Photo by UX Gun on Unsplash Giles Merritt, founder of Friends of Europe, warns that increased defence spending on ‘white elephant’ projects risks starving more innovative ones that could revolutionise military thinking. Ukraine’s David may not have felled the Russian Goliath, but so far he’s stopped him in his tracks. The significance of how Ukraine unexpectedly stalemated Russia’s…
Author: Guest Contributor
EU sanctions against insurance companies and the risk of environmental disasters
Alessandro Bertoldi, Executive Director of the Milton Friedman Institute, invites the EU to revise the sanctions regime against insurance companies to reduce the risks of environmental disaster in light of a recent naval incident and oil spill off Tobago. On the 7th of February, a critical incident unfolded off the south shore of Tobago when…
Azerbaijan a model of global peace
Photo by İltun Huseynli on Unsplash With the backdrop of the fourth industrial revolution ushering in a new era of transformation, the developed nations of the world—particularly those capable of maintaining their military and economic stability—have become active participants in international projects and the focal point of the emerging new order. They are thus attempting to ascertain their…
Should Northern Ireland Have a Vote in the European Parliament Elections?
“It does seem a bit odd that if you are a French citizen living in Bali, then you can vote in the European Parliament elections, yet if you are an Irish citizen living in Belfast you can’t,” writes Else Kvist. Questions were raised at the UK Parliament, as to why Irish and British citizensliving in…
Is Europe Ready for a Trump Presidency?
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash There is a good chance that Donald Trump will return to the US presidency in 2025. That would endanger European interests, but Europe is not investing in mitigating the risks, writes Ian Bond. In less than a year, the next US president will be inaugurated. Donald Trump, who has just thumped his…
UK Constituencies Abroad
Photo by Matt Brown on Unsplash European Britons (The Association) was born out of the belief that all UK passport holders have a universal right to be enfranchised where ever they happen to legally reside, writes Paul Fisher. If resident in the UK, that means being directly represented by voting in all elections and referenda. If resident outside…
The Mystery of the Missing Kalashnikovs
Photo by Thomas Tucker on Unsplash In a story worthy of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle’s Detective Sherlock Holmes, according to the Armenian Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan the Armenian military has somehow managed to lose 17 000 assault rifles from their armouries, writes Sarah Miller. The main assault weapon of the Armenian military are Russian produced Kalashnikov rifles,…
Senegal: A democratic beacon on the continent with a coup epidemic
Photo by aboodi vesakaran on Unsplash On a continent hit by a spate of coups and hindered by leaders resistant to stepping down at the end of their constitutional terms, Senegal stands out as a democratic beacon. Among other democratic credentials, they have in President Macky Sall a leader who believes in transition and the country’s life after…
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…
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…