Menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

Europe

 

Moving times in Ukraine

May 2008 – Ukraine is undergoing profound change and is grappling with the challenge of finding its place, and identity, in Europe. Read on

 

Hell hath more fury

March 2008 – Why is it so many people seem to be hell bent on silencing others? Neither should the Quran be banned nor the film attacking it. Read on

 

Diversity, not adversity

March 2008 – Turks in Germany have found themselves at the centre of a squabble as Ankara and Berlin exchange blows over ‘integration’. Read on

 

Wisdom, not intelligence

February 2008 – Britain needs political wisdom more than the intelligence services to prevent terrorism on its shores. Read on

 

An uncertain future

January 2008 – The year that was: As an enlarged EU searched for a raison d’etre, Belgium spent much of this year struggling with its own identity crisis. Read on

 

Where the Sun never shines

November 2007 – The Sun is urging its readers to ‘say no to a United States of Europe’. But whatever the tabloids think, EU integration is good for Britain. Read on

 

Villains of the pax

October 2007 – A controversial anti-Islam demonstration in Brussels, slated for September 11, has descended from tragedy to farce. Read on

 

War of words at the heart of Europe

September 2007 – The collapse of talks to form a federal government is testing Belgium’s legendary capacity for political compromise to the limit. Read on

 

Our ecomonic alchemy

August 2007 – JK Rowling’s billion-dollar success is certainly awe inspiring, but has she earned too much money? Read on

 

A Christian jihad?

August 2007 – Many in the West fear the threat posed by political Islam. But there is a more ominous menace closer to home. Read on

 
A history of violence

July 2007 – British-born ‘jihadis’ have been wreaking havoc at home and abroad for generations, lured by a heady mix of idealism, romance and rebellion. Read on

 

Testing times

June 2007 – Across Europe, the real challenge when dealing with minority groups is not integration but marginalisation. Read on

 

A war on error

June 2007 – It is time to dispel the myths surrounding Muslims – namely, that we are all terrorist anti-feminist teetotallers. Read on

 

A war on error (2)

June 2007 – It is time to dispel the myths that conservative Muslims often propagate about 'the west'. Read on

 

Madrid II: towards a civil peace in the Middle East

November 2006 – Prompted by the dire situation in Gaza, Spain, France and Italy have floated an unexpected Middle East peace drive. This initiative will almost certainly join other similar aborted road maps and peace plans slowly decaying in the graveyard of international diplomacy. What the EU needs to do is to abandon the deadlocked political level and organise a high-profile Madrid II conference targeted at civil society to set in motion a ‘people’s peace process’. Read on
 

How I learned to start worrying and hate the bomb

November 2006 – With North Korea’s recent nuclear test and Iran’s suspected nuclear designs, Khaled Diab explains why he learned to start worrying and hate the bomb and suggests how the proliferation of nuclear weapons can best be arrested – and reversed. Read on

 
Using a carrot and stick for peace

September 2006 – Given the fragile situation in Lebanon, the pledge by EU member states to provide troops to police the UN-backed ceasefire was well-timed. However, to avoid a fresh crisis from erupting, Europe will have to aid efforts to forge lasting peace in the Middle East. Read on

 

Crisis in Lebanon and Gaza –

From complete failure to comprehensive solutions

July 2006 – Israel’s massive onslaught against Lebanon – and before that Gaza – reveals a monumental failure on the part of the international community to prevent an avoidable tragedy. Now it is up to the European Union to avoid a replay of 1982 and revive the idea of a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Read on

 

Dutch government limps on

July 2006 – The ruling Dutch centre-right coalition has decided to limp on to early elections in November after shooting itself in the foot with its hardline immigration policy that almost cost one of its parliamentarians – the controversial Ayaan Hirsi Ali – her Dutch nationality. Read on

 

Out but not down

May 2006 – Caught between a rock and her own hard line, the outspoken Ayaan Hirsi Ali is being stripped of her Dutch nationality and has been forced to give up her seat at the Dutch parliament following allegations of identity fraud. Read on and readers’ comments

 

