Region

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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High level U.S. talks with Europeans on ending the Russia-Ukraine war

High level U.S. talks with Europeans on ending the Russia-Ukraine war

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, is travelling to Paris for talks with European allies on U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The State Department said Rubio and Witkoff would be in the French capital Thursday for the meetings. The officials will have “talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: “Germany is Back on Track” ……..and Europeans should be Happy about it!

Monday Commentary: “Germany is Back on Track” ……..and Europeans should be Happy about it!

On Wednesday (9 April) a new coalition government was announced in Germany bringing back a CDU chancellor working with the centre-left SPD as junior partners. It is an arrangement that Germans are familiar with. Many post-war German governments were similarly constituted, and the German people are comfortable with this arrangement. It buries the prospect of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland  (AfD), which came second in recent elections, having a role in government. The 146 pages coalition agreement was hammered out in a relatively short time, with those negotiating fully aware of the urgency of giving the country a stable government at a time of global uncertainty and serious domestic challenges. “Germany is back on track” announced the Chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, who is expected to take office in early May. Europeans should be happy. A strong Germany is the backbone of Europe, and the new coalition is the best guarantee of that.

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Charles Michel warns of potential new trade war at the 12th Global Baku Forum

Charles Michel warns of potential new trade war at the 12th Global Baku Forum

Speaking at the 12th Global Baku Forum, the former President of the European Council, Charles Michel warned that a potential trade war could stem from events originating in the White House but Europe must remain focused on further strengthening its economy. He also highlighted that the US plays an important role in Europe's security and that more investment should be made in institutional development. The Global Baku Forum is organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center under the patronage of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
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Opinion
Opinion: Turkey's EU Perspective - Strategic Implications of the London Summit

Opinion: Turkey's EU Perspective - Strategic Implications of the London Summit

Turkey, as one of the geopolitically significant countries, serves as a bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. In this context, Turkey seeks to maintain normal relations with both the West and the East. However, as a NATO member country, the characteristics of the Western world are more evident in Türkiye in various aspects. In this regard, Turkey collaborates with European countries within the framework of various strategic projects. Although Turkey is not an official member of the European Union, it maintains certain relations with the bloc. There have also been negative developments between Turkey and the European Union from time to time. Despite these developments, issues related to Turkey's accession to the European Union have recently been reignited.
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Chaos in Romania after Calin Georgescu is barred from presidential election rerun

Chaos in Romania after Calin Georgescu is barred from presidential election rerun

Chaos broke out in Romania’s capital Sunday evening as incensed supporters of the far-right populist Calin Georgescu protested the electoral body’s decision to reject his candidacy in a presidential election rerun. He won the first round of last year’s race before a top court annulled the election. The 62-year-old Georgescu filed his candidacy on Friday in the capital, Bucharest. The Central Election Bureau, also known by its Romanian acronym BEC, had 48 hours to register or reject it.
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European leaders agree on defense spending surge at crucial EU summit on Ukraine

European leaders agree on defense spending surge at crucial EU summit on Ukraine

European Union leaders agreed to significantly boost defense spending to ensure Europe’s security and voiced near-unanimous support for Ukraine at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, after the United States dramatically pulled back its assistance to the continent in a historic upending of transatlantic relations. At the summit in Brussels, 26 European leaders signed a text calling for a peace deal that respects “Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” while including Ukraine in the negotiations. Hungary abstained.
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Majority of Georgians believe EU membership would be positive for Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations

Majority of Georgians believe EU membership would be positive for Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations

61 per cent of Georgians believe that the country’s integration into the European Union would have a positive impact on Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations according to a new study by the Caucasus Research Resource Center on conflicts in Georgia. Additionally, 56 per cent think that NATO membership would also be a positive development. When it comes to Georgia’s rapprochement with Russia, 31 per cent of respondents believe it would have positive consequences. The study, “Conflicts in Georgia: Perceptions, Attitudes, and Expectations”, was commissioned by the Institute for Nationalism and Conflict Studies, the Levan Mikeladze Foundation, and the Caucasian House and conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center in 2024.
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US votes with Russia in United Nations resolutions on Ukraine

US votes with Russia in United Nations resolutions on Ukraine

The US has twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the Trump administration's change of stance on the war. First the US opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow's actions and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity, voting the same way as Russia and countries including North Korea and Belarus at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Then the US drafted and voted for a resolution at the UN Security Council which called for an end to the conflict but contained no criticism of Russia. The Security Council passed the resolution but two key US allies, the UK and France, abstained after their attempts to amend the wording were vetoed.
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Russia and US agree without Ukraine to press ahead on path to peace

Russia and US agree without Ukraine to press ahead on path to peace

The United States and Russia agreed in Riyadh on Tuesday to press ahead with efforts to end the war in Ukraine, a US official said, as Kyiv and its European allies watched anxiously from the sidelines and Moscow raised a major new demand. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the two sides agreed to appoint "respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible in a way that is enduring, sustainable, and acceptable to all sides".
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US tells its NATO allies that European security is no longer top priority

US tells its NATO allies that European security is no longer top priority

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told Washington's NATO allies that they would have to step up and assume greater responsibility for Europe's security since the U.S. no longer remains "primarily focused on the security of Europe". He said "stark strategic realities", such as U.S. border security issues and threats posed by China are a greater priority. Hegseth also said that a return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders was unrealistic and the Trump administration does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution to the war triggered by Russia's invasion.
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Poland takes over presidency of the European Union after a stormy six month Hungarian Presidency

Poland takes over presidency of the European Union after a stormy six month Hungarian Presidency

Poland on Wednesday(1 January) took over the Presidency of The European Union for a period of six months ending a stormy six month Hungarian presidency that often left the member states dismayed, frustrated and angry. Poland is ready to lead Europe towards security and economic competitiveness, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in Brussels just before Christmas. Coming after Hungary the Polish presidency is a symbol of change and great hope of the entire EU for a democratic and secure future of the continent.  Summing up the Polish ambitions prime minister Tusk said I would very much like Poles, to give faith to the whole of Europe that a Europe free from corruption, free from threats, confident in its own strengths, helping those who need help, but also thinking very pragmatically about its own interests is possible. The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU began with an unexpected visit by Prime Minister Victor Orban to Moscow and ended with, among other things, a declaration of Hungary's lack of support for the extension of sanctions against Russia.