Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | It’s too soon to tell you I told you so. The German election is still a month away. But it is starting to look like the ruling Christian Democrats made a mistake nominating Armin Laschet, the prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, for the chancellorship. Laschet would succeed Angela Merkel, who is not seeking a fifth term after sixteen years in power. I argued in December…
Antoinette Tyrrell (European Views) | The European Union has issued a joint statement expressing its deep concern for the plight of Afghan women and girls, following the withdrawal of US forces from the country and the return to power of the Taliban. The statement was issued in conjunction with Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, North Macedonia, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Senegal,…
European Views | In hosting the first-ever Global State of Human Rights conference a couple of weeks ago, the European Parliament clearly signalled that it sees itself at the vanguard of promoting the rule of law, both inside and outside the bloc. Indeed, at the last plenary session alone, the Parliament adopted resolutions on the democratic crisis in Nicaragua, the repression of the opposition in Turkey, Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty, press freedom in Hong Kong, political prisoners in Iran, and the rights of Hungary’s LGBT citizens.
Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | It agreed to put Gibraltar in the Schengen Area to avoid the need for border controls… Did the British not read the fine print when they signed their Brexit deals? Not only do they regret agreeing to a lay a customs border down the Irish Sea to avoid the need for passport checks and inspections of goods on the Ireland-Northern Ireland border; they also have…
For the first time, NATO identified China as a security risk to the alliance, while the G7 leaders took Beijing to task for both its aggressive moves in the South China Sea and its human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. They also agreed to set up an infrastructure partnership to counter China’s Belt and Road.
Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | The unexpectedly strong performance of the center-right in France’s regional elections calls Emmanuel Macron’s reelection strategy into question. The liberal incumbent has been leaning to the right expecting he would need their support to defeat the far right’s Marine Le Pen in a presidential runoff. But if the center-right Republicans regroup, Macron risks not even qualifying for the runoff. Relations with the center-right Polls still…
European Views | Alexander Lukashenko’s latest gambit was too outrageous for European policymakers to ignore. The EU rushed to react after the Belarusian dictator scrambled fighter jets to intercept a Ryanair flight between Athens and Vilnius to arrest dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich, banning Belarus-flagged carriers from European airspace and plotting a fresh round of sanctions. European policymakers have roundly condemned the abuse which Minsk subjects its detained opposition figures to—but unfortunately, they have not been as swift to fight for the rights of political prisoners in other parts of the world.
Fernando González Urbaneja | President Biden comes to Europe this week with three appointments that we could call mandatory, habitual, but which take on relevance because they are the first of his term in office. For Biden, who has a great deal of international experience, Europe is not an outstanding issue, as it was for his predecessor. He knows the dossiers and most of the European interlocutors well, and his…
Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | Will the SNP win an absolute majority? Will Labour’s Red Wall hold? How well will Labour do in Wales? Scotland’s will be the most closely watched election today, but voters across the UK go to the polls. In addition to the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, all sixty seats in the Welsh Assembly, all 25 seats in the London Assembly, thirteen mayoralties and thousands…
Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | Few parties are willing to give the liberal prime ministers a fourth term. Revelations that his outgoing government deliberately withheld information from parliament have made it even harder for Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in power since 2010, to form a new government in the Netherlands.