Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash Skills, education and lifelong learning will be vital in navigating the EU’s green and digital transitions. That was the message to emerge from a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), The meeting coincides with the new Danish Council Presidency. The Bureau of the EESC held an exchange of views…
Author: James Wilson
The Rust Beneath the Armour
Photo by Albert Hyseni on Unsplash While Russia continues to throw unprecedented resources into its war machine, the country’s industrial foundations are showing clear signs of strain. Key strategic sectors including automotive, metallurgy, and agricultural machinery are quietly reducing operations. Enterprises such as AvtoVAZ and KamAZ have transitioned to four-day working weeks, citing falling demand and…
The Kremlin’s Silent Front
Photo by Janosch Diggelmann on Unsplash As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its fourth year without any military conclusion, the Kremlin is intensifying efforts on another front – not military, but political, psychological, and humanitarian. One of the most concerning tools in this unbalanced arsenal is the weaponisation of irregular migration. Instead of tanks,…
Russia Found Guilty of Shooting Down MH17
Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash On 9 July the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Russia is fully responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, which resulted in the deaths of all 298 onboard, most of them Dutch citizens. The ruling was part of a…
Icebreakers Hide Deadly Nuclear Threat
Photo by Hao Zhang on Unsplash By all appearances, Russia is positioning itself as a global leader in nuclear technology, promoting innovations like the RITM-200 small modular reactor (SMR) as a key element of energy independence for remote regions and developing nations alike. Sleek promotional campaigns by Rosatom promise high-tech, compact, and safe nuclear solutions…
Strong MEP Support for Budapest Pride Event
Photo by Brian Kyed on Unsplash MEPs were among therecord crowds at the Pride march in Budapest this weekend. The organisers of the event, which this year marks its 30th anniversary, have accused the Hungarian government of attempting to restrict peaceful protests by targeting them. As a show of support scores of MEPs were in…
Russia and Iran Coordinate Chaos
Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash The events of the past 48 hours and the Iranian missile strikes on U.S. bases in Qatar, Iraq, and Syria should be seen not just as a regional flare-up, but as part of a broader and more worrying geopolitical pattern: the increasing military-strategic cooperation between Russia and Iran. This…
European Parliament Crackdown on Child Abuse
Anders Vistisen MEP says he supports child protection but defends national legal sovereignty and harsher penalties against child abusers, including medical castration. He was speaking on Wednesday in a key plenary debate on the proposal to combat child abuse across the EU. Vistisen emphasized both his strong support for protecting vulnerable children and his firm…
Europe’s Front Line Begins in Ukraine
In the early hours of 6 June, Russia launched yet another massive air assault on civilian targets in Ukraine – a grim reminder that the Kremlin continues to rely on terror as a core tactic in its war. Although not the most extensive missile strike since the onset of the full-scale invasion, it was by…
Can US Sanctions, and an End to Double Standards over Sudan Prevent more Extreme Violence?
Photo by Mohamed Tohami on Unsplash The US State Department’s imposition of sanctions against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over their use of chemical weapons suggests the beginnings of a shift in the international community’s engagement with the crisis in Sudan. Along with concerns over Iran and other nations supplying the arms that enabled the…