After Grexit and Brexit that have both been haunting the European Union for quite some time, and will continue doing so in the foreseeable future, Brussels seems obliged to ponder Poloust that is kicking Poland out. The country is steadily sliding to rightwing coercion, under the leadership of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a rampant populist, authoritarian and […]After Brexit and Grexit, Brussels to deal with Poloust
August 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment
After Grexit and Brexit that have both been haunting the European Union for quite some time, and will continue doing so in the foreseeable future, Brussels seems obliged to ponder Poloust that is kicking Poland out. The country is steadily sliding to rightwing coercion, under the leadership of Jaroslaw Kaczynski, a rampant populist, authoritarian and […]Europe to turn the Hamburg G20 Summit into a battlefield
July 3, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This week’s G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany is expected to become a battlefield from the very first gathering. Chancellor Angela Merkel is to attack the US President Donald Trump, about his rejection of the Paris Climate Agreement. The American will reply with a demand for ‘free and fair trade’ as he ventures it, especially for […]Twenty days that may remold the future of Europe
April 6, 2017 by 1 Comment
The next few weeks may indelibly stain the future of Europe. There are three issues which can irreparably hurt the Old Continent. Starting from Britain in the extreme northwest, this week the country showed that she risks plummeting into a jingoistic abyss. A confrontation with Spain about the Gibraltar Rock has provoked a wave of […]Chatterbox Rome Declaration cannot save the EU; Germany has to pay more to do that
March 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last Saturday, the phantom of Wolfgang Schaeuble, the hawkish German minister of Finance, overshadowed the gathering of the 27 EU leaders in the Italian capital, without him having left Berlin. The heads of EU states or governments, at the exception of British MP Theresa May, went there to celebrate the 60th anniversary after the signing […]May threatens the EU with a wild Brexit indifferent to Scotland, Northern Ireland and the City
March 16, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Late last Tuesday, Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, got the green light from the lower house of the Parliament, the Commons, to trigger and negotiate the Brexit any way she likes. The elected members of Parliament reversed a decision of the upper chamber, the unelected Lords, who had attached two conditions in the law […]A shortened EU Summit admits failures, makes risky promises
December 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Thursday, 15 December, the cut down to one day European Summit, confirmed that Europe continues on the wrong path. The 27 + 1 leaders acknowledged the complete failure of key policies regarding Syria and Turkey and kept making promises to Ukraine and Georgia they cannot honor. Unfortunately, Brussels refuses to learn the lessons still […]Will CETA be implemented after eight long years or it will be vetoed by the EU citizen?
November 2, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It was last Sunday when the EU and Canada signed the free trade agreement CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement), despite the protest taking place just outside the European Council’s building. This deal is meant to create more jobs and growth through stronger economic relations. However, the approval of the national parliaments in Europe and […]The Council of Europe adopts Recommendation on young people’s access to rights
September 30, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In a big step for youth rights, Ministers of the Council of Europe yesterday adopted a Recommendation on Young People’s Access to Rights. The European Youth Forum calls on Member States to now act on this and give young people full access to their rights so that they can live the kind of independent lives, […]UN member states express their will to tackle global migration but specific actions are still missing
September 21, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Monday the world leaders convened at the UN’s summit in New York and adopted the New York Declaration for Migrants and Refugees; a document that contains commitments about dealing with the global issue of the large movements of refugees and migrants around the globe. All 193 countries have agreed to share global responsibility in order to […]Can Greece’s devastating economy deal with the migration crisis?
April 13, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission’s assessment on the Action Plan where Greece describes how to cope with migration deficiencies regarding its external border control reveal that the Southern country has shown remarkable improvement but there are still many points that need to be addressed and improved. What is more, the Commission made clear on yesterday’s press release […]Why is Merkel’s Germany so liberal with the refugees? Did the last elections change that?
