Blogposts by Tag: defence

  • The future is always beginning now...

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    Rating: 3.8/5 with 5 votes

    Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 10:12
    by markus.austria Join PES activists in EU in the world (1102 views and 1 comments)

    In my post I would like to adress the following questions as proposed in the discussion paper (available at the top of this page or here):

    2. What sort of UN reform should the EU propose?
    I think that - in the longterm - the UN Security Council should be replaced by the UN General Assembly as the central decision making body within the UN umbrella. To this end, I think it will be necessary to elect UN representatives in direct elections to arrive at a sort of 'world elections' in a manifestation of the supremacy of democracy over other, more exclusive forms of government.
     
    4. How should the EU work efficiently with NATO?
    I think we should think about developing military structures on a European level outside NATO in order to indenpendently carry out missions covered by the Petersberg tasks and the UN. Also, I think the EU member states actively engaged in the NATO should press the US to restrain from engaging private contractors in conflic regions (keyword: Blackwater).
     
    8. What actions should be undertaken by the EU to achieve the UN Millennium Goals?
    I think that the sole establishment of a headline number, such as 0.7 percent of GDP spent on Development Aid, will not be sufficient to face the challenge of economic (and social!) prosperity in... read more

    Tags: activists, Africa, defence, democracy, development, multilateralism, peace, poverty, UN

    File: PES manifesto consultation.pdf


  • Le choc militaire avec la Chine

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    Rating: 2.7/5 with 3 votes

    Published Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 12:10
    by BenoitFabre in EU in the world (1223 views and 1 comments)

    Nous sommes embourbés dans quelques pays du Tiers-monde : Afghanistan, Irak, Kosovo, où nous déployons le maximum de nos capacités déportables sans succès.

    Imaginez un instant que la dictature chinoise paranoiaque, qui n'est pas en voie de démocratisation par l'économie, mais ressemble plutot à un virus mutant, aie une poussée de fièvre militariste, contre Taiwan tout d'abord, puis contre le Vietnam, la Corée et le Japon, sans parler de ses rivalités avec l'Inde. Que serions nous en mesure de faire ?

    Je rappelle que la Chine nous tient en nous jouant les uns contre les autres dans la compétition économique, qu'elle a acheté les meilleurs sous-marins soviétiques, qu'elle peut faire exploser en vol nos satellites espions, qu'elle a 3 millions d'hommes sous les drapeaux complètement fanatisés, que sa population est nationaliste car ignorante des enjeux internationaux, donc prête à une longue et dure guerre. Et nous ?

    Pour moi, la nouvelle doctrine anti-dictature devrait englober une vaste alliance OTAN_bis:USA+Europe_PESD+Russie, alliée à l'Inde, au Japon et à la Corée du Sud. Il y a urgence à ne pas s'endormir sur nos lauriers, et à décripter le véritable langage de rapport de force de la dictature chinoise.

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    Tags: China, defence, Russia, USA


  • German young social democrats: Vote for disarmament!

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    Rating: 3.8/5 with 8 votes

    Published Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 14:36
    by Editor in EU in the world (1277 views and 2 comments)

    Here is an opinion from Jusos – the German social democratic youth organization:

    Slowly but steadily the European Union has been finding its role in the world by shaping a common EU foreign policy. More and more tools have been developed and policies defined.
    However, Brussels is running the risk of loosing sight of one of its main origin: control of arms! The central objective of the European Cool and Steel Community at the very beginning was to make war unlikely by controlling and restricting the resources needed for weapons. Arms control and disarmament were two dominant goals on the European level to further foster peace and stability.

    Today, disarmament and arms control do not seem to play a major role on the European level any more. The European Security Strategy from 2003 does not even mention "disarmament" once. The European discussion on US plans of establishing missile defence systems on EU soil had only been half-hearted by most actors. And instead of being committed to stop weapons flow into conflict regions, the EU opened up an Armament Agency in order to coordinate and improve its own weapons production being already one of the biggest exporters in the world.

    We hope that the

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    Tags: conflict, defence, disarmement


  • manifesto2009 barometer: EU in the world II

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    Rating: 4/5 with 2 votes

    Published Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 09:57
    by Editor in EU in the world (1271 views and 0 comments)

    The debates on the theme 'EU in the world' continue on a speedy track. During the last month a lot of progressive view-points and ideas have been aired - also on the international responsibilities of the EU and of each and every European citizen. Here’s an account of the debate since the last 'EU in the world' barometer:

    A more transparent and accountable EU foreign policy
    A new debate has been started by social democratic European foundations on the need to have a more transparent and more accountable EU foreign policy. The aim is to ensure that European citizens are aware that, besides the gaps that are always highlighted in the news headlines, the EU is quite successful in its external policies. More democratic control is also required, including through the European Parliament.

