A rarely seen occurrence happened in Europe this week: a humbled China apologized to Europe, after the country’s ambassador to France questioned the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries. It has renewed the conversation about what could happen if Europe, armed with a unified China policy, went toe-to-toe with Beijing.
In a rare move, China’s Foreign Ministry has publicly distanced itself from statements made by a sitting ambassador after the PRC’s top envoy in Paris, Lu Shaye, suggested that none of the former Soviet republics are recognized under international law. His remarks sparked outrage in several European countries.
An opposition victory in Turkey’s elections on May 14 could open a window of opportunity to build a friendlier relationship between Turkey and its partners in NATO and the EU. Yet when it comes to Ankara’s relationship with the EU, there is another election this May that could prove as decisive: Greece’s elections on May 21.
While making the world safer for women and girls is the goal of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, it has historically focused on doing so in physical spaces. But as the emphasis on the digital age at this year’s annual CSW session made clear, its mission must expand to include harm and gendered violence that takes place online.
Tensions are mounting in Brussels after four EU member states unilaterally banned grain imports from Ukraine. The moves are technically illegal, as trade policy can only be set at the EU level. But the Eastern European countries in question are panicking over a glut of grain that is starting to have domestic political consequences.
Powered by intense opposition to a law that would require Dutch farmers to severely cut their nitrogen emissions, the populist Farmer’s Citizens Movement has suddenly become the most popular party in the Netherlands. It’s a taste of things to come as democracies seek to enact measures to protect the environment.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial visit to China earlier this month sparked widespread criticism on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, as the clamor dies down, two important questions remain that cannot easily be explained away: When it comes to China, who speaks for Europe? And where is European policy on China heading?
Ten years after France launched its military intervention in Mali to oust jihadist militants, its influence in West Africa’s Sahel region is waning. Against this backdrop, French President Emmanuel Macron outlined a new “framework for security cooperation” last month as part of a new approach to relations with African countries.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has disrupted the global nuclear energy market, with unpredictable implications for global energy security. While the decoupling from Russian sources of nuclear fuel and reactors makes perfect sense to some policymakers, disruptions of the status quo entail significant costs—and sometimes risks.
Observers across Europe reacted furiously to remarks French President Emmanuel Macron made last week imploring Europe not to behave like “vassals” of the U.S., amid its intensifying geopolitical competition with China. But the reaction by European capitals to Macron’s statements are more revealing than his original remarks.
French President Emmanuel Macron embarked on a three-day state visit to China last week, during which the war in Ukraine, Europe’s ties with Beijing and trade between France and China topped his agenda. But Macron’s messaging during the trip was confusing and raised questions about his vision of European strategic autonomy.
The sharp divides that emerged in the Scottish National Party’s recent leadership election reflected the extent to which factional tensions were long held in check through hopes that Scottish independence could be achieved soon. Yet in the past 18 months, this sense of political self-confidence within the SNP has gradually dissipated.