Global Europe Archives

A group of more than 100 billionaires and millionaires has issued a plea to political and business leaders convening virtually for the World Economic Forum: make us pay more tax.

A group of NGOs has urged the EU and broader international community to exempt humanitarian aid from sanctions imposed on Mali’s military government, warning that 1.2 million Malians face a food crisis.

US President Joe Biden's top diplomat will seek to defuse a crisis with Moscow over Ukraine when he meets the Russian foreign minister in Geneva this week following visits with Ukrainian leaders in Kyiv and European officials in Berlin.

The Saudi-led coalition killed 14 people in air strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital, a medical source said Tuesday (18 January), after an attack by Huthi insurgents on the United Arab Emirates sent regional tensions soaring.

During her official visit to Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke of "fundamental disagreements" with Russia, but spoke positively of Russia's agreement to revive the Normandy format.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi said on Tuesday (18 January) the situation in his country was normalising, following the unrest that shook it in the first days of the new year, and Russian troops, which he said helped prevent a possible coup d'etat, were withdrawing.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has branded the food import embargo instated by Belarus a ‘weapon’ that is part of a hybrid attack against the EU and vowed to support the member states most impacted by the restrictions.

China is urging people to wear masks and gloves when opening mail, especially from abroad, after authorities suggested the first case of the Omicron coronavirus virus variant found in Beijing could have arrived via a package from Canada.

Russian military forces and hardware began arriving in ex-Soviet Belarus for joint drills starting in February, Minsk said on Monday (17 January), amid soaring tensions between East and West over Ukraine.

What seems obvious after the recent protests is that Kazakhstan might become even more reliant on Russia, demonstrating a diminished ability to balance the influence of Washington and Moscow, writes Aigerim Toleukhanova.

If the Russian-Ukrainian conflict turns hot again, the response of the West will not be as muted as in 2014 when Crimea was invaded and annexed, writes Róbert Vass.

The European Union called on Moscow on Monday (17 January) to immediately release Alexei Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic, who was jailed a year ago in what the EU condemned as a politically motivated act.

Germany reiterated its refusal to send defensive weapons to Ukraine that according to Kyiv would help the country fend off a potential Russian invasion. This comes as part of a new German peace policy that aims at restricting arms exports and fostering peace via diplomacy.

A Turkish court on Monday rejected a request to release philanthropist Osman Kavala who has spent more than four years in jail without conviction, despite a European human rights watchdog moving against Ankara over his detention.

Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko landed in Kyiv on Monday (17 January) to face treason charges in a case he says was trumped up by allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The Kremlin's most prominent critic Alexei Navalny said Monday (17 January) he did not regret returning to Russia a year ago, despite his jailing and a historic crackdown on the opposition. Navalny was detained in a Moscow airport on his return …

India's Gennova Biopharmaceuticals is working on an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine candidate that could be ready in a month or two, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The US government has held talks with several international energy companies on contingency plans for supplying natural gas to Europe if conflict between Russia and Ukraine disrupts Russian supplies, two US officials and two industry sources said.

Baghdad has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq's foreign minister said Sunday (16 January).

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Global Europe Brief, your weekly update on the EU from a global perspective. You can subscribe to receive our newsletter here. In this week’s edition: From Brest to Brest, Eastern partners in focus and Mali mission continued?

Amid tensions with Russia and after a massive cyberattack, EU foreign ministers pledged additional support to Ukraine on Friday (14 January). France and Germany, meanwhile, aim to restart efforts to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow.

The big powers, including Moscow, cannot decide about the smaller ones, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told EURACTIV's partner efe in an interview in the midst of a crisis triggered by Russian forces amassing near Ukraine and Moscow's demands that no Eastern European countries join the Alliance.

Russia has branded two key allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny "terrorists and extremists", a government database showed Friday (14 January), days ahead of the anniversary of the opposition leader's arrest.

Delays caused by the blocking of the Ocean Viking rescue ship by Italian port authorities have put human lives at stake, Julia Schaefermeyer, communications officer at SOS Mediterranean, the NGO that charters the vessel, has told EURACTIV.