Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Brits’ comeback

I see no Brexit. Indeed, once the bloc unanimously granted an extension for Brexit requested, both pundits and politicians feel relieved as the have perceptualised the trap that they had fallen in with the self-inflicted blunder that they committed three and half years ago. It was one of the biggest...
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Print Edition

Focus

The Kremlin augments its digital tools to crack down on protesters

Violent police crackdowns are not the only tactic protesters in Russia can expect, as they have also been subject to increasing use of digital...
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Finding peace: Interview with Sheikh Bentounes

Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, the President of the International Sufi Association Alawiya, a Muslim NGO promoting interfaith dialogue and cohabitation, sat down with New Europe...
Interview: V.S. Subrahmanian

Counterterrorism’s chief programmer

Interview with Professor V.S. Subrahmanian In today’s world, the capture of a terrorist leader or the destruction of a terror cell is one of the...
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The head of the dragon

It’s a rare occasion when Greek prime minister meets with the Chinese president twice in one week. Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis and China’s Xi Jinping...
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Yes, but how?

President Jean Claude Juncker wanted a “political” Commission and to this effect, despite the rigidity of the Commission “system”, he made some progress. The...
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Von der Leyen changes controversial title for migration portfolio

Incoming European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has changed the title of her migration commissioner from "Protecting our European Way of Life" following...
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NEWSROOM

Targets acquired: NATO open to new nuke deals with Russia, China

NATO is open to new arms control agreements with Russia and China, Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, US Permanent Representative to NATO, told a telephonic...
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European experts discuss telecom security

The European Union's agency for cybersecurity, ENISA, together with the national communications regulator of Serbia, RATEL, last week held the 29th ENISA Article 13a...
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Observers say Belarus election did not comply with democratic standards

Parliamentary election in Belarus did not show respect for democracy, international observers said on 18 November, after the opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko failed...
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EU and Eastern Partner countries discuss media independence

EU experts, donors and media professionals met for "The Eastern Partnership Media Conference 2019: Business and Sustainability" on 13-14 November, in Riga, Latvia. The participants...
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Europol helps bust archaeological artifacts trafficking group

An international police operation supported by Eurojust and Europol dismantled a major organised crime group involved in large-scale trafficking of Greek archaeological items from...
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EU condemns escalating violence in Hong Kong

About 100 anti-government protesters remain holed up in a Hong Kong university while searching for escape routes on 19 November, the third day of...
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Print Edition

Focus

The Kremlin augments its digital tools to crack down on protesters

Violent police crackdowns are not the only tactic protesters in Russia can expect, as they have also been subject to increasing use of digital...
Read more

Finding peace: Interview with Sheikh Bentounes

Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, the President of the International Sufi Association Alawiya, a Muslim NGO promoting interfaith dialogue and cohabitation, sat down with New Europe...

EU Affairs

Targets acquired: NATO open to new nuke deals with Russia, China

NATO is open to new arms control agreements with Russia and China, Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, US Permanent Representative to NATO, told a telephonic...
Read more

German business calls for bigger deficits

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz brushed aside demands by both unions and businesses On Monday to ditch the balanced budget policy...
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Italian coalition government faces crisis on two fronts

The Italian coalition government is fighting two battles, one in Brussels and one in Rome. The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) MS5) Nicola...
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Airbus books $30bn in orders on Dubai airshow

Airbus secured orders for 170 aircraft worth $30bn at the Dubai Air Show on Monday. Orders include 50 Airbus A350-900 XWB by Emirates for $16bn...
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France wants to change the rules on enlargement

Following the French decision to block EU accession talks with Albania and N. Macedonia, France proposes to change the policy of enlargement. In a non-paper...
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Using mobile money to enhance humanitarian aid in Yemen

If they are not considered entirely essential, mobile phones are a basic tool for our everyday life and facilitate how we live. Mobile technology...
Read more

Sinn Fein calls for Irish unification referendum within five years

The Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald called for a referendum on Irish unity over the next five years. Speaking to around 1,500 delegates...
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Scottish court orders release of detained former Catalan minister

