A Europe of blocs?
nearly upset the EU apple-cart when he proposed a Mediterranean Union including EU and non-EU countries around that sea.
How far will the Poles go when they make proposals for a similar Baltic-to-the-Black-Sea Union?
The idea was a little noticed result of the European Council meeting back in March.
Then, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that if Turkey and the countries of North Africa could link up with the EU countries bordering the Med, it was only fair the East should have the same opportunities.
He was given the go-ahead, perhaps to both balance President Sarkozy's brainwave, and perhaps to further down-grade it. Perhaps a rather brutal move, as it had already been thoroughly and efficiently eviscerated by Chancellor Merkel.
Polish diplomats do not see their plan as ambitious as the Mediterranean, but argue that if the French, Italian, Spanish and Greeks can link up with countries in North Africa and negotiate with the rest of the European union as a bloc, then they should be allowed to do the same alongside Georgia and Ukraine.
I presume the link-up would be between the 10 former communist countries of the East and those six in
As far as I know, there will be no invitation to Russia to join this would-be new power bloc.
The Poles point out that at the moment they, and the EU members in the region, can only talk to the European Union as individual nations.
The suggestion is those next to the Med would get an unfair advantage. Part of this is no doubt "there's gold in them there hills": such an organisation would of course get more EU money for the region.
More cash is a reasonable goal in itself, but I wonder about the consequences.
Sometimes countries do argue within the European Union as regional blocs, but more often they don't.
Mr Tusk's report, to be presented to the other leaders in June, is probably of not much moment in itself but is it the beginning of a trend?
And would that trend be a dangerous undermining of EU solidarity, or a realistic recognition of other identities and alliances ?
I’m Mark Mardell, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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