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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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Monday Commentary
NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye

The Nato Summit held in The Hague on 24-25 June was a failure, wrapped in success. It was a success because it avoided public display of divisions, mainly by avoiding issues: it was the shortest summit anyone can remember; it also had a very short final statement that basically had two points, the first a re-commitment to article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter and the principle that an attack on one will be considered an attack on all. The fact that Nato leaders in the Hague had felt the need to re-emphasise this should be a cause of worry not celebration, but in the end, it is good that it was said. The second outcome, the one that received most attention, was the commitment of European countries to spend more on their defence: 5 per cent of GDP, of which 3.5 per cent on hard defence, and 1.5 per cent on related ancillary areas such as infrastructure. You may, if you want, believe that this was a response to US President Donald Trump's insistence. Or, if you are more prudent, understand that countries that matter – Germany, France, Poland and the Scandinavian countries had decided on this course of action quite separately, and as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was a wake-up call. Finland and Sweden’s decision to abandon their neutrality, and join NATO was taken long before Trump returned to the White House. The EU’s decision to spend massively on defence was always to ensure that other European countries are part of this process, willy-nilly.

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Editor's choice
Opinion - Armenia-EU relations: back to the drawing board. Dennis Sammut analyses relations between the EU and Armenia after the Riga Summit.
Opinion - Armenia-EU relations: back to the drawing board. Dennis Sammut analyses relations between the EU and Armenia after the Riga Summit.

Opinion - Armenia-EU relations: back to the drawing board. Dennis Sammut analyses relations between the EU and Armenia after the Riga Summit.

In the first, in a series of three articles for commonspace.eu Dennis Sammut analyses relations between the European Union and Armenia after the Riga Summit.
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News
Aliev to boycott Riga Summit

Aliev to boycott Riga Summit

Pro government media in Baku are reporting that the President decided not to go to Riga in view of the unprecedented anti-Azerbaiojani camapign ongoing Europe.
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The shooting that never ceased.
The shooting that never ceased.

The shooting that never ceased.

Twenty one years ago the sides in the Karabakh conflict agreed a cease fire. Since then hundreds, including civilians have lost their lives in daily violations of the truce.