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Critics point to the selection of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton as Europe's President and Foreign Minister as symbolic of a lack of vision. Van Rompuy, a former Belgian Prime Minister, is known for his ability to balance local sensitivities - no small feat in Belgium - and cajole opposing camps towards a consensus. Useful attributes, no doubt, but hardly the ones needed to make the E.U. count on the international stage. Ashton, a former British minister and European trade commissioner, has little experience in foreign affairs. "Van Rompuy and Ashton give the impression of being chosen for their limits...
...Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's unpopular effort to extend the deployment of the 1,950 Dutch troops in Afghanistan backfired on Feb. 20 when 12 Cabinet members resigned, bringing the government to a standstill. Although Dutch forces account for only 2% of coalition troops in Afghanistan, the move rebuffs President Obama's appeal for increased participation from U.S. allies. Dutch soldiers are expected to withdraw fully by the end of the year...
...government charged seven high-ranking military officers on Feb. 24 for their alleged roles in a 2003 coup plot. These arrests came two days after as many as 50 former and current military officials were detained as suspected conspirators. Those not charged remained in custody for further questioning. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied that the arrests were motivated by tension between the Islamist-leaning administration and the secular military. Two trials from previous rounds of arrests related to the purported coup are still in progress...
Just days before Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's scheduled inauguration on Feb. 25, his defeated rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, withdrew her petition to annul the election. She then challenged the government to hold a no-confidence vote, believing that opponents do not have enough support to oust her. The infighting threatens to further destabilize Ukraine's political system, which is still recovering from 2004's Orange Revolution...
...Tandja on Feb. 18, following his decision to push through a referendum abolishing presidential term limits. Although the coup was condemned by the U.N. and African Union, thousands flooded the capital in support of the military council, which promised to return democracy to Niger. It appointed an interim civilian Prime Minister to serve until elections can be held...