The meeting place was not chosen at random: The heads of state and government of the 31 NATO states are meeting today in Vilnius, where the military alliance’s two-day summit begins at noon. The border of Belarus is close by, but it is also not far from the so-called Suwalki Gap. This is the point […]
The security assurances for Ukraine encountered reservations from neutral member states at the EU summit. Austria will not agree to extensive security guarantees for Ukraine, said Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer at the start of the EU Summit in Brussels. Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, as neutral countries, also expressed concerns, emphasized the Austrian.The protest was likely […]
At least, there was one piece of good news on Monday. Serbia released three allegedly kidnapped Kosovo police officers, thus making a contribution to de-escalation with Pristina. But Josep Borrell couldn’t quite claim even that success when he briefed foreign ministers Monday on the stalled dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. On the short messaging service […]
NATO wants to demonstrate unity at its summit in Vilnius in a month. To ensure that it actually works, there is still a lot for the NATO defense ministers to do at their meeting yesterday and today. The elephant in the room at the preparatory meeting in Brussels is also the question of how the […]
On Wednesday, EU ambassadors moved closer to an agreement on the 11th sanctions package Brussels wants to use to close loopholes in the sanctions regime against Russia. The positions were in “98 percent” agreement, a diplomat said. In particular, Ukraine’s blacklist of “war profiteers” (including Western companies with developed business ties in Russia) remains a […]
Sometimes the meeting place already says everything. 47 heads of state and government from Europe have been invited today to the second summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Chişinău, Moldova’s capital. The microstates of Andorra, Monaco and San Marino are new participants. Only Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has just been confirmed […]
EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell was able to announce an agreement after the meeting in Brussels on Monday: EU foreign ministers agreed on the eighth sanctions package against Iran. The punitive measures are directed against five individuals and two entities. New additions to the list include a commander of a Tehran police organization and […]
arije Vlaskamp knows how the Chinese authorities operate when they want to silence someone. After all, the Dutch journalist reported from Beijing as a correspondent for almost 25 years before returning to The Hague. And still, she is shocked. In April, the 54-year-old described in detail in the newspaper “de Volkskrant” how she had become […]
On Wednesday, the ambassadors of the EU states agreed on the legal text for the so-called Track 2 for the joint procurement of artillery shells and anti-aircraft missiles for Ukraine. The EU intends to finance projectiles, particularly of 155-millimeter caliber, with €1 billion from the European Peace Facility. After the political decision by the heads […]
The EU is struggling to follow up its commitment to more joint arms procurement with action. One recent example is the travails in procuring one million artillery shells for Ukraine, another is the delay in the Instrument to Strengthen the European Defense Industry through Joint Procurement (EDIRPA). MEP Michael Gahler (CDU) is rapporteur in the […]