Most experts agree that Serbia has a "single-issue", the foreign policy of countersecession following Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. This issue shapes Serbia's official discourse and foreign policy.
In 2015, the Kosovar Parliament passed a law to establish a Special Court in The Hague in order to investigate war crimes perpetrated in Kosovo between January 1998 and December 2000.
The Western Balkans – that is, the countries of former Yugoslavia minus Slovenia and Croatia, plus Albania – are faring relatively better than other regions on the edges of Europe. Unlike their Eastern neighbours, they are on track to become members of the European Union (EU).
The initiative brought together selected high-level experts, businesspeople, policy makers and other stakeholders from Asia and Europe to discuss current economic shifts in Asia and their potential impact on Europe also with a view to providing policy options to foster EU-Asia relations. Specific attention was devoted to Chinese investment in Europe, its relevance for the European economy, and political reactions both at the EU and national level.
The European Council is currently working on a revised EU strategy for Central Asia - which should be launched by 2019 - redefining its policy towards the region following the developments that changed its geopolitical landscape in the last decade.
The Madrid Accords of 14 November 1975 ended the Spanish colonization of Western Sahara, sparkling a long conflict which, since then, opposes the Kingdom of Morocco to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front). 42 years later, Western Sahara remains, according to the international law, a non-self-governing territory whose de jure administering power is still Spain. De facto, around 80% of the territory has been annexed by Morocco, whereas the remaining 20% is under the control of the Polisario Front.
The One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative reflects China’s growing need for deeper engagement with the regions to its west and south – through intensified trade, investment, telecommunication, and infrastructure – as well as a grander vision for Chinese foreign policy. Encompassing over 60 countries, in an area covering mainly Asia and Europe, but also Oceania and East Africa, OBOR faces immense challenges, not only from a political and operational perspective, but also from a financial standpoint.
The EU is struggling to cope with the so-called “migration crisis” that has emerged over the past few years. Designing the right policies to address immigration requires a deep understanding of its root causes. Why do Africans decide to leave their home countries? While the dream of a better life in Europe is likely part of the explanation, one also needs to examine the prevailing living conditions in the large and heterogeneous sub-Saharan region.
The next 1st of October will be a pivotal moment in Spanish constitutional history in light of the Catalan "Llei del referèndum d'autodeterminació", which regulates the holding of a binding self-determination referendum on the independence of Catalonia.
