Putin and the Russian Horde

The Russian Horde

Putin’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine has forced all of us to take another look at the Russian ideology, on which the Kremlin’s foreign policy actions are based. If initially the “special operation” was presented by the Kremlin as a defence of “Donbass” and “liberation of Ukraine” from the “Nazis”, today Putin’s war is…

EU Agency for Cybersecurity ENISA

ENISA

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), today inaugurated its new premises with representatives from the cyber agencies of all EU Member States, immediately making use of the new facilities to launch a strategic discussion around the Agency’s current work in its Management Board. Minister of Digital Governance of the Hellenic Republic, Kyriakos Pierrakakis  stated: “I am…

Fighting Homelessness in Belgium

Homeless

Effectively fighting homelessness requires the availability of clear, reliable and comparable data.  For the second consecutive year, the King Baudouin Foundation has supported research teams (from (LUCAS KU Leuven and UCLouvain CIRTES) in organising point-in-time counts of homeless people at the end of 2021 in four cities and regions: Charleroi, Namur, the southern part of…

Gender Balance on Corporate Boards

Women on corporate boards

The European Parliament’s  Women’s Rights and Legal Affairs Committees has backed talks with the Council of the EU on a bill to increase gender balance on corporate boards. Once confirmed by plenary, negotiations can move forward on the draft legislation aimed at ensuring gender parity on boards of publicly listed companies in the EU. Parliament…

Pay Transparency

Kira Marie Peter-Hansen

Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Greens/EFA MEP and European Parliament rapporteur for the Pay Transparency directive in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, comments: “With today’s vote, the Parliament is sending a clear signal that we want to close the pay gap. It should be a thing of the past that women are paid less than men,…

Belgium can help peaceful Ukrainian citizens and refugees

Kryvyi Rih

As a result of Russian aggression in Ukraine, thousands of civilians have already been killed over 21 days of the war, including more than a hundred children. Millions of Ukrainians are forced to hide in basements to avoid being torn apart by Russian bombs and rockets raining on their homes every day. Many are forced…

Russian allegations of Ukraine planning “offensive” on Crimea, Donbass

Crimea is Ukraine

The Russian Federation is trying to discredit Ukraine in the international arena by claiming it has at its disposal what turn out to be hoax planning documents about an alleged preparation by Ukraine for an offensive that was to be launched on 8 March against Crimea and the so-called “LPR/DPR”. The allegation was voiced by…

Suffering of Animals Exported from EU

animal transport

Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and Animals International (AI) have witnessed how an old, former cargo ship with nearly 8,000 animals on board needed to be replaced while at sea. Inadequate European legislation and its poor implementation regularly lead to prolonged suffering of animals exported outside the EU. On February 23rd,…

Corporate Environmental and Social Reporting

Sustainability Report

Large companies will soon need to publicly disclose detailed information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental risks. On Tuesday, the Legal Affairs Committee adopted its position on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) with 22 votes in favour and one against. If agreed with EU governments, the bill will make businesses…

Lies and Fascism. Have They Become The New Normal?

Lies and Fascism

24 February. Morning. Phone call. Kyiv is being bombed, sirens are wailing all over the city. Following the unprovoked Russian attack in Ukraine, martial law is introduced, the President announces the severance of diplomatic relations with Moscow. Feeling of surrealism. Today is the 20th day of the war, and Russia continues to deny that it…