(c) 2002 Copyright Lidija Rangelovska. The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism 1st EDITION Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. Editing and Design: Lidija Rangelovska Lidija Rangelovska A Narcissus Publications Imprint, Skopje 2003 First published by United Press International - UPI Not for Sale! Non-commercial edition. (c) 2002 Copyright Lidija Rangelovska. All rights reserved. This book, or any part thereof, may not be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from: Lidija Rangelovska - write to: palma@unet.com.mk or to vaknin@link.com.mk Visit the Author Archive of Dr. Sam Vaknin in "Central Europe Review": http://www.ce-review.org/authorarchives/vaknin_archive/vaknin_main.html Visit Sam Vaknin's United Press International (UPI) Article Archive http://samvak.tripod.com/guide.html http://samvak.tripod.com/briefs.html http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com http://samvak.tripod.com/after.html Created by: LIDIJA RANGELOVSKA REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA C O N T E N T S I. European Union and NATO - The Competing Alliances II. The War in Iraq III. How the West Lost the East IV. Left and Right in a Divided Europe V. Forward to the Past - Capitalism in Post-Communist Europe VI. Transition in Context VII. Eastern Advantages VIII. Europe's Four Speeds IX. Switching Empires X. Europe's Agricultural Revolution XI. Winning the European CAP XII. History of Previous Currency Unions XIII. The Concert of Europe, Interrupted XIV. The Eastern Question Revisited XV. Europe's New Jews XVI. The Author XVII. About "After the Rain" EU and NATO - The Competing Alliances By: Dr. Sam Vaknin Also published by United Press International (UPI) Saturday's vote in Ireland was the second time in 18 months that its increasingly disillusioned citizenry had to decide the fate of the European Union by endorsing or rejecting the crucial Treaty of Nice. The treaty seeks to revamp the union's administration and the hitherto sacred balance between small and big states prior to the accession of 10 central and east European countries. Enlargement has been the centerpiece of European thinking ever since the meltdown of the eastern bloc. Shifting geopolitical and geo-strategic realities in the wake of the September 11 atrocities have rendered this project all the more urgent. NATO - an erstwhile anti-Soviet military alliance is search of purpose - is gradually acquiring more political hues. Its remit has swelled to take in peacekeeping, regime change, and nation-building. Led by the USA, it has expanded aggressively into central and northern Europe. It has institutionalized its relationships with the countries of the Balkan through the "Partnership for Peace" and with Russia through a recently established joint council. The Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary - the eternal EU candidates - have full scale members of NATO for 3 years now.