The EU’s new Palestine dilemma

February 2006 – It may be better for the EU to provide more carrots and fewer sticks for Hamas, writes Khaled Diab. Read on

 

Graven images and poor reflections

February 2006 – It is perplexing that a few crude cartoons can spark an international crisis overshadowing war, political oppression and economic and social injustice. It has hurt the image of Muslims and reflects poorly on their tolerance, while unmasking the uglier face of western prejudice. Read on

 

Abuse freedom and we all lose

February 2006 – It is not freedom of expression that is under threat, but the right to human dignity, argues Tom Kenis. Read on

 

Will Mubarak let Egypt’s people pick a president?

April 2005 – Citizens of the Arab world’s largest country have been promised the chance to choose a replacement for their long-serving president. But not everyone is convinced that Egyptian democracy will run smoothly. Read on

 

Turkey and Europe must get ready to go back to the future

April 2005 – Turkey’s rich history is no bar to its EU membership bid, argue Katleen Maes and Khaled Diab. Read on

 

Islam and Europe: Clash and mash

April 2005 – Khaled Diab and Katleen Maes examine the myths driving anti-Islamic fervour in the EU. Read on

 

Time to rethink the EU’s role in the Middle East

January 2005 – If Yasser Arafat’s death is to signify anything more than the symbolic start of a new era, the European Union must radically rethink its role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to persuade the two peoples to work towards a new dawn. Read on

 

Commission wants closer EU-Israeli ties

January 2005 – The European Commission and the EU’s former envoy to the Middle East have both come out in favour of enhancing economic and political ties with Israel. But critics question the wisdom of extending a policy of good neighbourhood to a country that has done little to make the neighbourhood a safer place to live. Read on

 

Home truths about the home secretary

October 2004 – David Blunkett – like his boss – is growing blind to what his party stands for. In fact, some of the home secretary’s recent pronouncements have sent a chill down Khaled Diab’s spine. Read on

 

Union backing for landmine campaigner

September 2004 – The European Union has taken up the case of a leading Bangladeshi civil society figure who has been held without charge for several weeks and whom, human rights groups fear, may be the victim of torture. Read on

 

Why I want to live in an EU superstate

August 2004 – The idea of an EU superstate gets Khaled Diab’s vote. He thinks Europeans should stop thinking in terms of ‘national sovereignty’ – keep the culture, drop the rest. Read on

 

Libya’s rocky road to reconciliation

May 2004 – Spectacular diplomatic coups have been flying out of Tripoli in recent months, leading some to call it Muammar Gaddafi’s own ‘perestroika’. Read on

 

Arab world and African nations both struggle for EU-style unity

March 2004 – As the European Union prepares to expand eastwards, it success in achieving security and prosperity through economic integration has become an example for the rest of the world, yet Arabs and Africans are finding it tough to forge their own regional blocs. Read on

 

Alternative peace plan for Middle East ‘should be put to the people’

Katleen Maes and Khaled Diab

February 2004 – THE Middle East peace juggernaut stalled before taking the first turn along the EU-backed road-map. But prominent European politicians came out recently in favour of an alternative peace plan. Despite the ongoing cycle of violence and political inertia, Israelis and Palestinians are embracing other avenues to peace – and the EU should aid them in their quest. Read on

 

Why anti-religious dress codes are no road to liberty

February 2004 – The French government has proposed a law that will ban Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in school. Such a ban will not help the cause of multicultural tolerance in the EU. Read on

 

A church wedding

November 2002 – Marriage is truly in the air. With Europe’s economic union more or less consummated, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and his Convention on the Future of Europe have been drawing up the prenuptials for a prospective political union. Read on

 

EU sticks with Middle East road map amid uncertainty

November 2002 – The collapse of Israel’s ‘national unity’ government, following the exit of the Labour Party, has sparked fears in EU corridors that a hardening of Israeli politics could further endanger the prospects for a peaceful resolution of the two-year-old bloody conflict with the Palestinians. Read on

 

€500 million Euro-Med project 'does not go far enough'

