Sleep-deprived EU leaders adopt a vastly reduced 2014-2020 budget that leading European parliamentarians vow to send back.
Diplomacy
Why the Europeans Don’t Really Want an E.U. Budget Deal
Three months after failing to reach agreements on whether to slash or bolster the E.U. budget, leaders gather in Brussels to find their positions still far apart
France’s Next Move: With Mali’s Islamists on the Run, Time to Talk to the Tuaregs
With France preparing to hand its anti-Islamist intervention in Mali to forces from neighboring states, Paris now encourages Malian leaders to negotiate with Tuareg rebels who teamed up with Islamists to dominate the north.
France Celebrates Return of Convicted Kidnapper From Mexican Prison
Mexico’s Supreme Court frees Florence Cassez after seven years in prison for a 2007 kidnapping conviction that justices ruled was flawed by rights violations. Could that be the start of deep judicial reform in Mexico?
50 Years After Landmark Treaty, Can France and Germany Save Europe?
Ceremonies marking the 1963 Franco-German partnership pale in comparison to U.S. presidential inaugurations, but they mark an alliance credited with driving the E.U. — and the euro — toward greater stability and prosperity
France’s Colonial Hangover: Apologizing Abroad, Ignoring Injustice at Home
French President François Hollande took strides to heal wounds between France and Algeria, but his recognition of “unjust” colonial history overlooks continued prejudice Algerian descendents still face in France.
Look the Other Way, Please: What Are Those Secret Talks in Paris All About?
Hush-hush talks staged near Paris by independent organizers bring leaders of enemy sides in the Afghan war together for informal talks. Will this lead to official peace negotiations?
Mali’s Crisis: Is the Plan for Western Intervention ‘Crap’?
Though significant differences over details remain, French officials tell TIME to expect an international intervention plan into Mali to get accepted by the U.N. before the year’s end
Is the E.U. Nearing a Landmark Banking Deal?
European Union finance ministers announced unexpected advances towards a banking union designed to prevent the excesses that transformed Europe’s sovereign debt problem into the fearsome euro crisis.
A Deeply Divided European Union Faces Its Own Budgetary Cliff
France, Germany and Britain become central antagonists in more general discord over a multiyear E.U. budget — and risk preventing Europe from fulfilling one of its most basic operational tasks
Congo’s Eastern Rebels Seize Goma: Will Rwanda Then Take Over?
When I spent a few days with the M23 rebels of eastern Congo in August, they were clear that their April mutiny against the Congolese army and seizure of territory along the Rwandan and Ugandan borders was essentially a form of …
France Recognizes Syria’s Opposition—Will the West Follow Suit?
French President François Hollande becomes the first Western leader to recognize the newly-formed coalition leadership of Syrian rebel forces, and ups pressure on other nations to follow his lead.
Iran’s Poker Game: What Can Direct Talks Achieve?
If reports of direct talks between the U.S. and Iran are true, what will be achieved?