German Greens MEP Sven Giegold has called on the EU to offer protection for locally employed civilians in Afghanistan. He said, “The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has also put the local personnel of EU missions in the country at imminent risk. At least 600 local staff and their close family members of the EU Police…
The hottest topic in the Central African Republic (CAR) with local residents and the concerned international community alike is the continued need for the presence of UN troops in the CAR. Pundits have slammed the inefficiency of UN peacekeeping missions, since those deployed to conflict-torn countries generally fail to deliver on the main aim of…
Tomorrow, 8 June, the European Parliament will strongly condemn systematic repression in Belarus and the consequences for European security and freedom following the abduction of Roman Protasevitch and Sofia Sapega from a hijacked EU Rynair flight. “If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Nearly all men can stand adversity,…
The security forces of the Central African Republic (CAR) detained a French citizen this week and seized an impressive cache of weapons and intelligence equipment. According to the Ministry of the Interior, the suspect Mr. Quignolot had been in the CAR since 2013. He took part in the organisation of a coup in the CAR…
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the proposed new package of EU cybersecurity measures but points to weaknesses in addressing Europe’s huge cyber skills gap. Critical entities also need streamlining, simplification and clearer application guidelines, in the EESC’s view. Overall, the EESC hails the new EU cybersecurity strategy as a positive step towards…
The dominant role of Russia in the post-Soviet space is an illusion and a delusion. Moscow is no longer seen by its neighbours as a centre of political, military and economic integration. Over the past 30 years, the Kremlin has not provided a viable ideological basis for unification. Russia considers the post-Soviet countries to be…
Today, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs briefed the North Atlantic Council on activities by Russian operatives inside the Czech Republic, which resulted in the explosions in 2014 of ammunition storage depots at Vrbetice. The explosion caused the deaths of two people who worked at the site as well as very substantial material damage. The…
Today, trust between the West and Russia is at its lowest level in recent history. Experts compare the current confrontation with the Cuban missile crisis. However, now the rhetoric and threats from the top leadership of the opposing sides have reached such an intensity that the timidly discussed possibility of a war between Russia and…
Russia must immediately stop building up troops on the border with Ukraine and withdraw from Eastern Ukraine. NATO chief Stoltenberg made this appeal after a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Koeleba. The NATO chief has spoken of the largest Russian military presence on the border since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to Ukraine, the Kremlin…
The EPP Group has called for military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia. “Russia amassing more than 40,000 troops near the Ukrainian border is an escalation and a serious threat to European stability and security as well as to Ukrainian sovereignty”, said EPP Group Vice-Chairwoman Sandra Kalniete MEP ahead of today’s debate on…
