EU & Europe

Image: EU and Iranian flags. Source: EU EEAS Website.

EU Cracks a Gentle Whip at Iran

By M.K. Bhadrakumar*

This article was produced in partnership with Indian Punchline and Globetrotter.

NEW DELHI (IDN) — The European Union has returned to the ritual of sanctioning Iran to leverage its foreign and security policies. The highlight of the EU Foreign Affairs Council ministerial meeting in Brussels on December 12 was the imposition of sanctions against Iran over a range of issues.

The issues were “the unacceptable repression of the ongoing protests and the worsening human rights situation” in Iran, Iran’s military cooperation with Russia, including the delivery of drones deployed against Ukraine, the prospects of renewal of the JCPOA, and regional security.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 14 December 2022

Strategic Dilemma: Germany in Search of an Effective China Strategy

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

BONN (IDN) — German-Chinese relations are currently being reassessed in Germany. This is the result of a longer development that also took place in the EU. The shock of Germany's dependence on Russian gas, coal and oil supplies has made relations with China particularly sensitive.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 08 December 2022

Photo: Defense Ministers from 14 NATO Allies and Finland came together in Brussels on Thursday (13 October 2022) to sign a Letter of Intent for the development of a “European Sky Shield Initiative”. Source: NATO

Sky Shield & the Spiraling U.S.-NATO Arms Race

Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson

The writer is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security and Co-Convener of the Peace & Planet International Network.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The Biden Administration’s recent National Security Strategy announced that the post-Cold War order is now history, and that the yet to be named new era is defined by military, economic, and technological competition to shape the new order. NATO’s expansion to Russia’s borders, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the U.S./NATO response, as well as the trade war with China are all major elements in these debilitating, and at times murderous, struggles for hegemony—regional and global.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 December 2022

Photo: British and German soldiers playing soccer in No-Man’s Land during the Christmas Truce in 1914. Credit: Universal History Archive.

Now is a Good Time for a Ukraine Ceasefire and Peace Talks

Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies*

NEW YORK (IDN) — As the war in Ukraine has dragged on for nine months and a cold winter is setting in, people all over the world are calling for a Christmas truce, harkening back to the inspirational Christmas Truce of 1914. In the midst of World War I, warring soldiers put down their guns and celebrated the holiday together in the no-man’s land between their trenches. This spontaneous reconciliation and fraternization has been, over the years, a symbol of hope and courage.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 30 November 2022

Photo: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechammer, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić during the meeting in Budapest. Credit: BKA/Dragan Tatic

Combating the Migrant Crisis Along the Balkan Route in Europe

A Special Report by Aurora Weiss

VIENNA (IDN) — The flow of refugees is unceasing. According to the European border agency Frontex, between January and September this year, 228,000 people "arrived illegally" in the Schengen area, which is 70 per cent more than last year. The vast majority still come from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

This number does not include millions of Ukrainian citizens who are not considered asylum seekers. As agreed within the EU, they can simply come to any country in the European Union as long as the Russian aggression continues.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 20 November 2022

Photo: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (left) and Sr Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Source: Asian Affairs (London)

Current Political Landscapes in Britain & Sri Lanka: Parallels and Contrasts

This article was issued by Asian Affairs (London).

Viewpoint by Neville de Silva*

LONDON (IDN) — They may be thousands of kilometres apart, but there is a common thread that binds Britain’s first-ever prime minister of Indian origin and of the Hindu faith and Sri Lanka’s Buddhist president installed in office less than three months ago.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 06 November 2022

Image: Residential area, Saltova, Ukraine - ZagAlex/Shutterstock

What's Next in the Ukraine War?

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf

This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.

BONN (IDN) — In order to find an answer to the difficult question about the future of Ukraine, it is worth analysing the two extreme and polarised positions currently propagated in Western Europe. On the one hand, there are those who want to provide Ukraine with more and unrestricted support, especially military aid. And on the other hand, there are those who argue that further arms deliveries to Ukraine only prolong the war.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 03 November 2022

Photo: The UN Security Council meets on the situation in Ukraine, 27 February 2022. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Ukraine: The Russian Nuke Threat

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is a former High Representative of the United Nations for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) — The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, described by Moscow as a “special military operation”, entered its eighth month without an end in sight, and there is no sign of willingness among the parties involved to start serious negotiations that might lead to a cease-fire followed by arrangements for a durable peace.

: Sergio Duarte; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 02 November 2022

Photo: Rishi Sunak giving his first speech as prime minister in front of 10 Downing Street on October 25. Credit: Rory Arnold. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Will Sunak as Prime Minister Halt Britain's Slide into Chaos?

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — In a widely shared story earlier this month, The Economist likened the political carnage in Britain to the situation in Italy in the 1940s. Italy was a major theatre of the First World War at the end of which the country was in ruins.

It is so unstable that in spite of the tenuous hold of the Christian Democrats on power for much of the time, the country has produced 69 governments since 1945, an average of one and a half governments every two years. Italy’s instability is the joke of Europe.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 29 October 2022

Image credit: International Monetary Fund.

German Experts Study the Impact of Economic Sanctions Against Iran and Russia

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — Researchers at the Institute for World Economy IfW Kiel and DIW Berlin have analysed the economic impact of jointly implementing punitive measures in the context of the 2012 Iran and 2014 Russia sanctions. They find that coalitions serve two crucial purposes—they not only magnify the economic cost imposed on the target but also reduce domestic costs for sanctioning states.