Sunday
28th Nov 2021
Much supply-chain abuse remains hidden from plain sight – not only to consumers but to the companies themselves, who have built increasingly longer, more complicated, and more opaque supply chains, which have become harder to monitor, control and account for.
Sitting justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro down on the same bench as Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga or Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir might seem like a longshot, if not overkill - but shows just how desperate the Polish people have become.
Climate change, economic opportunities and geopolitics make European and German attention to the 'High North' a political necessity, writes the EU's special envoy for Arctic matters.
If China is allowed unimpeded to break the law of the sea in the South China Sea, think about the repercussions elsewhere. It could ricochet into Europe's High North. In the Arctic, Nordic nations have overlapping claims with Russia.
"America is back" may have soothed souls in the past but today's world is a 'mix and match' one where nations don't want a binary choice between aligning with the US, or becoming part of Beijing's orbit.
Kazakhstan has never had an election deemed free-and-fair by credible international observers. Kazakh authorities show unwavering intolerance towards any group, movement, or party critical of the government, and have arbitrarily applied abusive 'extremism' accusations against political opponents.
Regional politics, competing global priorities and, sadly, a deliberate misinformation campaign that seeks to dismantle the agency jeopardise the critical mission of one of the United Nations' true success stories.
As some politicians, including in the neighbouring countries Serbia and Croatia, ratchet-up their inflammatory rhetoric, the international community is struggling to find a response to escalating tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
People in Bishop Auckland who voted for Brexit are like the French who idolise Éric Zemmour because he blames France's misfortunes on Muslims, or like the Dutch who support Thierry Baudet, whose far-right party organises paramilitary training in plain view.
The death at the age of 56 of the leader of the successor social democratic party in Greece has opened up the possibility of a return to top table politics for George Papandreou
This week, the European Investment Bank's board of directors, comprised of European Commission and member state representatives, will decide on a new transparency policy. It must seize this opportunity to salvage its image by drastically improving the bank's information disclosure
All important future challenges - climate protection, digitalisation, strong public health care - call for massive and comprehensive investment programmes.
One shortcoming is that this cornerstone of EU transparency comes from a radically different era, predating many modern communications tools, such as smartphones and instant messaging, and the emergence of 'Big Data'.
To understand why Law and Justice believes its reforms are required, it is useful to look back at the collapse of communism in 1989. Did Poland consolidate liberal democracy after 1989?
The EU is not only turning a blind eye to Israel's belligerent and illegal gas extractions but outrightly colluding by financing and otherwise supporting costly infrastructure projects. The ongoing gas crisis affecting the EU is no excuse for this behaviour
The core demand of Fridays for Future could not be less threatening: governments should implement the promises they made in the 2015 Paris Agreement. But there is much talk that the old institutions of representative democracy are not good enough.
The one lesson these MEPs should have learned before enjoying Taiwan's superb hospitality (great food, marvellous hotels, great headlines) is a simple one: "Don't Rock the Boat".
The EU should not seek Beijing's permission to strike trade deals in the Indo-Pacific region. China itself signed a trade agreement with Taiwan in 2010.
No wonder, despite the diplomatic and military initiatives, most countries in the region see China as the new leader. Perhaps it is easier to adjust military strategy towards China, than to tackle the addiction of consumers and companies to China.
EU policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on a failing trajectory for a decade-and-a-half. Now, in cooperation with the US/UK, it is seeking to camouflage failure with appeasement of separatists in Bosnia - lending a geopolitical win to Russia.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, came to office with a commitment to "pave the way for the development of a multiparty system" - but there is little sign of progress two years later.
The designation perfectly fits into Israel's long-conceived strategy to besmirch Palestinian civil society voices under false allegations of terrorism and antisemitism, while pressuring any international actor that grants them a hearing, and actively demanding their defunding.
EU institutions and states abdicated their responsibilities for search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, deputising Libya to take their place, withdrawing naval assets from high-seas corridors, and obstructing, even criminalising, NGO groups, writes the European director of Human Rights Watch.
We propose a mandatory solidarity mechanism that allows for flexible options. Every member state will have to contribute in one way or another - through either relocation, return sponsorship or capacity-building measures, writes EPP rapporteur Tomas Tobé MEP.
Former UK ambassador to Mali and Niger, who also served in Kabul, reflects on the implications of the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan for EU policy in the Sahel.
China's growing economic footprint in Ukraine may already be producing geopolitical consequences that put the country at odds with core European priorities. Volodymyr Zelensky decided earlier this year to withdraw Ukraine's condemnation of Chinese government crimes against the Uighurs.
Fair Trials, EDRi and other civil society organisations are calling on MEPs to hold true to protect our fundamental rights. We urge MEPs to vote against the revision of Europol's mandate, which distinctly lacks meaningful accountability and safeguards.
Why the European Parliament's vote against the discharge of Frontex is the only plausible position for anyone who values human life.
With Poland throwing the legal order of Europe in disarray, Russia rationing Europe's gas supply and the UK reneging on its Brexit commitments, perhaps the moment has come again to read a few essays by French philosopher Michel de Montaigne.
What we call for is another approach to the financing of the European Grean Deal. While a lot of attention is being paid to decarbonisation, the other two aspects - de-financialisation and democratisation - are largely ignored.
In a Kafka-esque irony, Frontex is withholding public access to documents pertaining to the response of a public institution to a protest by members of the public on grounds that this would violate the "public interest".
There is a stretch of brand new, EU-funded railway line from the town of Bitola in North Macedonia to the Greek border, but no train has ever used it.
Polish women are on the front line of a battle for human rights and rule of law. They need urgent EU protection, amid death threats and government abuse.
