Europe Archive

It used to be said that the one thing an ambassador could always count on while serving in a foreign capital was good housing. For Iceland’s envoys in Washington, New York, London, Ottawa and Tokyo that will no longer apply — and the sooner the better, as far as the government in Reykjavik is concerned. As part of its efforts to repair Iceland’s devastated economy, the government has put the “For Sale” sign on all five embassy residences, in the hopes of raising at least $20 million. The plan to sell the 10-bedroom mansion that serves as the Icelandic residence […]

WPR Managing Editor Judah Grunstein and Will Ferroggiaro of the Fund for Peace discussed America’s priorities, the U.S.-European relationship and more in a July 6 discussion hosted by Bloggingheads.tv. Browse the discussion by topic at Bloggingheads.tv.

For a fleeting moment in early June, it looked as though Russia’s 16 years of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations were nearing a successful conclusion. After talks on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton told forum attendants that the country’s WTO accession should be completed by the end of the year. Russia’s chief WTO negotiator Maxim Medvedkov echoed her optimism, saying this was “a good window of opportunity” to join the organization. In the days that followed, some experts began looking forward to the nullification of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment with respect to Russia. […]

The Spanish National Criminal Court (Audiencia Nacional) said on Tuesday it was scrapping an investigation into a 2002 Israeli Air Force bombing in Gaza that killed a suspected Hamas militant and 14 civilians. The move comes just days after the lower house of the Spanish Parliament voted to limit the scope of a 1985 law that allows judges to investigate crimes against humanity anywhere in the world. Taken together, the developments mark a significant setback for advocates of universal jurisdiction, a legal concept whereby states can claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of […]

Found this via Sam Roggeveen at the Interpreter. (For those unfamiliar with the Interpreter, this farewell post by the Lowy Institute’s outgoing executive director is a fine introduction.) For whatever it’s worth, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been making noise about allowing French department stores to open on Sundays for a few years now. He just used Michelle Obama’s experience because he figured she’d make for a good marketing ploy. But he didn’t really think it through, because a great part of the Obama’s appeal is their down-to-earth image. Here, Sarkozy calls some of his VIP pals to get them […]

I think Matthew Yglesias is letting his desire to disagree with Michael Goldfarb get in the way of his judgment, because McDonald’s on the Champs Elysées is not “soft power.” And if “that kind of thing is the real strength of the United States of America,” it is a strength that reflects cultural hegemony, as Goldfarb implies, not influence. This gets to a growing misuse of the idea of “soft power,” which has to do with a nation’s ability to influence through attraction, not coercion. To begin with, the exercise of soft power for the most part resides in statecraft. […]

For years, Iran watchers and Iranian opposition leaders, most of whom are exiled in the West, have pointed to the discontent swelling below the surface of Iranian society. Evidence of Iranian discontent was visible in the country’s massive drug problem and in the sporadic protests born of economic hardship and rising unemployment. The huge popularity of the Persian blogosphere, used as a way around restrictions on freedom of expression, was another clear sign of the national mood. The question no one was able to answer was how to engage with that mood in order to unify the disparate visions for […]

The good news, if you’re an EU fan, is that the Czech Republic presidency mercifully came to an end starting today. From start to finish, it was a bumpy, amateurish ride, as this EU Observer wrap-up entertainingly illustrates. (The fun stuff starts about halfway through.) There were some accomplishments, although in typical EU fashion, it’s hard to tell how lasting they will be. The French obstructionism highlighted by the article might not raise eyebrows, since France already has the reputation of being arrogant with regard to the smaller and newer member states. But it contrasts with France’s support and assistance […]