Host Cities for International Organisations

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Photo by Michael Beener on Unsplash Bringing together international headquarters cities and highlighting the challenges and opportunities they face was subject of a debate hosted by Alain Hutchinson, Brussels Commissioner for Europe and International Organisations. Strasbourg, Vienna, Geneva, The Hague, Montevideo and Montreal  were represented. The discussions provided an opportunity to share best practice in this area and to gain a better understanding of…

Addressing Sustainable Development Goals at Local Level

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Photo by Andreas Dress on Unsplash  The European Committee of the Regions’ willingness to participate actively in the UN-led processes for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2024 European Summit of Regions and Cities were the main themes of the meeting between President Vasco Alves Cordeiro and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. The meeting, in the…

Gabriel Popoviciu wins extradition battle in UK’s Supreme Court

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Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash The UK’s Supreme Court has discharged Romania’s extradition request for businessman Gabriel Popoviciu. This final decision by the Supreme Court, in response to Romania’s appeal against an earlier decision to refuse Popoviciu’s extradition to Romania, means that after six years of litigation, Popoviciu has won this lengthy court battle. The Supreme Court…

Spanish Elections: Greens and Progressives Join Forces

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Photo by Simon Hermans on Unsplash Greens and “progressives” say they have joined forces ahead of the snap elections in Spain on Sunday 23 July. They say they will “strive for a Green, social and feminist Spain.” Sumar’s leader Yolanda Díaz is known for her work as Minister of Labour, and she is now aiming to become Spain’s…

Out of Time and Out of Touch

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Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash The UK has just experienced three by-elections, and the results are very bad for the Conservatives. Spin doctors from the three major parties are now hard at work. Liberal Democrats have no need to spin. Having overturned a massive Conservative majority in the west of England they have now created a massive…

Port of Dover Celebrates 70th Anniversary

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Photo by Dan Senior on Unsplash It may have passed under the radar but this month marks the 70th anniversary of a key landmark in Great Britain. For seven decades it has “stood as an integral connection between the British Isles and Europe.” The landmark in question is the Port of Dover, home to one of the busiest…

New Director of Communications for De Croo

Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash Barend Leyts, spokesman of the President of the European Council, is to join the cabinet of the Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo where he will take on the role of Director of Communications. Leyts and the President of the European Council, currently Charles Michel, have worked 8 years together. The…

Subsidised Telephone Calls for Ukraine

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash Operators have extended a special agreement that allows “affordable” phone calls to and from Ukraine. The EU Commission welcomed the twelve-month prolongation of the operators’ agreement allowing displaced refugees from Ukraine to stay connected across borders. The Commission has facilitated the agreement between 22 European and seven Ukrainian operators to prolong…

Ammunition for Ukraine’s Defence

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Photo by Ian Betley on Unsplash Following the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the Regulation on supporting ammunition production (ASAP) with a budget of €500 million, ASAP will now ensure that the EU can efficiently ramp up its production capacity of ammunitions and missiles. It means, says the…

Tomorrow: Vaccination and Prevention

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Photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash Over 100 people recently joined the inaugural Europe’s “Tomorrow: Vaccination and Prevention” Summit. It was organised by ThinkYoung at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels and brought together young people, policymakers, health experts, start-ups, and civil society organisations to discuss vaccination and prevention at both the European and Member State levels. It is a crucial issue in light of…