France
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Europe Should Regulate, Not Ban, Nicotine Pouches
As France moves toward banning nicotine pouches, it risks pushing users back to cigarettes or into unregulated and potentially harmful markets. Sweden, by contrast,...
Invasion of Ukraine
Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative appears to stall
U.S. President Donald Trump’s summer of disrupting almost everything is now winding down with major peace agreements still eluding him, along with a potential...
Trade
Trump trade deal leaves some in EU unhinged
U.S. President Donald Trump completed his five-day “private visit” to Scotland on July 25-29, which beyond his golf course visits included a number of...
United Nations
United States to again withdraw from UNESCO
On July 22, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced that Washington had informed United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey...
Environment
United Nations Oceans Conference adopts declaration to tackle the global ocean emergency
After a week of deliberation and discussion, the third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3) organized by France and Costa Rica has concluded in Nice,...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How the arrest of a French politician carries lessons for Brussels
A French senator caught smuggling 22 kilos of tobacco in her suitcase should be a wake-up call for Brussels. But so far, the European...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Zeno’s Arrow and Albania’s membership in the EU
Recently, the position of the incoming German government coalition (government) between the CDU/CSU and SPD parties regarding the enlargement of the European Union into...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU leaders in Kyiv back Ukraine, but Trump won’t blame Russia
On the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders travelled to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and to declare their...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How French Neocolonialism converges with Iranian terrorism
France raised one billion euros "for the people of Lebanon," with a declared goal “to provide humanitarian aid." French President Emmanuel Macron even made...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Strategic Partnership or Strategic Risk? France’s Deepening Ties with Qatar
It has recently marked the half-year anniversary since France and Qatar announced a strategic partnership that will see the emirate invest €10 billion into...
China
Xi challenges a divided Europe
After the May 5-9 visit of President Xi Jinping to Europe most of the political analysts in Brussels who argued that the Chinese President's...
Kazakhstan
Pro-nuclear leaders push atomic energy to cut CO2 emissions, boost security of supply
A global push to expand nuclear power continued recently as world leaders from more than 30 countries and the European Union met at the...
Africa
France’s policies in Africa diminish its influence; inevitably opening the door to Russia & China
In a recent story titled "How Russia and China are trying to drive France out of Africa", what was not lost on the reader...
EU Institutions
The end of Europe
The European Union is simply too big; it is composed of too many cultures and political perspectives; and, despite Brussels' claim that it values diversity over all other issues, this does not include a deviation from what it considers its own norms. As matters currently stand, the EU runs the risk of collapsing under its own weight.
Europe & Eurasia
Has Armenia killed the South Caucasus peace process?
Despite the issuance elaborate diplomatic statements detailing the various policy spheres in which discussions were held, Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, publicly stated that “no concrete results” had been reached regarding a peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria to accelerate green energy transition
Akuo has announced that it has successfully secured the refinancing of a portfolio of five operational hydroelectric power plants in Bulgaria with a capacity...
Belgium
EU says ready for Russian energy weapon
The European Union said on February 16 the bloc is ready in case the Russian leadership decides to weaponize the energy issue.In a speech...
Energy
EU Parliament approves greener road charging rules to cut C02 emissions
Under the new rules adopted by the European Parliament on February 17, road charges for trucks will move from time-based to distance-based charging, making...
Cyprus
EU invests over €110 million in environment and climate protection in 11 member states
The European Commission announced on February 17 an investment of over €110 million into LIFE program integrated projects for environmental and climate protection, selected...
Energy
Despite heavy imports, France still biggest electricity exporter in Europe
France maintained its position as the biggest net exporter of power in Europe in the second half of 2021, despite an extreme reliance on...
Energy
Sefcovic: Europe needs to mobilize financing for battery raw materials projects
Europe needs to streamline and accelerate existing permitting procedures for raw materials, while complying with the highest environmental and social standards, EU Commission Vice-President...
Defense & Security
The West’s disunity stems from the latent Russophilia; anti-Anglo-Americanism of key EU nations
If you personify countries by combining their politics with their national identity, it's amazing how representative the characters are. For example, the UK is...
Africa
French influence in West Africa is in danger of fragmenting
Anti-French sentiment has been growing relentlessly throughout Francophone Africa where governments have struggled to contain mounting internal security problems from jihadi insurgents. France has...
Africa
Burkina Faso coup raises serious questions about Islamic militants, the waning influence of France and Russia’s increased presence in West Africa
The military takeover in Burkina Faso on January 24 is the fourth coup in West Africa in the last 17 months. The removal of...