October 2002 – A €500 million-per-year initiative to boost development in the EU’s 12 Mediterranean partner countries has been welcomed, but experts fear it does not go far enough to prepare the Union’s volatile southern flank to become a free trade area by 2010. Read on

 

The price of war

October 2002 – Whether or not Iraq, after more than a decade of ‘containment’ and sanctions, poses a threat to the United States and its allies, any military action would most likely have serious economic and political ramifications for Europe. Read on

 

Greece accused of human rights violations

September 2002 – Amnesty International has accused Greece of flouting European humanitarian law by employing police brutality and torture in its treatment of detainees, particularly asylum-seekers and minorities. Read on

 

Commission takes tough stance against illicit drugs production

September 2002 – The European Commission has drawn up proposals for stringent new regulations aimed at combating the growing profusion of illicit drugs by targeting the production and distribution of dual-use chemicals, known as precursors. Read on

 

African Union starts life as EU hits 50

August 2002 – Last week witnessed the quiet passing away of one successful exercise in cooperation and the hopeful birth of another. As the European Coal and Steel Community's 50-year mandate expired, the African Union (AU) emerged from the ashes of the 39-year-old Organisation of African Unity. Read on

 

EU urged to back 'clean energy' drive

August 2002 – Greenpeace is urging the EU to go to Johannesburg armed with stricter targets and to weigh in behind radical proposals to promote ‘clean’ energy. Read on

 

Fischler ‘surprise’ choice as greenest commissioner

July 2002 – Agriculture chief Franz Fischler has emerged with flying colours as the surprise choice of NGOs as the ‘greenest’ member of the European Commission. Read on

 

Tropical diseases ignored by companies

July 2002 – The patent-busting battle to get affordable generic AIDS drugs to millions of HIV-positive people in the developing world has received wide publicity. The statistics for AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are startling: in some countries, two out of every three adults are HIV-positive. Read on

 

Cure needed for sick man of Europe

July 2002 – The European drug industry is looking on with rising alarm as its American rivals pull further and further ahead in the innovation stakes. Pharmaceutical firms blame over-regulation in the EU for fuelling a competitive crisis in an increasingly hostile global market. Read on

 

Is parallel trade a malaise or cure?

July 2002 – As the EU prepares to expand eastwards, new battle lines are being drawn in the confrontation over national price-setting for prescription drugs - and in the cross-border parallel trade it engenders in the light of free movement of goods across the single market. Read on

 

Pfizer buys Pharmacia

July 2002 – The world's largest pharmaceuticals firm, Pfizer, has agreed to acquire rival US drug company Pharmacia for a reported 52.5 billion euro in stock, raising speculation that the fragmented industry will be seized by merger-mania as other companies try to survive tough competition and the slowing pace of innovation. Read on

 

EU and NATO ‘not told’ in advance of Spanish invasion

July 2002 – Spain’s premier José María Aznar failed to inform the European Union and other key allies in advance of yesterday’s (17 July) military offensive to regain a disputed Mediterranean island, European Voice has learned. Read on

 

Israel says EU should stay out of Middle East peace process

July 2002 – The European Union should confine itself to supervising reforms in the Palestinian Authority rather than trying to play a central role in Middle East peace talks, according to a senior Israeli cabinet advisor. Read on

 

Airline industry set to find more turbulent skies ahead

July 2002 – Europe's embattled commercial airline industry is currently navigating some rough skies. It has been mounting a concerted effort to reverse the knocks it took following the Twin Tower attacks in the US last autumn, which sent the global travel industry reeling. Read on

 

Budget carriers soaring on back of ‘aggressive drive’ to boost demand

July 2002 – While the European aviation industry as a whole has been reeling from the fallout from 11 September and the slowdown in the world economy, budget airlines appear to have bucked the trend. Read on

 

Single sky proposals fly in face of union opposition

July 2002 – The European Union is flying ahead with plans to launch a unified European air traffic control system which, advocates say, will improve efficiency and safety in the Union's skies. Read on

 

Single sky plan gets boost from transport MEPs

July 2002 – The European Parliament’s transport committee has backed ‘single sky’ proposals to create a unified European air traffic control system, despite protests from unions that the initiative compromises safety for profit. Read on

