EU & Europe

Photo: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hosts the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers' Meeting in London, 3 to 5 May 2021. Credit: GOV.UK

Europe and the US Need to Talk About Sanctions Against Russia

Viewpoint by Agathe Demarais

The writer is Global Forecasting Director at The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU). This commentary* was published on the European Leadership Network (ELN) website on May 7.

LONDON (IDN) — Convening in London this week (May 3-5), the G7 foreign ministers expressed their interest in standing together in the face of a variety of challenges, including how to engage with Russia and China.

After four years of bombastic tweets and erratic declarations from Donald Trump, the first 100 days of the Biden presidency have shown that the new US president is more willing to work with European allies than his predecessor was. Yet this does not mean that all is well for the transatlantic alliance.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 May 2021

The US and EU Boost Access to Covid-19 Vaccines and Waive the Patents

Viewpoint by Lori Wallach

Lori Wallach is the director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. This is a slightly abridged version of a blog post by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) New York.

WASHINGTON DC (IDN | IPS-Journal.EU) — As we see infection rates in India and other parts of the world skyrocketing, European Union (EU) and US government officials regularly declare that the Covid-19 public health disaster and resulting economic crises will not end anywhere unless people everywhere are vaccinated. Yet the two World Trade Organization (WTO) heavyweights are blocking an initiative now supported by 100 nations that could boost access to Covid-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests worldwide. On 5 May the issue will again come to a head at the WTO. The US and EU must join the rest of the world.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 04 May 2021

Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg on the sidelines of India-Nordic Summit, in Stockholm, Sweden on April 17, 2018. Credit: India PM's Office

In Norway, Even Prime Minister Not Above COVID Law

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran

NEW DELHI (IDN) — On April 9, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg was fined 20,000 kroner ($2,352) for breach of COVID rules during her 60th birthday celebration on February 26.

It was nothing remotely like the Shashti Abda Poorti (celebrating completion of 60 years of age) seen in India.

: Shastri Ramachandran; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 01 May 2021

Photo: A traditional Dogon village in central Mali. MINUSMA/Sophie Ravier

UN Finds French Military Culpable for Deadly Attack on Mali Civilians

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Major combat operations by French troops in Mali have drawn fire from local officials who accuse the French military of killing civilians including at a recent wedding. Nineteen wedding guests and three armed men died in the strike in the village of Bounty, central Mali.

Now, a scathing report by the UN’s mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA, concurs with Malian authorities and upholds the claim that the victims were protected under international law. The French defence ministry rejects the report’s findings.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 April 2021

Photo: The new EMOWAA draws inspiration from its historical architectural typologies and establishes its own courtyard in the form of a public garden. Credit: EMOWAA Museum.

Discussion About the Repatriation of Nigeria’s ‘Benin Bronzes’ Looted by British Soldiers

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Church of England is joining a handful of museums, universities, and private owners exploring the repatriation to Nigeria of thousands of brass plaques, wooden and ivory sculptures known as the Benin Bronzes looted by British soldiers in the waning days of the colonial era.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 April 2021

Photo: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev discussing German unification with Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Russia, July 15, 1990. Credit: Bundesbildstelle / Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung.

Rolling Back on NATO's Expansion Should Be President Joe Biden's Immediate Task

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — History and events have not been kind to Russia. Napoleon’s invasion, revolution, two world wars, Hitler’s invasion, Stalin’s communism and, most recently, the expansion of NATO, have shattered the Russian people’s equilibrium and self-regard time and time again.

At the end of the Cold War and with agreement on the NATO-Russia Founding Act it seemed that big steps towards a new kind of future were being taken. First, Russia would have a seat at NATO's table. Later it would join NATO. Later still, the European Union. Some said this would happen over ten years, others twenty.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 30 March 2021

Photo: A Trident missile launched from a submerged ballistic missile submarine. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The UK Defies Nuclear Treaties and Strengthens Atomic Arsenal

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) — Within three months of the UK's complete withdrawal from all institutions of the European Union and from the European Atomic Energy Community on January 31, 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to increase by 40 per cent to 260 the country's nuclear arsenal to "continue to be the leading European Ally within NATO". Disarmament activists and experts as well as world parliamentarians have criticized the decision.

: Jamshed Baruah; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 22 March 2021

Photo: Collage of women calling for rights and Turkish President Erdoğan.

UN Urges Turkey To Reconsider Withdrawal from the Treaty Protecting Women's Right

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) — UN Women has reiterated the concerns expressed by the United Nations in Turkey and other partners regarding Turkey’s announced termination of being a party to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (the “Istanbul Convention”). It has urged Turkey to reconsider its withdrawal.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 20 March 2021

Photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 24, 2018 at which they discussed intensifying German Chinese relations. Credit: Xinhua/Liu Weibing

Germany Is Particularly Attractive for Chinese Investors

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — Germany is one of the most important countries for Chinese investors and ranks tenth in terms of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI). Particularly the transport sector and the technology sector in Germany received a great number of investments from Chinese investors in recent years.

Although China has recently focused more than ever on geostrategic investments in countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative," investments in Germany remain strategically important for Chinese investors to gain access to key technologies.

: Jutta Wolf; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 19 March 2021

Image: EU flag removed from UK embassy in Brussels in a symbol of Brexit freedom. Source: Video | UK | News | Express.co.uk

"Britain Alone" Tells the Story of Inflated Ambition

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Philip Stephens of the Financial Times writes in the opening page of his new book, “Britain Alone” *: “The alarm was sounded by a distinguished British scientist, Sir Henry Tizard. Tizard had served during the war as a special emissary to Washington for Winston Churchill. His task had been to supervise the exchange of advanced military technologies, from airborne radar to nuclear fission. Tizard once made an Atlantic crossing carrying in his case blueprints for every one of the nation’s secret weapons systems”.