The EPP Group says it is “shocked” to learn of the death of Alexei Navalny, the 2021 Sakharov Prize laureate. The death of the Russian dissident in prison was announced on Friday and led to condemnation across the world. Reacting, Manfred Weber, a German MEP and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament,…
Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash The total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine in the next ten years is $486 billion (€452.8 billion), a new report says. This is up from $411 bn (€383 billion) estimated one year ago. This comes after almost two years of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. This damage is the assessment…
Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash A leading think tank has welcomed news that leaders of the EU-27 have agreed an extra 50 billion euros support package for Ukraine within the EU budget. The decision was made at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels on 1 February. The move was greeted by Zsuzsanna Vegh, associate researcher at the…
The geography of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian targets is steadily expanding. Russian air defences are completely ineffective: enemy drones fly unimpeded to their targets anywhere in the European part of Russia, travelling over 1,500 kilometres and destroying Russian infrastructure. Drone attacks became more frequent in recent months, and in mid-January 2024 began to occur…
The year 2024 is a huge year for elections and seen as a global test for democracy. More than two billion people across 50 countries are expected to go the polls this year and it is not only November’s USA presidential election that counts. International observers, including the European Union, will be in Senegal for…
Russia will hold another presidential election in March 2024. Given the totalitarian reality of Russia, there is no doubt that Putin will be re-elected for another 6 years, and that this will herald a period of geopolitical turbulence for Europe. Holding such elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is a challenge for the…
The Republic of The Gambia reiterated on Thursday in Dakhla its “unwavering” support for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom and its endorsement of the Autonomy Initiative as the only “credible and realistic” solution for resolving the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. This stance was expressed in a joint communiqué issued at the end of…
Tonight (25th January) we celebrate the life and poetry of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland. Honouring a national poet is something that Scotland shares with Ukraine, two of the few countries in the world to do so. Robert Burns is renowned for the respect in which he held his fellow man. He was…
Photo by İltun Huseynli on Unsplash Remarks made by Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission during the press conference following the Foreign Affairs Council held on 22 January 2024 have provoked a stiff response from Azerbaijan, through their spokesman for Foreign Affairs. Azerbaijan is aggrieved by the…
Nasser Bourita the Moroccan Minister for Foreign Affairs African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates held a top level meeting in Rabat yesterday with the Foreign Minister of Mauritania Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk. “His Majesty the King considers that Mauritania has its rightful place and importance in the Royal Initiative to promote access to the Atlantic Ocean…
