Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, November I 2017
Written by Katarzyna Sochacka and Clare Ferguson, © European Union 2017 – Source : EP The key focal points of the November I plenary session included debates on the rule of law in Malta and Poland and on the ‘Paradise papers’ revelations. Members adopted, inter alia, their positions ahead of the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference and the...
DOD Conference Bill Passed…Yet We’re Less Safe & Poorer
Ron Paul breaks down the massive DoD spending bill Conference Report that has just passed Congress. More money for Ukraine? Israel’s missile defense? Lots of welfare for the military industrial complex? More money for the failed F-35? Lots of money for other countries to buy our weapons, to keep the military industrial complex rich while...
Here’s One Way Ukraine Can Hold Russia Accountable Now
Several events in the last few months have shifted the terrain for Ukraine’s internally displaced persons in positive ways, providing new avenues for political and legal justice for Ukraine’s 1.6 million IDPs …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Belarus arrests Ukrainian Radio journalist probing abduction to Russia of 19-year-old Pavlo Hryb
Belarus’s KGB (security service) has detained Pavlo Sharoiko, Ukrainian Radio’s correspondent in Minsk, reportedly accusing him of ‘spying’. Virtually no information is available about the arrest which comes in the wake of tension in relations between Ukraine and Belarus following the Russian FSB’s abduction from Belarus...
EU May Offer Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Customs Union and Schengen Access
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine may soon join the European customs union and Schengen area, gaining increased access to the single market. The European Parliament passed a resolution on November 15 calling for deeper integration with the three emerging Europe states as they implement more reforms, potentially paving the way for them becoming...
LA Museum of Cold War Art to Reopen
Collection’s new home was originally built to withstand Soviet atomic bombs. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Putin Talks With Donbas Leaders
Possible prisoner swap with Kyiv discussed in phone talks; Kremlin dismisses Washington’s reported peacekeeping plan. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Rosneft Boss A No-Show at Trial of Russian Ex-Minister
The former top Putin aide was central in the arrest of the former economy minister, but has not appeared to testify at his trial. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The New Reality of a Differentiated EU
In the aftermath of the Brexit vote and in the midst of Europe’s ongoing crises, references to a multi-speed Europe, two-tier EU, or variable geometry have moved from the fringes to the political mainstream. These suggestions for differentiated integration (DI) would mean that groups of member states can choose to move forward on...
Russia to police history textbooks for ‘correct’ position on events in Ukraine & especially Crimea
Russia’s Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) has issued instructions to check out history textbooks for their coverage of events in Ukraine in 2013-14, with the main concern being Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea, which Moscow calls ‘the reunification of Crimea’. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human...
