Russia expels 40 German diplomats in tit-for-tat move

The EU Commission is also taking legal action in another case, where it says China is restricting European companies' rights over their high-tech patents.

A new EU Commission bill wants to ensure the rights of a child from same sex couples are upheld in all EU states — at a time of backsliding of LGBTI+ rights in Poland and Hungary.

From the outset, arms manufacturers eyed this war as a profitable business opportunity. Structural changes took place across the EU, not only to fast-track arms to Ukraine, but also to make more public finance available to the highly-lucrative arms industry.

"We cannot afford any more delays," Czech minister Zbyněk Stanjura said of aid to Ukraine, adding that his country's EU presidency is "fully committed to finding a compromise".

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, is currently drawing a pension from a European Parliament fund that is some €400m in debt and may require a taxpayer bailout at a time of rising inflation and high energy costs.

How should democratic states co-operate with authoritarian governments in the future? My organisation, Democracy Reporting International, has studied the security strategies of 13 democratic governments to understand how they see this relationship.