Simple Sabotage Field Manual (1944) by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor organization to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

31 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  4 minutes

OSS pin © flickr.com - The Central Intelligence Agency

OSS pin © flickr.com – The Central Intelligence Agency

The Second World War era Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the forerunner of today’s CIA. During the war the organisation planned and executed thousands of covert operations behind enemy lines from North Africa to Europe to Asia.   read more…

Germany’s integration into the West

30 December 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

Federal Republic of Germany map -  January 1957 - October 1990 © TUBS/cc-by-sa-3.0

Federal Republic of Germany map – January 1957 – October 1990 © TUBS/cc-by-sa-3.0

Western integration, also known as western ties, is understood to mean the inclusion of the Federal Republic, founded in 1949 as a western German state, in treaties with western states. These were used to make foreign, security and economic policy decisions. The Western powers combined two goals with Germany’s integration into the West. On the one hand, the integration of Germany was intended to serve the security of the Western European states from Germany, which had posed a threat to its neighboring states in the past. On the other hand, West Germany should make a contribution to the security of the Western European states from the Soviet Union, whose troops were stationed on the Elbe due to the Warsaw Pact. With the Paris Agreements in 1955, the Federal Republic was finally integrated into the Western community of states and the Atlantic security community. This marked the first conclusion, which on the German side was influenced by the policies of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Because of Adenauer’s policy of ties to the West, the Federal Republic integrated itself into the political, economic and military alliances of the West after 1949.   read more…

The European Union: Common Fisheries Policy

24 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  14 minutes

© oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu

© oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions. In 2004 it had a budget of €931 million, approximately 0.75% of the EU budget.   read more…

The European Union: Common Agricultural Policy

22 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  9 minutes

Flag_of_Europe The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the EEC budget cost (from 73% in 1985, to 37% in 2017) and consider rural development in its aims. It has however, been criticised on the grounds of its cost, its environmental, and humanitarian effects.   read more…

The European Union: European Sky Shield Initiative

12 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  6 minutes

Flag_of_Europe European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. As of July 2023, nineteen European states participate in the initiative. ESSI is part of the Common Security and Defense Policy and as such is designed to complement and relieve the burden on NATO.   read more…

Eu in Normandy

8 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Office du Tourisme © Pierre Andre/cc-by-sa-4.0

Office du Tourisme © Pierre Andre/cc-by-sa-4.0

Eu is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardy. Its inhabitants are known in French as the Eudois. The name of the commune is related to that of the river on which it stands. Before being called the Bresle, this small river was known in the Middle Ages under the name of Ou, which then became Eu. Eu is chiefly known for its nearby national forest, the Eu Forest, the Renaissance style Château d’Eu and its college.   read more…

Mediterranean Region

29 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, European Union, Living, Working, Building, Sport, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  28 minutes

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

Monaco © Tobi 87/cc-by-sa-3.0

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin, also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea, is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.   read more…

European Political Community (EPC)

3 June 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  7 minutes

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

European Political Community © EPCMoldova

The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum for political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe, established in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The group first met in October 2022 in Prague, with participants from 44 European countries, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission.   read more…

The European Union: European Universities initiative

31 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, EU blog post series, European Union, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  5 minutes

© European Union

© European Union

At the 2017 Gothenburg Summit, European Union (EU) leaders outlined a vision for education and culture. In its December 2017 Conclusions, the European Council called on EU Member States, the Council and the Commission to take forward a number of initiatives, including   read more…

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