A Scottish court ordered the release of former Catalan education minister Clara Ponsatí on Thursday, without travel restrictions, as she not considered a flight risk. Earlier...
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Italy urges caution in giving ESM debt-restructuring mandate

Italy’s Central Bank’s governor, Ignazio Visco, said on Friday that he favours reforming the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) but without triggering market panic. The euro...
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Sweden defies Chinese threat to award book publisher Gui Minhai

Sweden’s culture minister defied a Chinese threat on Friday to award a Swedish human rights prize to detained Chinese-Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai. The Swedish...
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The head of the dragon

It’s a rare occasion when Greek prime minister meets with the Chinese president twice in one week. Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis and China’s Xi Jinping...
Read more

Leaders' Perspectives

Givi Gigitashvili

Research Assistant, Caucasus, with the Digital Forensic Research Lab

The Kremlin augments its digital tools to crack down on protesters

Violent police crackdowns are not the only tactic protesters in Russia can expect, as they have also been subject to increasing use of digital technologies… Read More »

Ashkhen Grigoryan

Analyst for the Regional Studies Center, an independent think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia.

Improved education and critical thinking are essential to help transform post-Soviet societies

State and public misconduct, as well as short term reaction-based policies, are the result of an insufficient Soviet-style education and a lack of knowledge about… Read More »

KASSANDRA

Yes, but how?

President Jean Claude Juncker wanted a “political” Commission and to this effect, despite the rigidity of the Commission “system”, he made some progress. The...
Read more

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The White House is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to drastically limit the use of scientific research to determine public health regulations,...
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Communism is dead, Communists can still be useful

Global disorder is the manifestation of an ever-changing world. The conservative pillars of societies insist that they view it as an infectious disease curable...
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Brexit, EU unity, and non-negotiable democracy

Every time we think this whole Brexit madness is going to finally come to an end, it just doesn’t. Always one step forward, two...
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Enlargement dezinformatsia

France is taking the lead in filling the vacuum as a result of Brexit and several EU political leaders made a series of false...
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Let’s get one thing straight: Reforms are, first and foremost, for national benefit

We can all argue about whether enlargement of the European Union is a good thing or not, but let us not try to sell...
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Enlargement Kaput

As New Europe wisely predicted in recent weeks, neither Albania nor North Macedonia received a date at the EU Summit to launch negotiations for...
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Von der Leyen changes controversial title for migration portfolio

Incoming European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has changed the title of her migration commissioner from "Protecting our European Way of Life" following...
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Commission launches infringement proceedings against UK

The UK's failure to nominate a new commissioner for the duration of its extension of membership as a result of its upcoming national elections...

.ευ : Commission enables domain names in full Greek script

After 7 years of preparation, the European Registry for Internet Domains (EURid) launches .ευ, the Greek equivalent of .eu top-level domain name. Users will have...

UK will not nominate an EU Commissioner before national elections

Britain's Ambassador to the EU, Tim Barrow wrote in a letter to the European Commission on Wednesday night that the UK will not nominate...

Ebola vaccine authorised by EU Commission, approved by WHO

In a landmark decision on 11 November, the European Commission granted a marketing authorisation to the company Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. for the...

Timmermans takes over from Juncker

Jean-Claude Juncker’s surgery on November 11 left is right-hand man, Frans Timmermans, sitting in as interim president of the European Commissioner while Juncker recovers...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

MEPs express concern over climate change

The European Parliament in Brussels voted on 10 October for an increase of climate action spending in the next EU budget, calling for a...
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Vestager is ready to reign in Big Tech

The question of Europe's digital transformation has been a key topic for many of last the Commission confirmation hearings. By the end of the...

Sassoli: UK’s Brexit proposals are not immediately operable, long way from something European Parliament could agree to

The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, met today with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, and discussed the facets of...

