If “Celtic Tiger” is the nickname chosen to describe the Irish economy, the most appropriate one for gender representation in Parliament could be “Celtic kitten”. In Ireland, a country that in recent decades has become a symbol of rapid social and economic progress, of the 174 seats assigned in the national elections of November 29, only 44 were occupied by ...
The European Union lags behind the United States and China in terms of innovation and digitalization. The European digital landscape is constrained by a complex legislative framework and non-competitive investment profiles, both public and private. Small and medium-sized enterprises, the heart of European industry, could receive new life through professional retraining and updating initiatives, and the development of sectoral data ...
Romania is moving towards the formation of a pro-European government, with the country at the center of a political crisis following the victory in the presidential elections by the far-right and pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, an election later annulled due to foreign interference. Four parties of the Romanian Parliament, the former “grand coalition” of the Social Democrats (PSD) and the ...
With the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the fate of the millions of Syrian refugees who left the country to escape the civil war is uncertain. Thousands of them are already heading from neighboring countries to the border crossings with the hope of returning home. And hundreds of thousands are instead in Europe and they too could return or be ...
The European Union is developing a plan to establish a multi-billion-euro fund to support the bloc’s defense expenditures over the next ten years. At the European Council meeting last June, leaders of the 27 member states tasked the Commission with exploring ways to secure the necessary funding for arms purchases within Europe. “We estimate that additional defense investments of around ...
The fall of the “criminal regime” of Bashar al-Assad “marks a historic moment for the Syrian people”. But now all actors in the field must “avoid further violence, ensure the protection of civilians and respect international law, including international humanitarian law”. Winners and losers of the war in Syria The High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas asks this. “We ...
Next, the Europa Today newsletter that every Sunday morning tells you what will happen in the coming European week, edited by Alfonso Bianchi (for comments, suggestions or criticisms write to [email protected]). Top of the agenda The ECB accelerates – At the meeting on Thursday 12 December the ECB is expected to decide on a further cut in interest rates by ...
The historic Mercosur Treaty has come to a conclusion, which unites the European Union with four other Latin American countries in a gigantic (almost) tariff-free market. These are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The news was announced on 6 December by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who is in Montevideo in Uruguay to sanction the ...
In Spain there is an ongoing clash between the government of Pedro Sánchez and the opposition Partido Popular (PP) over the reception of migrants, especially as regards unaccompanied minors. The country is facing a sharp increase in flows which reached its peak this summer in the Canary Islands. The different positions on the reception of migrants To better manage the ...
Posing as Ukrainian refugees to gain access to the United Kingdom, taking advantage of gaps in border control systems and the wave of solidarity for the ongoing war. This is the new strategy adopted by human traffickers to make entry into Great Britain accessible to migrants. In addition to the now well-known route across the English Channel, a ‘safer’ route ...