March 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
There are many lessons to be learned from last Sunday’s elections in Germany. For one thing, the widely expected electoral setback that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) experienced last Sunday doesn’t seem to constitute a major blow to her dominant political status. She continues to be the central […]European Youth calls on European Council for urgent action on “humanitarian crisis” and questions the EU/Turkey deal respect of human rights
March 16, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Ahead of this week’s European Council on the migration crisis, the European Youth Forum in an open letter to President Tusk and all EU Heads of States or Governments has expressed its deep concern with the proposals made on 7th March under a deal between the European Union and Turkey in order to tackle the […]What little Cameron got in Brussels seems enough to keep Britain in the EU
February 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Even since 18 January this newspaper was convinced that David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, was ready to campaign for his country to remain in the European Union. A few days later, the European Sting prediction was more or less confirmed by Cameron’s speech delivered at the Davos World Economic Forum on January 21, where he […]Better late than never? Commission runs now to fight energy dependency on Russia with the sustainable energy security package
February 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It was last Tuesday when the Commission launched a set of measures to increase energy security in the European Union. The executive arm of the EU now aims mainly at reducing dependency from countries outside the bloc (i.e. Russia), endorsing the energy union and decreasing the use of fossil fuels by replacing them with renewables. Being one […]Failing to see reality or deceiving the masses? The EU about poverty and social exclusion
February 11, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Some six years ago the European Union set targets for an ambitious project called “The Europe 2020 Strategy”. Amongst other equally fallacious if not deceitful objectives, the leaders of the 28 EU member states undersigned the Commission’s proposal to “lift 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020”. No need to say […]Brexit update: Tusk’s proposal is out and Cameron takes it all
February 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It was just yesterday when Donald Tusk, president of the European Council (EC), released a draft deal that intends to keep Britain within the EU. This new proposal is mostly aligned with what the British Prime Minister has been asking for from the European Union. However, this draft text must be voted by all 28 […]The 28 EU leaders unable to start a relevant debate on migration and Brexit
December 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The poor results of last week’s meeting of the 28 EU leaders are reflected in the triviality of the remarks by the Council President Donald Tusk, in summarizing the outcome of the 17 – 18 December gathering in Brussels. His most vivid comment was about the “hard work done and the extreme efficiency of the […]EU to manage external borders against the will of member states; Greece to be the first target
December 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last Tuesday 15 December the European Commission adopted a groundbreaking proposal for the establishment of a powerful European Border and Coast Guard to ensure strong management of the Schengen area external borders and better administration of immigration flows. According to the Commission, this Guard should be able to intervene with or without the consent of […]G20 LIVE: The European Sting covers online world news and the latest developments at G20 from Antalya Turkey
November 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Just a few hours now separate us from the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Turkey. The Sting’s extensive editorial team is being installed now at the beautiful summer resort of Antalya in the Mediterranean sea. Populous delegations of the 20 most powerful nations and economies of this world are effectively on their way to Antalya to […]Migration has set EU’s political clock ticking; the stagnating economy cannot help it and Turkey doesn’t cooperate
October 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The more action clauses a document of a Western Balkans-EU agreement contains, meant to “improve cooperation and step up consultation between the countries along the migration route”, the less cooperation there will be. That was the case last Sunday 25 October when 11 leaders of Balkan and EU countries met in Brussels. They knew very […]Europe slammed by Turkey’s shaky Erdoğan; both playing with immigrants’ agony
October 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Probably the greatest achievement of last Thursday’s European Council was that its conclusions were refuted within hours after they were published. While the official text of the Council results boasts about a “joint action plan with Turkey”, to stem the immigration flows to the EU, the Turkish minister of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioglu commented otherwise. […]Why the Greeks forgave Tsipras’ pirouettes around austerity and voted again for SYRIZA
September 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last Sunday the Greek voters, at least those who went to the polls, gave to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras not only a second chance to continue in the premiership, but voted also for Panos Kamenos a nationalist right winger, the junior partner of the governing SYRIZA-ANEL coalition. And this as if nothing had happened in […]The battle for the 2016 EU Budget to shake the Union; Commission and Parliament vs. Germany
September 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Last Tuesday the European Parliament showed its teeth by angrily rejecting the cuts proposed by the Council to the EU budget for next year. The Commission also stated its concern at the Council’s budget cuts. Even though the Commission doesn’t participate directly in the negotiations between the Parliament and the Council, it acts as a […]Tsipras bewildered with Berlin’s humiliating demands; ECB expects political sign to refinance the Greek banks
July 13, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Greek indecisiveness and procrastination and the deep division of the euro area countries, with Germany upholding an intransigent position have led to the humiliation of Athens, during the Saturday and Sunday late night meetings of the Eurogroup (the council of the 19 ministers of Eurozone) and the Eurosummit (the 19 heads of Eurozone state […]“If they think they can slave an entire nation, then they will just have the opposite results!”, Alexis Tsipras cries out from the Greek parliament
June 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The world is moving forward full speed ahead and the Greeks seem to be the heavy anchor that has not been effectively lifted. This time though it is nothing about the glass of the negotiations being half empty or half full, as the eurosceptics or the pro-Europeans would normally say. The glass broke last Wednesday […]Why do thousands of migrants need to be drowned for Brussels to wake up?
