Biden to visit Belgium in June

President Joseph Biden will travel to the United Kingdom and Belgium in June 2021.  This will be the first overseas travel by President Biden. This trip will highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalizing the Transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better…

EPP Calls for Military Support for Ukraine

EPP calls for EU support for Ukraine

The EPP Group has called for military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia. “Russia amassing more than 40,000 troops near the Ukrainian border is an escalation and a serious threat to European stability and security as well as to Ukrainian sovereignty”, said EPP Group Vice-Chairwoman Sandra Kalniete MEP ahead of today’s debate on…

Statement by President von der Leyen following her phone call with President of the United States Joe Biden

“I was glad to speak to President Biden this afternoon – the first of many exchanges and the start of a good personal partnership.” “As a symbol of this fresh start, President Biden and I agreed to suspend all our tariffs imposed in the context of the Airbus-Boeing disputes, both on aircraft and non-aircraft products,…

Ukrainian Prime Minister Visits NATO HQ

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (9 February 2021). The Secretary General thanked Ukraine for its important contributions to NATO missions and operations and stressed that the country’s status as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner will deepen NATO-Ukraine cooperation.  The Secretary General underlined that NATO and…

Belgium Remembers

It is feared that the health pandemic could affect this year’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations in Belgium. The coronavirus crisis is likely to have a financial impact on the local Poppy Appeal, given that it is feared the public may well be cautious about the risks of touching collection tins and the poppies themselves.  Even so, the…

Putin’s Meeting with Lukashenko

The personal meeting of the presidents of Russia and Belarus in Sochi on September 14 showed that the Russian authorities were ready to provide Lukashenko with assistance in order to rapidly replace him with a more acceptable candidate for Moscow within the framework of the “Union State of Russia and Belarus”. The only public signal…

Prohibit Nuclear Weapons

Fifty-six former presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers and defence ministers from 20 NATO member states, as well as Japan and South Korea, have issued an open letter calling on current leaders to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and two former NATO secretaries-general are among the co-signers. …

Remembering 9/11

On Friday, 11 September 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will join U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison at the 9/11 and Article 5 Memorial at NATO Headquarters to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Attendees will include permanent representatives of Alliance nations as well as…

Latest developments in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Martin Banks interviews Olivier Védrine Chief Editor of the Russian Monitor about Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also speaks about the case of Alexei Anatolievich Navalny, a Russian politician and anti-corruption activist who came to international prominence by organising demonstrations, and running for office, to advocate reforms against corruption in Russia, Russian President Putin, and…