The European Parliament has urged the Moroccan authorities to respect freedom of expression and media freedom and to provide a fair trial for the imprisoned journalist Omar Radi. MEPs have called for his immediate provisional release and demand an end to the harassment of all journalists in the country, as well as of their lawyers…
The European Union says it is a “long-standing, predictable and reliable partner” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The European Commission says it adopted €261 million as the multiannual contribution that will allow to secure predictable financial resources to the Agency for the provision of…
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell has issued the following statement:- Russia: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the expansion of the list of so-called “unfriendly States” The European Union deplores the decision of the Russian government on 20 July 2022 to add five EU member states…
Diplomatic tensions are growing between Algeria and Spain. In retaliation for Madrid’s support for Morocco’s Sahara autonomy project, Algiers announced on Wednesday the suspension of a “treaty of friendship, good neighbourliness and cooperation” binding it to Spain. This is a new setback in relations between the two countries, after the reduction by Algeria, at the…
Hong Kong’s Election Committee has selected John Lee Ka-chiu, the sole candidate to the post of Chief Executive on 8 May 2022. This was the first selection process since the imposition of the National Security Law and the implementation of sweeping changes in Hong Kong’s electoral system. Preceding his selection, Lee was vetted by the…
Parliament said it “condemns the repeated persecution and the recent politically motivated” attempts by Russian authorities to shut down the two legal entities of the human rights organisation Memorial – International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Centre. MEPs also called for all charges against Memorial to be dropped immediately and for guarantees that the…
The situation at the Belarus border and the gas crisis are very much on the EU agenda. German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer, AFET coordinator for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, has commented on the crisis. “The European leaders at their summit are challenged to deal with two blackmailing efforts against the EU which they must…
The EPP Group is calling for sanctions to stop the flood of migrants to Belarus, including a ban on the airlines involved in Lukashenko’s human trafficking. The call came ahead of a parliamentary plenary debate on the migration crisis on the EU’s eastern border. “As EU Ambassadors consider a new package of sanctions on the…
Ahead of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on 2 November, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Vice-President Věra Jourová have issued a joint statement. It reads, “A few weeks ago, Maria Ressa and Dimitri Mouratov received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize as a recognition of their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. With their reporting, they…
The EU and Colombia have agreed on a “Memorandum of Understanding on an Agenda of enhanced political and sectoral dialogue and cooperation for the next decade”. It was signed on Wednesday by High Representative Josep Borrell and the Vice-President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez in New York, in the presence of the…