Kyriakides with a clear path to take over the Commission’s health portfolio

The Cypriot Commissioner-designate charged with managing the EU’s Health Portfolio, Stella Kyriakides, a trained clinical psychologist and cancer survivor, spent three hours on 1...

Wojciechowski flops during confirmation hearing, puts von der Leyen’s Eastern European vision in doubt

The Polish candidate to take over the European Commission’s Agriculture portfolio, Janusz Wojciechowski, failed to live up to his potential future boss’ expectations by...

Hungary and Romania need to send other Commissioner candidates after new European Parliament vote

In a morning vote on 30 September 2019, the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee voted that Commissioners-designate from Hungary and Romania cannot stay on....

EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Eurozone edging towards recession without policy response consensus

According to data released this week, the Eurozone hovers over the prospect of a recession, and there is no policy consensus over how to...
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Zaev-Mitsotakis Thessaloniki meeting explores EU Enlargement delays

The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia met on the sidelines of the Thessaloniki 2019 Summit on November 14. This was their second...

Brussels casts Zaev a thin lifeline

Brussels cast a thin Italian-flavoured political lifeline to North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev over the last ten days, something sorely needed after Zaev...

EU and China to sign geographic indication agreement

The EU and China will sign in Beijing an agreement to protect geographic indications, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday in Shanghai. Geographic indications...

Zaev fumbles after EU Enlargement let-down

North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev fumbled badly this week when discussing the relationship between his country’s now-frozen EU accession bid and the standing...

Enlargement is not Eurovision, Zoran

Enlargement boosters across Europe were stunned by the third failure of the European Council to announce a decision on 18 October on a date...

EU National News

Targets acquired: NATO open to new nuke deals with Russia, China

NATO is open to new arms control agreements with Russia and China, Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, US Permanent Representative to NATO, told a telephonic...
Read more

German business calls for bigger deficits

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz brushed aside demands by both unions and businesses On Monday to ditch the balanced budget policy...
Read more

Airbus books $30bn in orders on Dubai airshow

Airbus secured orders for 170 aircraft worth $30bn at the Dubai Air Show on Monday. Orders include 50 Airbus A350-900 XWB by Emirates for $16bn...

Kazakhstan President to visit Germany before year-end

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – In an effort to boost already strong business relations between Berlin and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev is expected to pay...

North Korean Iskander-like rockets raise regional concerns

Following North Korea's launch of multiple missiles in May, observers scrambled to identify the North Korean weapons that bore a resemblance to Russia's nuclear-capable...

Germany targets 55% greenhouse emission cuts by 2030

Germany passed a bill on Friday that commits Europe’s biggest economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 55% of the 1990 levels by 2030. The...

Sinn Fein calls for Irish unification referendum within five years

The Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald called for a referendum on Irish unity over the next five years. Speaking to around 1,500 delegates...

Scottish court orders release of detained former Catalan minister

A Scottish court ordered the release of former Catalan education minister Clara Ponsatí on Thursday, without travel restrictions, as she not considered a flight risk. Earlier...

Sweden defies Chinese threat to award book publisher Gui Minhai

Sweden’s culture minister defied a Chinese threat on Friday to award a Swedish human rights prize to detained Chinese-Swedish book publisher Gui Minhai. The Swedish...

The head of the dragon

It’s a rare occasion when Greek prime minister meets with the Chinese president twice in one week. Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis and China’s Xi Jinping...

World News

Counterterrorism’s chief programmer

Interview with Professor V.S. Subrahmanian In today’s world, the capture of a terrorist leader or the destruction of a terror cell is one of the...
Read more

The Belt and Road Initiative is a challenge for South and Southeast Asia

The euphoria about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Indonesia and elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia (SEA) has been felt since 2017,...
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Bidzina Ivanishvili’s seven years of lies and deceit

Since he took control of the country in October 2012, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s governance has been based on lies and deceit. Ivanishvili lied to the Georgians,...

Oil mess in Texas, OPEC caution gush crude prices

A surprise drop in US crude inventories and comments from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo about lower-than-expected US...

