European Union

The European Union urged Turkey on Sunday (16 August) to "immediately" stop exploring for gas in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean, as tensions rise with other countries in the region.

Last weekend, LGBTI activists in Poland were brutally beaten up by the police, but no one in the EU institutions had the guts to speak out about it.

From Bulgaria, to Serbia, Hungary, and up north to Poland and Belarus, the loosely defined area of eastern Europe is far from having a peaceful summer.

There is something perplexing these days. Wherever one goes, nationalist governments are attacking the LGBT+ community.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (15 August) all but dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for a summit of world leaders to discuss Iran, saying he probably would not participate.

Vladimir Putin has offered to help ensure Belarus's security, according to its president Alexander Lukashenko, as pressure builds on the strongman leader and opposition protesters prepare for a show of force Sunday (16 August).

The EU issued a declaration welcoming the announcement on the normalisation of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Belarus officials who ordered violence and faked elections are to face EU visas bans and asset freezes, foreign ministers agreed on Friday.

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko faced mounting opposition on Friday (14 August) to his disputed re-election as factory workers joined popular protests and the European Union moved to impose new sanctions on his regime.

Russia on Friday (14 August) announced the safe return of 32 of its citizens after Belarus detained them saying they were mercenaries sent to destabilise the country ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

EU foreign affairs ministers agreed on Friday (14 August) to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions in response to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's post-election crackdown.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week at his Mediterranean holiday retreat to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the post-election protests in Belarus and growing tensions with Turkey, the presidency said Friday (14 August).

Greece has been lucky – 17 migrants, all from Somalia, are safely isolated at Kara Tepe camp in the island of Lesbos, a show-case reception centre on the island. But at the overcrowded Moria camp on the same island the...

European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen joined on Friday (14 August) a growing chorus calling for sanctions on Belarus where security forces cracked down on protests against strongman Alexander Lukashenko claiming victory in a disputed election.

The national audience was expecting his resignation. But veteran Prime Minister Boyko Borissov made a televised address on Friday (14 August) in which he proposed a change of constitution – a move seen as an obvious attempt to buy time....

The United Arab Emirates and Israel have established diplomatic relations. Until now any contact between the two states had taken place behind the scenes. The agreement to this effect was brokered by US President Trump and is due to be signed in Washington on 3 November. Journalists discuss what the deal means for the region.

EU foreign ministers are meeting today to discuss how to respond to Turkey's policy in the eastern Mediterranean, which, according to Brussels, contravenes the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus and international law. Journalists analyse the underlying reasons for the Greek-Turkish dispute over gas and borders and what Europe can do to defuse the tensions.