Tagged the EU

06/10/2017

Beyond Europe, Inside Europe, Israel

Fifty years ago, a fierce war between Israel and its neighbours changed the map of the Middle East and transformed Israeli politics and its relations with the wider world. The effects of that Six-Day War are... Be More Curious...

The Catalan Independence Conundrum

28/09/2017

The Catalan government is determined to go through with its plans to hold an independence referendum. With the country on the verge of a constitutional crisis, a negotiated solution becomes crucial. On 1 October, Catalans are called to the polls to decide o... Be More Curious...

The circle is tightening over Iran

21/09/2017

Beyond Europe, Iran

All opinions in this column reflect view of the autor(s), not of Vocal Europe According to Reuters, Donald Tramp, the US president is assessing a new strategy against Iran-backed forces in Iraq and Syria, as... Be More Curious...

Trump – Poland’s biggest climate ally?

01/07/2017

By Konrad Świrski “Except for showcasing the First Ladies’ fashionable gowns, the Sicily’s G7 summit also resulted in the predictable appearance of support for Poland’s lonely climate negotiation position,”... Be More Curious...

Kurdistan Region- Heaven for Refugees

Diyar Amin

29/05/2017

The Opinion

While many Syrian refugees from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan risk their lives leaving the three host countries to Europe, 339,639 out of 4.9 million Syrian refugees are sheltered in Iraqi Kurdistan and they enjoy the freedom, security and equal employment opport... Be More Curious...

The Clash of Realities Behind the CEU Affair

11/04/2017

Beyond Europe, Inside Europe

by Kata Szabó Thousands of people are protesting against the close down of the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. A political battle about “foreign influences” and pro or anti EU, US or Russia se... Be More Curious...

Monday Talk with Richard Giragosian on Russia, the Far-Right Sentiment and the European Union

Richard Giragosian

03/04/2017

Beyond Europe, Monday Talks

Vocal Europe: Despite many predictions that a large number of experts in the western world forespeak about Russia, Putin has always surprised many in the EU regarding his foreign policy preferences. What are Ru... Be More Curious...

Monday Talk with Janez Jansa – Former President of the European Council and PM of Slovenia

Madalina Sisu Vicari

23/01/2017

Monday Talks

Vocal Europe: Last year, in his address to the European Parliament’s plenary session, the president of the European Commission talked about the “polycrises” facing Europe. One year after, the crises are still there and Europe is facing a plethora of po... Be More Curious...

If the EU is a mine then Austria and Italy are the canaries

Robert Heslop

06/12/2016

by Robert Heslop In the build up to the Austrian presidential election and the Italian vote on constitutional reform, governments from mainstream parties in the EU member states and officials in the EU insti... Be More Curious...

After Brexit: learning to be good neighbours

22/11/2016

by Andrew Duff * There’s a good and a bad way to leave the European Union. Article 50 is designed to expedite an orderly withdrawal, limiting collateral damage. But for Article 50 to work, we need clear thin... Be More Curious...

The European Union and Nuclear Disarmament – a Sensitive Question

31/05/2016

The Opinion

by Julia Berghofer Currently the debate on nuclear weapons in the European Union is not making any progress, this could be due to the failure of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2015. Nevertheless, a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Europe should still be envisaged... Be More Curious...

Negotiating Iranian Politics: Rouhani’s Reform Agenda

26/01/2016

Iran

DISCLAIMER: all opinions in this column reflect view of the autor(s), not of Vocal Europe by Dr. Roubzeh Parsi After the United States and the European Union have lifted economic sanctions on Iran, the coun... Be More Curious...

A race against time: New data protection rules in the internet era

12/01/2016

by Martina F. Ferracane It was about time. Pre-internet rules on data protection were not fit for our new interconnected reality. The core institutions of the European Union have finally set in stone an agreem... Be More Curious...

We Must Prepare for a 30-Year War in the Middle East

30/12/2015

The Opinion

by Paul Rogers Twelve years ago, George W Bush gave his “Mission Accomplished” speech from the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, confident that the Saddam Hussein regime had been consigned to the dustbin of history, the Taliban regime... Be More Curious...

Ukraine’s Free Trade Agreement: How it Deepens the Rapprochement with EU and the Impasse with Russia

Madalina Sisu Vicari

30/12/2015

Inside Europe, Russia

by Madalina Sisu Vicari EU-Ukraine free trade agreement: a long and difficult implementation The beginning of the 2016 will bring the entering into force of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreemen... Be More Curious...

Six Views on Russia-Ukraine Gas Ties for Coming Winter

11/12/2015

Business, Russia, The Opinion

Ukraine decided to stop purchases of Russian gas on November 25, adding it will continue to transport Russian gas to European consumers in full accordance with existing contracts. Against this backdrop, Natural... Be More Curious...

Can the EU Help Ukraine to Succeed? Reforms, the Russian Factor and Implications for the Eastern Neighbourhood

10/12/2015

Russia

by Henrik Hallgren & Iryna Solonenko The European Union (EU) is in the process of reassessing its interests and reprioritising its foreign policy objectives, towards its neighbours as well as globally. In November, the European Commission (EC) after ... Be More Curious...