Ebola vaccine authorised by EU Commission, approved by WHO

In a landmark decision on 11 November, the European Commission granted a marketing authorisation to the company Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V. for the...

IEA warns clean energy insufficient to meet growing demand

There is a gap between the ever-higher amounts of greenhouse gas emissions being produced and the insufficiency of stated policies to curb those emissions...

Are randomised poverty-alleviation experiments ethical?

Last month, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to three pioneers in using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to fight poverty in...

Brazil struggles with regulatory stagnation and haphazard politics in its audiovisual industry

Brazil’s Audiovisual Industry is undergoing a process of reintegration and increasing competitive intensity. Since the 1990s, the deployment of pay-TV, the introduction of new...

Saudi Aramco prepares IPO on Tadawul

Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company, wholly owned by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, announced on 3...

UN hails Geneva talks on Syria

The first phase of the UN-brokered face-to-face talks between the Syrian Government and opposition began at the UN Office in Geneva on 30 October,...

THE ENLARGEMENT MONITOR

Zaev-Mitsotakis Thessaloniki meeting explores EU Enlargement delays

The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia met on the sidelines of the Thessaloniki 2019 Summit on November 14. This was their second...
Read more

Brussels casts Zaev a thin lifeline

Brussels cast a thin Italian-flavoured political lifeline to North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev over the last ten days, something sorely needed after Zaev...
Read more

Zaev fumbles after EU Enlargement let-down

North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev fumbled badly this week when discussing the relationship between his country’s now-frozen EU accession bid and the standing...
Read more

The domino effect of the French veto

French President Emmanuel Macron’s veto of the start of EU accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia at the EU Summit has caused massive...
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Enlargement is not Eurovision, Zoran

Enlargement boosters across Europe were stunned by the third failure of the European Council to announce a decision on 18 October on a date...
Read more

Enlargement dezinformatsia

France is taking the lead in filling the vacuum as a result of Brexit and several EU political leaders made a series of false...
Read more

France unyielding on EU Enlargement, elections triggered in North Macedonia

The scenario that emerged late last week with multiple reports that France would oppose immediate decisions on EU Enlargement has come to pass. EU European...
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Internet & ICT

Using mobile money to enhance humanitarian aid in Yemen

If they are not considered entirely essential, mobile phones are a basic tool for our everyday life and facilitate how we live. Mobile technology...
Read more

Tesla buys into “Made in Germany”

The automaker of electrical vehicles Tesla is buying into the “Made in Germany” brand. Tesla will set up shop near Berlin in the Eastern...
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Brazil struggles with regulatory stagnation and haphazard politics in its audiovisual industry

Brazil’s Audiovisual Industry is undergoing a process of reintegration and increasing competitive intensity. Since the 1990s, the deployment of pay-TV, the introduction of new...
Read more

Australia takes Google to court over geolocation practices

Australia is taking Google to court over geolocation data-collection practices. The Australian Consumer Commission (ACC) has filed a lawsuit on allegations that the electronics behemoth...
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Cybercrime threats

LIMASSOL, Cyprus – Chinese hackers are launching more sophisticated attacks that are as frequent and technologically savvy as Russian cyber-units, but it’s difficult to...
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Marseille uses abandoned U-boat base to become a European data-hub

A WW II German U-boat base submarine base in Marseille will become France’s second-biggest data-storage centre after Paris. The Dutch cloud services firm Interxion plans...
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Microsoft’s EU contracts found to breach GDPR

The European Data Protection Supervisor has expressed serious concerns about Microsoft’s contractual agreements with the EU's institutions, saying they fail to fully comply with...
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Energy

New oil field discovered in South Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - A new oil field was discovered in southern Kazakhstan, the spokeswoman for the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources,...
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EU Tyre Labelling agreement to reduce fuel consumption, help the environment

