The European Union marks 9 May as Europe Day. The EU covers over 4 million km² and has 503 million inhabitants living in twenty-eight member states.The motto of the Union is United in Diversity.

The attempt of Russian diplomacy to silence Armenia's civil society has caused a huge upset within the elite, including among those who normally are ready to acquiesce.

The US Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Process outlined in a keynote policy speech in Washington the basis on which a Karabakh peace settlement can be achieved and called on the sides to commit themselves to negotiations.

Azerbaijani activists have used social media sites to mock recent statements by European leaders on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan which they consider inadequate.

The recent statements by senior officials of the Government of Azerbaijan criticising Ambassador James Warlick have created a controversy around the process.

Azerbaijani politicians have often criticised the work of the OSCE Minsk Process, but in recent weeks this criticism has become more vocal.

The Minsk Group co-Chair diplomats met in Warsaw earlier this week, but no clear strategy of taking the stalled peace process forward has so far emerged.

Official Baku says that public diplomacy is wrong, but civil society activists in Azerbaijan and worldwide are not impressed.

Stefan Fule calls for more determined and resolute commitment to the Eastern Partnership and the values that underpin it, after a meeting with the Visegrad 4.

The European Union has extended its sanctions against Russian officials implicated in the violation of Ukraine's sovereignity and territorial integrity. A statement from the EU said that "In the absence of any de-escalation in the eastern part of Ukraine, the EU decided to target 15 additional persons with a travel ban and assets freeze. This brings the total number of persons subject to sanctions in connection with Ukraine's territorial integrity to 48".