Saturday, September 21, 2019

Print Edition

Focus

Interview: ‘Adults in the Room’ director Costa Gavras on political movie making

Famed political director returns home to bring the Greek financial crisis to life At 86-years-old Greek-born French director Costa Gavras has been one the most...
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Mission for God: Rebuilding Sofiko’s Monastery

Untouched Corinthian mountain, coastal town lures tourists. SOLYGEIA, Greece – When Greek Orthodox nun Lidia arrived alone at the deteriorating convent of The Assumption of...

Mitsotakis on a mission to drive Greece to prosperity

Greek PM heads to US with full agenda ATHENS - Greece’s recently elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on a mission to drive investments to the...
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Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...
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EU to help modernise Czech Republic’s electricity system

In an effort to increase energy security in the Czech Republic, the European Union is investing more than €46 million from the European Regional...
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Germany wants to cap EU budget to 1% of GDP

Germany wants to cap the EU’s next seven-year budget (2021-27) at 1% of GDP. In 2018, the Commission proposed a seven-year budget of roughly €1.1...
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NEWSROOM

Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices

Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
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Mitsotakis on a mission to drive Greece to prosperity

Greek PM heads to US with full agenda ATHENS - Greece’s recently elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on a mission to drive investments to the...
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Issue 1303:A fair way out (Print Edition)

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Europe to boost plastics recycling with new declaration

More than 100 public and private partners covering the plastics value chain signed on 20 September the declaration of the Circular Plastics Alliance, which...
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Offshore wind wins 5.5 GW of 6 GW of new renewable capacity awarded in UK

Offshore wind won 5.5 GW of the 6 GW of new renewable energy capacity awarded in the UK in the world’s largest ever wind...
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Europe’s labour market outlook remains positive, report finds

The European Commission published on 20 September the autumn edition of the Employment and Social Developments in Europe Quarterly Review. The report confirms that the...
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Print Edition

Focus

Interview: ‘Adults in the Room’ director Costa Gavras on political movie making

Famed political director returns home to bring the Greek financial crisis to life At 86-years-old Greek-born French director Costa Gavras has been one the most...
Read more

Mission for God: Rebuilding Sofiko’s Monastery

Untouched Corinthian mountain, coastal town lures tourists. SOLYGEIA, Greece – When Greek Orthodox nun Lidia arrived alone at the deteriorating convent of The Assumption of...

EU Affairs

Mitsotakis on a mission to drive Greece to prosperity

Greek PM heads to US with full agenda ATHENS - Greece’s recently elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on a mission to drive investments to the...
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Britain submits written Withdrawal Agreement proposals

Britain's Brexit minister Secretary Stephen Barclay is meeting the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday, only a day after the President of...
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Japanese court clears nuclear power executives over Fukushima negligence charges

A Japanese court ruled on Thursday that three former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power (TEPSCO) should not be considered criminally negligent for the...
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Austrian parliament blocks EU-Mercosur deal

Austrian lawmakers rejected the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Wednesday, raising objections over its environmental impact. The free trade pact between the EU, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and...
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Russia, Ukraine OK with EU law for gas transit

On 19 September in Brussels, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission held trilateral gas talks at a political level on the long-term transit of...
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Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...
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Trump taps hostage negotiator as National Security Adviser

The US' chief hostage negotiator Robert C. O'Brien was tapped by President Donald Trump on Wednesday to replace John Bolton as the new national...
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Leaders' Perspectives

Amb. Tamara Rastovac Siamasvili

Permanent Representative of the Republic of Serbia to UNESCO

Serbian cultural and religious heritage in Kosovo and Metohija

Kosovo and Metohija are the cradle of both the Serbian state and church, as well as of the spiritual home of the centuries-old culture of… Read More »

Daniela Schwarzer

Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

Ursula von der Leyen’s to-do list

When Jean-Claude Juncker became European Commission President five years ago, he confronted formidable challenges. But the test faced by his successor, Ursula von der Leyen,… Read More »

KASSANDRA

Italy – EU turn the page, for now

A few years ago, my son who has passion for watches, went to our family house in Corfu and returned to Brussels wearing a...
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Watch your language CJEU!

