By John Grogan Lebanese poet Khahil Gibran wrote in the 1920’s: “My Lebanon is a serene mountain sitting between the sea and the plains, like a poet between one eternity and another.” When I first met the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lebanese Parliament Yassine Jaber on a delegation to the Westminster…
In its ruling yesterday, the German Constitutional Court declared the ECB decisions on the bond purchase programme (PSPP) to be in breach of competences. The judges declared the previous positive preliminary decision of the European Court of Justice to be incomprehensible and thus arbitrary, because the Court had excluded the economic effects of the programme…
A new opinion poll has revealed that an overwhelming majority of British citizens want any coronavirus contact-tracing app to take account of civil liberties and people’s privacy. The Survation poll for the Open Knowledge Foundation has found widespread support for the introduction of a contact-tracing app in the UK at 65 per cent, but 90…
Michael Gahler MEP, EPP Group Spokesman for Foreign Affairs, has issued a statement ahead of today’s EU-Western Balkans summit which takes place in the form of a video conference. He said, “Do not lose sight of the geopolitical consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Western Balkans must not fall into the Russian disinformation trap. The…
UK High Streets are on the brink of collapse as the eight-week countdown to the next quarterly rent instalment begins today, according to the #RaiseTheBar campaign. Figures released today by #RaiseTheBar show 54,638 businesses from pubs to shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels, galleries and gyms are currently unable to access the £25,000 RHLG grant due…
The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, delegation chairs and standing rapporteurs for the Balkan countries confirm the EU’s commitment to continue transforming the region. In a joint statement, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister MEP, the standing rapporteurs and the chairs of delegations of the European Parliament for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,…
The following statement by the Ukrainian Expert Community on the Report “Peace in Ukraine I: A European War”, authored by the International Crisis Group is published here in full. The Report “Peace in Ukraine I: A European War”, authored by the International Crisis Group (ICG, Brussels, Belgium) dated April 28, 2020, proposes to solve the…
A huge scandal is brewing in the Ukrainian energy sector. The new acting Minister of Energy Olga Buslavets has proposed to solve all problems of the industry by reducing the operation of nuclear power plants. To this end, an order was issued to the State owned nuclear power producer Energoatom to put a complete stop…
The first meeting of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Specialised Committee has been held via video conference, co-chaired by officials from the UK Government and European Commission. This Committee was tasked by the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee held on 30 March, to start work on implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol. A representative from…
The President of Ukraine has signed the law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Conditions of Circulation of Agricultural Land” Law № 552-IX was originally approved by the Verkhovna Rada on 31 March. The document provides for the formation of a legislative framework for the introduction of market circulation of agricultural…
