France

Vietnam, France to Boost Defense Cooperation

November 25, 2011 (Vietnamica) – The two countries reached an agreement on boosting defense cooperation – including exchange of military delegation, training, research on defense strategy, military technique and coordination at multilateral forums – at the second meeting of the Joint Committee on National Defense Cooperation held in Paris on Nov. 21 and 22.

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Europe’s Crisis: Beyond Finance

November 17, 2011 (Vietnamica) — Everyone is wondering about the next disaster to befall Europe. Italy is one focus; Spain is also a possibility. But these crises are already under way. Instead, the next crisis will be political, not in the sense of what conventional politician is going to become prime minister, but in the deeper sense of whether Europe’s political elite can retain power, or whether new political forces are going to emerge that will completely reshape the European political landscape. If this happens, it will be by far the most important consequence of the European financial crisis.

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Is Germany Eyeing the Exit?

Is Germany Eyeing the Exit?

November 17, 2011 (Vietnamica) — This is just an idea – but perhaps Germany is only pretending to want more European integration. The rhetoric is real enough. German chancellor Angela Merkel told her party conference this week that the solution to the Eurozone crisis is “more Europe”. At the same conference, finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Europe needs “to build the political union that we didn’t manage to achieve in the 1990s.”

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Euro Crisis “Gets Worse Every Day”, Britain May Get “A Lot More QE”, Gold Jewelry Preferred to Platinum in China

November 16, 2011 (Vietnamica) — U.S. dollar prices to buy gold climbed to $1779 an ounce Wednesday lunchtime in London – 0.5% down from last week’s close –amid suggestions that central bankers in London and Frankfurtare growing more interventionist.

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Europe, the International System and a Generational Shift

November 9, 2011 (Vietnamica) — Change in the international system comes in large and small doses, but fundamental patterns generally stay consistent. From 1500 to 1991, for example, European global hegemony constituted the world’s operating principle. Within this overarching framework, however, the international system regularly reshuffles the deck in demoting and promoting powers, fragmenting some and empowering others, and so on. Sometimes this happens because of war, and sometimes because of economic and political forces. While the basic structure of the world stays intact, the precise way it works changes.

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CFR: Euro Crisis Dominates G20 Summit

November 4, 2011 (Vietnamica) — U.S. President Barack Obama said the eurozone sovereign debt crisis was the most pressing task for G20 world leaders meeting in Cannes, as he called on his European counterparts to “flesh out details” (NYT) of a three-pronged solution agreed to in Brussels last week. China and Russia (DeutscheWelle), both feeling the strain of the euro crisis, also called on EU leaders to implement the rescue plan without hesitation. It includes an expansion of the temporary eurozone bailout mechanism, recapitalization of the continent’s exposed banks, and a new bailout package for Greece.

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