East-West (mis)-understandings
07 Mar 2019
Romania’s presidency of the EU Council comes at an awkward time. Brexit looms in a matter of weeks. Populist parties threaten to gain seats in European parliamentary elections in May. Sharp differences separate eastern and western…
France: orphans of French jihadist
07 Mar 2019
The grandmother of two orphans of French jihadists held in a Syrian camp is suing the French state for failing to bring them back to France. The children, aged five and two, are in the care…
First EU-Arab summit
28 Feb 2019
European and Arab leaders recently held their first summit in a bid to bolster cooperation and protect their traditional diplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to fill the vacuum left by the…
Spain: Gibraltar and visa-free travel
28 Feb 2019
In a bitter row over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, Spain has threatened to block visa-free access to the EU for Britons. Madrid refuses to back down on a controversial description of Gibraltar. Spain has made numerous…
Vatican: first-ever abuse conference
22 Feb 2019
Catholic bishops are meeting to discuss the Roman Catholic church's response to the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy for the first time. The Vatican says it wants four days of reflection and…
Europe: Huawei and 5G security
22 Feb 2019
President Trump wants Europe to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from their next-generation 5G information networks, citing security risks (giving China power inside telecommunication networks where they could modify or steal information or conduct undetected espionage).…