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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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News
Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

The Netherlands is set to elect its youngest ever prime minister after the far-right party of Geert Wilders was projected to suffer losses in an election he brought about by bringing down the government. Rob Jetten, the 38-year-old leader of the pro-European centrist D66 party, is on course to claim the top job with most votes counted. His party is projected to win 27 of the 150 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, beating Mr Wilder's Freedom Party on 25, according to an exit poll by Ipsos. It comes just two years after he led his party to victory in the last election, winning 37 seats, although his coalition partners refused to endorse him as prime minister. Mr Jetten will also need to rely on a coalition himself, with 76 seats needed for a majority. At least four parties will be required for him to get there.
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News
Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Turkey is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities. Following a three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman last week in which he oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.

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Editor's choice
Commentary
Opinion: Secret diplomacy has failed and it is now time to think of new approaches

Opinion: Secret diplomacy has failed and it is now time to think of new approaches

In the second in a series of three commentaries on the consequences of the recent military clashes on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Azerbaijani political analyst Ahmad Alili says that recent events have changed a lot of things for Baku and will have far-reaching effects on the diplomatic mediation efforts also.
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News
Pope calls for peace in the Caucasus

Pope calls for peace in the Caucasus

Referring to the recent fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan the Holy Father said he hoped for "a peaceful and lasting solution that has at its heart the welfare of these beloved nations"
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News
Sweden will put the OSCE focus back on basics

Sweden will put the OSCE focus back on basics

Deputy Foreign Minister Robert Rydberg said resolving conflicts in the OSCE region was at top of Sweden's agenda when it assumes the Chairpersonship of the organisation in 2021
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Opinion
Opinion: The OSCE in crisis

Opinion: The OSCE in crisis

The OSCE faces a leadership crisis after all its three institutions as well as the Secretariat were decapitated in one clean swoop. Dr Walter Kemp discusses what happened, and a possible way forward.
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Opinion
Opinion: Erdogan's folly

Opinion: Erdogan's folly

The modern-day sultan now also wants to be the modern-day caliph, but the decision to turn Hagia Sophia back into a mosque is a pyrrhic victory that divides rather than unites, writes Dennis Sammut in this op-ed