The EU’s Proposal for the 2015 Climate Conference in Paris

30/11/2015

Business, Inside Europe

by Silvia Brugger The European Commission recently released its vision for the global climate change agreement, which is due to be adopted in Paris in December. It is worth noting that the EU is the first nego... Be More Curious...

After the Paris Attacks: The Open Society and Its Enemies

22/11/2015

Inside Europe, Society

by Judy Dempsey Europe has to choose. The murder of 129 people during six separate terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 is forcing governments across Europe to consider how to deal with the so-called Isla... Be More Curious...

Monday Talk with Rebecca Harms on European Refugee Crisis

15/11/2015

Monday Talks

In an interview with Vocal Europe, Rebecca Harms, Co-Chair of Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance at the European Parliament, expresses her take on some of the critical challenges stemming from ongoing refugee crisis between the European ... Be More Curious...

Russia and Syrian Chess

Brad Cabana

08/11/2015

Russia

by Brad Cabana It has been just over a month since Russia took the military initiative in Syria. Along with fifty plus combat aircraft and helicopter gunships, Russian naval ships Moskva, Ladny, Pytlivy and Sm... Be More Curious...

The Imperial Designs on Iran

02/11/2015

Iran

DISCLAIMER: all opinions in this column reflect view of the autor(s), not of Vocal Europe by Pepe Escobar So what is the Obama administration really up to in Iran? What sort of strategic calculations have... Be More Curious...

Law and Justice triumph in Polish elections – what does it mean?

26/10/2015

by Pawel Swidlicki Polish voters have voted for sweeping change with Law and Justice winning today's elections by a wide margin. Open Europe's Pawel Swidlicki looks at what comes next for Poland and the EU, and also what it could mean for Cameron's EU reneg... Be More Curious...

The October 2015 European Council and migration: no news, good news?

22/10/2015

by Yves Pascouau The October European Council meeting took place after an unprecedented sequence of actions, with the Luxembourgish Presidency, the European Commission and the Council adopting and proposing a ... Be More Curious...

Some progress toward conflict resolution in eastern Ukraine?

21/10/2015

Beyond Europe

by Alexandre Barray On February 11, 2015, a summit was held for the second time in Minsk to bring a solution to the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and government forces. Leaders... Be More Curious...

Greece’s failure, Europe’s shame!

27/07/2015

photo source: businessinsider by Christos Mouzeviris After 5 years being in the media spotlight for its economic woes, the Greek drama reached finally-or hopefully- its crescendo.Lat week on early Thursday hours, the Greek Parliament approved the new bitter ... Be More Curious...

Why a third Greek bailout is a bad idea

Pieter Cleppe

15/07/2015

photo source: dailyreadlist by Pieter Cleppe Last Sunday, Eurozone countries submitted yet another ultimatum to Greece: implement a whole round of reforms, from eliminating early retirement over... Be More Curious...

Syriza offers hope to British Eurosceptics

Giles Marshall

06/07/2015

photo source: rferl.org by Giles Marshall Britain may not be a member of the Eurozone, but the arguments over the Greek crisis have as many ramifications here as elsewhere. While Prime Minister David Cam... Be More Curious...

TTIP is unlikely to happen anytime soon and here’s why?

20/06/2015

by Alexandre Barray Next month, the tenth round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will take place in Brussels. American and European negotiators hope to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2015 but challenged b... Be More Curious...

Where are the Syrians?

02/06/2015

Society

(Photo taken from time.com) by Isabelle Panasi It has already been four years that Syria has gone to war. In March 2011, the rebellion’s movement started. A large number of citizens asked the departure of... Be More Curious...

Will Angela Merkel tumble over the BND Scandal?

29/05/2015

(Photo taken from cnn.com) by Kathrin Beck Stormy times in Berlin. In the ten years since her first election in 2005, the Chancellor has experienced many uncomfortable situations – and survived. Bank bail... Be More Curious...

Britain: becoming fundamentally a right-wing country?

Giles Marshall

20/05/2015

(Photo taken from nbcnews.com) By Giles Marshall The British General Election sent a tremor through all of the major parties. While the opposition Labour party, and the now much smaller Liberal Democratic party are trying to recover from serious defeat,... Be More Curious...

Putin’s Euro-Asian Union between the EU and China

Madalina Sisu Vicari

13/05/2015

Russia

(Photo taken from yahoo.com) by Madalina Sisu Vicari The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) stemmed from a series of initiatives which aimed at integrate the countries of the former Soviet Union into a regiona... Be More Curious...

Nuclear deal to lead Iran interfering in internal affairs of its neighbors?

10/05/2015

Iran

DISCLAIMER: all opinions in this column reflect view of the autor(s), not of Vocal Europe by Naveed Ahmad Tehran seems in festive mood over the likely nuclear deal. US Secretary of State John Kerry and hi... Be More Curious...

ISIS: Iran’s Trojan Horse?

01/05/2015

Iran

DISCLAIMER: all opinions in this column reflect view of the autor(s), not of Vocal Europe by M. Behzad Fatmi / @BehzadFatmi Islamic State to Iran is what Al Qaeda has been to America. The analogy might not resonate well among the readers in the West but ... Be More Curious...

Does EU’s ten-point-plan stop Refugee flows?

29/04/2015