A nice little rundown by Jean Quatremer on the EU’s foreign policy inaction under Catherine Ashton in the face of the events across the Arab world. In English and V.O.
Relations with the south Mediterranean countries, despite the monumental changes, have largely been business as usual as far as the EU and its Member States are concerned, namely immigration and economics. Ashton has promised €17 million in aid to Tunisia and €258 million by 2013, figures a Tunisian minister immediately ridiculed (“Millions or billions?”). I find the minister’s attitude a little surprising, granted it’s not the billions of dollars worth of (mostly) guns and (some) butter the U.S. provides, but it’s nothing to scoff at for a small country like Tunisia. Ashton’s aid also doesn’t preclude potentially much more from the Member States.
Letters from Europe 