse off due to severe food and water shortages, which are likely to spark regional conflicts and humanitarian disasters. The warnings are contained in the report, Climate Change and International Security, from the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the commission to the EU leaders' meeting next week in Brussels.

It argues that climate change threatens to "overburden states and regions which are already fragile and conflict prone" and urges a radical rethink of EU policies to better protect its own political and security interests. The paper warns that competition over water and food supplies will fuel existing conflicts in Africa and intensify political instability in the Middle East where two-thirds of the Arab world rely on water sources outside their borders.

Labels: Conflict, Energy, EU, Russia

Dependence on Russian gas worries some – but not all – by David Francis

A month after Russia cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine for the first time in 2006, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the European Union – which gets 40 percent of its gas from Russia – needed to develop a common energy policy over the next 15 years to guarantee supply security. At the same time, Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, along with its German partners E.On and BASF-Wintershall, were deciding on "Nord Stream" as the name for a pipeline that would make Germany heavily dependent on Russia for energy for decades to come. Two years later, rumors of a common European energy policy are again circling Brussels. Russia rattled the European Union this week when it cut Ukrainian shipments by half, prompting Ukraine to threaten –briefly – to siphon Russian gas sent to Europe via Ukraine. Gazprom announced Wednesday that it was resuming full shipments.

the general sentiment in Washington toward dealing with Russia and Gazprom was perhaps best summed up at a recent talk in Washington by James Woolsey, who served as CIA director under former President Bill Clinton. "If you meet a really smart, articulate 45-year-old guy at the Noga Hilton bar in Geneva, and he says he's with Gazprom and he'd like to talk to you about a joint venture in some part of the world, he might be what he says he is," Mr. Woolsey said. "He might be a Russian intelligence officer under commercial cover. He might be a senior member of some Russian organized-crime family. And the really interesting thing is that there's a pretty good chance that he's all three, and that none of those institutions have any problem with that at all."

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia

Russian energy ties with Iran send U.S. a message - by Simon Webb and Amie Ferris-Rotman

As the United States warns the world away from business with Tehran, Moscow's tightening ties to Iran's energy sector underline Russia's differences with Washington over Iranian nuclear plans and Kosovo's independence. While the timing of Moscow's announcement on Tuesday may have been political, the deal for Russian state-controlled energy giant Gazprom to take on big new Iranian oil and gas projects was a long time in the making and dovetails with Gazprom's strategic ambitions, analysts said. Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer, will play a larger role in developing Iran's giant South Pars gas field and will also drill for oil. "The Russian government and the United States are at loggerheads over how to engage with Iran, with Russia actively favoring a more open relationship," said Ronald Smith, chief strategist at Alfa Bank. "This makes Gazprom rather indifferent to American policy wishes."

Labels: Energy, EU, Iran, Russia

Russia, Serbia Close Ranks as EU Mulls Next Move

In the presence of Tadic and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia's state-controlled oil concern Gazprom and Serbia's NIS signed an agreement granting Gazprom control of 51 percent of the Serbian company for 400 million euros ($586 million). On Thursday, the current holder of the EU presidency, Slovenia, said the bloc hoped to sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia on closer integration "in the coming days." But an SAA could be delayed as the Netherlands and Belgium are blocking such a step until alleged Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladic is handed over to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

Labels: Energy, EU, Russia, Serbia

Bulgaria signs deal on new pipeline to Europe

Bulgaria has signed a deal with Moscow to join a major new pipeline project to bring Russian natural gas to Europe on the second day of a visit that Russian President Vladimir Putin used to lobby hard for the deal. The pipeline would deal a blow to European hopes of reducing dependence on Russia as an energy source amid fears in Brussels that Moscow is acquiring too much economic leverage over EU members. Speaking after the signing in Sofia, Putin said the deal will benefit European consumers by assuring new energy supplies. "I want to particularly stress that the construction of this new infrastructure does not mean a decrease in our cooperation with other transit countries," he said. "The creation of new routes ensures security, increases stability, and creates new transit capabilities for the growing supplies of energy resources to European consumers."

Labels: Bulgaria, Energy, EU, Pipeline, Russia

Russian president Vladimir Putin is expected to sign the agreement for South Stream gas pipeline during his visit to Bulgaria on January 17 and 18 2008. The South Stream gas pipeline, to be built by gas giants Gazprom of Russia and ENI of Italy, will deliver Russian gas to Austria, through its northern arm, and to Italy, through its southern. South Stream pipeline will be 900 km long and its annual capacity is expected to be at least 30 billion cu m of gas. The project will cost between 10 and 12 billion euro.

