European Union

Global governance’ in our vocabulary does not imply a global 'government', but rather the institution set up for cooperation, coordination, and common action between durable sovereign states…people and nations are beginning to agree To take the next steps together. They are reaching a consensus by practical procedures rather than by the formal voting of governmental representatives; many International functions, especially those requiring the most foresight and operational flexibility, and be carried out through non governmental arrangements. –Club of Rome

No single nation can solve these problems on its own - not even the most powerful, not even the United States. Particularly here at Harvard we should recall the wisdom and the achievements of U.S. post war diplomacy which focused on building lasting partnerships.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France believes passionately in a Mediterranean Union, and is putting a great deal of energy - and urgency - into bringing it to birth.

A plan to set up a Mediterranean Union, which received formal backing from the European Union on Friday, could be an example for Russia, a Russian senator said Friday.

Top trade officials from the European Union and the United States called Monday for an agreement on global trade talks by the end of this year.

The European Commission is considering introducing a "made in the EU" label for food and drinks, aimed at identifying products made in the European Union. The proposal, prepared by health commissioner Markos Kyprianou, says all goods for which final production takes place in the EU - including those which made use of imported resources - would be included under the label. Only meat products would be excepted, and would have to retain their national production label, according to a report by Dutch news agency ANP on Friday (17 November).

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is growing more authoritarian at home and increasingly aggressive abroad. China’s global clout seems to expand by the day. And in the Middle East, a possible conflict with Iran looms on the horizon. For insights on this dangerous new world, FP turned to Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. national security advisor, author, and all-around foreign-policy guru.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain endorsed Tony Blair on Friday to be the European Union's first permanent president, even as critics questioned how a leader from a nation deeply skeptical of the EU could take over a new high-profile post.

The new think tank the European Council on Foreign Relations hopes to steer the European Union back onto the center of the world stage. Its 50 founding members include leading European intellectuals such as Timothy Garton Ash, Joschka Fischer, Brian Eno and Rem Koolhaas.

Our latest slice of the New World Order will create a common market and currency and a “harmony of laws.” This Union, which is the brainchild of the Council for Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission in 1967, stayed on the back burner until the 80’s, gaining momentum under Reagan. It took a big jump in 2001 with the Bush/Fox “Partnership for Prosperity” and the Union now has a tri-national ministerial-level working group trying for a 2010 North American “community.”