ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Analysis EUROPE May 26-27: EU ministers for industry, research and the internal market will meet in Brussels. May 27: European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will host an informal meeting of EU leaders in Brussels during which they will discuss possible candidates for European Commission president. May 28: The EU Permanent Representatives Committees, Coreper I and Coreper II will meet in Brussels. May 28: The International Monetary Fund's executive board will meet to discuss and likely approve the disbursement of its next bailout tranche to Greece. May 29-30: Slovenian President Borut Pahor will visit Serbia with a business delegation at the invitation of Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic. The president will also visit areas affected by recent floods. May 31: Outgoing Slovenian Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek will establish a new political party, which will hold its first congress in Ljubljana. FORMER SOVIET UNION May 26: EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger will host natu...

A U.S. soldier watches the sun go down near Turkham, Afghanistan. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP/Getty Images) Analysis The act of formal remembrance is one of the most profound human gestures, whether it is conducted on the personal or the national level. Originally a commemoration of the Union and Confederate dead from the American Civil War, Memorial Day in the United States codifies the act of remembrance, paying tribute to those who died in military service. Memorial Day is specific to America, but honoring the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for their country, ideals or comrades-in-arms is universal. Throughout history, the more expansive a civilization, the deeper the pool of resources from which it can draw and the taller its ambition. The collective offers myriad benefits, from breeding stock to greater capacity for production, to increased manpower for agriculture, construction or defense. However, the size of the collective is proportional to the amount of resources it need...

A large banner promoting the European elections hangs from the European Commission headquarters at the Berlaymont Building in Brussels on May 25.SISKA GREMMELPREZ/AFP/Getty Images Summary Elections for the EU Parliament, held May 22-25, were defined by the strong performance of anti-establishment and nationalist parties that reject deeper EU integration. While voter turnout was almost the same as in 2009, once again only four in 10 EU voters cast ballots. Both phenomena highlight the degree to which the economic crisis in Europe is impacting popular support for the European Union. A significant number of European citizens are not interested in the EU Parliament, and many of those who are voted for Euroskeptical parties. These elections will have repercussions at the national and European levels. Moderate parties will adopt issues from the nationalists' agenda and push to slow or even reverse the process of continental integration, with immigration and the welfare state at the core ...