After having been the stage for a critical European Union Summit, the very first one in a 27-member-States shape, Bratislava is now preparing to harbour a delicate meeting of the bloc’s trade ministers next week. The agenda will be formally all focused on the existing trans-Atlantic trade agreements, the TTIP with the United States and […]EU Trade Ministers come together in a desperate attempt to save TTIP
September 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment
After having been the stage for a critical European Union Summit, the very first one in a 27-member-States shape, Bratislava is now preparing to harbour a delicate meeting of the bloc’s trade ministers next week. The agenda will be formally all focused on the existing trans-Atlantic trade agreements, the TTIP with the United States and […]The impossible end of the war in Syria
September 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The United States and the Russian governments without the slightest remorse announced that it was with their guns the Syrians have been killing each other for the last six years. This is the translation in plain English of last weekend’s news, which is that Washington and Moscow agreed on a truce in Syria, after very […]Mario Draghi didn’t do it but Kim Jong-un did
September 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, was unable to move the capital and money markets with his customary monetary policy Press conference in Frankfurt am Main. On the contrary, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, a global castoff, did it the next day just by pressing a button. However, it took […]Are the G20 leaders ready to curb corporate tax-avoidance?
September 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday, the G20 meeting in Hangzhou – the capital of China’s eastern Zhejiang province – the first gathering of the 20 world leaders to be held in the vast country, was not marked by the determination to face up to economic misery and the pitiless wars in Syria, Libya, South Soudan, Yemen, Mali and […]Will Merkel ever steer the EU migration Titanic and restore her power in Germany?
September 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Angela Merkel’s meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the sidelines of the 11th G20 Summit held in China on 4-5 September was crucial for her political future. The German Chancellor and her party seem to be losing ground, particularly in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania due to their migration policies. The Christian Democratic Union of Germany lost 4 […]The EU responds to US challenges by fining Apple with €13 billion
September 1, 2016 by 1 Comment
Last Tuesday, the White House and the US Treasury in concerted actions issued farfetched statements against the EU Commission. The EU executive’s decision ordered the US giant technology company Apple Inc. to pay additional taxes of up to €13 billion in Ireland. These instant and strong reactions clearly denote that the US sees this Brussels […]It’s Trump’s anti-globalization and inward-looking rhetoric that perturbs GOP and US
August 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Never before in the American political history, a few months ahead of the November Presidential election, one of the two systemic parties had systematically undermined its own candidate’s prospects to win the White House race. The US Republican Party is currently doing that. Three weeks ago, 50 Republican Party security officials unanimously produced a document, […]Is it just visa-free travel that Erdogan demands from the EU to not break the migration deal?
August 18, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, mentioned in the German newspaper Bild that Turkey is most likely to step out of the refugee deal signed with the EU last March unless the latter provides to the Turks visa-free travel to the bloc in October. These comments come only a few days after the Turkish […]Turkey to let EU alone struggle with the migrant crisis while enhancing its economic ties with Russia instead?
August 10, 2016 by 1 Comment
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met the Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday in St. Petersburg to improve their relationships after the sanctions that Russia imposed on tourism and Turkish exports due to the deadly air fighter incident that took place last November, when Turkey took down a Russian fighter. Turkey’s approach towards a revival of a […]Will Europe be able to deal with the migration crisis alone if Turkey quits the pact?
