The 6th EU-AU Summit, scheduled for the 17-18 February 2022 in Brussels, takes place at a rather extraordinary moment in the evolution of relations between Europe and Africa. Leaders from across both regions would do well in recognising the significance of this period, and should aim to provide a more robust sense of strategic direction for the partnership, particularly from a peace and security perspective.
On Sunday 23 January, Turkish Cypriots will head to the polls in the parliamentary elections, following the resignation of the precarious nationalist right-wing coalition formed by the National Unity Party (Ulusal Birlik Partisi - UBP), Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti - DP) and Rebirth Party (Yeniden Doğuş Partisi - YDP). Turkish Cypriot parliamentary elections are held every five years, since the first election in 1976.
Cordoglio per la morte improvvisa del presidente del Parlamento David Sassoli. L’Europa piange un europeista vero, sempre in prima linea per la democrazia e i diritti umani.
2021 has settled the role gained by street protests in recent years. Is it one of the symptoms of social evolution?
North Korea is currently deadlocked in a state of “double isolation,” which makes engaging with it highly difficult, if not impossible for the time being. Yet, the country will eventually come out of its self-imposed isolation and, in one way or another, will seek to re-engage with the international community. Whether this will occur in 2022 or in 2023 remains to be seen.
Migrant flows across the Mediterranean will increase, though there won’t be a real turning point in immigration policies.
Russian troops on the Ukrainian border ring the alarm bell for a possible invasion. A geopolitical rather than military strategy.
Macron’s second mandate or a far-right victory would have consequences for Italy and Europe’s crossroad between centrism and populism.
The presidential election scheduled for 10 and 24 April 2022 is of considerable importance to France, but also to Italy and Europe.
Germany’s new Chancellor ought to not deviate from Merkel’s pathway. A domestic political mission among many international challenges.
As Olaf Scholz was sworn in as Germany’s ninth postwar chancellor this month following Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign, capitals around the world were wondering what would change.
The short answer: Not much.
Greco-Turkish maritime disputes, couched in competing narratives of national sovereignties, are nothing new. Plus, it has also long been the case that the two sides cannot agree on a framework within which to address their disputes. In spite of the intermittent flare ups, these disputes have traditionally taken the form of a smouldering yet frozen conflict. Despite the relative respite in the tension since early 2021, this only came after a period of high tension in the Eastern Mediterranean between 2016 and 2020.
This year marked the start of a gradual shift in Turkey’s regional foreign policy. After having played a proactive and assertive role in the broader Mediterranean in recent years, Ankara has adopted a less confrontational stance, as it has turned increasingly aware of the need to break its regional isolation and to make friends again. International, regional, and domestic developments have led Turkey to open new channels of dialogue with its neighbours in an attempt to defuse tensions and repair relations.
Recently publicized evidence of massive Russian military presence at the border between the Russian Federation and the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” in the Donbas region of Ukraine has once again drawn the attention of the international public and policy-makers around this ongoing conflict.