Because Kassandra can always have more friends Kassandra gets some fan mail, and sometimes even hate mail. What we love most is communication from concerned...
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Greek tax collectors prepare for hand-to-hand combat

Over the summer, as the Greek government sought to curb tax evasion during its peak season, several incidents of attacks of tax collectors took...
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Change on the horizon; brace for impact

The European Union has entered into a phase of critical uncertainty. The Brits made the second blunder in their post-war history with Brexit and are...
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It’s time to make EU funding opportunities equal for all

Sucking the LIFE out of Europe’s economy As Kassandra has explained in the last year, the tender for the monitoring of the LIFE program worth...
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Ursula von der Leyen’s incoming Commission is now ready

With former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni being announced as the 27th European Commission member for the incoming mandate, President-elect Ursula von der Leyen...
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What were the Americans thinking at the Thessaloniki International Fair in 2018?

As the 84th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) is inaugurated 7 September, high-level officials, pundits and regional business leaders will be focusing on economic policy...
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Russia, Ukraine OK with EU law for gas transit

On 19 September in Brussels, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission held trilateral gas talks at a political level on the long-term transit of...
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EU Commission clears E.ON’s acquisition of Innogy under conditions

Germany’s E.ON took a step closer on 17 September in acquiring Innogy’s distribution and consumer solutions business as well as certain of its electricity...

EU Court hears Apple’s €13bn tax bill case

Representatives from Apple, Ireland and the EU appeared in front of the EU General Court in Luxembourg on Tuesday. Apple is contesting a 2016 order...

EU to help modernise Czech Republic’s electricity system

In an effort to increase energy security in the Czech Republic, the European Union is investing more than €46 million from the European Regional...

No breakthrough during Johnson-Juncker meeting in Luxembourg

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay met with the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barmier on Monday in...

EU wants progress in Russia-Ukraine gas talks

The European Union will host a fresh round of Trilateral Gas Talks between Russia and Ukraine on 19 September in Brussels with European Commission...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The mother of all hearings

As soon as the new European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, revealed on 10 September that Hungary’s former Minister of Justice Laszlo Trocsanyi...
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EP president urges Italian government to let all migrant ship passengers disembark

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has urged the Italian government to allow the Open Arms migrant ship to dock on the...

Bosnia’s authorities draw cautious praise from Brussels after agreeing to form Council of Ministers

Nearly 10 months after Bosnia and Herzegovina's last round of elections, the leaders of country's three main ethnoreligious groups finally reached an agreement to...

Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation and a threat to Europe

If Europe is serious about combating antisemitism, the Lebanon-based global terror group Hezbollah must be stopped in its tracks. As we marked on 18...

Ursula von der Leyen is the new president-elect of the European Commission

Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's current defence minister, has won the backing of enough Members of the European Parliament to be named the president-elect of...

EU could be in for a difficult summer if von der Leyen is not elected

Ahead of Tuesday’s crucial vote in Strasbourg, the EU may be left in the lurch as it will be caught in the mid-summer season...

EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Britain submits written Withdrawal Agreement proposals

Britain's Brexit minister Secretary Stephen Barclay is meeting the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday, only a day after the President of...
Read more

Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...

Eurozone divided over stimulus policy

Mario Draghi’s monetary policy package announced is being fiercely contested and may no longer be sufficient to stave off a recession across the whole...

Italy requests a fiscal time-out to boost growth

Following a meeting with the President-elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Italian premier Minister Giuseppe Conte asked for fiscal space to...

The EU rethinks the Fiscal Compact

It appears that the consensus over a fiscally tight, export-driven EU economy is contested. The Finnish Council Presidency will table a proposal for the...

Boris Johnson faces parliaments’ last-ditch attempt to avert no-deal Brexit on Tuesday

Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to resist the parliaments’ last attempt to stop a no-deal Brexit. The two prevailing scenarios are that MPs will...

EU National News

Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices

Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
Read more

Mitsotakis on a mission to drive Greece to prosperity

Greek PM heads to US with full agenda ATHENS - Greece’s recently elected Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on a mission to drive investments to the...
Read more

Offshore wind wins 5.5 GW of 6 GW of new renewable capacity awarded in UK

Offshore wind won 5.5 GW of the 6 GW of new renewable energy capacity awarded in the UK in the world’s largest ever wind...

Britain submits written Withdrawal Agreement proposals

Britain's Brexit minister Secretary Stephen Barclay is meeting the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday, only a day after the President of...

Austrian parliament blocks EU-Mercosur deal

Austrian lawmakers rejected the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Wednesday, raising objections over its environmental impact. The free trade pact between the EU, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and...

Russia, Ukraine OK with EU law for gas transit

On 19 September in Brussels, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission held trilateral gas talks at a political level on the long-term transit of...

