As Uzbek hardman Islam Karimov was landing in Brussels for a meeting with EU and Nato leaders on Monday (24 January), the European Union was accused by NGOs of engaging in "soft-talking" with dictators around the world with little in the way of pressure to follow up the rhetoric.
Human Rights Watch released its annual report on the state of basic rights across the globe, a 649-page document that this year targeted the bloc for criticism for an "ideology" of dialogue replacing action.
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