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Council of Europe launches new International Claims Commission for Ukraine
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Council of Europe launches new International Claims Commission for Ukraine

17 December 2025
Thirty-four countries and the European Union have signed a new convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine at a diplomatic conference co-hosted by the 46-nation Council of Europe and the Netherlands in the Hague. The diplomatic conference was attended by leaders and high-level representatives from over 50 states, including the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof.  “Today marks a major step forward in ensuring accountability for Ukraine. The International Claims Commission represents justice and hope for tens of thousands of victims—our determination that those who have suffered will not be forgotten. I call for quick ratifications so we can get the commission rapidly up and running for the people of Ukraine,” said Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “We expect that every mechanism for compensation from the Register of Damage and Claims Commission to the actual payments – will start working and receive strong and sufficient international support, so that people can truly feel that any kind of damage caused by the war can be compensated. This war, and Russia’s responsibility for it, MUST become a clear example – so that others learn not to choose aggression.” “Accountability is about creating the conditions for peace that endures. And therefore, accountability is a condition of security – today and for the future. But accountability is not only about Ukraine. And it is not only about one aggressor and one victim. Accountability is about Europe. About every country in Europe. It is about whether Europe, as a whole, is willing to defend its peace,” said Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof, said: “Every day Russia is deliberately bombarding homes, destroying businesses and damaging infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia must compensate Ukraine for the damage caused. That is why we have launched the International Claims Commission for Ukraine and we are honoured to host it.” The International Claims Commission will be the second part of a comprehensive compensation mechanism related to Russia’s war of aggression, building on the existing Register of Damage for Ukraine. The claims commission will be established within the framework of the Council of Europe and will also be open to other countries. The Register of Damage for Ukraine, created in 2023, collects and records compensation claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine. Forty-four states and the European Union have so far joined the Register, which has already received 86,000 claims. The International Claims Commission will review, assess and decide upon claims submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine and determine the amount of compensation, if any, which is due in each case. The convention establishing the commission will enter into force once it has been ratified by 25 signatories, as long as sufficient funds have been secured to support its initial work.

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Albania cuts diplomatic relations with Iran accusing it of a massive cyberattack
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Albania cuts diplomatic relations with Iran accusing it of a massive cyberattack

8 September 2022
Albania broke diplomatic relations with Iran on Wednesday. Announcing the decision, Prime Minister Edi Rama said Iran had launched a massive cyberattack against the country during the summer. “The Council of Ministers has decided on the severance of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran with immediate effect,” he said. The prime minister accused Iran of targeting the computer networks of Albanian institutions on July 15 in an attempt to “paralyze public services and hack data and electronic communications from the government systems.” He said: “The said attack failed its purpose. Damages may be considered minimal compared to the goals of the aggressor. All systems came back fully operational and there was no irreversible wiping of data.” He added that Iranian diplomats and support staff would be given 24 hours to leave the country.
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EU tells Georgia the door for membership is still ajar
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EU tells Georgia the door for membership is still ajar

7 September 2022
Relations between Georgia and the European Union  have been passing through a difficult patch recently. Whilst both sides profess eternal love and loyalty, tensions over ongoing domestic Georgian political processes have marred what was once a good example of a harmonious relationship. Georgian prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili is currently in Brussels where he is co-chairing, with EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, a session of the EU-Georgia Council, the body that oversees the relationship. At the heart of the current state of relations is the EU's refusal to grant candidate status to Georgia, as it did recently with Ukraine and Moldova. The Georgian government is still reeling from the snub, and the Georgian opposition continues to use this as a stick to beat the government. At a press conference yesterday both sides tried to downplay differences, and the EU made it clear that the door for Georgian EU membership, whilst not exactly wide-open, was still ajar.
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Opinion: The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation goes beyond managing Russia-China relations in Central Asia
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Opinion: The role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation goes beyond managing Russia-China relations in Central Asia