By switching to the most energy efficient tyres, European citizens can reduce their fuel consumption significantly, saving money and helping the environment, EU Climate...
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Civil society and industry push EU leaders to adopt climate neutral economy faster

A broad group of 100 organisations from major industrial sectors and civil society have called on European Union policymakers to accelerate the uptake of...
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Six super-fast Tesla charging stations set up in Nur-Sultan

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Six Superfast charging stations for Tesla electric vehicles have been set up in the capital of Kazakhstan - Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan Energy...
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Oil mess in Texas, OPEC caution gush crude prices

A surprise drop in US crude inventories and comments from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo about lower-than-expected US...
Read more

Kazakhstan begins exporting gasoline to European market

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - The Atyrau Oil Refinery began shipping the first batch of unleaded gasoline Ai-92 of ecological class K5 to European markets, the...
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Kazakhstan slightly increases gas production

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan - Gas ​​production over 10 months of this year amounted to 46.3 billion cubic metres with an increase of 1.5% compared to...
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Faith and Religious Freedom

Trump is considering linking US foreign aid to religious freedom

White House officials are reportedly preparing plans that would see the release of US foreign aid tied to how countries treat their religious minorities. White...
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Freedom of Thought Report warns of “growing divide” on blasphemy laws

At the European Parliament in Brussels, The Freedom of Thought Report by Humanists International revealed that the human rights of non-religious people are being threatened...
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Finding peace: Interview with Sheikh Bentounes

Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, the President of the International Sufi Association Alawiya, a Muslim NGO promoting interfaith dialogue and cohabitation, sat down with New Europe...
Read more

Hijab controversy roils France again

France's Senate on Tuesday approved an amendment that would extend a controversial 2004 law banning people from wearing overt religious symbols – including the...
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Spain offers citizenship to Sephardic Jews

Over 500 years after their descendants were expelled from Spain in 1492, more than 132,000 Jews have applied for Spanish nationality under a limited-term...
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US’ religious landscape is changing at a rapid pace

The proportion of US adults who describe themselves as being members of a Christian denomination has fallen to two-thirds, a drop of 12 percentage...
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ODIHR releases freedom of religion policy guide

During the recent Human Dimension Implementation Meeting of the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe in Warsaw, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions...
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Supported by the  Faith and Freedom Summit Coalition

STAKEHOLDER VIEWS

Association of European Journalists(AEJ)
By Otmar Lahodynsky

A yearning for freedom made breaching the Wall an act of self-sacrifice

At least 136 people died trying to cross the Berlin Wall between 1961 and 1989. One of the most spectacular escapes involved an Austrian...
Read more
NOVA COMPETITIVIDADE
By Francisco Jaime Quesado

Centres of knowledge

Centres of knowledge have a long history in the promotion of a new innovation and entrepreneurship agenda, both of which will be important new...
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New Europe Columns

Monnet Matters
By Editorial

Their discontent, our problem

If we have learnt anything from the last decade of European elections, it is that with all certainty we can say two things: (a)...
Read more
ICI Washington
By Alec Mally

Zaev-Mitsotakis Thessaloniki meeting explores EU Enlargement delays

The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia met on the sidelines of the Thessaloniki 2019 Summit on November 14. This was their second...
Read more
Energy Insider
By Kostis Geropoulos

Oil mess in Texas, OPEC caution gush crude prices

A surprise drop in US crude inventories and comments from Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo about lower-than-expected US...
Read more
Eurasia Watch
By Nicholas Waller

Danilyuk’s resignation is an ominous sign for Ukraine

The young pro-Western reformers who came into government with great fanfare alongside anti-establishment President Volodymyr Zelensky six months ago were dealt a serious blow...
Read more

WELLNESS

Why everyone should try boxing

Far from being the exclusive domain of the uber-fit, boxing is a great full-body workout that’s suitable for everyone. Reney Nazim, passionate boxing fan...
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5 ways to stay energised this autum

Don’t let the arrival of autumn sap you of your energy. Our expert advice will keep you firing on all cylinders! As autumn sets in...

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...

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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