A sticker with Ukraine appeared on my car just after Russia began its new wave of invasion into Ukraine. I know, it’s just an empty gesture, but I simply wanted to express somehow my solidarity with the victims of Russian imperialism. For the 6 months of 2022, while I still lived in Scotland, this sticker […]
Sick UK What a headline … “Reino Unido, atrapado en su propio laberinto político y económico” (the United Kingdom, trapped in its own political and economic labyrinth). Enough to make you feel proud to be British? Or to acknowledge that our friends and neighbours pity us for what is happening to the UK? This was […]
On 11 September I wrote a column on the US elections, anxiously throwing a few predictions around. I’m so relieved and encouraged to update this week that a majority of Americans rejected election denialism and minority rule. (with much gratitude!) The big news is the US Senate is still in Dem hands! (starburst emoji) The […]
Thirty-three years ago today, on 9 November 1989, the people of Berlin – east and west – joined together to dismantle the wall that had cruelly separated their city for almost three decades. It was a momentous event that led to the downfall of the Soviet communist regime, followed eventually by applications to join the European Union by […]
This will be the first Remembrance Sunday that we have commemorated since 1945 while two major European nations have been at war. Yes, there have been the tragic civil wars in former Yugoslavia, but this is the first time that one European nation has driven its tanks across the border of another, uninvited. It is […]
A few months ago, doing my daily trawl through the headlines of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo online, I spotted among the front-page headlines: “Xavier Gisbert: “Las leyes educativas llevan años sin aportar nada a la enseñanza de idiomas“. (‘For years the education laws have contributed nothing to language teaching.’) I’ve known Xavier since the […]
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. And yes, that includes Apple’s iphones too. From spring 2026, the legal obligation will extend to laptops. In addition, all devices that support fast charging must have the same charging […]
Liz Truss demanded that ‘no EU flags’ should be shown at the Prague meeting of European leaders on Thursday. EU news website EURACTIV reported that the flags were kept away from the inaugural European Political Community summit at the demand of Ms Truss and the UK delegation. The Independent reported, ‘The British government and its […]
Naples. Day Three. Gets me every time. A whole week this time to gulp the fumes, walk the gorgeous bashed-up steep streets all day, drink meloncello and queue up at Michele’s L’Antica Pizzeria. The churches, the paintings, statues, the Capella Sansevero. The gorgeous smell of laundry in the San Giuseppe neighbourhood. The sudden wealthy Chiaia […]
A reminder for the Conservatives annual conference – share 4-minute video: 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 Conservatives, have you forgotten what your party in power used to stand for regarding Europe? For most of the past seven decades, Tory governments did more than any other to bring us closer to our continent. After all: It’s because of the Conservatives […]
The ‘flash to bang time’ is one of those useful pieces of military shorthand that derives from the delay between the muzzle flash as a piece of artillery fires, and the bang as the shell arrives. From there, it has become an expression used to describe the delay between starting an activity and bringing it […]
The position of Foreign Secretary is one of the Great Offices of State. It requires tact, command of a brief, outstanding communication skills, and a real interest in the wider world. Here’s a look at recent incumbents, picking a random starting point of June 2016. In January 2017, Boris Johnson accused the then French president […]
Today is Victory in Europe Day to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe, 77 years ago, on 8 May 1945. What has VE Day to do with the European Union? Everything. The European Economic Community – later to be called the European Union – was started in the aftermath of the […]
Wednesday 27 April Graham and Bear arrived at the border early this morning, after they’d driven though the night. After a little rest in the house we are staying in, the load they had brought with them brought was shared out amongst us medics at the border and a contact in the international battalion of […]
The partner of one of our readers has gone to Poland to help with the effort to rescue refugees from Ukraine. He’s a field/trauma medic with extensive experience having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had intended to go straight into Ukraine to join extraction efforts, but the attack on the Ukraine military base has […]
