For Immediate Release: Tue, Sep 1, 1998
Contact: Sharon Rippey, d) 315-859-4691 or e) 315-853-8146, [email protected]
Russian Economic and Political Crisis has Implications for Europe
Clinton, N.Y. -- "The continuing turmoil in Russia threatens not only Russian President Boris Yeltsin, but also poses a threat to the European Union, " said Alan Cafruny, Ph.D., Hamilton College, a leading expert in the formation and governance of the European Union.
Russian economic collapse and political instability has serious implications for the European economy. European banks are exposed because of loans to Russia and many European companies export goods to Russia, making it an important trade partner. Added to the global economic meltdown precipitated by the Asian market crisis, this is especially important as the EU move toward a single currency in January 1999. Cafruny said, "When the international currency market is unstable and faced with global recession, monetary union will be difficult to sustain."
The Union is a very important economic actor in the world economy but doesn't have the power nor the inclination to act as a force in foreign policy. "International crisis, such as the collapse of the Russian economy, pits competing member nations' interests against the authority of the Union. European Commission President Jacques Santer, has become a civil servant taking orders instead of a high ranking politician capable of providing leadership," said Cafruny.
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A widely regarded expert on the European Union, Alan Cafruny, Ph.D., Henry Bristol Professor of International Affairs, Hamilton College, this month released a book,The Union and the World: The Political Economy of a Common European Foreign Policy, (Kluwer Law International 1998) which comprehensively covers the broad range of Union policies in both economic and political spheres. Cafruny also edited and contributed to Europe's Ambiguous Unity: Conflict & Consensus in the Post Maasticht Era" (Lynne Rienner Publishers 1997) which addresses the relationship between social movements and regional integration; and relationships between the institutions of the EU and its member states.
Cafruny can comment knowledgeably on all aspects of political, economic, security and foreign policy issues of the EU; Europe's relationship with NATO and the U.S.; and the war, diplomatic and refugee issues in Bosnia or former Yugoslavia.
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