August 4, 2016 by 2 Comments
The European Union keeps on focusing on the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on the migration crisis despite being threatened by Turkey that the latter will step off the deal if the EU will not keep its last March’s promises. The European Commission is determined not to let Turkey leave so easily and aims at financially supporting refugees […]The Indian case: health policies need to keep pace with public health literacy
August 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Exclusively written for the Sting by Ms Ramya Jayasimha, a third year medical student at Bangalore Karnataka. Ms Jayasimha is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA). The incidence of disease across the world has been on the decline from more than half a century, with better healthcare, better technology and new scientific advances […]No end to Deutsche Bank’s problems: new litigations in the US and frailty in EU stress test
August 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Wednesday, Deutsche Bank’s shares fell by 4.5% in the first hour of trading in Frankfurt, after the bank released its second quarter results, showing a measly profit of €20 million, in comparison to €818 million last year. The percentage fall of this stock is the biggest ever in such a brief time in the […]The West castigates Turkey’s Erdogan for the ruthless political cleansing
July 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last week, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defied his western allies, who have called for restrain and the rule of law in the wide ranging purge of the country after the failed coup. With the basic human rights hindered, his ruthless cleansing of the military, the judiciary, the public administration, the education system and […]The US and EU decisively oppose Erdogan’s plans for Turkey and beyond
July 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday, John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, participated in the EU Foreign ministers’ council in Brussels, where the main topic on the agenda was the attempted coup in Turkey and its aftermath. The obvious reason for this joint Euro-American session of foreign ministers was to clearly show and for everybody to understand that […]How will the NATO-EU competition evolve in the post Brexit era?
July 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Saturday NATO’s Summit in Warsaw concluded after two days of tight discussions between member states on how to address current threats and react to new challenges. Two years have passed since the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales, but the many evolutions of the past 24 months made the Polish meeting a crucial one in the […]The South China Sea Arbitration: Illegal, Illegitimate and Invalid
July 12, 2016 by 2 Comments
This article was written for the European Sting by HE Ambassador Yang Yanyi of the Chinese Mission to EU in Brussels. If I have to choose three words to reflect my views of the award of arbitration over the South China Sea disputes unilaterally filed by the Philippines against China, it would be illegal, illegitimate and invalid. […]EU free-trade agreements with Canada and US: imagine the fallout if put to national referendums
July 7, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When it comes to ‘selling’ its proposals to EU member states’ government and peoples, the European Commission turns the calendar some centuries back and starts painting saintly icons. The more inportant the proposal it is, the more boldly the Commission hides the real ‘catch 22s’ from citizens, under the bright colors of imaginary gains for […]Deutsche Bank slammed by the US-based trio of IMF, Fed and Moody’s
July 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday morning the International Monetary Fund and the American central bank, the Fed, simultaneously but in the face of it independently, issued warnings about the health of the largest German lender, the long ailing Deutsche Bank. A few days before that the US rating agency Moody’s had degraded the creditworthiness of the bank close […]Is there a de facto impossibility for the Brexit to kick-start?
June 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Quite understandably, the European Union leaders including of course the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the French President Francois Hollande and the EU Commission leader Jean-Claude Juncker, want a swift and stern Brexit. The reports about a Franco-German split, with a fictitious Berlin tolerance and the Paris harshness, do not hold water. The France-Germany axis must […]The Brits are not an exception and that’s why they voted to leave
June 27, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The choice made by a bit more than half of the adult Britons to exit the European Union has already triggered financial and political turmoil. In a short while the direct impact on people’s lives will start to materialize. Let’s count the most important adverse effects: the financial markets turmoil, the international trade fallout, the […]Brexit: when the hubris of one man can set the UK, the EU and the entire world on fire
June 25, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Mr Panos Katsampanis, PhD candidate in European Studies at King’s College London University who focuses his political psychology research on voting behaviour at EU referendums. What started as a long shot promise back in 2013, when David Cameron committed to an EU Referendum sometime before 2017, if elected at May […]The UK referendum has already damaged Europe: even a ‘remain’ result is not without cost to Britain and the EU
