For most of Europe 11th November is remembered as commemorating Armistice Day and the declaration of peace at the end of the First World War in 1918. But in Germany, it marks the start of the “Fifth Season” or Carnival which begins at 11 minutes past 11 on the 11th day of the 11th month…
Following the expulsion of British diplomats in Minsk for allegedly observing street demonstrations against President Lukashenko, the Foreign Office in London yesterday expelled two Belarusian diplomats from the United Kingdom in direct retaliation for an action they condemned as unjustified. The UK Foreign Office said in a statement: “The UK government reiterates that the only…
In a report adopted on Monday, Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs have praised Ukraine’s progress on important reforms that bring the country further towards political association and economic integration with the EU. Ukraine has progressed in its commitments made in the Association Agreement (AA/DCFTA) with the European Union; particularly in the fields of agriculture, energy, banking, decentralisation, digital…
The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the European Policy Centre (EPC) have launched a joint report, titled ‘Marching home? Why repatriating foreign terrorist fighters is a pan-European priority.’ The report is co-authored by Prof. Ian Acheson, Senior Advisor to CEP and Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst at EPC. The report examines why Europe needs to…
As European leaders applaud the success of Airbus, an aerospace giant in a duopoly with Boeing, they are about to prevent any possibility of similar success in the digital sector, writes Pierre Bentata. A Franco-Dutch proposal, now gaining European attention, aims at imposing specific regulations on the major digital platforms, in order to limit their…
A total of 644 lawmakers from the European Union and elsewhere in Europe have called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to include Taiwan in its annual assembly, which is scheduled to resume virtually next week, writes Sylvia Teng. The WHA meetings will take place virtually from Nov. 9-14 in light of the ongoing pandemic….
Today we commemorate and honour the warriors who paid the ultimate sacrifice to defend the values of peace and democracy. Remembrance Sunday was established in 1919 to mark Armistice Day with the objective of ensuring that future generations would never forget those who gave their lives to secure the freedom of their families. Have we…
Commissioner Didier Reynders was, on Friday, meeting the 11 online platforms participating in the dialogue on tackling online consumer scams related to the coronavirus pandemic, together with consumer protection authorities. The purpose is to encourage platform operators to reinforce their preparedness to address new scams that could appear during the second wave of the pandemic and to prevent…
The European Commission has published several reports on actions taken by the signatories of the fake news code of conduct to fight false and misleading coronavirus-related information. The reports continue to give a good overview of actions taken by the online platforms during the month of September, and demonstrate willingness to provide increased transparency around their…
EPP Group MEPs Sven Simon, Christian Ehler and Christian Doleschal, together with a number of top scientists have sent a letter to the commission and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pleading with them to reject the drastic cuts to European research funds, as part of an agreement on the 7-year-EU-budget and the Recovery Fund. The letter was initiated…
