As expected, last Friday’s informal European Council of the 27 EU leaders didn’t produce any tangible result regarding its main agenda item; the future of Europe. The EU leaders just quarreled on who is to cover the hole in the budget, after Britain’s contribution ends with Brexit. In relation to this perennial question of money […]Germany readies to pay for the Brexit gap in EU finance
February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment
As expected, last Friday’s informal European Council of the 27 EU leaders didn’t produce any tangible result regarding its main agenda item; the future of Europe. The EU leaders just quarreled on who is to cover the hole in the budget, after Britain’s contribution ends with Brexit. In relation to this perennial question of money […]Will Western Balkans respond positively to EU initiatives?
February 7, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission announced yesterday its strategy regarding the perspective of EU enlargement with the Western Balkans within the next decade. Six initiatives will be the guidelines of the EU which must be fulfilled in order to be able for these countries to complete the necessary steps for their accession process. The EU seems to […]How a possible EU budget deficit affects the migration crisis
January 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The migration crisis has been long plaguing Europe but the year passed revealed that the situation is getting better and better with arrivals and deaths to be decreased to a great extent. According to IOM, the UN Migration Agency, 171.635 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea during 2017 compared to the 363.504 arrivals in […]Hazy ‘breakthrough’ saves PM May, leaves Ireland in limbo: Brexit
December 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment
With only a couple of hours sleep in the very early hours of last Friday, the British PM Theresa May boarded a RAF aircraft and landed in Brussels before dawn. Weary as she was, she rushed to Berlaymont building, the EU Commission headquarters. There she met Jean-Claude Juncker the President of the European Commission and […]EU’s unsparing question to UK: now what kind of future relations do you want?
December 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment
This week, the countdown starts for Britain to offer final answers, about the three Brexit prerequisites: the divorce alimony, the future of the 4.5 million European citizens who work on the wrong side of the English Channel and the Irish border. Only then will Brussels pass to the second phase of the talks, to discuss […]A neo-liberal toll free Paradise for the super rich and tax hell for wage earners
November 9, 2017 by 2 Comments
Despite the hullaballoo in main stream media about Queen Elizabeth’s investments in tax-havens and the implication of the US Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross in a Russia related offshore firm, the shocking revelation in the Paradise Papers is that London appears as the largest money washing machine of the world. The biggest single disclosure is that […]EU Trust Fund for Africa: Can it be beneficial for Italy and tackle the migration crisis in the Mediterranean?
October 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was last week when the EU leaders met in Brussels to discuss how to support Italy with managing the refugees’ crisis in the central Mediterranean. The increase of the financial aid in the Trust Fund for Africa is believed to be one of the main ways to deal with this long-lasting issue. However, this […]State of the Union 2017: Juncker’s optimism about EU growth and Brexit’s impact
September 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It was last Wednesday when the president of the European Commission made his annual State speech address to the European Parliament pointing out the top priorities for the next year. Jean-Claude Juncker expressed his optimism for the boosting of the EU economy, trade, investment, cybersecurity, industry and democracy. The president of the EC respected the […]The EU Commission vies to screen Chinese investment in Europe
September 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week, Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the powerful European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, announced a plan to screen foreign investments. The idea is to hold back or even effectively block business acquisitions or other investment plans financed by third country companies, in key sectors allegedly considered to be sensitive from […]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 […]Refugee crisis: Commission proposes a new plan urging EU countries to help Italy
July 12, 2017 by 1 Comment
The EU interior ministers gathered last Thursday in Tallinn to discuss Italy’s problem to deal with migration crisis together with the new Action Plan proposed by the European Commission to support Italy and increase solidarity in the EU. The refugee crisis continues plaguing Europe in 2017 as 101.266 migrants have entered the bloc by sea […]May led Britain to chaos, now looks for way out with unpredictable DUP
June 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
As the dust settles after last week’s electoral pandemonium in Britain, the country finds itself in a true political chaos. Prime Minster Theresa May is overtly and severely disputed within her own party, while the closeness of the percentage results between Tories (42%) and Labour (40%) has totally changed the overall scenery of the political […]Refugee crisis update: Commission is struggling alone with little help from EU or G7 leaders
June 14, 2017 by 1 Comment
The European Commission has been fighting the migration crisis urging the EU countries for their support to tackle this long-lasting issue but no or little contribution is provided. Last Thursday, the president of the EC prompted the Czech Republic to change its decision regarding their denial on accepting asylum seekers from Greece and Italy under […]19th EU-China Summit: A historical advance in the Chino-European rapprochement
June 8, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Mainstream media and the two EU Presidents (Donald Tusk of the Council and Jean-Claude Juncker of the Commission), during and after last week’s groundbreaking 19th EU-China Summit (1-2 June), focused on the joint and unreserved pledge of Europe and China to wholeheartedly uphold the Paris Climate Agreement. This was a direct reply to Donald Trump’s […]Will Turkey abandon the refugee deal and risk losing a bonanza of money?
