WASHINGTON — “Bush was right” is not a view frequently expressed in the New York Times.  But, there it was, in Thomas Friedman’s March 10 column:  “Former President George W. Bush’s gut instinct that this region craved and needed democracy was always right.”

Friedman was referring to the elections that took place this week in Iraq.  Marred by violence and delivering an outcome that is still unclear, the Iraqi elections have nevertheless been received as good news for democratic consolidation in Iraq.  They have been extensively covered in the United States, less so in Europe.  In the … Continue Reading…

It is official—China has emerged as the world’s reining export champion, dethroning Germany for the title in 2009.  China’s exports of goods totaled $1.2 trillion last year, slightly ahead of German goods exports of $1.1 trillion.  It was in 2003 when Germany knocked-off the United States for the top spot, although with China’s exports growing by a 20% compound annual rate over 1999-2009, China’s ranking has soared over the past decade.  The mainland placed number nine in the world in 1999 but vaulted to the top spot just a decade later. 

Predictably, the news of China’s export ascent has triggered a … Continue Reading…

Whatever its merits for rescuing European nations mired in crises, German finance minister’s 7 March proposal for a European Monetary Fund (EMF) provides an opportunity for Europe and the United States to get the future of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) right.

The IMF, a creation of the Bretton Woods accords of the 1940s, was saved by the crisis. Only a few years ago fading into obscurity in the thriving world economy, the global lender of last resort sprung back to business. By the fall of 2009, the Fund had committed over $160 billion in new emergency loans to such nations … Continue Reading…

VENICE — The Greek crisis is the product of decades of mismanagement in public finance, a lack of transparency, and the pitfalls of sovereign debt in an age of credit default swaps. But the resolution of this crisis and others of differing scale and kind besetting Portugal, Spain, and Italy (and Ireland and Iceland) will be laden with implications for the future of Europe and transatlantic geopolitics. These implications should be kept firmly in mind as politicians and officials grapple with a response – and they argue for a much stronger and faster reaction based on shared strategic interests.

First, the … Continue Reading…

BERLIN — “The King is dead.  Long live the King!” is a traditional proclamation made following the accession of a new monarch.  The same pragmatic approach was adopted by the EU Commission President when the new Ukrainian President visited Brussels Monday on his first official trip abroad: José Manuel Barroso, in welcoming Viktor Yanukovich as a “friend,” focused on the fact that his guest had been elected in a process that was free and fair and notably ignored the President’s past.

Today, Yanukovich is on his second official trip abroad — to Moscow. He won the Ukrainian election in the Russian-speaking … Continue Reading…

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — When Aleksander Lukashenko, the authoritarian president of Belarus, recently began a campaign to intimidate and punish members of the country’s disobedient Polish community, he opened a new front not only with neighboring Poland, but also with the EU as a whole.  That challenge must now be met head on.

Lukashenko knows how to play and is an effective self-made practitioner in international relations.  Having ruled with an iron fist over his country of 10 million since 1994, he is one of the longest-serving presidents in Europe and knows very well how to use internal and external conflicts to … Continue Reading…

The US is less engaged in the response to Greece’s crisis than it should be. For the US, and the EU, a role for the IMF would be good.

In recent weeks, the Greek debt crisis now embroiling European bond markets has been seized upon by conservative commentators in the United States as evidence of the troubles awaiting the US if it does not decisively cut government spending.

This use of Greece’s plight as yet another debating point in Washington’s ideological struggle over the role of the state in the economy short-changes the US’s long-term economic, security and foreign-policy interests in an … Continue Reading…

It is depressing and disheartening watching the Greek euro-crisis play out—depressing because Europe, yet again, is punching below its weight and disheartening since the euro crisis threatens to tear at the cohesion of the European Union. 

I f only the problems in Greece where contained to Greece.  They are not, of course.  The risks associated with the (in)solvency of Greece has rattled other heavily indebted euro zone members like Portugal and Spain, and cast a dark cloud over French and German banks, creditors with extensive debt exposure to Greece.  Juxtaposed against the ongoing financial stress in Greece, real growth in the Euro zone … Continue Reading…

BUCHAREST - In the historic beginnings of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, athletes would all carry olive branches to the Games as a symbol of peace.  While the actual olive branches are no longer an official part of the Games, to this very day the Olympics remain the quintessential expression of international cooperation, human development, and progress.  Vancouver, Canada is fundamentally synonymous with that traditional spirit of the Olympic Games.

Four years from now, the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, Russia.  Unlike Vancouver, Sochi, and the eastern Black Sea region where … Continue Reading…

Greece is one of the most important investors in the Balkans and most analysts are concerned that the financial crisis will have a spillover effect on the Balkan countries. Greece dominates the region’s banking sector with ownership or control of nearly 28 percent of the financial institutions. With almost 2,000 branches throughout the region, Greek-owned banks employ over 23,000 people. Furthermore, in most Balkan countries, Greek banks disburse more than 10 percent of the overall loans to citizens of the region. In Serbia, there are close trade linkages that could also be easily impacted by the crisis. More than 8,000 Greek … Continue Reading…