The German Christian Democrats (CDU) are no longer under the thumb of Angela Merkel. During the party congress in Hamburg on December 7 the CDU elected Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (or simply AKK) as its chairperson. She was Merkel’s candidate of choice. But her election was a close call, as the first round did not produce any…
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has admitted that the alliance has a “dual track approach” to Russia, writes Martin Banks. This is based on “strength and openness for dialogue and “on whether Russia will change in near future or not change.” He said, “Even if we see no change in the near future then we still…
“New Europeans” has received the CiDAN/ESDA Europe Award for European citizenship and human rights at a ceremony held during the Berlin Security Conference, writes Martin Banks. The award was made in recognition of New Europeans’ leading role in the campaign to safeguard the rights of EU27 citizens in the UK and Britons in Europe following the Brexit…
RUSSIAN NAVY SEIZES UKRAINIAN SHIPS IN AZOV SEA In a serious escalation of conflict in the Sea of Azov, ten Russian warships have fired on, disabled and seized 2 Ukrainian gunboats and a tug in the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian Navy reports that two Ukrainian crew members were injured in the incident. The vessels…
Francis Mvemba is an opposition presidential candidate for the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 23 December, writes Martin Banks. He launched his campaign among the Congolese diaspora of Belgium and members of the Congolese media at the Brussels Press Club earlier this week. Speaking at the press conference, Mvemba outlined his vision…
The Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) in Romania is investigating 403 cryptocurrency transactions. These transactions, valued in total at 14 million US Dollars, were made over a period of three years, writes James Wilson. The funds entered Romania in order to fund #resist groups and other NGOs who support the National Anti-Corruption…
Now the first rule of politics kicks in. Start counting. Not the number of words in the 585 page Withdrawal Agreement or the 7 page political declaration but the number of MPs who will vote Yay or Nay, writes Denis Macshane Already London and Brussels are contradicting each other. Michel Barnier says that EU citizens can…
A permanent independent body should be set up to investigate murders of journalists, it has been claimed, writes Martin Banks The demand comes after the murders of three journalists in Europe so far this year, including Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese reporter who was killed by a car bomb in the course of her investigation into…
British Conservative Member of the European Parliament, Sajjad Karim, has held a debate on the case of Asia Bibi postponed to a later date, writes Martin Banks. Karim made a request to the Parliament’s President, Antonio Tajani, to delay the discussion – that was due to take place later this week – in order to avoid…
The European Parliament is “deeply concerned” about the reform of the Romanian judicial and criminal laws, which it says risks undermining separation of powers and the fight against corruption, writes Martin Banks. In a resolution wrapping up the plenary debate held with the Romanian PM Viorica Dancila the Chamber called on the Romanian authorities to put in…
