euro|topics - Jeanne Rubner

Rubner, Jeanne

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

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany | 18/10/2007

Jeanne Rubner on common history textbooks

Many history textbooks dedicate only a few pages to the EU, the journalist Jeanne Rubner complains. "Eighth-graders learn far more about the Romans than they do about the Treaties of Rome; tenth-graders know more about pharaohs than about the founding fathers of the European Community. ... The plans for a common history textbook to be used in all EU member states have been boycotted so far. Polish historians immediately warned that there could be no common interpretation of history. This attitude conceals the fear that a common history book would force individual nations to give up their identity. This is unnecessary, as the new and excellent German-French history textbook proves. Rather than dictating a particular interpretation of history, it conveys the nuanced perspective of each nation on their joint history and the EU."

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany | 27/07/2007

The risks of Franco-Libyan cooperation

Jeanne Rubner criticizes the behaviour of the French president. "Sarkozy's appearance in Libya's show of blackmailing was hardly a diplomatic feat. The fact that he has now sealed an atomic energy deal with Kadhafi is in keeping with the French tradition of selling nuclear reactors all over the world. Libya is still a dictatorship, and that speaks against this deal – but at least the country has signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. On the other hand, it is certainly legitimate for the head of a country – in accord with the rest of Europe – to continue nurturing Europe's traditionally close links to North Africa. But the way Sarkozy pushed to the front in the hostage affair shows little evidence of tact. Seeking attention, the Sarkozy presidential couple jumped into the fray, after other EU politicians had long and quietly worked out the terms for the opening of Libya's dungeon doors. It's just embarrassing."

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany | 14/03/2007

Missile defence under NATO control?

"A shield that fends off enemy missiles has long been the dream of the US military. Now this dream is causing real problems: Russia feels threatened and in Berlin, too, doubts are growing," Jeanne Rubner writes. Lieutenant General Henry Obering, head of the American Missile Defence Program's 'Missile Defense Agency', is currently trying to enlist support in Europe for the US's plans. "Talks are urgently needed because the US's plans to install a radar and missile system in Eastern Europe threaten to divide the continent... The missile defence shield is foreseen as a multi-phase system for intercepting missiles from 'rogue states'... The interceptor missiles, which form the centrepiece of the US's plans for Eastern Europe, are now the focus of discussion. If the plans go ahead, by 2011 a dozen such 'interceptors' [ground-launched interceptor missiles] could be stationed in Poland, along with a radar station that controls them in the Czech Republic. These facilities would expand the protective shield. Up to now there are stations in Alaska, Greenland and Great Britain."

Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany | 22/02/2006

An elite university for Europe

Journalist Jeanne Rubner welcomes the plan for a European elite university which is to be presented to the public today by EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso - saying it's "right in principal". However, she thinks it won't bring the desired results. "Barroso has chosen Germany's watered-down compromise solution: the European Institute of Technology won't be a university, but rather a network of institutes... A network may be pleasingly democratic, but it won't do as a symbol of Europe's strength in the field of research. The problem lies in the system: federalist Germany won't tolerate a genuine elitist university, and for its part, the EU can't make up its mind to create an EIT (European Institute of Technology) that could one day make researchers at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on which the institute was to be modelled) turn green with envy. In the mean time, Europe has no choice but to continue waiting for a rich sponsor who has the courage to put all his money into a university."

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