The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has said that the Russians are committing mass war crimes against civilians in the occupied territories of Ukraine. As of 19 December, the UN recorded 142 cases of executions of Ukrainian civilians. In addition, numerous facts about large-scale torture and cruel behaviour towards detainees, including sexual…
Month: December 2023
Deal or No Deal?
Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash In 2016 during the referendum campaign Boris Johnson promised “we could strike free trade deals with America”; he would later add that such a deal would be “quickly in the back pocket.” In 2020 as PM he boasted: “We have got Brexit done and can now take full advantage of the…
Environmental Challenges in Central Asia
Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution initiated by Uzbekistan on: “Central Asia in the face of environmental challenges: strengthening regional solidarity for the sake of sustainable development and prosperity,” writes Qodir Djuraev. The inter-governmental negotiation process to develop and agree on the text of the resolution took place over…
Bioeconomy projects prove a boon for EU economy
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash Climate change is an existential risk and depending on fossil resources is only likely to worsen the situation. At the same time the European economy has been affected by a pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This all begs the question: How can Europe transition to a lowcarbon economy while continuing to…
Putin’s March on Europe
If Putin is not defeated in Ukraine, he will march on Europe. In recent months, in sync with attempts at massive assaults on the front, Russia has been concentrating its propaganda efforts to cut off any Western support for Ukraine. In particular, it has cultivated the myth that the Russian army is invincible (which, in…
Mixed Reaction to Historic EU Deal on Migration
Photo by Ravi Sharma on Unsplash MEPs and national governments have reached a long-sought agreement to revamp the EU’s asylum and migration legislation. The EU Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on the final form of five separate EU regulations, establishing how to share the management of asylum and migration flows among member states and what to do in…
Campaign for overseas constituencies gains fresh momentum
Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash A senior French MP has thrown his weight behind a campaign in Britain for overseas parliamentary constituencies. The campaign, run jointly by New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy, says the UK could benefit by giving a “voice” to the 3.5 British citizens living abroad. French parliamentarian Alexandre Holroyd is one of 11 representatives of French citizens living abroad and took part in…
Ukraine’s EU Accession Talks
On 14 December, EU leaders approved the European Commission’s recommendation to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, bringing both countries even closer to joining the EU. This is an extremely positive development for the whole of Eastern Europe, but at the same time there are many obstacles to overcome. Despite Orbán’s best efforts, the…
Judicial Independence in Uzbekistan
Photo by AXP Photography on Unsplash In order to ensure true independence, impartiality, openness and transparency in the work of the courts and to improve the efficiency and quality of justice, our country is carrying out large-scale judicial reforms as part of building a New Uzbekistan. The main purpose of this is to ensure in…
EU Sanctions Against Russia
As part of the comprehensive twelfth package of sanctions adopted yesterday, the Council decided to impose restrictive measures on an additional 61 individuals and 86 entities responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Today’s new listings target primarily the military and defence sectors. The Council is listing more than 40 companies taking part…