by Dr Klaus Wittmann, Brigadier General (ret), Lecturer in contemporary history at Potsdam University, Berlin C ertainly, the invasion on 24th February 2022, long prepared by the ever tighter military encirclement of Ukraine, marked the culmination of the gradually deteriorating relationship between Russia and the West. But this development had several “watershed moments”. Despite the…
by Jean-Paul Paloméros, General (ret), former Supreme Commander Transformation NATO (Norfolk), Paris Not so long ago, discussing European strategic autonomy was considered by many as a non-starter. First and foremost because there was no consensus between EU members and therefore, they softened the language and, beating around the bush, used a more consensual approach by…
by Fred Stoof, owner of Stoof International GmbH, Borkheide/Berlin E uropean Union operations and missions are deployed within the framework of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In 2003, the EU launched its first military operation to monitor the peace agreement in Macedonia and the operation EUFOR/Althea to oversee the Dayton Agreement in…
by Gerhard Arnold, Theologian and Publisher, Middle East correspondent of this magazine, Würzburg A mong experts, it is disputed whether the Iranian leadership is aiming to possess nuclear weapons at the earliest possible opportunity or just lay the groundwork to be able to produce them at short notice. It is also unclear whether Iran is…
by Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Research, Innovation, Culture, Education and Youth,European Commission, Brussels T he provoked war in Ukraine is the most recent signal of the need to defend our democratic values and freedoms. An urgent need that Europe addresses with strong resolve and unity. We prepared swift responses to tackle the humanitarian urgencies and…
by Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman of the European Stability Initiative (ESI), Berlin The Russian invasion of Ukraine represents a turning point in European history. The leader of a nuclear power justifies the use of force and attacks a neighbouring democracy by arguing that the national identity of its people is artificial and deserves to be…
On 8th April, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together with the EU High Representative Josep Borrell travelled to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a joint press conference, von der Leyen handed over an envelope containing a questionary on EU accession to the Ukrainian President. Excerpts from von der Leyen’s remarks:…
Putin, Biden and Zelensky will go down in history! Putin as the leader of the Russian forces attacking Ukraine with criminal brutality; Biden as an appeaser from a great power that couldn’t or wouldn’t make it clear to the Russians what the consequences of an attack on Ukraine might be; Zelensky as the President and…