EU member states have blocked until late 2007 a decision on letting Kazakhstan in 2009 chair Europe's pro-democracy club, the OSCE, with gas and uranium-rich Astana exposing foreign policy divisions in the European Union.
"There was no consensus, so the logical step was to make the decision next year. Among the EU states, some were opposed and others were more inclined to award the presidency now," a spokesman for Belgian foreign minister Karel De Gucht - who currently heads the OSCE -...
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.