Global Europe

Europe, stay strong: Spring is coming

It’s sunny and warm in Shenzhen now, and the restaurants and cafes are serving lunch to young professionals and workers in the open air. Abraham Liu, Huawei Vice President for the European Region paints a picture of life in China, as the country gets overs the recent public health crisis.

Ten years after the Smolensk tragedy

10 April marks the tenth anniversary of the Smolensk plane crash that killed 96 people including the Polish president, central bank chief and military commanders. Ambassador Andrzej Sadoś explains how this tragic incident further deepened the divide between Poland and Russia.

COVID-19 and the EU’s security and defence policy

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began to spread from Asia in late 2019, has hit the EU hard. Although previously prepared documents such as the 2016 EU Global Strategy have highlighted that preventing, detecting and responding to global pandemics is an EU priority, the Union—like most of the world—was caught off guard, writes Niklas Novaky.

COVID19 crisis reveals a need for change in EU/Africa relations

As the effects of coronavirus hit the African continent, the pandemic must mean an overhaul in EU-Africa relations, argue Marta Martinelli and Bram Dijkstra.

Europe must be the frontrunner to avoid Africa’s corona boomerang

It's in the EU's interest to step up humanitarian, social and economic aid and do whatever it takes to support African economies about to be hit by the coronavirus, writes Luca Jahier.

Lessons in leadership… for the EU

South Korea is an inspiration for fighting the coronavirus and the UN chief is exemplary for global leadership, at a time when the US is incapacitated, and the EU -- still in need of unity, writes Stavros Papagianneas.

Coronavirus has changed the future of national security forever. Here’s how

Nuclear war was the great fear of the 20th century and our institutions were built to respond to such threats. But Covid-19 has shown the world’s defence experts that we were blind, writes Stephan Blank.

Chinese diplomat: To fight the pandemic, put trust and cooperation before politics

This spring is never going to be the same again. The explosive spread of COVID-19 caught the world by surprise, and it couldn’t show more clearly just how closely connected we are. As the pandemic looms large, China and the...

A new type of virus is upon us, and it is not corona

The whole world is preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic.  Every day, we experience apprehension and our thoughts focus on how we can protect ourselves, our families and countries. Yet, while nations struggle to mobilise their resources to fight this unparalleled epidemic, another virus is spreading almost undetected, Daniel Milo argues. 

The Commission’s Eastern Partnership strategy is disappointing

Distance should not be a criterion: Georgia is better prepared for EU membership than the frontrunners of the Western Balkans, writes Andrius Kubilius.

Misguided ‘solution’ to terrorist content will have bad consequences for our rights

One year ago, on 15 March 2019, a terrorist entered a Christchurch mosque, murdering more than fifty people. Beyond the atrocity of such a hate crime, it hit the whole world for two reasons

There is room to democratize EU integration process in Kosovo

It is not surprising why Kosovo lags behind in the EU enlargement process, having in mind that many civic society actors were excluded from previous consultation processes, write Svjetlana Ramic Markovic and Agon Demjaha. Svjetlana Ramic Markovic is MA International...

US shale will be first casualty of oil price war

Although the oil price war was triggered by the Russia-Saudi fall-out, US shale will be the first casualty, writes Robin Mills. In the process, the US will learn that producing a lot of oil at high prices is not the “energy dominance” it has made a centrepiece of foreign policy, he argues.

EU enlargement needs better strategic communication

The advancement of peace, democracy, respect for human rights and rule of law in the Western Balkans region and their future in a strong and reformed EU is critical for the future of our continent and our fellow citizens, write...

Nord Stream 2 in the hands of Akademik Cherskiy

The Russians have sent their only pipe-laying vessel equipped with dynamic positioning system – Akademik Cherskiy – to Europe. But can the tiny ship without previous experience in pipe-laying do the job, Mateusz Kubiak ponders.

Forget Europe: Scots scout warmer Arctic connections

Amidst Brexit rubble, Scotland is sporting a newfangled cosmopolitan coat up north, writes Antonio Alcazar. Antonio Alcazar is a researcher at the Central European University’s School of Public Policy. In 2016, Scottish voters decided overwhelmingly to remain in the EU....

France, Germany… Hopeless Europe?

The European states still lack unity in their action, and this is blocking a number of major projects. With this policy of small steps, can we still have any hope in Europe, asks André Loesekrug-Pietr.

Why did Boyko Borissov’s mission in Ankara fail?

If von der Leyen’s Commission really wants to be global, it should intervene at the root of the problem instead of trying to deal with the consequences, writes Ivailo Kalfin.

Erdogan is bullying Europe because Trump gave him the green light

The show which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is playing now with the migrant crisis is, to a great extent, the result of the green light he got from Trump last October when the US troops withdrew from Syria.

Vucic has destroyed democracy in Serbia

A recent op-ed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is rich with unbelievable false statements, according to Dragan Djilas. As the deception of EU officials has become Vučić's common practice, the former Belgrade mayor sets out to refute almost everything Vučić wrote.

It’s time for the EU to restart its partnership with Africa

Europe and Africa would benefit from a real partnership, but the EU needs to avoid being taken hostage by migration politics, argues José María Vera

Serbia is a captured state

President Aleksandar Vučić alleges that democracy in Serbia is under attack by the opposition's decision to boycott the elections. On the contrary, writes Sergej Trifunović, we believe that Serbian democracy is under attack by the president and his party, whose actions have thrown Serbia into a political crisis.