March 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Last week Turkey threatened Europe to reinstate capital punishment and to drop the EU-Turkey pact which was signed one year ago. The desperate need of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to gain more power has forced Turkish officials to release accusations to Europe and especially to the Netherlands, Germany and Brussels in view of the […]Elections in Europe: No risks for the EU, leaders readying to face Trump-Brexit
February 23, 2017 by 1 Comment
Some political analysts in mainland Europe but many more in Britain and on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the US, have rushed to call 2017 the year that can make or break the European Union. They basically argue that the three crucial legislative elections due in Holland next month, in France in […]German elections: Is Merkel losing ground or Shultz is winning?
February 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Martin Schulz’s candidacy for Chancellor has changed the balance in the German elections as polls show that Angela Merkel and the Christian Democrats (CDU) are left in the second place after the Social Democrats (SPD). The polls which are conducted by the Emnid institute and by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for broadcaster ZDF reveal a clear lead […]Will Brexit shatter the EU or is it still too early to predict?
February 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The president of the European Commission together with EU and German officials fear that Brexit will divide the EU after the negotiations have been concluded. Theresa May is about to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin the talks for UK’s exit once the House of Lords grants permission. In addition to the Brexit procedure, […]Commission’s Youth Initiative fails first hurdle by not sufficiently consulting young people
December 8, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission has today launched its new flagship initiative “Investing in Europe’s Youth”. Whilst the European Youth Forum welcomes action on young people’s issues at such a high level, we believe it would have benefitted from further engagement and consultation with youth organisations. One of the main parts of the new initiative, “Investing in […]Turkey’s Erdogan provokes the US and the EU by serving jihadists and trading on refugees
December 1, 2016 by 3 Comments
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, after having declared war against the political, judiciary and civic structures of his own country, employs the same belligerent tactics in the domain of foreign policy. He now threatens to send to Europe 3 million refugees and immigrants who are stationed in Turkey. True, more than three million people, […]Could entrepreneurship be the real cure against the side effects of Brexit?
October 26, 2016 by Leave a Comment
This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Mr Krisztian Ivan, Director of the Finance and Private Cooperation at the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises (JADE). As Donald Tusk very clearly stated on the EPC 20th Anniversary Conference: “the only real alternative of a hard Brexit is no Brexit at all”.[1] Multiple messages suggested from the […]The Franco-German axis considers that all EU needs now is more armaments
September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Last Friday in Bratislava, the Slovak capital, the 27 EU leaders met for the first time without the British Prime Minister. Reportedly they diagnosed that the Union has a grave problem, distancing itself from the people. Of course, the frustration of voters with the EU has not manifested itself just in the Brexit. Brussels have […]Unanswered questions for Europe’s youth in President Juncker’s State of Union
September 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Whilst highlighting the plight of young people in his State of the Union speech, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker left many questions unanswered after his welcome statement that he cannot accept Europe as the continent of youth unemployment. His good words are at odds with the subsequent announcement of an effective cut in […]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 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 […]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 […]Will the outcome of the UK referendum “calm” the financial markets?
June 22, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Just one day left for both the Remain and Leave campaigners to persuade the undecided Britons to vote in their favor promoting what is best for their country. The world is about to finally find out what will be the outcome of the UK referendum with the reports and polls already showing reverse results compared to last […]Tsipras doesn’t seem to have learned his “almost Grexit” lesson and Greece faces again financial and political dead end
May 5, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The teleconference of the EuroWorking Group which took place yesterday is the forerunner of the extraordinary meeting of the Finance Ministers of the Eurozone on May 9 where Greece’s programme review is about to be discussed. The outcome was, as expected, disappointing regarding the agreement between the two sides on the package of basic and […]The EU risks trade relations with China over the Tata hype about steel
April 20, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It is indisputable that we are running a very important period regarding the trade relations between China and the EU. On the one hand, it is only today that the Commission’s online public consultation on future measures to prevent dumped imports from China is closing; a consultation which had earlier opened on 10 February. The EU is conducting […]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 […]For how long will terror and economic stagnation be clouding the European skies?
March 28, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Some days ago the European statistical service, Eurostat confirmed that the inflation rate in the euro area for February was well into the negative part of the chart at -0.2%. This is an infallible sign that Eurozone remains in the stagnation or even the recession region of the economic cycle for a sixth year in […]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 […]The three sins the EU committed in 2015
December 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
During 2015, the year that now ends, the European Union has brought its well-known inability to manage the egocentric and centrifugal action of its major three nations (Britain, France and Germany) to new highs, a practice that has lately led to ineffectiveness and Euroscepticism. The EU cooperated this year with Britain, France and of course […]
