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EU plus

Stories in this section cover the EU-27 countries plus the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and the Balkan Countries (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia).

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Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

The Netherlands is set to elect its youngest ever prime minister after the far-right party of Geert Wilders was projected to suffer losses in an election he brought about by bringing down the government. Rob Jetten, the 38-year-old leader of the pro-European centrist D66 party, is on course to claim the top job with most votes counted. His party is projected to win 27 of the 150 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, beating Mr Wilder's Freedom Party on 25, according to an exit poll by Ipsos. It comes just two years after he led his party to victory in the last election, winning 37 seats, although his coalition partners refused to endorse him as prime minister. Mr Jetten will also need to rely on a coalition himself, with 76 seats needed for a majority. At least four parties will be required for him to get there.
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Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Turkey is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities. Following a three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman last week in which he oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.

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Borrell and Lavrov try to find common ground

Borrell and Lavrov try to find common ground

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, met in Moscow on Friday (5 February). In a press conference after the first part of their talks the two senior diplomats appeared to be struggling to identify common ground for future co-operation whilst wanting to sound tough on their respective positions, especially on the ongoing controversies surrounding Alexei Navalny and Russian clampdown on his supporters.
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GEU Podcast: How should the EU manage relations with its eastern neighbours? – with Viola von Cramon MEP

GEU Podcast: How should the EU manage relations with its eastern neighbours? – with Viola von Cramon MEP

It’s now nearly 12-years since the establishment of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) – a joint initiative bringing together the EU, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In this episode, Will Murray speaks to Viola von Cramon-Taubadel MEP about the EU’s neighbourhood policy to the east and how it should move forwards.
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Ann Linde holds talks with Lavrov on European Security

Ann Linde holds talks with Lavrov on European Security

Sweden is trying to use its one year chairmanship of the OSCE to bring back focus to the organisation after a difficult period last year, and a growing sense that the organisation was drifting away from its original mandate on European security. Russia is central to this process, since it is seen as being at odds with the Helsinki Final Act - the OSCE's milestone document - in both its internal policies, as well as in its relations with its neighbours.
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Borrell sailing straight into a Russian storm

Borrell sailing straight into a Russian storm

The visit of the EU High Representative to Russia on Thursday will provide an opportunity to have wide-ranging discussions with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other Russian interlocutors ahead of the European Council’s strategic discussion on EU-Russia relations scheduled for March.
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GEU Podcast: How does Brexit affect Europe’s global ambitions? – with Dr Fabian Zuleeg

GEU Podcast: How does Brexit affect Europe’s global ambitions? – with Dr Fabian Zuleeg

It’s 2021 and the United Kingdom has formally left the European Union. In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, Will Murray speaks to Dr Fabian Zuleeg, the Chief Executive and Chief Economist of the European Policy Centre in Brussels, about how the absence of the UK will impact the EU’s global ambitions and prospects for UK-EU relations going forward.
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Holocaust Memorial Day marked by warnings against modern-day antisemitism and intolerance

Holocaust Memorial Day marked by warnings against modern-day antisemitism and intolerance

President Joe Biden spoke of the influence that the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in 2017 in Charlottesville had on his decision to run for president – “the white nationalists and neo-Nazis spewing the same anti-Semitic bile we heard in the 1930s in Europe”. He referred to the Holocaust as “no accident” and that “Silence is complicity”.
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EU relations with Russia are at a delicate moment

EU relations with Russia are at a delicate moment

The European Union and Russia have both confirmed that EU High Representative Josep Borrell will travel to Moscow next week for meetings with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The visit will go ahead despite increasing consternation within the EU following the arrest of Sergey Navalny and clampdown on peaceful protests that followed in many parts of Russia over the weekend.