MEPs boycott trip after Israeli snub
Last-minute Israeli blacklistings and red lines have prompted MEPs to call off an official trip, posing the question if Israel can belittle the EU Parliament with impunity.
Podcast
Ultraconservatives in Putin's shadow
Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war has threatened to be a public relations disaster for hard-right gatherings like the Conservative Political Action Conference — now meeting in Budapest and featuring Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who remains highly-cordial with the Kremlin.
Opinion
Will 'Putin's Nato' follow Warsaw Pact into obscurity?
Valdimir Putin's equivalent to Nato — the Collective Security Treaty Organization of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Belarus — is convening in Moscow next week to give cover that Russia is not alone in its war against Ukraine.
News in Brief
- UK to send 'hundreds' of migrants to Rwanda each year
- Norwegian knife attacks were domestic dispute
- Sweden hits back at Turkey's 'disinformation' in Nato bid
- Germany's Schröder gives up one of two Russia jobs
- G7 countries pledge €18bn in financial aid for Ukraine
- Italian unions strike in protest over military aid for Ukraine
- Russia cuts gas supply to Finland
- Half of Gazprom's clients have opened rouble accounts
EU and US keen to seize Russian funds for Ukraine
The EU and US are carrying out legal assessments on whether it can use frozen Russian money to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
Roma refugees from Ukraine face Czech xenophobia
Facing with war at home and xenophobia in the Czech Republic, Ukraine's Roma refugees are falling between the cracks of Europe's great humanitarian effort.
Opinion
Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine - the case for granting EU candidacy
Granting EU candidacy status to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine will firmly anchor their ties with Brussels — and enable the EU to secure its place in the Black Sea region, connecting Europe to China and energy-rich Central Asia, bypassing Russia.
EU states warn of looming food-price crisis
Prices of cereals, fertilisers, and oilseed have shot up drastically in several European markets due to Russia's war on Ukraine, prompting some member states to seek EU aid.
EU plans to jointly invest in defence capabilities
EU countries need to refill stockpiles after several member states supplied weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, and to phase out existing Soviet-era weapons systems, and reinforce air defence.
UK and EU edge closer to trade war over Northern Ireland
The EU warning comes after the UK government escalated the conflict over the Northern Ireland protocol — a set of post-Brexit trade rules — by saying it will unilaterally pass a law to change the EU-UK trade treaty.
Hungary wants EU billions for Russia oil-ban deal
Hungary is continuing to block an EU oil embargo on Russia, but there is optimism its objections can soon be overcome — perhaps within a few days to "a week or two", according to some EU foreign ministers.
Sweden to join Finland in applying for Nato
Sweden has signalled it will follow Finland in applying to join Nato, as Switzerland also mulls closer ties with the Western alliance.
UK says 'no choice but to act' over post-Brexit trade rules
British foreign secretary Liz Truss said the UK has "no choice but to act" on the Northern Ireland protocol governing post-Brexit trade during a call with EU Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič — who warned unilateral action was "simply not acceptable".
UK threatens to scrap post-Brexit trade deal
The UK rejected proposals by the EU to tweak the protocol governing trade in Northern Ireland, and has threatened to suspend the rules as loyalists lost their majority in the Northern Ireland elections.
Opinion
Is EU 'Horizon' science funding going towards Pegasus spyware?
MEPs have raised questions about the involvement of the EU — through its funding — in the development of the Israeli NSO Pegasus software, directly or indirectly, which has been used to target activists and journalists in Europe.
Syria donor conference shuns Russia
Russia was not invited to an international donor conference on Syria in Brussels given its war in Ukraine. Moscow had also recently threatened to veto a humanitarian corridor from Turkey to Syria.
Column
Ukraine shows the EU must think beyond tomorrow
International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva is among those warning that increases in food and energy prices due to the Ukraine war will trigger social unrest. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are proof that this is already happening.
Opinion
With John Lee at helm, what now for EU and Hong Kong?