Labels: Bulgaria, Energy, EU, Gas Supplies, Russia

US Economy Crises - energy costs: Gasoline prices to go up to $ 4.00 per gallon in 2008 - Steve Geisi

After a record-smashing year with oil peaking at $99 a barrel in 2007, a triple-digit world of crude oil awaits in the coming year, energy experts say. Trading below $51 a barrel less than 12 months ago, crude prices hit their first in a fusillade of all-time highs in July and never looked back. While some blame the frothy crude market on speculation rather than the simple rules of supply and demand, the only force that managed to slow prices down at all this year was fear of an economic slowdown, as oil fell below $90 a barrel just weeks after hitting a record. But as the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates and moved to inject liquidity into the financial sector, oil prices have been creeping back as 2007 draws to a close. With its price spiking so quickly, the impact of record crude has yet to fully filter through the economy, but that's expected to change next year. Gasoline prices, which have held at about $3 a gallon for much of the year, could rise to about $4 a gallon in the new year, for example. About 54% of a Barclays survey of 150 commodity investors expect the average price of oil over the next five years to top $100.00. Eric Bolling, an independent oil trader at the Nymex, said conditions that led to a record-breaking year will likely persist over the next 12 months at least. "It's a weak dollar, it's a strong global economy, it's China growing quickly at 13%," he said. "It's been a perfect storm for a commodity bull run. That's going to continue to go. There's no signs of its slowing down, by any means." He sees oil ranging from $60 to $120 a barrel next year, with spikes as high as $130 or more in the case of a major hurricane or geopolitical flare-up.

Labels: Energy, Gasoline prices, US, World Economy

Group Touts Energy Saving vs. Renewables - by Jochen Luypaert

The European Union should focus on increasing energy efficiency rather than on promoting renewable energy if it wants to keep its industrial base and tackle climate change, a major EU business confederation has said. "By saving on the use of energy, we'll keep our industrial base in Europe which is important for jobs and growth," Ernest-Antoine Seillière, president of BusinessEurope - a Brussels-based business confederation representing 20 million European companies - said on Monday (26 November).

Labels: Energy, EU

Dutch court allows Srebrenica lawsuit against UN, Netherlands to proceed

A court in the Netherlands ruled Tuesday that the families of approximately 8,000 Bosnian Muslims who were killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC timeline; JURIST news archive] can proceed with their class action lawsuit [JURIST report; case backgrounder] against the United Nations and the Netherlands filed June 4, according to lawyer Marco Gerritsen, who represents approximately 6,000 family members of victims in the lawsuit. Gerritsen said the court ruled the case can proceed in spite of the UN's claim of immunity [JURIST report; press briefing transcript] under Article 2 Section 2 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations [PDF text], which says that the UN's property and assets "shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process except it has expressly waived its immunity." The thousands of Srebrenica survivors who filed the lawsuit allege that both the Netherlands and the UN are liable for their failure to protect civilians, many of whom were refugees that relocated to the Srebrenica enclave declared [S/Res 819, PDF] to be a "safe area" by the UN Security Council in 1993.

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

E. Africa bloc signs interim trade agreement with EU

Five East African countries agreed a new trade deal with the European Union on Tuesday, weeks before a preferential trade pact is due to expire, EU officials said. Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi -- which form the East African Community trading bloc -- and the European Commission inked an interim deal, covering goods and fisheries. The move was a step towards a new Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) covering issues such as services and investment to be reached by mid-2009, the Commission said.

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

Number of New HIV Cases in European Union Nearly Double Since 1999, Report Says

The number of new HIV cases recorded in European Union countries has nearly doubled from 28.8 cases per one million residents in 1999 to 57.5 cases per one million residents in 2006, according to a report released on Friday by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, BBC News reports. More than 50% of cases are through heterosexual transmission, although men who have sex with men are at higher risk of infection, ECDC said (BBC News, 11/23). The EuroHIV data, published in ECDC's journal Eurosurveillance, found that in 2006, a total of 86,912 new HIV cases were reported across 50 of the 53 countries of the World Health Organization European Region. A total of 26,220 cases, or 30%, reported in E.U. countries, according to the data. The average rate of new HIV diagnosis across Europe is about 111 cases per one million residents, and the rate among countries in the European Union is 67 cases per one million residents (ECDC release, 11/23). According to the report, the number of HIV cases is continuing to rise in non-E.U. areas of Europe, with 288 cases per one million residents in Ukraine and 275 cases per one million residents in Russia (BBC News, 11/23). The data indicate that former Soviet countries had the highest number of new HIV cases in 2006, primarily because of drug use, Reuters reports. Former Soviet countries reported 59,866 new HIV cases in 2006, which is more than all of the new cases in Western and Central Europe combined (Reuters, 11/23).

