- Mini Treaty for Europe? – November 4, 2007 (New Indian Express)
The ambitious word ’Constitution’ was dropped and the ’Reform Treaty’, as it is now known, returns to the traditional method of an amendment to the existing treaties. Though the main outlines of a new Treaty had been agreed upon during the 21-23 June EU Summit, the last minute painful bargaining by the Twenty-Seven (and particularly new entrants like Poland) could have stopped the integration process. Everyone knows that it is more difficult to prepare a good meal with 27 cooks than with 6…
- Integrating South Asia – April 18, 2007 (The Pionner)
Trade can more than double if appropriate regional agreements on roads, rail, air and shipping are put in place enabling seamless movement,” said Mr Praful Patel, the World Bank’s vice-president for South Asia before the 14th SAARC summit. He compared trade in South Asia to a low-hanging fruit which can be picked easily. If barriers were reduced, there would be a potential for $20 billion trade by 2010 (the same as between India and China today)…
- Lessons for SAARC from the European Union – April 4, 2007 (Rediff.com)
A friend working for the European Commission recently showed me an amusing picture taken during a meeting in Brussels. In the early hours of the morning after an intense night of parleys, two of the negotiators were sleeping on the carpet, while their colleagues were dozing on a nearby table. These late night marathon discussions are quite well known amongst European bureaucrats. This made me dream: Could we see one day a similar picture with joint secretaries of South Asian nations totally exhausted after attempting to sort out the latest hurdles towards a closer integration of the SAARC?
- Towards Unity – March 2007
This week, while Europe observes the 50 years of the Treaty of Rome, Asia remembers that 60 years ago, the first Asian Relations Conference was organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs in Delhi…
- The European Model – March 2007
A couple of months ago, at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal, the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Pakistan’s ruling and opposition leaders that India and Pakistan must learn from Europe which had set aside differences to forge a successful economic union. He added that if Europe could “have put the bitterness of war behind for economic and trade cooperation in the European Union”, he was hopeful that India and Pakistan would also resolve their differences for an enduring peace…
- A Pact with Nature – February 7, 2007 (New Indian Express)
Where is Europe 50 years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome? The most pessimistic watchers like Michel Rocard, a former French Prime Minister, believe that “Political Europe is dead. But Economic Europe remains. It is the first economy in the world; it can put its weight on the rules of world game”. Whether optimistic or gloomy, the fact remains that 50 years after the extraordinary adventure of the European Union was launched, the European process has seen the emergence of a new kind of aspiration for unity which translated into a voluntary association of its nation-states…
- An Idea of a Confederation for South Asia vs the European Model – 2007 (South Asia Politics)
2007 is a very special year, not only for India, but for Europe as well. India (and hopefully the subcontinent) celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 (known as the First War of Independence) as well as the 60th Anniversary of her Independence from the British while Europe commemorates the 50 years of its coming together. All these celebrations last the entire year giving us time to reflect on the past and ponder on the future.
- Why EU matters – October 2006 (The Pioneer)
India can benefit in trade and investment by strengthening relations with the 25-nation European Union…
- Jean Monnet on how to unite men and nations – 2006 (South Asia Politics)
Many in the subcontinent ask themselves: When Europe has gone so far along the path to unity, why has the Indian subcontinent remained divided, unable to share its basic resources? One of the answers is that Europe has had the fortune to find Jean Monnet who, with sheer will, vision and obstinacy, has worked all his life towards making Europe a concrete reality…
- How about a SAU – June 2005 (New Indian Express)
New technological and communication discoveries shrink the planet every day to the size of a small hamlet, and international institutions have no choice but to follow the process, even if a few decades later. History goes in one direction only: Towards a greater unification of the people of the world…
