Word: new
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...night in Brussels. (One almost expects a cloud of white smoke to rise from the Justus Lipsius building when a candidate is chosen.) But it won't be a straightforward process: the leaders are likely to haggle until the final moment on the decision of the President and the new E.U. Foreign Minister in an attempt to strike a balance in politics, gender and geography in the appointments - quite possibly at the expense of qualities like talent and merit...
...counter to the Lisbon Treaty, which is meant to make the E.U. a more efficient, transparent and democratic system. Former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, one of the few declared candidates for the presidency, said last week that the machinations over the top jobs could ultimately damage the new leaders' authority. "The E.U. should stop working like the former Soviet Union ... in darkness and behind closed doors," she said...
...time, the E.U. may well develop the structures for a more democratic process. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the new President will have a term of 2½ years. If the person selected by E.U. leaders on Thursday wants to run again, there will undoubtedly be pressure for him or her to present a platform of ideas. The new E.U. Foreign Minister must be approved by a vote of the European Parliament, and members may also take that opportunity to grill the candidate on his or her foreign policy agenda. (Read "A Treaty Ratified, the E.U. Turns to Picking Its Leader...
...course, backroom dealmaking doesn't usually lead to swift decisions. E.U. officials are already dropping hints that the new leaders may not be selected at Thursday's dinner after all. That puff of white smoke may not come until Friday morning or even later. It's likely that few Europeans are waiting with bated breath...
China, for its part, has been reluctant to take up those new responsibilities. The late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping once admonished his countrymen to "disguise their ambitions and hide their claws." It was useful advice for a country trying to pull itself out of decades of war and chaos. But now China's booming economy and resilience in the face of the global slowdown have left it in a prime position. It holds nearly $800 billion in U.S. Treasuries, making it Washington's biggest creditor. But Beijing is still not confident in acting on the world stage for any interest...