June 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The adult Brits are deciding today about their country’s position in or out the European Union, in a referendum that Prime Minister David Cameron was forced by his party’s ultra-Eurosceptics in January 2013 to promise to conduct it, should the Conservative Party win a majority in the 2015 legislative election. This promise was then thought […]The IMF sees Brexit’s ‘substantial impact’ while the world’s economy holds its breath
June 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The International Monetary Fund last Friday published what will most likely remain its most detailed analysis on a “Brexit” scenario, calling the impact of Britain’s departure from the European Union “negative and substantial”. With only two days to go until the referendum, it is clear more than ever that the economic field now is where […]Jo Cox’s murderer believed the ‘leave’ campaign leaders that the ‘remain’ vote is treason
June 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The assassination of Jo Cox, the Labour Party MP who actively and candidly campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union, can change the balance between the ‘remain’ and the ‘leave’ vote in Thursday’s referendum. Analysts are sensing that the murder of a solid and amiable advocate of ‘remain’ may reverse the surprising strengthening of […]An expert in the South China Sea issue on an exclusive interview at the European Sting
June 17, 2016 by 3 Comments
Last Wednesday the European Sting took an interview in Brussels from an expert on the South China Sea. Our interviewee this time was Mrs Yan Yan, Deputy Director of the Research Center of Oceans Law and Policy in the National Institute for the South China Sea Studies (NISCSS) and a PhD candidate in the University of Hong Kong on public international law. The stimulating interview is presented below. The Sting’s questions are […]Does the world have strong enough institutions to handle risks like Trump and Brexit?
June 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last December, after the attack in San Bernardino California that left 14 dead, Donald Trump proposed a “temporary ban on Muslims entering the US”. This statement gave him a clear lead in the race for the Republican Party nomination, amongst the twelve candidates for the 8 November Presidential election. Republican voters seemingly appreciated his strong […]A Sting Exclusive: EU Commissioner Mimica looks at how the private sector can better deliver for international development
June 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Mr Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation & Development. There’s never been a more relevant time to look at what role the private sector has to play in development. What are the challenges, and what can it help to deliver? The current world situation leaves us […]Why does the whole world want Britain to stay in the EU?
June 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Foreign leaders, countries, international bodies and major world entities of any kind are supporting the ‘stay’ option for Britain ahead of 23 June referendum, about the country’s position in or out of the European Union. The American President Barack Obama and the Chinese and the Indian governments have expressly supported the ‘stay’ option, to mention […]A Sting Exclusive: “Doing ourselves a favour”, Vice President Dombrovskis underscores that this time growth has to come from within the EU
June 6, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This article was exclusively written for the European Sting by Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Euro and Social Dialogue. Last month, the European Commission presented the spring economic package related to the European Semester. It included the annual country-specific policy recommendations to individual member states and the Commission’s latest assessment […]Another doomed EU attempt to interfere in Libya?
May 26, 2016 by 1 Comment
Last Monday, the Italian coastguard rescued a round number of 2,000 immigrants and refugees in the central Mediterranean off the Libyan waters. In those fifteen operations the Italian coastguard was aided by two ships of the country’s navy, another two ships operated by the medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) […]Some Prevailing Arguments and Perceptions over the South China Sea Issue Are Simply Wrong
May 24, 2016 by 1 Comment
This article was written for the Sting by HE Ambassador Yang Yanyi of the Chinese Mission to EU For some time now, the South China Sea issue has attracted much attention and media coverage. Some accused China of changing the status quo in the South China Sea by taking unilateral actions that caused tensions in […]EU readies for eventual annulment of the Turkish agreement on immigrants-refugees
May 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The highly possible collapse of the EU-Turkey agreement about the management of the refugee and immigrant flows in the Aegean Sea, has rang alarms in Brussels. Alexander Winterstein, the Deputy Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission denied the existence of a plan B, in case the Turks repudiate the pact which the just dismissed Prime […]Is Erdogan ready to tear down the bridges with Europe and the West?
May 9, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the 12th Turkish President cut short the spell of ‘rapprochement’, between his country and the European Union, by briefly dismissing Prime Minister Ahment Davutoglu. The latter was the architect of the relevant March agreement concluded in Brussels, meant to regulate the flows of refugees and immigrants in the Aegean Sea. By the […]
