Analysis
Latest EU sanctions to bite Belarus dictator's income
Belarusian opposition leaders have broadly welcomed the EU's latest round of sanctions on regime henchmen, but some said they ought to have gone further.
News in Brief
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- Italian PM calls to move Euro 2020 final from London to Rome
- UN warns of 'cascade of human rights setbacks'
- Minister urges Belgians to ignore speculation over dead soldier
- Swedish government toppled in no-confidence vote
- EU takes aim at British TV and film perks
- Iran nuclear deal: President-elect Raisi issues warning over talks
- EU agriculture spending 'failed' to reduce farming emissions
EU to wage economic war on Belarus dictator
EU foreign relations chief Josep Borrell will announce sweeping economic sanctions on Belarus at Monday's foreign affairs meeting after Austria caved to pressure.
Austria blocking EU sanctions on Belarus banks
Austria has been blocking new EU sanctions on loans to Belarusian banks so that Austrian lenders can keep making money with the oppressive regime there.
Opinion
EU a 'Wild West' for China's unsafe toys, gadgets and clothes
China has already imposed its 'wild west' approach on our daily lives: more than 50 percent of the products listed as dangerous in the EU in 2020 came from China - mostly toys, electrical appliances and clothing.
Too soon to lift EU sanctions on Burundi, NGOs warn
The EU should not relax sanctions against Burundi until the regime there has stopped persecuting journalists and human rights activists, leading NGOs have said.
US and Russia restart talks on cyber and nuclear war
Relations between the US and Russia warmed up slightly after a summit in Switzerland, even as the EU predicted ties with Russia would get worse in future.
EU and US make peace on trade before Russia summit
The EU and US have ended their oldest trade war in a show of transatlantic unity one day before US president Joe Biden meets his Russian counterpart.
China officially joins Russia as danger to Nato
China has, for the first time, joined Russia as an explicit danger to Western allies after a Nato summit in Brussels on Monday.
Opinion
Biden in Brussels - what's in the 'in-tray'?
As president Joe Biden, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Charles Michel meet today, more than seven years have passed since the last opportunity for leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to engage face-to-face.
Interview
Yemen foreign minister to EU: to stop the war, talk to Iran
Yemen is experiencing critical days, as negotiations for a ceasefire are ongoing. Now it the time for Europe to put pressure on Iran, Yemen's foreign minister told EUobserver.
Brexit grumbles overshadow UK summit
Harsh words on Brexit overshadowed a G7 summit in the UK this weekend, which also pledged more vaccines for poor countries and criticised China on forced labour.
Former French PM to work for Russian oil firm
Former French prime minister François Fillon is preparing to work for a Russian oil firm, in just the latest case of high-level EU-Russia revolving doors.
Column
Nato's biggest enemy hides within
Just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, intellectuals like Paul Kennedy and Francis Fukuyama warned that a democracy cannot be preserved on utilitarianism and capitalism alone. That warning has only become more urgent.
Pressure builds on EU to back WTO vaccine-patent waiver
MEPs have backed a motion demanding the temporality lifting of intellectual properties rights of Covid-19 vaccines - a symbolic move that puts pressure on the European Commission to change its position on the issue of global access to vaccines.
EU to extend sanctions on Russia-occupied Crimea
The EU is to extend sanctions on Russia-occupied Crimea, amid a patchy history of compliance.
Opinion
Faced with Russian imperialist creep, EU has to get geopolitical
Lukashenko's Belarus is increasingly reminiscent of North Korea in its mix of capricious unpredictability and unbridled aggression born out of paranoia, writes Lithuania's foreign minister.
Column
'Sorry' still the hardest word, as EU steps up courtship of Africa
Sometimes it takes a little geopolitical competition to acknowledge the sins of the past.
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Latest News
- Latest EU sanctions to bite Belarus dictator's income
- Libyan detention centres must end, EU says
- Poland and Hungary sanctions procedure back after pandemic
- Sánchez risks 'betrayal' call with pardon for jailed Catalans
- EU a 'Wild West' for China's unsafe toys, gadgets and clothes
- 'You'll never walk alone' - our message to women
- Too soon to lift EU sanctions on Burundi, NGOs warn
- EU to wage economic war on Belarus dictator
Germany and Hungary clash on EU-China relations
Germany and Hungary have butted heads over EU policy on Hong Kong, in a dispute which made the EU foreign service look silly.
Opinion
Why is Serbia not going to join EU sanctions on Belarus?
As a membership candidate, Serbia is expected to join foreign policy declarations and restrictive measures of the EU. However, Serbia is unlikely to join the EU measures against Belarus for both international and domestic reasons.
Opinion
The glowing embers of Nagorno Karabakh
Our investigation reveals war crimes were committed by all parties to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Thousands of civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict. None of the key decision-makers are being held to account.
Russia threatens to cut Ukraine gas over Donbas war
Russia has threatened to cut off Ukraine's gas for political reasons, immediately after announcing the completion of a new pipeline to Germany.
Opinion
Morocco vs Spain: why it matters for the EU
As the crisis in Ceuta unfolded, Spain resolutely requested Brussels' support. And it got it.
EU counters Biden's vaccine patent-waiver with WTO plan
The EU has submitted to the World Trade Organization a plan aimed at expanding the production of Covid-19 vaccines - seen by Brussels as a quicker and more targeted solution than the intellectual property right-waiver proposal backed by the US.
EU to defend journalists from malicious law suits
Investigative journalism in Europe needed "legal" protection from the growing problem of malicious law suits, the European Commission and MEPs have said.
EU highlights suffering of Belarusian boy-prisoners
At least seven of Belarus' "political prisoners" were minors who needed special EU attention, 22 European ministers have said in a personal appeal.
Nato chief backs Belarus sanctions
Western allies reiterated plans to punish Belarus for a recent air hijack after Nato foreign ministers held video-talks on Tuesday
Column
Ryanair hijacking is an act of war - so how does EU respond?
We must recognise that subversive acts like the Ryanair hijack are acts of war, just like poisonings or the spread of fake news.
Greek and Turkish ministers make friends in Athens
Relations improved between Greece and Turkey at a high-level meeting in Athens on Monday, but the EU remains wary of Ankara.
Vestager not involved in Danish spy scandal, says office
Margrethe Vestager was interior and deputy prime minister during the reported US-led Danish spying scandal of top European allies. But her office points out that Danish intelligence services are overseen by its ministry of defence and justice.
Exclusive
Belgium seizes assets in Russia money-laundering affair
Belgium and Latvia have seized Russian assets in a "perpetual" money-laundering affair that saw the killing of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.
Opinion
Yemen is about to plummet into famine: EU must pull it back
At Tuesday's summit co-chaired by the EU and Sweden to discuss the most pressing issues faced by Yemen - world leaders have a real chance to pull the country back from the brink, write seven international NGOs.
Russia flight bans add to crisis in EU skies
Russia has banned some Austrian and French flights, amid disarray in European skies after the Belarus hijacking.
Ireland sets EU precedent on Israeli 'annexation'
Ireland has become the first EU country to formally designate Israeli settlement expansion as "annexation" of Palestinian land.
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