6 September 2022
"As the world comes closer to multi-polarity, the role of such organizations as SCO will grow further. Russia and China will seek to use them as a counterbalance to western dominated international political and economic organizations, such as G7, the EU, the World Bank and IMF", writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. He argues that in the present context of emerging great power competition, the SCO started to be viewed less as a tool to manage Russia – China relations in Central Asia, or counter terrorist threats from Afghanistan, and more as a significant grouping of non-western powers in the emerging multipolar world.
Benyamin Poghosyan
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The world waits whilst Tehran and Washington haggle about nuclear deal
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The world waits whilst Tehran and Washington haggle about nuclear deal

3 September 2022
After years of tension and months of negotiations, it appeared in August that the process of reviving the Iran nuclear, known as JCPOA, was coming to a successful close. The EU negotiators, who had been leading the difficult discussions, made what they said was the "final offer", and early indications from both Tehran and Washington appeared to be positive. In Brussels, officials were cautiously optimistic that a deal was in the bag. But the process dragged on and reports in some Middle East media sources appear to suggest that it has now grinded again back to a halt.  The US said Iran’s latest response was “not constructive”.  
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Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to start working on the text of a peace treaty
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Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to start working on the text of a peace treaty

31 August 2022
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Wednesday (31 August) hosted in Brussels the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and president Ilham Aliyev, for talks on the future of relations between the two countries and peace in the South Caucasus. Michel said that at the meeting it was agreed "to step up substantive work to advance on the peace treaty governing inter-state relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and tasked the Foreign Ministers to meet within one month to work on draft texts." President Michel underlined that "it is important to take the population along on both sides and prepare them for a long-term sustainable peace. Public messaging is critical in this regard – in a sensitive situation like this every word spoken in public is obviously listened to by the other side and weighed. The EU is ready to further step up its support towards a long-term sustainable peace. The EU will also continue to push for the advancement of economic development for the benefit of both countries and their populations." The three leaders agreed to meet again in this format by the end of November.
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Michel hosts Aliyev and Pashinyan in Brussels tomorrow
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Michel hosts Aliyev and Pashinyan in Brussels tomorrow

30 August 2022
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, will host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels tomorrow Wednesday (30 August) as part of efforts to help the two countries achieve lasting peace. This will be the third time Charles Michel will be welcoming President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia in less than nine months. The meeting is scheduled to start at 13.00 Brussels time. Ahead of tomorrow's meeting, Michel on Tuesday (30 August) held separate telephone conversations with the two leaders. Sources told commonspace.eu that last minute details regarding the meeting tomorrow were discussed to ensure the success of the meeting. Michel also touched on issues related with the bilateral agenda between the EU and the two countries.
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France and Algeria open new chapter in relations
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France and Algeria open new chapter in relations

29 August 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune Saturday declared a "new, irreversible dynamic of progress" in the relations between the two countries, at the end of a state visit by the French president to the former French colony. The three-day visit comes less than two months after Algeria marked six decades of independence following 132 years of French rule and a devastating eight-year war. It also comes as European powers scramble to replace Russian energy imports -- including with supplies from Algeria, Africa's top gas exporter, which in turn is seeking to expand its clout in North Africa and the Sahel. In their joint declaration on Saturday, the two leaders said "France and Algeria have decided to open a new era ... laying the foundation for a renewed partnership expressed through a concrete and constructive approach, focused on future projects and youth." Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had on Thursday hailed "promising prospects for improving the special partnership" between the two countries. The baggage of history weighs heavily on Franco-Algerian relations. Speaking at a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart on Thursday evening, Macron -- the first French president to be born since Algerian independence in 1962 -- said that "we didn't the choose the past, we inherited it".
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Russia blocks text at UN conference on nuclear disarmament
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Russia blocks text at UN conference on nuclear disarmament

27 August 2022
Russia on Friday prevented the adoption of a joint declaration following a four-week United Nations conference on nuclear disarmament and non proliferation, citing "political" aspects of the text. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatories review every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.  "Our delegation has one key objection on some paragraphs which are blatantly political in nature," said Russian representative Igor Vishnevetsky, adding that Russia was not the only country to take issue with the text.  According to sources close to the negotiations, Russia was opposed in particular to paragraphs concerning the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, which is occupied by the Russian military. The latest draft text had expressed "grave concern" over military activities around Ukrainian power plants, including Zaporizhzhia, as well as over Ukraine's loss of control of such sites and the negative impact on safety.
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