Towards a European military culture?

Recent discussion of the Common Security and Foreign Policy has focussed on the international relations between European member states. Such a focus is entirely valid since the project is being driven forward by nation states. However, the success of the Common Security and Foreign Policy and especially the development of a specifically European military capability under the European Security and Defence Policy will depend not merely on the will of the participating nation-states. Above all, it will depend on the development of a common military culture at the level of weapons development and procurement and at the level of doctrine. The problem is that at neither level is the development of a European culture remotely in sight

Training infection control and hospital hygiene professionals in Europe, 2010 : agreed core competencies among 33 European countries

The harmonisation of training programmes for infection control and hospital hygiene (IC/HH) professionals in Europe is a requirement of the Council recommendation on patient safety. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control commissioned the ‘Training Infection Control in Europe’ project to develop a consensus on core competencies for IC/HH professionals in the European Union (EU). Core competencies were drafted on the basis of the Improving Patient Safety in Europe (IPSE) project’s core curriculum (CC), evaluated by questionnaire and approved by National Representatives (NRs) for IC/HH training. NRs also re-assessed the status of IC/HH training in European countries in 2010 in comparison with the situation before the IPSE CC in 2006. The IPSE CC had been used to develop or update 28 of 51 IC/HH courses. Only 10 of 33 countries offered training and qualification for IC/ HH doctors and nurses. The proposed core competencies are structured in four areas and 16 professional tasks at junior and senior level. They form a reference for standardisation of IC/HH professional competencies and support recognition of training initiatives.peer-reviewe

The transatlantic crisis: the wolf is at the door

Since the re-election of George W. Bush in November 2004, there has been a renewal of optimism about the state of the transatlantic relationship. This meshes easily with those in the academic community who believe that the relationship has always been – and remains – far stronger than some argued before and after the Iraq War. This comfortable view is challenged here and, based upon an analysis of both domestic and international factors, the article insists that even though the relationship will persist, difficult times lie ahead in the European–US relationship. The future is likely to see more strains across the Atlantic not less