April 22, 2015 by
The European Union is once more hit by migration. Last Sunday, around 800 illegal immigrants are believed to have died when their ship sank on the way from the Libyan coast to the Italian Island of Lampedusa. As a result, the EU foreign and interior ministers gathered in Luxembourg earlier this week to discuss about the migration crisis […]Except Poland, can climate change also wait until 2021 for the EU Market Stability Reserve to be launched?
March 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The EU member states came to an agreement last Wednesday regarding the set up of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) which will eventually lead to further discussions and negotiations with the European Parliament (EP) on the 30th of March. The starting date of the MSR is proposed to be 2021, in contrast with what “big” countries […]Yesterday’s “jokes” and sarcasm by Digital Single Market’s Vice President Ansip on EU member states’ right to protect their telco markets
March 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The distance between an actual speech and a press release is abyssal. A good example of that came out of Mr Ansip’s introductory speech at an event in Brussels yesterday evening about the EU Digital Single Market. The Vice President of the European Commission for the Digital Single Market (DSM) touched there briefly all current hot topics of the […]Mobile World Congress 2015 first to debate EU’s new stance on Net Neutrality and Roaming Charges
March 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Did you really think that Christmas 2015 would be the perfect chance to travel abroad in Europe, do your shopping in London or Paris and call your folks back home for wishes at zero roaming cost? More so, did you really think that Christmas 2015 would be the perfect chance for you to Skype with your pal without […]How much more political is the new EU leadership? Does this include personal bend?
December 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Judging from their first days in office, the new leadership of the European Union appears functioning on a much more ‘political’ platform than their Barroso-Rompuy predecessors. Actually Jean-Claude Juncker the one month old President of the European Commission had cautioned us all about that in his inaugural speech. Nevertheless, nobody had thought that Donald Tusk, […]How much time has the ‘European Union of last chance’ left?
November 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Ahead of the 18-19 December Summit of the 28 EU leaders, the European economy dives deeper in recession and disinflation. Brussels sources estimate that November inflation plunged again to 0.3% from 0.4% in October, widely diverging from the institutional target of below but close to 2%. There is more to it though. According to Eurostat, […]Europe is now practically divided as in the Cold War
July 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Last week’s European Summit in an implicit way actually sealed the partitioning of Europe as in the Cold War. The European Sting has repeatedly reported and commented on this issue and analyzed the efforts, mainly by Germany, for this new division to be avoided. However, Berlin’s endeavors towards this direction were in vain. The European […]The scary EU elections result and the delayed Council’s repentance
June 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The European elections on 25 May revealed the rise of extremist parties in Europe. 12 countries out of 28 will send ultranationalists deputies to the new European Parliament. France chose the radical Front National (French Nationalist Party) to represent its citizens at the European Parliament. Around 25% of the French votes were in favour of the Front National; […]