    Development - a focus on brain drain and decent work
    Participants are concerned about development as a crucial aspect of the EU’s external activities. Brain drain is a key issue, with Scandinavian PES activists considering that knowledge sharing, education, and brain drain must be given a lot of thought in EU development and foreign policies. The PSOE proposal... read more

    Tags: barometer, decent work, defence, democracy, fair trade, Russia, UN, USA


  • Foundations debate 'EU in the world' in sunny Sofia

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    Rating: 3.8/5 with 5 votes

    Published Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 10:52
    by Editor in EU in the world (1322 views and 2 comments)

    Social democratic European foundations are working hard to contribute to a PES manifesto based on progressive values. The first meeting of the European Network of Social-Democratic Foundations (ENSoF) took place on 29 March 2008 in the beautiful city of Sofia, under the coordinating wing of the Institute for Social Integration of Bulgaria, to debate issues related to the manifesto theme ‘EU in the world’.

    There was a general agreement on the need to have a more transparent and more accountable EU foreign policy, in order to ensure that European citizens are aware that, besides the gaps that are always highlighted in the news headlines, the EU is quite successful in its external policies - for instance in its projects and missions in Eastern European countries. Discussions addressed the need to reinforce strategic partnerships with key international actors such as the United States and Russia. A strong and independent European security and defence policy was viewed as a way to ensure the EU can act alone, even militarily, when required, even without the support of the United States and of NATO – but always in full respect of international law. Representatives of the foundations agreed... read more

    Tags: defence, disarmement, Middle East, multilateralism, neighbours, Russia, security, USA


  • Anti Missile Shield in Europe: More of an insecurity provider?

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    Rating: 4.2/5 with 5 votes

    Published Friday, October 12, 2007 at 10:22
    by Editor in EU in the world (1641 views and 3 comments)

    Minimum wagesThe United States plan to build an anti missile shield in Europe has been at the centre of a heated debate ever since the defense strategy was first proposed. The White House has invited Poland and the Czech Republic to deploy a shield that will counter long range missile threats from states with weapons of mass destruction.

    The defense system has sparked intense debate among the European Union, the United States and Russia. According to opponents, it creates division, destabilizes regional and international balances of power and weakens international efforts to disarm. An even bigger concern is that the missile shield could trigger a new arms race in Europe or create tensions with other nuclear powers.

    The missile shield raises many issues in relation to European security. It will protect several EU states, but definitely not all. Right now the US is seeking to negotiate with Poland and the Czech Republic on a matter that concers the security of many other European countries. Who should have the ultimate say on this issue; the countries hosting the missile shield or all countries concerned by it? Should the defense programme be discussed within the EU - or in an even more international forum, NATO, since Russia is also concerned...

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    Tags: defence, disarmement, security, USA


  • More global responsibility, please!

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    Rating: 3/5 with 2 votes

    Published Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 10:32
    by Editor in EU in the world (1614 views and 0 comments)

    Almost 90 percent of Europeans want the European Union to play a bigger role globally, according to a recent poll by the US German Marshall Fund. euobserver.com repeat that citizens call for more money to developmental aid (84 %), the use of trade to influence other countries (74 %) and sending troops for peace-keeping missions (68 %).

    Committing troops to combat missions is near the bottom of the list. Only 20 percent of Europeans thinks combat operations should be EU’s responsibility.

    In contrast to the clear-cut conclusions on global responsibility the question about collaboration with the US splits Europe in two: a little more than half, 53 percent, feels that the EU should cooperate closer with Washington in dealing with global threats, whereas 43 percent prefers Europe to address threats independently.

    The survey included about 13.000 people of 12 nationalities: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

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    Tags: aid, conflict, defence, development, globalization, human rights, peace, poverty, security


Shared content by Tag: defence

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    Opposing US Missile Defence: A European perspective

    Published Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 15:24
    by Asynjen in EU in the world ( comments)

    CND public meeting Tuesday 22nd of at 7pm in the Grimond Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, London SW1. Speakers include Lubomir Zaoralek MP, Czech Social Democratic Party, Shadow Foreign Minister; Peter Kilfoyle MP, former Defence Minister; Jon Trickett MP; Jeremy Corbyn MP and Kate Hudson, CND Chair.

    CND is short for Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The organization campaigns non-violently to rid the world of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Read more on www.cnduk.org

    http://www.cnduk.org/pages/nmd22jan.pdf

    Tags: defence, security, USA