Regional Universities Go Global Amid Corona

By Ekaterina Tsaranok The concept of higher education has been well established for well over a thousand years. According to UNESCO and Guinness World Records, the University of Al-Karaouine located in Fes, Morocco, is the world’s oldest existing and continuously operating higher education institution in the world, having been established in 859. With international education…

Flood Disaster in SW Ukraine

Earlier last week, intensive rains resulted in the largest flooding in the south-west of Ukraine in the last 50 years, with several casualties and damage to hundreds of homes. To alleviate the first needs, the Ukrainian authorities activated the EU protection mechanism, Sweden responded immediately and offered 1.2 kilometres of flood barrier, 250 hoses and…

Never Mind the Fraudster, What About her Victims?

A conference at the Press Club in Brussels heard last week that a group of six Members of the European Parliament had, independently of their political groups, written to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other senior political figures calling for them to overturn a legitimate judicial decision and grant asylum to a convicted fugitive. The…

MEPs praise the Eastern Partnership as a success story

Statement by MEPs David McAllister and Andrius Kubilius following the Eastern Partnership leaders’ video conference held on 18 June 2020: “We very much welcome yesterday’s video conference that President Ursula von der Leyen and President Charles Michel had with the leaders of the Eastern Partnership countries and the message of the joint statement. Undoubtedly, the…

Lisbon Metro Improvements Set to Cut CO2 Emissions

The European Commission has approved an investment of €83 million from the cohesion fund to improve the metro network in Lisbon, Portugal.  The project will improve the connection, efficiency and safety of the metro lines. It will better link Lisbon’s busy Yellow line, which serves the area with the highest employment density, with the Green line,…

Poland Accused by AI of Muzzling Protestors

Charges brought by Polish authorities against two activists who face possible prison sentences of up to 10 years for a poster campaign should be immediately dropped said Amnesty International (AI). The activists were detained and charged last week, after they put up posters in Warsaw accusing the government of manipulating COVID-19 statistics. They were charged with…

Morocco Produces New COVID-19 Test Kits

Good news for health professionals engaged in the battle to halt the spread of coronavirus.  Morocco has designed the first 100% Moroccan diagnostic kit for Covid-19, tested and validated by national agencies and the world renowned Pasteur Institute in Paris. The kit has been designed by the MAScIR Foundation (Moroccan Foundation for advanced science, innovation…

EPP Calls for More Engagement with Eastern Partnership Countries

The EPP Group in the European Parliament is calling for more “tangible engagement” between the EU and Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.  Amongst others, it calls for the abolition of cell phone roaming fees in the Eastern Partnership countries and between the EU and these countries. “More than ever, today and beyond 2020,…

The Optimism Paradox

How optimistic or pessimistic do people in the European Union view their personal future and the future of their country? How does this differ between EU member states? And how do these basic attitudes relate to party-political preferences?  These questions are answered by the Bertelsmann Stiftung’s new eupinions study “The Optimism Paradox”.  The key finding:…