China and Russia abusing corona for geopolitics, Lithuania says
China and Russia are using the pandemic to increase their authority in new ways at home and abroad, Lithuanian intelligence services have warned.
News in Brief
- MEPs urged to keep immunity of Catalan colleagues
- EU accused of plundering tuna in Indian Ocean
- Italy blocks vaccine shipment to Australia
- EU preparing legal action on Brexit violations
- US and UK agree to suspend tariffs to settle row
- Russia asks France, Germany to help ease tensions in Ukraine
- Germany and Sweden permit AstraZeneca jab for over-65s
Opinion
Why Russia politics threaten European security
Russia could expand hostile operations, such as poisonings, including beyond its borders, if it feels an "existential" threat and there is no European pushback.
Analysis
Ten years on from Tahrir: EU's massive missed opportunity
Investing in the Arab world, in a smart way, is also investing in the European Union's future itself. Let's hope that the disasters of the last decade help to shape the neighbourhood policy of the next 10 years.
Analysis
Eastern Europe wakes up with Trump hangover
Trump's legacy in the region is mostly linked to the bilateral accords normalising economic relations between Kosovo and Serbia. During the signing of the Washington Agreement, Trump allegedly pressured the Serbian president to move Serbia's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Borrell to meet Lavrov, while Navalny behind bars
EU top diplomat Josep Borrell is going to Moscow in February, even though Russia's opposition star, Alexei Navalny, will most likely be in prison at the time.
Navalny protests sharpen EU sanctions talks
Street violence in Russia redoubled calls for new sanctions when foreign ministers meet on Monday, after eight EU states earlier proposed asset-freezes and visa-bans.
Austrian ex-minister joins list of EU's pro-Kremlin lobbyists
Austria's ex-foreign minister Karin Kneissl has joined an ever-expanding list of senior Austrian and German politicians working as Kremlin lobbyists.
US joins EU sanctions on Russia in show of unity
America has sanctioned Russia for the attempted murder and jailing of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, in a show of return to transatlantic unity.
EU needs to 'raise price' for attacking democracy, MEPs say
The special committee on foreign interference was created in June with the aim of assessing the foreign threat to European democracy - and identify possible tools to fight it.
Opinion
Belarusian spring: finding hope in dark times
These are dark times in Belarus, with the government tightening the screws like never before. They are preparing for spring just as much as the opponents of the regime are.
EU ambassador in hot water over Cuba letter
The EU has asked its ambassador to Cuba to explain why he signed a letter asking US president Joe Biden to stop being "hostile" to Havana.
Opinion
Time to choose on Russia: regime first or people first?
I hope that the sanctions from the Foreign Affairs Council will increase the likelihood of seeing Alexei Navalny and his supporters leaving Russian prisons alive, unharmed, and in the nearer future than otherwise.
Armenia 'coup' shows waning of EU star in South Caucasus
There was no violence in Thursday's attempted "military coup" in Armenia, but it made EU influence in the South Caucasus look smaller than ever.
Who are the EU's new Russian deplorables?
Four Russians are about to join an EU list of the world's worst human rights abusers, but who are they and what message does it send to Moscow?
Opinion
Questions for Germany on EU's Russia strategy
Suspension or cancellation of Nord Stream 2 does not call for a drawn-out search for unanimity by the EU's foreign ministers, nor complex ratification procedures in the European Parliament or member states' parliaments, write three former EU prime ministers.
Greenland's snap election exposes global mineral demand
A snap early election in Greenland throws into focus mining of rare earths - needed for Europe's green transition, and coveted by both China and the US, but opposed by environmentalists.
Ethiopia war creating new 'refugee crisis', EU envoy warns
Ethiopia's civil war could fuel a new EU refugee drama, amid "out of control" violence, Finland's foreign minister has warned.
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Latest News
- China and Russia abusing corona for geopolitics, Lithuania says
- Worries on Europe's infection surge, after six-week drop
- EU wants large firms to report on gender pay-gap or face fines
- EU Commission cannot hold Frontex to account
- Orbán leaves EPP group - the beginning of a long endgame
- 'Corporate due diligence'? - a reality check before EP votes
- Austrian ex-minister joins list of EU's pro-Kremlin lobbyists
- Internal Frontex probe to deliver final report this week
Column
Why is new EU trade policy using WTO as a figleaf?
While producers in Europe need to live up to demanding labour standards, the European Commission does not make the slightest move to protect them against competition from countries that use forced labour on a massive scale.
Opinion
Georgia is facing the abyss, and calls on EU for help
Politically-motivated justice, the capture of state institutions by the private interests of oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, rapid socio-economic decline, and increased corruption, all are making Georgians hopeless about their future, writes former Georgian ambassador to the EU.
EU makes first use of Magnitsky Act, on Russia
The EU has agreed to blacklist Russian officials guilty of wrongly jailing opposition figure Alexei Navalny, amid a new "low" in relations.
Coronavirus
Rich countries 'stockpile one billion vaccines', report says
Just 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all Covid vaccines so far - while some 130 poor countries have not yet received a single dose
Opinion
Myanmar: the EU needs to play the ASEAN card
The military coup seems to have inflamed and united a diverse and ostensibly depoliticised society. There seems to be an across the board rejection by the people of Myanmar of a return to military dictatorship.
Pro-Kremlin oligarchs to avoid EU sanctions, for now
Pro-Kremlin oligarchs, including "direct beneficiaries" of Navalny's jailing, will not face EU sanctions for now, diplomatic sources have said.
Baltic states warn EU on China and Russia espionage
Lithuania has banned a Chinese tech firm on security grounds, while Estonia warned the EU on the dangers of both Chinese and Russian espionage.
Exclusive
EU to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar junta
EU countries have asked the foreign service to draft a blacklist of Myanmar coup leaders in response to escalating violence.
EU dismayed as Lukashenko 'terrorises' media
Belarus has attacked its last few independent journalists in raids that prompted an international outcry.
Exclusive
EU has 26 documents on alleged NGO sex abuse in DRC
A joint investigation last year by Reuters and The New Humanitarian revealed alleged sexual abuse by people working for the World Health Organization and other leading NGOs. The European Commission has since collected over two dozen documents on the allegations.
Column
An EU strategy for Indo-Pacific must be clear and credible
Jostling for attention across the Indo-Pacific is a motley mix of democracies and authoritarian regimes as well as governments which are quite simply neither one nor the other.
Opinion
Myanmar - a new litmus test for EU's support for democracy
On Valentine's Day, the Myanmar military announced yet another attack on freedom of expression with an enactment of amendments to the penal code and criminal procedure code.
EU relations are a 'carcass', Russia says
Russia has said it wants closer ties with friendly EU states, but that relations with EU institutions were a dead "carcass".
High noon for EU diplomats in Moscow on Sunday
Some western diplomats will go to opposition rallies in Moscow on Valentine's Day despite Russia's expulsion threat.
US deaf to Germany on Russia pipeline
Any firm issuing safety certificates for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will find itself in US sanctions crosshairs, the state department has warned.
French liberal MEPs silent on EU weapons in Yemen
French and Spanish liberal MEPs attempted to water down a resolution on Yemen and abstained on key points demanding accountability for EU states that violate arms export rules.
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