Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash EU leaders converged on Brussels on Thursday for a key summit. They will discuss the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, the next institutional cycle, Ukraine, the Middle East, security and defence and competitiveness. EU council president Charles Michel said this will be a “particularly significant meeting”. Speaking just ahead of the meeting, he said it…
Year: 2024
A Step Towards Peace
Key resolutions were adopted at the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, aimed at supporting Ukraine amidst its steadfast resistance against full-scale Russian aggression. This significant moment occurred on June 26, when PACE expressed solidarity with Ukraine, defending its independence and sovereignty. During the session, three key…
ECJ Reviews Denmark’s Ghetto Package
Photo by Allan Vega on Unsplash The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will hold a public hearing on July 1 to review the legality under European law of the Danish government’s “Ghetto Package.” This is a programme introduced in 2018 that, it is said, seeks to reshape the demographic makeup of neighbourhoods through the reduction…
Russian Nazi Blitzkrieg of Kharkiv
The 83rd anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union was tragically echoed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, as Russian forces unleashed a devastating bombardment on the city centre using precision-guided munitions. On June 22nd, guided aerial bombs once again fell on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city. The Russian Armed Forces dropped four such bombs,…
Jeffrey Sachs in the Italian Parliament.
The growing popularity of Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs in Europe is causing mixed feelings in political circles. His most recent appearance was in Rome, 20 June. He presented his views to a group of Italian MPs and a group of observers on the war in Ukriane at a conference entitled “The European and Italian…
Do Postal Votes Work?
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash Campaign groups New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy have teamed up with the British Overseas Voters Forum for an investigation into how well the postal system will perform for Britons abroad voting in the UK General Election on 4 July. It comes after the head of the British Overseas Voters Forum, Bruce…
Stopping Violence Against Women
Photo by Saif71.com on Unsplash New laws to combat violence against women have now entered into force. Violence against women and domestic violence affect an estimated one in three of the 228 million women in the EU. However, a new EU wide law aims to offer much needed help and support to victims. It seeks to criminalised certain…
Brussels Campaign to Register Voters
Photo by Phil Scroggs on Unsplash One in three residents in Brussels are not Belgian and, in some areas of the city, it is almost half. But up to 285,000 in Brussels could vote in the 2024 municipal elections which are important as they dictate how local policies are enforced in the coming years. Now a campaign has…
Weber Re-Elected Chairman of EPP
Veteran German MEP Manfred Weber has again been elected as leader of the biggest group in the EU parliament. Weber is a long serving German deputy from the CSU – Christlich Soziale Union – political party and a well known figure in EU circles. He was re-elected chairman of the EPP Group in the European…
Call to Halt Discrimination Against Roma People
Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash The number of attacks on Sinti and Roma registered in Germany nearly doubled in 2023, according to a new report. The Antiziganism Reporting and Information Center (MIA), a federal data tracking agency in Germany, recorded 1,233 such cases — up from 621 in 2022. In all, authorities recorded 50 violent attacks, 10 of which…