Browsing: Europe

Europe is a continent and is different to the European Union.

Switzerland’s non-membership of the EU means it is viewed as more neutral than countries like Austria, Ireland or Sweden.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Oslo Wednesday to meet with leaders of the five Nordic nations, key backers in Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion. With the counteroffensive launched by Ukraine in July failing to yield the anticipated results, Zelensky is trying to rebuild support among Ukraine’s allies amid growing dissent. Zelensky travelled to Washington Tuesday in a last-ditch plea for more military funding but left empty handed as Congress remained divided on a new $60 billion aid package.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces the biggest parliamentary test of his premiership on Tuesday when lawmakers vote on his flagship migration policy of sending asylum seekers who arrive illegally in Britain to Rwanda. Sunak is seeking to revive his key plan after the UK Supreme Court ruled last month that Rwanda was an unsafe place to send those arriving in small boats on England’s southern coast, concluding it would breach British and international law.

French opposition lawmakers on Monday rejected an immigration bill without debating it, in a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron ’s government, which had championed the proposed law as one of its flagship measures. The government has yet to decide whether to keep pushing for the adoption of the bill intended to strengthen the country’s ability to expel foreigners considered undesirable or withdraw it.

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne on Friday visited the French overseas island of Mayotte, the poorest place in the European Union, amid a growing water crisis. Due to a drawn-out drought compounded by years of underinvestment and water mismanagement, the island’s inhabitants have access to water only one every three days.

The war in Ukraine has forced a major rethink in European security, with both Sweden and Finland abandoning their long-standing policy of non-alignment and applying for NATO membership last year. But while Finland was admitted into NATO this April, delays have persisted on Sweden’s entry, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan linking a serious of unrelated issues to Ankara’s ratification of Sweden’s accession – the latest of which is a potential sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. We discuss what Sweden’s entry to NATO would actually mean with Sweden’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday held talks with Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on trade and an expected arms deal. Iranian officials confirmed late November rumours surrounding a large weapons deal, which includes fighter jets, between Tehran and Moscow. This is “the first time Iran has purchased fighter jets since the 1990s, which could be a big shift in the military power balance in [the Middle East],” Russia correspondent Daniel Hawkins told FRANCE 24.