 

Air safety tops agenda after crash

July 2002 – Last week’s tragic mid-air collision over Germany has propelled air safety to the top of the agenda at tomorrow’s (12 July) meeting of Eurocontrol, the 31-member intergovernmental air safety body has said. Read on

 

MEPs wrap up vote on tougher ‘green’ packaging standards

July 2002 – The European Parliament’s environment committee has backed a two-pronged scheme that would oblige manufacturers to make their packaging more environmentally friendly. Read on

 

Greece rights concern

June 2002 – A coalition of human rights groups from Europe and the Mediterranean has criticised Greece for its handling of detained asylum-seekers and called on the EU to help ensure that Athens complies with Union and international accords. Read on

 

Leave rights charter alone, experts warn

June 2002 – The EU should not toy with the idea of revamping the Charter of Fundamental Rights as it would open a “Pandora's Box” of complications and be politically counter-productive, experts at a forum warned this week. Read on

 

Sharon court ruling clears the way for possible Brussels invitation

June 2002 – A war crimes case against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon alleging his complicity in the 1982 massacre of around 1,000 Palestinians in Beirut has been thrown out by a Belgian appeals court, opening a possible new window for an EU peace drive. Read on

 

‘Don’t pander to prejudice’, urges report

May 2002 – The European Union needs to do more to counter the increasing ‘demonisation’ of Muslims and asylum-seekers, which has fuelled a wave of Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments since 11 September, according to two new reports. Read on

 

Israel may seek extradition of Palestinian militants in 2003

May 2002 – Israel may seek the extradition of 13 Palestinian militants exiled to Europe in an EU-brokered deal once their initial year-long period of asylum expires, according to high-level Israeli diplomatic sources. Read on

 

'Flexicurity' key to future of EU, social experts tell forum

May 2002 – The European Union needs ‘flexicurity’ – a balance of labour market flexibility and social security – to be competitive and face up to the challenges of enlargement. Read on

 

Barcelona limps on despite Middle East crisis

April 2002 – Eleventh-hour diplomacy salvaged this week’s gathering in Valencia of European and Mediterranean foreign ministers, seeking to ensure that economic and political cooperation is not derailed by the Middle East crisis. Read on

 

Plea for more help in Middle East

April 2002 – Israeli human rights groups have voiced grave concerns to the European Union over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories. Read on

 

Pro-Palestinian groups take demonstration to streets of Brussels

April 2002 – Thousands of protesters descended upon Brussels' EU district on Sunday to show solidarity with Palestinians as Israel's military crackdown in the occupied territories raged into its second week. Read on

 

EU and Syria trade pact delayed

March 2002 – A dispute over trade barriers has resulted in this week’s scheduled talks on the association pact between the European Union and Syria being postponed until mid-April. Read on

 

EU needs ‘resolute’ Middle East stance

March 2002 – Europe must have a clear position on the Middle East and use its political and economic clout to help the region out of its current impasse as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates, say academic experts from Europe and the United States. Read on

 

Attack the machinery, not the machinations

March 2002 – MEPs and some of the UK’s top stars have petitioned Egypt’s president to pardon 23 men allegedly jailed for their sexual orientation. For the sake of even-handedness and to garner public support, the campaign must call for the release of all political prisoners and the dismantling of Egypt’s two-decade-old emergency laws. Read on

 

The gains and pains of free trade

April 2002 – The successful launch of the physical Euro has fleshed out Europe’s aspirations for economic integration and many hope it will pave the road towards political integration. Meanwhile an increasingly divided Middle East slips a notch closer to war as one “bloodiest week” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict replaces another. Read on

 

Libyan oil fails to grease the wheels of normalisation with the US

August 2001 – The United States is having trouble whipping up support amongst even its allies for its unilateral sanctions against Libya after the United Nations suspended embargoes against the oil rich North African state when it handed over two Libyan suspected of involvement in the 1988 bombing of an American airliner. Read on

 

 

 

 

ã2006 K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website is the copyright of Khaled Diab.