Europe in the World

Blocking by Proxy: Foreign Powers and the Council’s Unanimity Rules

Council President Charles Michel argued that unanimity “promotes a lasting commitment” from the Member States and allows them to “draw strength from our unity”. But from the outside, it does the opposite. When third parties seek to influence the EU’s foreign policy, using the Member States as proxies, in order to prevent the EU from upholding its values abroad, then unanimity does not equal strength but weakness. For this reason, it is urgently important for the EU to end its practice of Qualified Majority Voting.

Sunday 18 October 2020

Belarus: Cracks in Europe’s Last Dictatorship

On August 9th, 2020, the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko assumed his mandate for the sixth time. As the longest-serving leader in Europe (26 years currently), this dinosaur feeds mainly on political opposition, abuse of democracy, freedom, the rule of law and presidential term limits.

Saturday 3 October 2020

Ukrainian Hopes for the German EU Council Presidency

In 2014, Ukraine started its fight for democracy, European values, and EU standards in all spheres of life. Whether it will be successful or not is still open to question, but the Euromaidan protests that began in fall 2013, and shaped Ukraine’s path ever since, were about all that. In this respect, Berlin has been a critically important partner for Kyiv – and it still is, even if there are disagreements regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline running from Russia to Germany.

Saturday 3 October 2020

Causes and Consequences of the Uncertain Relationship between the EU and Turkey

All you need to know to understand the tension between Turkey and the EU.

Wednesday 26 August 2020

The EU does not accept the results of the Belarusian election

Théo Boucart updates us on the EU’s position on the tense situation in Belarus.

Thursday 20 August 2020

Belarus: A Moral Defeat for Lukashenko?

Despite President Lukashenko’s tremendous victory in the Belarusian presidential election (official polls claimed that he captured nearly 80% of the votes), the results of the election have not ceased to be contested. In a country such as Belarus, where discontent is rarely so vocally expressed, (...)

Tuesday 18 August 2020

Amid Chaos and Crackdowns, Hope for a New Belarus

The wave of repression that has followed Belarus’s 2020 presidential election has shocked the world. But what is happening in Belarus is not only a story of brutal crackdowns on protestors, but a story of the protestors’ deepening desire for democratic reforms. Christian Gibbons sums up the past week of demonstrations through the lens of the demonstrators’ hopes.

Monday 17 August 2020

“This is a War of Terror by the State Against the People”

Our Global Affairs editor, Christian Gibbons, talks with Volha Biziukova, an anthropologist from Belarus, about the ongoing protests in her home country.

Sunday 16 August 2020

“In These Protests You Can See the Rebirth of a Nation”

Our Global Affairs editor, Christian Gibbons, talks with Minsk native Darya Shkarupina about the ongoing protests in Belarus.

Sunday 16 August 2020

Belarus protests: How can the EU promote its values in “Europe’s last dictatorship”?

“Europe’s last dictator” is facing the greatest challenge he has ever experienced during his 26-year rule, and has responded with an iron fist. The Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko pushed his original main opponents Viktar Babaryka, Valery Tsepkalo and Siarhei Tsikhanouski out of the race (...)

Saturday 15 August 2020

The UN: after 75 years of struggling for peacekeeping, it’s time to modify the system

Europe’s own divisions over the UN Security Council make it hard for them to throw their support behind any single plan for reform. But they will need to: in order for the UN to be as useful for Europeans as it once was, the Security Council needs to change.

Saturday 15 August 2020

“The only possible path to becoming a real democracy is a revolution”

Dasha Shkarupina from Belarus gives us an overview of the challenging and dangerous campaign trail in her country.

Sunday 9 August 2020
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