Arab Spring
Nagorno-Karabakh: 30 years on, time for the EU to raise its game
Thirty years after the Karabakh conflict, it is time for the EU to turn its attention back to Nagorno-Karabakh and do better in acknowledging the territory, writes Diogo Pinto.
We need to talk about climate refugees
Climate change is not just about polar bears, it is about all life on our planet, and it poses a threat to humanity as great – or greater – than war or terrorism. Steve Trent warns that climate change is increasingly viewed as a threat to global peace.
EU socialists make ‘progressive’ push in Tunisia ahead of election
The European Parliament's Socialists and Democrats (S&D Group) is exploring ways to bring progressive centre-left forces in Tunisia into the fold in order to ensure a democratic transition ahead of the country's first post-revolution municipality election.
‘Golden visas’ candidates should be thoroughly screened
The EU is bribing Libya to prevent desperate young men and women reaching the safety of our shores, while member states open wide their doors to corrupt foreign politicians who can buy ‘golden visas’, writes Ana Gomes.
Sanctioning Poland over refugees would be wrong
The European Commission is threatening Poland with financial penalties for refusing to take in refugees. But that approach misses the bigger picture, writes Bartosz Brzeziński.
Time to consider refugee protection in partnerships with third countries
On World Refugee Day and just before the European Council, we call on the EU and its member states to assess the impact of the Partnership Framework approach on the right to seek and enjoy asylum, writes Denis Haveaux.
Trump tells Middle East to ‘drive out’ Islamist extremists
President Donald Trump urged Arab and Islamic leaders yesterday (21 May) to unite and do their share to defeat Islamist extremists, making an impassioned plea to "drive out" terrorists while toning down his own harsh rhetoric about Muslims.
Russia ‘plays games for fun’ in Libya
Taking advantage of the weakness and divisions of the EU, and the lack of interest of the US, Russia “plays games for fun” in Libya, expending little effort, but potentially obtaining important dividends, analysts said at an event in Brussels on Wednesday (26 April).
Refugee hotspots in Italy and Greece ‘not yet adequate’, say EU auditors
The EU’s emergency response to the 2015 refugee crisis, by creating arrival ‘hotspots’ in Greece and Italy, has left reception centres that are “not yet adequate”, according to a damning new report by the EU Court of Auditors.
Merkel’s ‘man in Africa’ downbeat on prospects for Africa-EU summit
Gunther Nooke, Angela Merkel’s representative to Africa, offered a gloomy prognosis of November's Africa-EU summit in Abidjan on Tuesday (11 April), saying trade between the continents was “almost irrelevant” and that the African Union required major “institutional reform".
Brussels Syria conference: Why this war is personal
Despite what Syria has become, most Syrian refugees speak longingly about returning to Syria and yearn for the types of job – doctors, engineers and teachers – that will be needed to rebuild their country, writes Christine Latif.