The importance of the Western Balkans for the EU during a war in Europe
By News desk
The prospect of accession is important because of Putin and China. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has finally awakened the European Union to the strategic importance of the Western Balkans and the potential for Moscow to use unresolved disputes in the region to undermine the West. EU leaders must now seize the geopolitical moment to change
https://bit.ly/3HgU1T2

ECtHR, Russia to pay about 350,000 EUR to Jehovah’s Witnesses for disrupting their religious meetings
By Willy Fautre
Jehovah’s Witnesses – Russia – On January 31, 2023, the European Court of Human Rights, having considered seven complaints from Jehovah’s Witnesses from Russia, recognized the disruption of worship services from 2010 to 2014 as a violation of fundamental freedoms. The ECHR ruled to pay compensation to the applicants in the amount of 345,773 EUR and
https://bit.ly/4467Ltl

European Parliament votes and calls Russia a “state sponsor of terrorism”
By EuropeanTimes
Today, the European Parliament recognized Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism, in an attempt to pave the way for President Putin and his government to be held accountable for war crimes before an international tribunal. Vladimir Putin’s regime is now considered by MEPs to be a state “sponsor of terrorism”, an accomplice to
https://bit.ly/40BJKrb

European Ombudsman publishes annual report for 2022
By Newsdesk
The Ombudsman has published her annual report for 2022 with transparency and accountability issues representing the largest percentage of complaints (32%). The report provides an overview of key areas of the Ombudsman’s work, such as her suggestions to the European Commission, European Central Bank, and European Investment Bank for better managing moves by their staff
https://bit.ly/3AAboKw

First Person: Türkiye earthquake – 60 seconds of terror
By United Nations News
When Monday’s devastating earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, killing thousands of people, Olga Borzenkova, a spokesperson for the UN migration agency (IOM), was in Gaziantep, Türkiye, one of the most affected areas. She describes her experience, and the emergency response effort that is underway. “Like hundreds of thousands of other people in South-Eastern Türkiye I was fast asleep when the world started
https://bit.ly/3Varcxq

UNICEF warns of deepening inequalities in Europe and Central Asia
By United Nations News
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate disasters and ongoing conflict have deepened inequalities among children in Europe and Central Asia, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report published on Thursday, calling for more robust support for boys and girls at risk of poverty and social exclusion.  The report on children’s rights is the first of its kind
https://bit.ly/3H8hhTe

Will the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU be suspended?
By Robert Johnson
This is the question some activists are asking themselves in Spain The presidency of the Council of the European Union (Consillium) is rotating and changes every six months, with Spain scheduled to take over on 1 July, but there are doubts about this. A Spanish alliance is calling for Spain to be declared to have
https://bit.ly/3LvEqla

MEPs approve revised rules on product safety in Europe
By European Parliament
On Thursday, MEPs endorsed the revised rules on product safety of non-food consumer products with 569 votes in favour, 13 against and no abstentions. The new regulation aligns the existing General Product Safety Directive with the latest developments in digitalisation and the surge in online shopping. Improving safety assessments In order to guarantee that all products placed
https://bit.ly/41QD2P2

3 million girls are forcibly subjected to genital mutilation
By Guest Author
genital mutilation – At Barcelona airport, the Mossos d’Esquadra arrested a woman who was trying to take her daughter to Morocco to fly from there to her hometown in Sierra Leone. What they did was, at the same time, to take away the passport of her 17-month-old daughter, with an order to return her when
https://bit.ly/3Tjp9pu

34 countries against the participation of Russia and Belarus in the Olympics in Paris
By Newsdesk
Host France is among the 34 countries that have called on the International Olympic Committee to ban the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the 2024 Paris Olympics, DPA reported. The USA, Great Britain and Australia are also among those who have declared against the participation of the Russian and Belarusian athletes. In
https://bit.ly/3LuqzLy

34 countries against the participation of Russia and Belarus in the Olympics in Paris
By Newsdesk
Host France is among the 34 countries that have called on the International Olympic Committee to ban the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the 2024 Paris Olympics, DPA reported. The USA, Great Britain and Australia are also among those who have declared against the participation of the Russian and Belarusian athletes. In
https://bit.ly/3LuqzLy