Monday
3rd Oct 2022
Europe has muted its criticism of India and accepted both the country's neutrality on the Russian war in Ukraine and prime minister Narendra Modi's undemocratic conduct and discrimination of minorities.
EU commissioner Ylva Johansson's words on refugee protection were welcome. But, worryingly, the commitments made by EU leaders at the forum have not translated into action. There is still time for them to save face — but it's running out.
The UN report's findings should be met by the EU with a more principled and human rights-centred approach to China — urging the UN Office on Genocide Prevention to conduct an assessment of atrocities.
Some have tried to justify Big Tech's meagre tax payments in EU states with heavier tax burdens by emphasising the fact that these companies create jobs and invest in next-generation technologies. However, their market dominance comes at a steep cost.
The Queen's funeral was an impressive demonstration of solidarity from the EU towards a country that left the Union in 2020, and with whom the EU's relations have never recovered. Can the new King Charles III build bridges to Brussels?
Moscow's military mobilisation and the subsequent fear and unrest in Russia, means the question of Vladimir Putin's political future and possible regime change in Russia has reappeared.
The EU and Australia should aim to proactively reduce vulnerabilities and dependencies. Both have strong economic links to China, which aims to intimidate the EU and Australia in the hope that it can change our political positions.
Whether on Russia, or gas, or climate change, or food security, the EU's constant finger-wagging and moralising is becoming unbearably repetitive and self-defeating. Most countries in the Global South view it as eurocentric and neo-colonial.
The problem is many of the reasons Kyiv has so successfully fended off Russia's onslaught in cyberspace cannot simply be replicated anywhere else — not least due to international law.
The European Union and its 27 member states will play a decisive role in deciding the fate of the hippo.
A Special Tribunal on Russian war crimes in Ukraine must be convened, because no permanent or existing international judicial institution is endowed with jurisdiction over Russian high-ranking officials, writes the head of the Ukraine delegation to the Council of Europe.
While in 2015 the top-declaring companies spent roughly €90m between them on lobbying the EU, this figure increased to almost €120 million in 2022.
From 2050 onwards, the EU should remove more greenhouse gases than it emits — a great challenge. Are the member states ready for this challenge? The answer is no.
Notwithstanding the remarkable Ukrainian advances, a Russian defeat would not necessarily translate into regime change in Moscow. It is likely Putin will try to spin his military setbacks as evidence of the existential threat facing Russia.
The current energy crisis is a good example of "emancipatory catastrophism" — the idea that humanity only moves forward out of fear for a catastrophe. Sometimes one needs a looming disaster to change what should have been changed long ago.
The European Commission has not taken any initiative to restaff the position of a coordinator on combating anti-Muslim hatred, which has been void since July 2021 and starved of resources and a clear mandate.
A report on Russian spying at the Council of Europe doesn't present the slightest evidence for the far-reaching allegations it makes, the Council's parliamentary president, Tiny Kox says.
It is difficult to see how Vladimir Putin can survive more major setbacks or outright defeat. Should this happen, Russia will find itself in a major political crisis. But offering him negotiations now would help him, by easing domestic pressure.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. It is time for Ursula von der Leyen to rise to the challenge. Better late than never, writes the opposition Socialists & Democrats' vice-president ahead of the State of the Union speech.
My key goal as UNHCR representative in Yemen is to enhance collaboration with and support to authorities to fulfil their primary responsibilities to displaced Yemenis and refugees to ensure they are protected, assisted and able to rebuild their dignified lives.
'A slow build-up of weak or unethical decision making leads over time to crises that can inflict an enormous human and financial cost', warns the EU Ombudsman writing for EUobserver ahead of Ursula von der Leyen's State of Union speech.
Bowing to pressure from radical-nationalist groups and the deeply-conservative Orthodox Church, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić announced last week EuroPride 2022 would be cancelled –– even though he legally lacks the authority to do so.
In the European Parliament hearing into espionage against Greek politicians and reporters, the spied-upon journalists recounted their experiences — but the non-answers provided by the Greek government official were embarrassing, confrontative, and institutionally vacant.
Instead of programming structural investments to achieve energy independence and shatter the oligopoly of big energy companies, the EU delayed any kind of statement or intervention that could reveal that the Emperor — the market — has no clothes.
While rushing to replace Russian gas, EU policymakers next week should ensure they keep biomethane in its sustainable niche, not use it as a bandage for a broken status quo.
Poland's ruling nationalist Law & Justice government (PiS) have demanded a staggering €1.3trillion in reparations from Germany for damages from the second world war, but what they really want is domestic approval, as the opinion-poll lead droops.
So far rich countries have pledged pitiful amounts of aid to Pakistan. The EU, responsible for 23.2 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, has allocated a mere €1.8 million for humanitarian assistance — less than five cents per person.
So-called Russian tourists should not be able to travel to the EU and Schengen countries. Tourist visas already issued should be suspended — and stop issuing new ones, says Urmas Paet, vice-chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee.
As a Green MEP, ex-environment minister and former vice prime-minister of Sweden, Isabella Lovin spent many years advocating for ocean conservation and the welfare of fisheries dependent communities. The UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon was all words, no action.
As Europe re-opens for business, the tragic death of a three-month old infant at the squalid and over-crowded Ter Apel refugee centre in the Netherlands has sparked shock, horror and recrimination.
The vision of the founding fathers was to curb the absolute sovereignty of the bellicose European states rather than to vest absolute sovereignty in a new overarching European empire.
A recent consultation, which ended in June, constituted the first step toward legislation from Brussels on a digital euro. From a legislative standpoint, adoption of a digital euro will particularly require laws in areas such as privacy and anti-money laundering.
This winter's gas squeeze will pit affordable energy against longer-term climate and democracy policies. European leaders should not buckle to short-term energy fixes but maintain policy coherence that marries all three areas — or lose support both citizens and allies.
