In the past month, events in the long, drawn-out process toward the dissolution of ETA, the violent Basque separatist organization, have taken a surprising turn. On Dec. 28, ETA’s prisoners—more than 500 of whom are dispersed across prisons in Spain and France, vastly outnumbering the few dozen militants who remain in hiding—issued a statement in which they distanced themselves from armed struggle and recognized the suffering and harm inflicted by decades of violence. They also pledged to pursue their release from prison through the Spanish legal system, abandoning their old demand for amnesty. A week later came the turn of [...]
Although 2013 marked a respite for Europe compared to previous years, the relative calm underscored the degree to which strategic relevance remains hampered, economic recovery fragile and normality elusive. The implications, for Europe’s partners but also for its democracies, are significant. This WPR special report examines Europe’s international and domestic challenges. Foreign and Trade Policy Europe’s Struggle for Strategic Competitiveness, Part IBy Richard GowanNov. 25, 2013 Europe’s Struggle for Strategic Competitiveness, Part IIBy Richard GowanDec. 2, 2013 Ending the Pretense: Reinventing the Trans-Atlantic RelationshipBy Judy DempseyJune 25, 2013 U.S.-EU FTA Talks Chart a New Path for Global TradeBy Edward AldenMarch [...]
The Italian political landscape is slowly changing. In the past few weeks, major shifts have occurred in the leadership and structure of both the key parties of the left-right coalition that is supporting the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Developments in the center-right directly affected the size and composition of the parliamentary majority backing the cabinet. Due to his conviction for tax fraud, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was expelled from the Senate in late-November. Earlier that month, Berlusconi had decided to sink his People of Freedom Party (PdL) and relaunch Forza Italia, the movement of his 1994 political [...]
