Tim Geithner, the newly confirmed U.S. Treasury Secretary, ruffled feathers in Beijing and raised eyebrows across the Atlantic with a statement at his confirmation hearing that China has been "manipulating" its currency to gain an unfair advantage in export markets. Geithner's comments were received with predictable hostility in Beijing, but more interesting was the lukewarm response from across the Atlantic--given the European Union's own large current account deficit with China.

A spokesperson for the EU's monetary and economic affairs commissioner simply commented that "exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals. That's all we wish to say." In other words, despite tough talk on China last year, the EU prefers not to touch this one.

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A sign in the lobby of the British government's Department for International Development (DFID) bears the following bold motto: "Leading the British Government's fight against world poverty."

Since 1997, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has emerged as a top-rated international development organization. The decision to focus on the single goal of fighting poverty is one reason for its success. At the same time, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has grown weaker. Major aid initiatives have been set up outside of USAID, the U.S. military is shouldering a growing share of development and reconstruction work overseas, and a shrinking staff has forced USAID to rely more on private contractors to carry out its work. In reaction to this trend, some American aid experts have called for creating a strengthened, cabinet-level development department, and suggested that DFID could serve as a model.

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The most unforeseen merit of studying at Johns Hopkins' campus in Bologna, Italy is that of becoming conscious of the hidden pitfalls of both American academia and the Italian way of life. I say hidden pitfalls because the darker sides of a rigorous, world-class education in one of Europe's most culturally rich locations are exposed more fully then ever when these two worlds overlap and most powerfully, when they collide.

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Just as the recent Gaza War had repercussions on Israeli politics, it is having effects on Italian politics as well. The war has raised new questions about church-state relations in a country where religion is always touchy.

The Italian front of the Gaza War opened in Milan on January 3rd, with a demonstration to oppose the Israeli incursion into Gaza. A Muslim prayer in the Piazza Duomo followed the demonstration. This square is the highest profile locale in the city as well as the location of the third-largest Catholic cathedral in the world. The authorities had apparently known about the protest, but the prayer in front of the cathedral was spontaneous. A similar event was held in Bologna in front of San Petronio Cathedral. Italian newspapers printed images of several hundred Muslims gathered in front of the churches, praying toward Mecca.

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Can EU accession unite a divided nation? That is the hope in Bosnia, where ethnic tensions have resurfaced, leaving the country's population divided and its politics in a stalemate. Over the past several years, postwar momentum toward a stable and unified Bosnia has slowed, leading members of the international community to speculate about renewed conflict or the dissolution of the state. The only thing that anyone in Bosnia seems able to agree on is that EU integration is the solution to its economic and political woes.

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In 2008, the United States suffered from lame duck leadership. Throughout 2009, the European Union will have the same problem.

As the financial and economic crisis gained steam in the fall of last year, government and business leaders bemoaned the lack of decisive leadership from an American Presidency crippled by fading popularity and the anticipated end of its term. The EU seemed to fill the global leadership vacuum left by President Bush, especially under the leadership of the French Presidency of the Council. The French Prime Minister was influential in resolving the Georgian-Russian conflict, brokering European agreement on bank bailouts and climate change, and even scheduling and promoting summits to develop a global response to the financial crisis.

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