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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EU to push for sanctions on Israel ministers and suspend bilateral support

EU to push for sanctions on Israel ministers and suspend bilateral support

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated she would push to sanction "extremist" Israeli ministers and curb trade ties over Gaza, as she warned famine should not be used as a "weapon of war". Addressing the European Parliament on 10 September in the annual State of the Union, von der Leyen lamented that divisions among member states were holding back a European response but insisted the European Commission "will do all that it can on its own". "What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world. People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies. These images are simply catastrophic," von der Leyen said. The German politician said the Commission would put its bilateral support to Israel on hold, stopping all payments, but without affecting work with civil society groups and Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
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Opinion
What role for the EU in the post-Washington South Caucasus?

What role for the EU in the post-Washington South Caucasus?

The agreements reached in the US-mediated summit of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Washington on August 8 are poised to fundamentally reshape the region's future. Particularly, the deal concerning the Zangezur corridor – rebranded as the “Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP) – holds significant geopolitical importance. If implemented, the TRIPP agreement would deal a severe blow to the regional standing of Russia and Iran. More importantly, it would pave the way for a strategic U.S. presence in this critical geography. This outcome represents a success that few would have predicted for the United States, especially for the Trump administration, given the region's notoriously complex and volatile geopolitics.

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Opinion
Opinion: 2019 will be “the year of Nasimi” in Azerbaijan, and all the world will be able to appreciate the work of the great poet

Opinion: 2019 will be “the year of Nasimi” in Azerbaijan, and all the world will be able to appreciate the work of the great poet

Ramazan Samadov says that Nasimi's ideas of free spiritual choice and principle of universal love guided the poet towards tolerance, looking beyond boundaries. The "year of Nasimi" will provide an excellent opportunity for his poems and messages to be enjoyed and appreciated.
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Slovak OSCE Chairmanship outlines priorities for 2019

Slovak OSCE Chairmanship outlines priorities for 2019

Addressing a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna the Slovak Foreign Minister said Ukraine will be a priority for the chairmanship, but he also noted positive developments around the conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Transdniestr and Georgia
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PACE co-rapporteurs call upon Azerbaijani authorities to review Mehman Huseynov’s case

PACE co-rapporteurs call upon Azerbaijani authorities to review Mehman Huseynov’s case

"We are alarmed by the fact that Mehman Huseynov has embarked upon a hunger strike as the only means available to him to protest about his plight. We call upon the Azerbaijani authorities to review his case as a matter of absolute priority" said the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Azerbaijan,
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Slovakia takes over the chairmanship of the OSCE for 2019

Slovakia takes over the chairmanship of the OSCE for 2019

The last decade has been a difficult one for the OSCE, with some even questioning the very existence of the organisation. It got a new lease of life after it played a role in stabilising the situation in Eastern Ukraine when fighting flared up there in 2014.