“Don’t leave Belarus alone!” That was the message of a conference organised by New Europeans with human rights campaigners from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia to mark International Democracy Day, 15 September, writes Roger Casale. In a moving address from her home outside Minsk, Olga Zubrilova, explained how she had become involved in the democratic movement…
Brussels observers of the fight against corruption in Ukraine have expressed deep concerns about the efficiency of policies put in place in the last five years, during an online dialogue organised by the Brussels Press Club on 2 September, writes Willy Fautré. On 28 August 2020, the Constitutional Court declared a decree by President Petro…
In 2020, the world has been hit by an unprecedented public health crisis, with the effects of COVID-19 being felt across every aspect of people’s lives, writes Jaushieh Joseph Wu. This year also marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations—the mission statement that stands at the very heart…
When life returns to the EU institutions and work restarts after the holiday season, it should be highlighted that the summer was not wasted, writes László Andor. The European Council adopted critical, innovative and to some extent revolutionary decisions to create an effective fiscal capacity against the recession that has been triggered by the COVID-19…
Except for Captain Tom Moore, who recently captured the nation’s hearts for his fundraising efforts at the height of the pandemic, the most famous living son of the Yorkshire town of Keighley (the area I represented in Parliament from 2017 -2019) is probably Alistair Campbell, writes John Grogan. Whilst working for Tony Blair as Director of…
On the occasion of the anniversary of Nazi genocide of Roma 76 years ago, Roma activists call for a robust fight against the rise of far-right populism. They implore that Roma history and Roma genocide be taught across schools in Europe so that young people can understand and fight against existing fascism and racism in society. …
By Luiz Eduardo and Pedro Abramovay. Soldiers can be angels of mercy or weapons of tyranny. In Brazil, in 2016, when Zika virus swept through Brazil, the country deployed 220,000 soldiers to hand out educational material to citizens on how to combat the new virus that was ravaging the country, a strategy that proved effective in mitigating the spread of the…
Moroccan journalist Omar Radi exercises his profession freely. As such he has never been worried or questioned in any way in the course of his work or activities, or even in his public positions. Until the end of 2019 he had never complained of any infringement or restriction in this regard, either to the competent…
By Dr. Ceyhun Osmanli Protests by the Armenian Diaspora in Brussels last week turned violent, with a premeditated attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy. Similar incidents were orchestrated around the globe in what appears to have been a coordinated campaign of terror. In this opinion editorial, our guest correspondent Dr Ceyhun Osmanli warns of the dangers…
By Sam Lowe, and Luigi Scazzieri Turkey and the UK want to maintain a close relationship after the Brexit transition ends. But concluding a trade deal will not be easy, and relations could sour if tensions increase between Turkey and the EU or US. A UK-Turkey trade deal is “very close”, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu…
