EU should stop sheltering Syrian war criminals, MEPs say
The European Parliament has urged EU states to go after alleged Syrian war criminals in Europe, 10 years after the start of the bloodiest war in its neighbourhood.
News in Brief
- Michel to miss Strasbourg plenary due to Covid contact
- Kaczyński wanted for questions on political spying
- Blinken and Lavrov meet on Friday to discuss Ukraine
- Lobbyists had 613 meetings with MEPs on digital services act
- Breivik appeals for parole, 10 years after Norway massacre
- German chancellor takes tough stance on Russia pipeline
- MEPs keen to speed up green-transition fund for poor
- Political crimes reach two-decade high in Germany
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.
Exclusive
China and Russia top EU list of global rights abusers
China, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Russia, and South Sudan are to be stigmatised as the world's worst human-rights abusers under new EU sanctions.
Analysis
How Left and Right divide - then unite - on EU arms deals
Leftwing MEPs tend to table amendments that seek to save jobs should arms producers have to stop exports to war zones, while rightwing counterparts try to weaken any hardline restrictions.
EU floats Ethiopia sanctions over humanitarian aid
The EU Commission wants to add "grave violations of international humanitarian law" as a reason to impose EU sanctions, in an idea floated in a press conference on Ethiopia.
Opinion
The 'Cold War' diplomacy behind Covid-19 vaccines
China and Russia aren't just selling vaccines—they're peddling a value set that undermines international norms.
EU blasts UK and Russia in 'vaccine propaganda' war
The EU and UK have reignited a row on vaccine exports, while Italy has defied EU warnings in a new deal to manufacture Russia's vaccine at home.
Germany 'main target' of Russian disinformation
"The Kremlin is creating a mental image of a Germany, where a few sane voices are heard among a chorus of irrational 'Russophobia'," the report said.
Column
Why people want to be fooled
The charlatan is "like a doctor who brings relief from suffering and pain". The word charlatan comes from the Italian 'ciarlatano': someone selling herbal brews and rejuvenating waters at street markets, often also pulling teeth and doing magic tricks.
Opinion
Time for dither and delay with Ankara's rights record is over
I know first-hand how difficult it is to take a firm stance against Turkey. As Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, I engaged in tough discussions with Ankara, wrote highly-critical reports, and tried to rally member states.
EUobserved
Ethiopia: Time to tell the truth, Ambassador
Ethiopia's war is being fought not just in a blackout, but also in a fog of lies, and Ethiopia's envoy to the EU is making matters worse.
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.
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.
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Latest News
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- 'Hundreds' of Russian mercenaries in Mali, EU confirms
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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.
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.
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.