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

UK broadband network 'lagging behind the rest of Europe' - by Gary Cleland

The broadband network needs urgent improvement or it will fall behind the rest of Europe, industry experts have claimed. Telecommunications leaders said internet access needed a faster broadband network to cope with rising demand for services. They claimed at a Government-organised summit that the flagging network could be left behind by other countries. Almost nine out of 10 British internet users connect via broadband yet they have to put up with some of the slowest broadband speeds in Europe - worse than Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

EU to get its own GPS system: Galileo to be partially funded through EU farming subsidies

Following months of disagreements, the EU has reached a funding compromise and resolved the crisis around its Galileo satellite navigation system. Two thirds of the missing 2.4 billion euros will be provided from EU farming pots alone. This was announced by the Portuguese Chair of the European Council in Brussels on Friday night following more than 12 hours of budget negotiations for 2008 by the EU Ministers of Finance or their representatives. Germany could not uphold its reservations against fully funding Galileo from the EU budget, reported EU diplomats. Berlin didn't want to put the EU's long-term financial plan on the line, which runs until 2013. According to German Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrück, the German government was also apprehensive of straining its national budget by an additional more than 500 million euros. European Commissioner for Financial Programming and Budget Dalia Grybauskaite spoke of an "important decision". As she had suggested, farming subsidies would for the first time be used to improve the EU's competitive position. The current Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Portuguese State Secretary of Finance Emanuel Augustos Santos, said that farming subsidies had not been exhausted this year, and that therefore nothing would be taken away from anybody.

Unlike the US system GPS, the European Galileo satellite navigation system is intended mainly for civilian purposes. It was initially planned to be available this year. The planned start has been postponed to 2013. Apart from the European Union, both China (COMPASS) and India (IRNSS) plan to launch their own satellite navigation systems into the earth orbit. The Russian GLONASS system is planned to be fully functional again from 2009.

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

Dollar down, euro up, so what - by John M.Berry

The U.S. dollar is still at the center of the world's financial system, and its importance isn't fading in the face of exaggerated claims to the contrary.Nevertheless, the dollar continues to dominate foreign-exchange markets, U.S. financial markets are the world's deepest and most liquid, and Treasury securities remain the globe's premier risk-free investment. And, of course, the US is a market second to none, to which foreign companies supplied more than $2.2 trillion worth of goods and services last year.

Labels: Britain, China, Elections, Energy, EU, France, Immigration, Iran, Netherlands, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex, Trade, US

A New French Revolution - by Fareed Zakaria

In an essay in the current issue of The American Interest, Brookings scholar Philip Gordon writes that Sarkozy might well be able to make France a larger player in the world, "punching above its weight," the way Tony Blair did during the 1990s and early 2000s. Blair, and Thatcher before him, were able to create a new image for Britain and made the country a modern world power. But that transformation rested on the revival of the British economy, which became a symbol of success in a globalized age. France currently ranks 18th in the World Economic Forum's annual competitiveness rankings. That's not bad, but it is nowhere near commensurate with the place that the French imagine for themselves in the world.

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Ukraine - Shell terminates MoU Ukraine Deal, confirms Regal

Shell has terminated a Memorandum of Understanding covering interests in Ukraine signed with oil explorer Regal Petroleum last week, Regal said Monday. “The company is considering its options for the development and commercialization of its Ukrainian assets,” said Regal this morning. The agreement with Shell over a sale of a 51% stake in its Ukraine interests was announced last Wednesday.

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Archbishop of Canterbury says "US is‘worst’ imperialist - by Abul Taher

In a wide-ranging interview with a British Muslim magazine, the Anglican leader linked criticism of the United States to one of his most pessimistic declarations about the state of western civilization. He said the crisis was caused not just by America’s actions but also by its misguided sen