Africa
TotalEnergies joins Masdar and Siemens Energy to develop green hydrogen
Dubai-based renewable energy major Masdar announced on January 19 that TotalEnergies is adding its expertise in the energy sector to a Masdar-led initiative focused...
Belgium
How nuclear can help the planet achieve net-zero
Nuclear power offers the world an abundant future if it is embraced, said speakers at an event jointly organised by the New Nuclear Watch...
Archive
COP26: call for more global climate action
On November 24, Members of the European Parliament debated with Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, and the Council Presidency, the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed...
Archive
The EU and the hijab
Given my relentless, savage, repetitive and – if I may say so – eminently fair criticism of the European Union, I could easily forgive...
Archive
Uzbekistan plans to double energy production to 30 GW by 2030
Uzbekistan will announce three new international tenders, for the construction of over 400 kilometers of overhead power lines, and two other new tenders for...
Africa
US, UK and Europe launch ‘Just Energy Transition’ partnership with South Africa
The governments of South Africa, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, along with the European Union, announced on November...
Energy
Uzbekistan to green its electricity sector, economy
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Following the re-election of Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 24, the Central Asian country has chosen the path of modern...
Analysis
New political patterns in the South Caucasus
Developments in the South Caucasus continue to race ahead of Europe’s understanding of them. By the time an event has been noticed, recognized, digested,...
Archive
A dash of UK Hubris: Containing China
Hubris is a fickle emotion. Too much of it can be deadly, while too little of it can be crushing. A country with a...
Albania
Greece again agrees to expand US defense cooperation
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to Washington October 13-14 to participate in a scheduled session of the US-Greece Strategic Dialogue, where he met...
Archive
Responsible deployment of wind to help energy transition in France
Wind energy is indispensable for a successful energy transition in France and it brings additional benefits to citizens, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson told the...
Africa
EU-US mobilise further support for Global Methane Pledge
Ahead of the UN climate summit in Glasgow, European Union Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who leads the EU's international negotiations on climate, and Special...
Analysis
Defense pacts and energy in the Eastern Mediterranean
The Greeks have finally come to the realization that despite a period of relative calmness Turkey is not about to abandon its assertive behavior...
Archive
Akuo and Mirova activate 3 wind power plants in Poland
Paris-based Akuo, an independent global renewable energy power producer and developer, announced on October 13 the activation of three wind power plants in Poland,...
Archive
Russia puts the freeze on EU, gas supplies limited, prices spike
With gas prices surging, Members of the European Parliament have called for an investigation into market manipulation from state and non-state actors, and into...
Archive
MEPs call for binding methane emissions target
In a report on the EU Strategy to reduce methane emissions, Members of the European Parliament called on September 28 for binding reduction targets...
Archive
AUKUS: A French ‘beurre noisette’ in the Indo-Pacific
Any fan of French haute gastronomy understands the prominent role that noisette beurre, or burnt butter, plays in their recipes. As the speciality adds...
Analysis
Germany and its neo-imperial quest in Bosnia
When rumors first began to swirl in January about the possible appointment of Christian Schmidt as Europe's High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, I...
Afghanistan
With the AUKUS pact, the US has opted to snub some of its European partners
In the nearly nine months since he took office, it has become apparent that the US and European Union will not immediately experience a...
Afghanistan
Will Central Asia serve as Europe’s bridge to Afghanistan?
Just over one month on from the fall of Kabul, Europe is still grasping for answers to the question of how to engage in...
Archive
Time is not on our side: EUMed 9 leaders discuss climate crisis
ATHENS - Meeting at Greece's capital on September 17, the EUMed 9 summit leaders signed on September 17 the Athens Declaration on climate change...
Archive
EU and US can close the climate finance gap together, says von der Leyen
While every country has a responsibility, major economies do have a special duty to the least developed and most vulnerable countries to tackle climate...
Archive
Uzbekistan announces financial proposals for 100MW wind farm in Karakalpakstan
Uzbekistan’s Energy Ministry announced on September 16 the financial proposals of the investors/bidders in their contest to become the independent power producer to develop...
Afghanistan
The West must apply the lessons of Afghanistan and Tunisia to Libya
Twenty years have now passed since 9/11. Since then, differing ideas of the importance of democracy in Middle Eastern policy have dominated the foreign...
Africa
Conflict is spreading across the African continent
Many African countries are run by dictatorships, but their grasp on power is increasingly unstable. Mali has seen at least 2 changes of power...
Archive
TotalEnergies inks major energy deals in Iraq
TotalEnergies, the Iraqi Ministries for oil and electricity, and the country's National Investment Commission have signed, in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa...
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