euro|topics - David Clark

20/08/2008

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Clark, David

David Clark is a freelance political writer and analyst.

3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

The Guardian - United Kingdom | 06/05/2008

Medvedev - a better partner for the EU?

David Clark argues that a change in Russian president offers the EU the chance of a new start in diplomatic relations. "After several years of rising tension, hopes are being raised across Europe that tomorrow's inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as the new president of Russia will mark a significant improvement in relations. ... Whether strong or weak, Russia represents a foreign policy challenge Europe cannot ignore. ... With the EU and Russia due to open negotiations on a new cooperation and free trade agreement in the summer, there is an opportunity to restore balance by setting out a clear choice. Russia can be a close and trusted partner if it is prepared to respect the multilateral rules and democratic standards it has signed up to. But if it continues to use authoritarian and coercive methods at home and abroad, the EU should seek to immunise itself from their effects."

The Guardian - United Kingdom | 04/03/2008

The Lisbon Treaty remains a bone of contention in the UK

On Wednesday, March 5th UK MPs will vote on a Tory amendment to the Bill to ratify the Lisbon treaty. If the amendment is passed, a referendum might be held. David Clark, fromer government adviser, comments: "The real mistake was to have offered a referendum at all, for the constitution was also a minimalist document and should have been dealt with as such. ... What could be wrong with giving the people a say? Surely the government has only changed its mind [Since Tony Blair promised a referendum] because it thinks it will lose? In fact, there is nothing democratic about allowing one or two members of a club of 27 to block change wanted by the rest. What opponents of Lisbon are asking for is not democracy at all, but the right of a single-country veto to frustrate the will of the majority. It is understandable that they should do so because they know that any properly democratic system would have approved the old constitution, never mind Lisbon."

The Guardian - United Kingdom | 02/08/2007

The UN to finally intervene in Darfur

David Clark, former special adviser to the UK Foreign Office, welcomes the UN initiative. "Particularly welcome is the greater moral urgency brought to the issue by Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy, who co-sponsored the resolution and seem genuinely determined that it should live up to the secretary general's description of it as 'historic and unprecedented'. It won't bring back the estimated 400,000 killed so far, nor will it remove yet another appalling stain on the conscience of the world ... . What Darfur represents is an opportunity to develop a post-Iraq foreign policy in which the responsibility to protect is more than a glib soundbite or a cover for advancing power interests. The new leaders of Britain and France have made a good start. They now need to convert good intentions into determined action."

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