As a Russian-speaking person of colour who was born and raised in Ukraine, I believe that I am in a position to speak on the issue of nationalism and neo-Nazism in Ukraine. To talk about Ukrainian nationalism, we first have to establish the context of the relationship between Ukraine and Russia. These are not just […]
If we continue to delude ourselves about Putin’s agenda, we will reap the whirlwind. Andrew Levi explains why we have to face up to what drives Putin in this hard-hitting article. Clueless in Europe’s Chancelleries You’ve probably never heard of Lars Klingbeil. If you have, you know more about German politics than most. He’s a […]
Being an inveterate reader of the online Spanish press, my attention was drawn recently to an article in El Mundo online which linked the Ukraine War of 2022 to the Falklands War of 1982… in the context of Boris Johnson. On the 40th anniversary of this conflict, this article is timely; is it really 40 […]
Insistence on complex visa requirements is in stark contrast to the outpouring of empathy for Ukrainian refugees by people in Britain. A government that promised it would cut ‘red tape’ is now using bureaucracy in the cruellest of ways, writes Tom Scott. When I was growing up in the 1960s, films and TV series set […]
Yesterday (Wednesday 30 March) was an incredibly emotionally difficult day for me. My work partner and I were tasked to go to Lviv and extract two elderly people. We arrived in good time, without having to go through as many military road blocks. We checked into the aid centre and awaited our passengers. They were […]
I first heard late on Tuesday about the call from the European Movement (EM), for their members and local groups to come to the ‘London stands with Ukraine’ rally and march on Saturday 26 March. They had joined with London mayor Sadiq Khan, who’d asked Londoners to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. Could I attend […]
Online here European Movement CEO, Anna Bird, addresses UK with Ukraine rally in London. – YouTubeand reproduced below, more or less as delivered, is the text of Anna Bird’s speech at the London Mayor’s ‘vigil for Ukraine’ in Trafalgar Square on Saturday. It is excellent that European Movement UK (EM-UK) was involved in organising this […]
Well, what a week that was: Medyka, the busiest crossing on the Polish-Ukranian border, and the most disorganised; no major NGO on the ground, just lots of organisations and individuals trying to help. I’ve seen some incredibly sad sights, seen kindness and met some selfless people that it has been a privilege to work alongside. […]
Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has told Tory-supporting The Telegraph (£): “We’ve had our differences with the EU, but now we must stick together against Vladimir Putin” She added, “Disagreements over the Northern Ireland Protocol pale in significance to the fight for freedom and democracy.” While reiterating her determination to “fix” the Northern Ireland Protocol agreed […]
Help sort the humanitarian aid logistics challenge! Are you trying to get donations to Ukraine? Are you a concerned individual volunteer or part of a volunteer group hoping to get donations to refugees in Ukraine? Are you anxious to make sure that your efforts are not wasted? Join the pop-up logistics communications WhatsApp group trying […]
“It’s an abusers’ charter, isn’t it?” said a friend – a woman not particularly attentive to the doings of this government, nor as prejudiced as me against these Conservatives’ policies. Sadly, I think my friend is correct in her assessment of the ‘Sponsor a Ukrainian’ scheme, whereby homeowners here can offer accommodation to Ukrainian refugees. […]
Usually in this notebook, my favourite one, with coffee on the cover, I write fairy tales. However, a new tale about adorable, winged cats has been paused uncompleted. Now I am writing about the war. To this day we all think it’s a dream. A nightmare that is about to pass, you just have to […]
“They slaughter and maim tens of thousands of men, and then they say prayers of thanksgiving for having slaughtered so many people (inflating the numbers) and proclaim victory, supposing that the more people slaughtered, the greater the merit. How does God look down and listen to them!“Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace Almost exactly 33 years […]
Polish journalist and lorry-driver Tomasz Oryński translated this short piece about Ukrainian truckers who are still going into the war zone with humanitarian help. Originally written for a Polish trucking magazine, we are very glad to be able to publish Filip’s piece here. It carries this important message: “By the way, as I was talking […]