Civil society groups in Hong Kong have suffered the wrath of the John Lee-led crackdown as security tsar. Now he is the chief executive of Hong Kong itself.
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Latest News
- Missing guns amid rising far-right hate in EU
- MEPs boycott trip after Israeli snub
- What Europe still needs to do to save its bees
- Remembering Falcone: How Italy almost became a narco-state
- Economic worries and Hungary on the spot Next WEEK
- MEPs urge sanctioning the likes of ex-chancellor Schröder
- MEPs call for a more forceful EU response to Kremlin gas cut
- Catalan leader slams Pegasus use: 'Perhaps I'm still spied on'
EU mulls shoring up Rwanda armed forces in Mozambique
The EU may spend up to €20m in non-lethal weapons to help Rwanda's military operations in Mozambique. The EU is also training Mozambique armed forces, which has courted Russia's Wagner group.
EU should drop unanimity in foreign policy, Italian PM says
Italian prime minister Mario Draghi called for the EU to abandon its requirement for unanimity on foreign policy decisions but also called for EU help to mitigate the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine.
Opinion
On World Press Freedom Day, new threats to journalists surge
World Press Freedom Day: two sinister and distinct trends in harassment against reporters have emerged: the onslaught of online abuse targeting — in particular — women journalists, and the weaponisation of laws against media practitioners.
Opinion
Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova vs EU's Eastern Partnership?
Associated Trio vs Eastern Partnership? — why putting the spotlight on Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova should not come at the expense of the remaining EU Eastern Partnership countries.
Russia's war in Ukraine hitting Palestinian refugees
International attention on Ukraine is leading to funding shortfalls for aid agencies elsewhere — such as inSyria and Lebanon, where food prices have also spiked.
Magazine
Ugandan activist Hilda Nakabuye warns over climate inaction
Hilda Flavia Nakabuye, one of Africa's leading climate activists and lead of Uganda's Fridays for Future movement, describes young Africa's green hopes.
Finland unfazed by Kremlin threats on Nato membership
Russian threats will not stop Finland joining Nato, a senior Finnish official has indicated, amid memories of its 'Winter War' with the Soviet Union.
Opinion
Eastern Europe: Between hammer and anvil
For peace in Europe in the short term, Ukraine must win the war. But for peace in the long term, Germany must be contained and Russia must break apart.
Magazine
Interview: 'Carbon tax' MEP with one eye on Mozambique
Dutch MEP Mohammed Chahim is rapporteur forthe proposed carbon tax on imported goods which is planned to come into force in 2026. It is one of the biggest and most complex legislative proposals Europe has ever drawn up.
Russian army in oil-funded spending spree before Ukraine
Robust oil and gas revenue enabled Russia to go on a military spending spree ahead of its Ukraine invasion, according to researchers in Sweden.
Putin's shadow hangs over decisive French vote
There are just two candidates left to choose from in French elections Sunday: Macron and Le Pen. But a third figure, Russia's Putin, also hangs in the air.
Opinion
How Putin primed Kazakhstan for evading EU sanctions
Details of how 'Bloody January' unfolded in Kazakhstan indicate Russia planned its intervention well in advance — and that puts Almaty in Putin's debt.
Magazine
China & EU must cooperate on green goals, despite divides
The sombre moment of Russia's invasion of Ukraine requires that China and the EU put aside their differences and strengthen their cooperation on the green transition — even if doing so is difficult.
US signals Iran-type ban on Russia trade
Washington has signalled that any firms worldwide doing business with Russia could in future be cut off from US trade — the same way they were over Iran in the past.
Opinion
Weaponising Europe: Why EU should buy arms for its states
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the biggest blow to European security since the end of the Cold War. The EU's response must be commensurate with this challenge.
Opinion
Nato training: How Ukraine is actually winning against Russia
Ukraine is actually winning the war against Russia, and it's winning for the same reasons Azerbaijan won the Second Karabakh War with Armenia three years ago.
