http://www.project-syndicate.org/about_us/rss en 05:45:40 22-Mar-2010 webmaster@project-syndicate.org http://www.interglacial.com/rss/about.html http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer47/1 Europe’s leaders – first and foremost Germany and France – must act quickly to defuse the Greeck crisis. Doing so will not come cheap, and therefore will entail substantial political risks, but, given a global economic environment that promises scant sustainable growth in the coming years, things could get very tough very soon for the euro zone if they do nothing. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer46/1 Frustrated by immobilism and corruption, Europe has turned away from Ukraine – a stance that could turn out to be a significant mistake. After all, Europe and Russia meet in Ukraine, and its fate will not only be a crucial factor in defining European security, but will also play a substantial role in future European-Russian relations. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer45/1 Just before Christmas, Serbia’s government formally submitted its application for EU membership. The reaction in Europe was deafening silence - a silence that the EU simply cannot afford, given the potential of Serbia's membership bid to bring about a successful and permanent reorganization of the Balkans. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer44/1 Those who are grappling with the Afghan riddle today should consider, first and foremost, the regional realities: can the West afford to withdraw? If not, we should stop discussing an “exit strategy” and get on with the business of attending to the neighborhood's many crises while stepping up out military presence and reconstruction efforts in the Hindu Kush. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer43/1 Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on November 9, 1989, many revolutionary consequences of that night lie behind us. But the real era of upheaval lies ahead, as 400 years of eurocentrism draw to a close and the limits of our planet's capacity to sustain the demands we place on it are reached. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer42/1 The secret of Angela Merkel’s election victory in Germany was to secure a majority for the center-right in order to pursue, more or less, a center-left policy agenda. While her new coalition will make some policy corrections that serve important constituencies and economic supporters, there will be no clear-cut change in policy direction. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer41/1 Iran is in the process of wasting the biggest historical opportunity the country has had since the revolution of 1979, and perhaps even in the last hundred years. This opportunity is called Barack Obama. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer40/1 Great speeches are all too often underestimated as being mere words, when, in fact, they can have powerful consequences. This is obviously the case with President Barack Obama’s recent address to the Muslim world in Cairo, because – mere coincidence or excellent timing? – things in the Middle East have been in flux ever since. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer39/1 Ever since the beginning of the global meltdown last September, Germany's government has focused almost exclusively on national crisis management, rebuffing all attempts at a European approach. Add to this the tensions in Franco-German relations, the blocking of a common EU gas market, and close cooperation with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, and the worries about Germany multiply. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer38/1 In today’s global economic crisis, the image of a black swan has become a symbol for the seemingly impossible that somehow occurs, turning the world upside down. There is another such crisis looming - climate change - and the solution to both should be linked. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer37/1 On the banks of the Rhine and in Prague, NATO and the European Union will pay homage to the new American president in early April. There will be pretty pictures and lofty speeches on the future of the transatlantic relationship – in other words, business as usual as the two sides continue to drift apart. http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fischer36/1 Amid this worst crisis since 1929, America has opted for a truly new beginning with the election of Barack Obama, and is now in the process of reinventing itself. By contrast, Europe, under the pressure of the crisis and its own internal contradictions, threatens to revert to the national egoism and protectionism of the past.