OPEC head to visit KazEnergy and Kashagan oil field

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo will visit an international energy forum in Nur-Sultan and the giant oilfield Kashagan in Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea...

Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...

Spain likely to go to the polls for the fourth time in four years

Spain is heading for its fourth elections in four years; since Spain last went to the polls on April 28, negotiation to form a...

Former PM Renzi splits the Italian left

Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi announced on Tuesday that he was quitting the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) to form a new one. The...

World News

Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices

Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
Read more

Houthi drone attack on Saudi energy infrastructure affects global oil prices

Drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure on Saturday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels reduced oil production by 5,7m barrels a day which, according to...
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EU wants progress in Russia-Ukraine gas talks

The European Union will host a fresh round of Trilateral Gas Talks between Russia and Ukraine on 19 September in Brussels with European Commission...

Experts warn that religious freedom around the world is worsening

In August, Iraq’s ethnoreligious Yazidi minority marked the five years since ISIS militants overran northwestern Iraq and murdered at least 5,000 Yazidi men and...

Brussels concerned by deadly Saudi airstrike in Yemen

A Saudi airstrike in Yemen's southwestern province of Dhamar on 1 September killed at least 100 people and wounded dozens more, an incident that...

Russia’s influence in Georgia has grown since the 2008 war

At exactly the same time that French President Emmanuel Macron was hosting his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at his summer home in the south...

North Korea money laundering in Russia puts European banks at risk

Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the Russian Central Bank, has reportedly been reforming the bank sector and cracking down on financial institutions engaged in...

Say “No” to a technocratic government

The EU’s economy has essentially been flat over the past year. The slump in manufacturing is deepening. Companies are cutting work hours and issuing...

Pompeo threatens to sanction countries that allow Iranian tanker to drop anchor

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will take every action it can to prevent an Iranian oil tanker that left Gibraltar on...

What can be done to save Hong Kong?

It is becoming increasingly clear, as the Hong Kong protests continue, that the Chinese Communist Party will be forced to make a choice -...

THE ENLARGEMENT MONITOR

Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...
Read more

The mother of all hearings

As soon as the new European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, revealed on 10 September that Hungary’s former Minister of Justice Laszlo Trocsanyi...
Read more
Interview: Ivica Dacic

Belgrade’s central role

Serbia is now a part of the solution, not the problem Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic speaks with New Europe about the difficult political...
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Mitsotakis government’s foreign policy inevitably points to Washington

In view of ongoing tension between Turkey, the EU and Washington, it was completely reasonable for the new Greek government of Prime Minister Kyriakos...
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The Name Dispute after the July 7 Greek elections

The June 2018 Prespes Agreement, which settled the so-called Name Dispute with newly-renamed North Macedonia, Greece’s northern neighbor, was an important but not the...
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Western Balkan nations strengthen cooperation at Poland summit

Government officials from the Western Balkans and high-level EU representatives met from the 4-5 July in the Polish city of Poznań to discuss and...
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As enlargement discussions freeze, aspirants twist in the wind

Discussions in Luxembourg regarding EU enlargement in the Western Balkans made little headway this past week, despite the threat from North Macedonian Prime Minister...
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Internet & ICT

Regulators take hard line against Facebook’s Libra

Facebook faced the grilling of 26 central bank representatives over its Libra currency plan on Monday; Libra is a virtual currency considered a threat...
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US States initiate anti-trust probe against Google

Google’s dominant market position is now the subject of state investigations after 50 states and territories opened anti-trust probes that are looking at Google’s...
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Online selling VAT fraud could see a Brexit headache for UK’s HMRC

Officials are preparing for an uptick in VAT compliance problems as the UK leaves the European Union. Online platforms like Amazon Marketplace and eBay...
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EU plans digital startup investment fund

EU officials have drafted a plan that envisages the creation of a sovereign wealth fund that would invest €100 billion in European digital startups. The...
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Don’t squander the techno-revolution

Public discussion of the effects of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) often focuses on the productivity benefits for companies and the economy, on the...
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India to be fourth state to land a spacecraft on the moon

India's space agency has launched a lunar mission to the moon’s unexplored south pole on Monday; that makes India the fourth nation to land...
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Brussels to further scrutinise China’s intelligence law on 5G

The European Union must take China's national intelligence law into account when deciding on the construction of 5G networks in Europe, said EU Commissioner...
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Energy

Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices

Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
Read more

Offshore wind wins 5.5 GW of 6 GW of new renewable capacity awarded in UK

Offshore wind won 5.5 GW of the 6 GW of new renewable energy capacity awarded in the UK in the world’s largest ever wind...
Read more

LUKOIL, KazMunayGaz sign joint research agreement

Russia’s LUKOIL and KazMunayGaz (KMG) signed on 20 September an agreement on joint exploration of hydrocarbon sites in Kazakhstan. LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov and KazMunayGas...
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Russia, Ukraine OK with EU law for gas transit

On 19 September in Brussels, Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission held trilateral gas talks at a political level on the long-term transit of...
Read more

EIB and Italy join forces to promote clean fusion energy

The European Investment Bank announced on 19 September that is providing €250 million under the European Fund for Strategic Investments, or the Juncker Plan,...
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OPEC head to visit KazEnergy and Kashagan oil field

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo will visit an international energy forum in Nur-Sultan and the giant oilfield Kashagan in Kazakhstan’s section of the Caspian Sea...
Read more

EU Commission clears E.ON’s acquisition of Innogy under conditions

Germany’s E.ON took a step closer on 17 September in acquiring Innogy’s distribution and consumer solutions business as well as certain of its electricity...
Read more

Faith and Religious Freedom

Three recipients given 2019 Religious Freedom Award

The three winners of the Religious Freedom Award included two specialists in Ecclesiastical State Law (Constitutional Law on Religious Freedom) and one of the...
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Faith roundtables provide open forum for believers and non-believers

The US State Department organised the Second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington DC during the summer, an annual event that is the...
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Persecuted Pakistani Christian woman builds new life in Canada

Nine years after being falsely accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad while engaged in a row with her neighbours, Pakistani-born Christian Asia Bibi and her daughters have...
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Experts warn that religious freedom around the world is worsening

In August, Iraq’s ethnoreligious Yazidi minority marked the five years since ISIS militants overran northwestern Iraq and murdered at least 5,000 Yazidi men and...
Read more

EU launches initiative on inter-religious engagement

The European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini hosted a conference in Brussels on 6 September focusing on religious engagement during which she announced a...
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Civil society organisations urge Pakistan’s PM to end blasphemy laws

The Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Roundtable Brussels-EU, a civil society initiative who gathers regularly to exchange ideas with the EU institutions to...
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Quebec ban on religious symbols causes international outcry

Two groups of Canadian activists have filed an appeal against a Quebec judge's decision to ban the wearing of religious symbols by public employees. The...
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Supported by the  Faith and Freedom Summit Coalition

Columnist

Monnet Matters
By Editorial

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is one of the world’s main terror groups

For nearly 40 years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tormented Iranian society. Using their status as the so-called Army of the Guardians of...
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ICI Washington
By Alec Mally

Tusk makes final push in support of Western Balkans enlargement

Outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk devoted his time on 16 September to make a final push in support of the EU accession aspirations...
Read more
Energy Insider
By Kostis Geropoulos

Drone strikes on Saudi oil fields spike prices

Geopolitical tensions and fears of longer-than-expected supply shortfalls led to Brent crude oil prices rising more than 1% on 19 September following the drone...
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Eurasia Watch
By Nicholas Waller

Fire on Russian nuclear sub kills 14

A fire onboard a top secret nuclear powered Russian Navy submarine killed 14 sailors after an unexplained accident occurred in one of the submersible’s...
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NOVA COMPETITIVIDADE
By Francisco Jaime Quesado

Lessons from a summer university

Once again, Portugal’s iconic capital Lisbon hosted a summer university for teachers and students who discussed both ideas and solutions for Europe. Reinventing Europe...
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WELLNESS

Gym or sofa? How to make the healthy choice

Do you sometimes struggle to find the willpower to work out? The Aspria experts shares five top tips for staying motivated. You’ve told yourself you’ll...
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BACK TO SCHOOL: TIPS FOR A SMOOTH TRANSITION FROM HOLIDAY MODE

The time is almost here for children to go back to school. Are you ready? Christine Cornet, Academy manager at Aspria Brussels Royal La...

Sauna in Heat

HOW A SUMMER SAUNA CAN ACTUALLY COOL YOU DOWN Sauna in the middle of the summer? It may seem like a strange idea, but in...

The perfect water workout

So, you’re heading off on holiday and you’ve decided to take a break from full-on gym workouts, but you’d still like to keep in...

In partnership with  Aspria Bruxelles

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