by Marcus Walker, Charles Forelle and Brian Blackstone Monday, 27 September 2010 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL LISBON—On May 6, top officials of the European Central Bank were sitting down to dinner with their spouses in the elegant Emperor’s Room of the Palacio da Bacalhoa, a 15th-century estate and winery south of the Portuguese capital, when […]
by Kati Suominen Wednesday, 9 September 2010 GERMAN MARSHALL FUND BLOG WASHINGTON — In a move likely to please China, India, and Brazil, but force a confrontation with Europe, the Obama administration last month blocked plans that would maintain the current size of the board of directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is […]
by Andrew Small Tuesday August 10, 2010 THE GERMAN MARSHALL FUND BRUSSELS — As aspiring Middle East peacemakers descend on Washington this week, one absentee has already been noted. Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, chose to pass up dinner at the White House and instead pressed ahead with her trip to China, […]
by Ulf Gartzke Wednesday September 1, 2010 FOR ATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP Just a few days ago, German defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg presented five different reform proposals to restructure the country’s armed forces. Declining defense budgets coupled with increasing expeditionary demands on Bundeswehr forces around the world underline the case for fundamental reform of an institution […]