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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News
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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Primary colours: Kiev at war. A photo-essay from the Ukrainian Capital prepared by Joseph d'Urso.
Primary colours: Kiev at war. A photo-essay from the Ukrainian Capital prepared by Joseph d'Urso.

Primary colours: Kiev at war. A photo-essay from the Ukrainian Capital prepared by Joseph d'Urso.

One year after the historic events on Kiev's Maidan Square the city remains gripped in political drama. Whilst the shooting in Ukraine's capital has stopped, the echoes of the conflict in the east of the country resonate in different ways. Our special correspondent Joseph d'Urso was in Kiev last week and he sent in this photo-essay.
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OPINION: Energy security and NATO's new partners
OPINION: Energy security and NATO's new partners

OPINION: Energy security and NATO's new partners

Armenian analyst Dr Eduard Abrahamyan argues in this article for commonspace.eu that changes in the regional and global situation are leading to a rethink of policies by Iran, Armenia and others.