Free Republic

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot held a call on Monday with his ​Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss ‌the Iran war and both agreed to work on de-escalation, Barrot's office said in a statement. Both ministers ​committed to seeking a political solution ​that would guarantee collective security and take ⁠into account the aspirations of the ​Iranian people, the statement said. Barrot "reiterated the Iranian ​regime's responsibility for the ongoing escalation, after it unjustifiably attacked several countries in the region," the statement ​said. He also criticised the Iranian regime for ​refusing to respect the resolutions from the United Nations' ‌Security ⁠Council...

So-called Euroskeptics in the United Kingdom have lost faith in the process of European integration and resent what they see as rule from Brussels. They believe the British Parliament has been relegated to simply endorsing laws made outside the country. They trust neither the new European Constitution nor the European Commission. What's more, the results of a recent survey seem to confirm that most Britons feel the same way. According to a survey by Britain's ICM polling institute, conducted for the European Foundation, 58 percent of Britons would like to see European Union treaties renegotiated, reducing them to simply trade...

... As Jose Manuel Barroso read the names of the Commissioners he had chosen for the key portfolios, it became clear that the center of gravity has shifted. France and Germany are no longer calling the shots. Almost none of the duo's central demands were met while all important economic positions went to avowed free-marketers. It all began when 10 new members, mostly from the former Communist East, joined the EU in May. In contrast to Paris and Berlin, the newcomers pursue largely free-market policies and support the U.S. war in Iraq. Heralding that tectonic shift in the balance of...