Russia

In this episode of Global Europe Unpacked, produced in collaboration with the City of The Hague, Will Murray speaks to Brian Mefford – a long-time observer of Ukraine, based in Kiev – about the state of the rule of law in Ukraine and the biggest challenges it faces; how it is affected by Russian interference; and what more could be done by the country’s Western partners to support and promote the rule of law there. Will then speaks to the vice-president of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, Dr Valentyn Gvozdiy, about what his institution does to support the rule of law in Ukraine; his perspective on the issues that Ukraine faces; and what he believes Ukraine can offer the EU when it comes to justice and the rule of law.

The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in a statement on Wednesday (22 December), said Russia's actions in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus have created new threats and fears of invasion, and that Europe was today under threat. Borrell's statement was in response to Russia's recent attempts to re-define Europe's security architecture. On Wednesday, Borrell also discussed the situation with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

The summit's declaration sets out the strategy and priorities that will guide relations between the EU and its Eastern neighbours going forward based on a new, more ambitious, agenda.

The summit of the leaders of the European Union and of the countries of the Eastern Partnership takes place in Brussels tomorrow (Wednesday, 15 December). It promises to be a defining moment in the relationship between the EU and its neighbours to the east: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In this analysis, the research team of commonspace.eu explore the issues under discussion and explore why for the first time an EaP summit has attracted considerable public attention.

The Russians persisted in presenting a gathering in Moscow on Friday as a meeting of " 3 + 3 ", when in fact only five countries were present, and it was more the case of 2 + 3. Diplomatic deceit is not the basis on which South Caucasus regional co-operation should be built.

Amongst supporters and detractors of Lukashenko alike, the tone in the Belarusian news was far from sympathetic towards the migrants, writes Maryia Ditchkowska in this op-ed for commonspace.eu