Belarus views CEI presidency as chance to get better involved in European integration
Belarus views its presidency of the Central European Initiative (CEI) as an opportunity to get better involved in the European integration processes, Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei said in Minsk on 14 February at the opening of the first meeting of the CEI Committee of National Coordinators held under the auspices of Belarus’ […]
NATO braces for first talks with Trump’s defence chief
NATO allies meet new US Defence Secretary James Mattis for the first time in Brussels Wednesday, seeking reassurance over President Donald Trump’s commitment but bracing for military spending demands. Pentagon head Mattis has voiced support for the transatlantic alliance, in contrast with the sceptical Trump, and has been tougher on Russia than his boss, whose […]
Timothy Garton Ash wins the Charlemagne Prize
Timothy Garton Ash has been named as the recipient of the prestigious Charlemagne Prize for 2017. Awarded from the town of Aachen, North-Western Germany, the prize has recognised special contributions to European unity since 1950. The prize organizers described Professor Garton Ash as “an extraordinary British academic, who has commented on and accompanied the journey […]
European Anti-Globalists Join Forces to Take Back Countries
Emboldened by the British “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union and President Donald Trump’s historic victory over the globalist establishment, European political leaders opposed to globalism and the establishment met in Koblenz, Germany, over the weekend to cement their alliance and plan for potential victories in the months ahead. The gathering, organized by the […]
EU Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt: Brexit is an opportunity to pull Europe closer together
The European Union Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator on Monday said Britain’s decision to make a clean break from the EU was an opportunity to reform Europe and avoid a further breakdown in ties between its remaining member states. Former Belgian Prime Minister and member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt also said the election of […]
Europe gets ready for Donald Trump
JUST over a year ago Barack Obama decided that the European Union needed his help. His advisers devised a strategy to bolster America’s European allies, incorporating transatlantic visits, political theatre and pep talks. Mr Obama talked of the dangers of Brexit in London and invited Matteo Renzi, Italy’s ill-starred prime minister, to Washington to back […]
Britain again breaks ranks with Europe — this time over Israel
Two days after delegates from more than 70 nations attended the Paris summit on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong to label the meeting “useless.” Admittedly the France-initiated event, which neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority attended, did not change the international community’s understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian […]
Rise in numbers of Jews leaving for Israel from some European countries
Some European countries have seen an increase in the number of Jews leaving to live in Israel but the numbers fall short of an “exodus”, according to a new study. The Institute of Jewish Policy Research compared recent trends of Jewish migration with cases of mass migration in response to persecution or major political upheavals […]
In annual address to diplomats, Pope Francis calls for renewed ‘idea of Europe’
In 1957, six European nations agreed on a single economic market that laid the groundwork for the European Union, bringing together a continent that in the previous decade had been shattered by total war. On Monday, some sixty years after those six countries signed Treaty of Rome, Pope Francis reminded diplomats of the agreement’s importance as […]
Berlin attack shows the limits of security intelligence
The Christmas market truck assault in Berlin, which has left 12 dead and dozens injured, is a disturbing echo of the truck-borne attack on Bastille Day celebrants on the Nice promenade in July. How could such events be allowed to happen? Why weren’t intelligence agencies in Germany and France able to stay one step ahead […]