Tag: Denmark

Rebooting the Franco-German Engine: Two Post-election Scenarios

Post author By Fabrizio Tassinari
Post date 20/06/2017
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*Courtesy of VasenkaPhotography/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)*

This article was originally published by the Danish Insitute for International Studies (DIIS) on 15 June 2017.

Rebooting the Franco-German locomotive of European integration is a key condition for reviving the fading EU project. Compromises will have to be made on fiscal and defence policies, and it is unclear whether the parties have the political capital necessary.

The election of pro-European Emmanuel Macron as president of France has reignited hopes that the so-called Franco-German engine, providing political impetus to European integration in the past decades, might be revived. While Macron’s election proved a rebuke to the populist challenge, it remains to be seen whether and how it will manage to rebalance the partnership with Berlin, which is overwhelmingly premised on Germany’s growing strength and clout at the European level. While pronouncing herself supportive of the new course in Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel, like the rest of Europe, remains in a wait-and-see position regarding the ability of President Macron to fulfil his ambitious pro-EU agenda.

Tags European Union, Elections, France, Germany, Foreign relations, Denmark, Politics

Arctic: What Place for Scandinavian Solidarity?

Post author By
Post date 28/02/2012
2 Comments on Arctic: What Place for Scandinavian Solidarity?

Polar Bears Near North Pole — "This is our territory:" Polar bears on the starboard bow of a submarine. Picture: Wikipedia Commons.

It has been an exciting New Year for High North policy in the Scandinavian countries. In the annual Foreign Policy Declaration last Tuesday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt reiterated the government’s intent to push its new Arctic Strategy as one of its core foreign policies. To the west, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Garh Störe announced Oslo’s new project of drilling for petroleum (together with Russia) in the northern parts of the Barents Sea. In the south, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal appointed the country’s first Arctic Ambassador, Klavs A. Holm, previously an emissary to London, Singapore and the EU.

The Arctic is the new buzz word in Scandinavian corridors of power. All three states have now drawn up comprehensive strategies articulating their vision for the region. But are their visions compatible? While Scandinavian states are often considered politically indistinguishable (and have pledged themselves, as signatories of the “Nordic Declaration of Solidarity,” to govern in respect of their common heritage) their geographical differences could bring them into competition over the Arctic.

Tags Sweden, Arctic, Denmark, Norway, International Relations, Security, Foreign policy

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ISN Partners’ Copenhagen Specials

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Post date 10/12/2009
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My colleagues and I have seen an impressive surge in publications on climate change in the run-up to the Copenhagen Summit.

This demonstrates just how widely relevant the issue of climate change is. Across geographical and thematic research focus, a large part of the ISN’s partner institutes have published on the topic in the last few months.

Here is a small selection of what has come across our desks recently:

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) examines the key Copenhagen players and the stance of Japan, the EU, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) set up a special Copenhagen page listing all their papers on development and climate change.

The Center for Global Development (CGD) also has several recent papers on the development perspective in their Working Papers series.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) has just published a series of papers on the nexus between agriculture and climate.

Chatham House has published on European energy security and energy infrastructure, as well as on climate policy links to trade competitiveness.

… and for many more, see publications classified under ‘climate change’ in the ISN digital library.

Tags Environment, Denmark, Conference, Climate

ISN Weekly Theme: The Road to Copenhagen

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Post date 02/12/2009
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The end of polar bears? Photo: Cornelia Kopp/flickr — Save the polar bears, photo: Cornelia Kopp/flickr

With tough weeks ahead for negotiators, experts and politicians in the picturesque Danish capital, the ISN takes a closer look at the political and geopolitical stakes of the global climate change game.

In our Special Report this week Christian Hirschi asks whether industrialized and industralizing countries alike will just keep “polluting first and cleaning up later” or whether some measurable progress- even without a legally binding treaty- will be made next week. In the second article, Sara Kuepfer examines the effects of climate change on the Arctic and stresses the urgent need for a framework for the international management of this geostrategically valuable and contested region.

In our Policy Briefs section, an East-West Center publication addresses the issue of climate change and state commitments. It focuses on China’s likely negotiation position.

Another interesting item from our extensive Policy Brief holdings: a Center for Security Studies analysis of the climate change – security policy nexus.

In Publications, a paper by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development detailing approaches that enable developing countries to achieve greater access to climate change technology.

In Links, a very useful BBC article detailing the positions of the main players at Copenhagen.

In our IR Directory a link to the Arctic Council and the International Institute for Environment and Development.

And please remember that last month’s Special Issue Newsletter on the topic can be found here.

Tags Kyoto Protocol, Denmark, Climate, International Relations, Environment

Melting Expectations

Iceberg, Alaska, photo: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton/flickr

With the Copenhagen conference on climate change only two weeks away, it remains doubtful whether a legally binding agreement on climate change will emerge. Here a run-down of the (mostly vague) pledges made by key greenhouse gas emitters in the wake of the conference:

Tags India, Russia, Environment, United States of America, Japan, Global warming, Denmark, Climate, International Relations, China, European Union