This year, for example, the 2021 Taipei International Food Show featured Lithuanian products. But there was also a political dimension to Lithuania’s participation as it also demonstrated the solidarity between Lithuania and Taiwan, and their strong commitment to upholding democracy against pressures from authoritarianism. The annual international food show featured the first-ever Lithuanian pavilion, one of…
The most effective response to the resurgence of COVID-19 is vaccination, say MEPs, addressing the main topic on the agenda of the European Council. In a debate with Commission President von der Leyen and the Slovenian Presidency, they insisted that vaccination remains the strongest and most promising weapon available against the pandemic. Additional efforts are…
MEPs of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) have voted to extend the Co-Chairmanships of Prof Ryszard Legutko (Poland) and Raffaele Fitto (Italy). During an ECR Group meeting other positions were also voted on: Assita Kanko (Belgium), Peter Lundgren (Sweden), Robert Roos (the Netherlands), Beata Szydlo (Poland), Hermann Tertsch (Spain) and Roberts Zile (Latvia) have been elected…
The UK Foreign Secretary is to become lead negotiator with the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol, following the departure of Lord Frost. Liz Truss will take over Ministerial responsibility for the UK’s relationship with the European Union with immediate effect. She will become the UK’s co-chair of the Partnership Council and the Joint Committee,…
With China and Russia on the offensive, a renewed and reliable transatlantic partnership is the key to maintaining international and legal order and peace. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports the idea of an Alliance of Democracies, ensuring that civil society has significant say in the joint defence of universal values and rights….
Earlier this month, President Biden organised a much-publicised conference on “democracy”. It was an event he’d promised on the presidential campaign trail. The aims were highly laudable, not least as the meeting with the heads of state of Australia, India and Japan was to ensure that “the way in which technology is designed, developed, governed and…
The North Atlantic Council has issued a toughly worded statement on the current tense situation in Ukraine.It reads,”We are gravely concerned by the substantial, unprovoked, and unjustified Russian military build-up on the borders of Ukraine in recent months, and reject the false Russian claims of Ukrainian and NATO provocations. We call on Russia to immediately…
The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament will organise a hearing in the second week of January to question Roberta Metsola MEP, a candidate to chair the European Parliament during the second half of the legislature, before deciding on their vote. S&D leader Iratxe García MEP said: “I have already started negotiating with EPP…
Accusations have been levelled against the former chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. In a video published on social media last week, Sudanese army personnel are filmed and shown being ordered to pack boxes of ammunition and weapons, which are reportedly sent to Al-Fashaga for further transfer to Ethiopia. It…
President Biden is approaching the first anniversary of his Presidency. Coronavirus and Afghanistan have combined to make this term an annus horribilis for the Biden administration. At home President Biden continues to be under pressure to unite the USA fraught by a divisive election in 2020 that split the country. Abroad, foreign policy risks have…
