Violence against women: MEPs demand the EU ratify the Istanbul Convention

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. The European Union should ratify the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women, in line with a 2021 Court of Justice opinion, MEPs insist. The text, adopted by 469 in favour, 104 against and 55 abstentions, says the Istanbul Convention remains the international […]

How reskilling can play a key role in Turkey’s recovery

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Technology of Turkey & Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum Reskilling initiatives will be critical to Turkey’s COVID-19 recovery. Turkey must reskill more than 21 million […]

The Europeans back Russia-Turkey on Syria: A ‘Waterloo’ for Saudis and their Crown Prince

France and Germany have put their weight behind the Russia–Turkey agreement for a lasting ceasefire in Syria. The four leaders also said they agreed to put together a committee to draft a constitution for the political rehabilitation of the devastated country. Last Saturday, the French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Russian […]

Erdogan’s Turkey in dire straits for flip flop policies in the Middle East

Last week a US federal court convicted Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive of Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank. This is a major financial institution of this country, controlled directly by the government. Attila found guilty on five accounts, for evading the American sanctions imposed on Iran. Most of those punitive measures were lifted in April 2015, in […]

The US + Britain trivialize mainland Europe, NATO and the EU

After the insults the German Chancellor Angela Merkel experienced in Washington last week, the Anglo-American duo last Tuesday orchestrated new assaults on mainland Europe. It’s not only the outrageous option of the no-deal Brexit, which gains momentum in London, possibly being encouraged by Washington. It’s also a fact that Britain and the US escalate their […]

Turkey caught in a vicious Syrian circle bringing terror and war at home

The Turkish government, under the iron hand of the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, felt obliged to further challenge the Americans in the troubled region of the Middle East this past week. Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak and Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin questioned the presence of the US led coalition forces at the key air […]

The West castigates Turkey’s Erdogan for the ruthless political cleansing

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 […]

Terrorism and migrants: the two awful nightmares for Europe and Germany in 2016

Less than two weeks have passed since the dawn of 2016 and terrorism and the migration crisis continue afflicting Europe and especially Germany. Yesterday’s horrible terrorist attack in Istanbul that caused the lives of at least 10 people and left 15 injured shocked the entire world and particularly Angela Merkel since eight Germans were among the victims. Terrorism left […]

Erdogan’s electoral win on a ‘me or chaos’ dilemma means trouble for everybody

The dilemma ‘me or chaos’ that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hurled at his compatriots in last Sunday’s election paid dividends. And this despite the fact that he did what he could to produce frightening samples of the kind of chaos he had in mind. Understandably, then the Turkish voters didn’t give a super-majority […]

The West – the EU and the US – is writing off Turkey’s Erdogan

For the first time in the history of the EU-Turkish relations the European Parliament openly and loudly welcomed last week the heavy losses of the governing party in a general election. The MEPs actually rejoiced on “the most inclusive and representative parliament in Turkish modern history, reflecting the country’s diversity”, forgetting that it’s a hang […]