Europe

If Russia invades Ukraine, it should feel the full brunt of sanctions

There is very little to no chance of NATO troops fighting in Ukraine if President Putin decides to invade. Everyone knows this. What remains unclear is how the rest of the world should respond. Doing nothing would be inconceivable and morally unacceptable. International community simply cannot sit and do nothing if Ukraine disappears as an independent nation, or if it is invaded and a puppet regime is installed. What is particularly chilling in this context is the shoddy pretext which is being discussed and which, if true, is so reminiscent of Hitler’s invasion of Poland.

The EU has no bite. Negotiate a new treaty, eliminate the Veto and get it back

The EU has lost its bite. The facts are overwhelmingly pointing to this reality, in the form of a failed attempt at controlling its access to vaccines, and putting itself at the top of the receiver’s list. The UK sailed ahead of its former diplomatic partner, partly due to a need for recovering from a crippling public health situation, but more simply because as the UK was making important unilateral decisions, the EU was still in the boardroom trying to convince the renegade governments of Poland and Hungary to side with it. They enacted veto powers to block crucial funding at a time the EU was negotiating a budget.

EU should abolish national veto and introduce alternatives

It is clear that this topic requires far more research and debate, but every suggestion should be welcome.

At present, national veto in the EU makes the whole system, in some areas at least, slow and inefficient. Examples range from tax policy to foreign affairs and others.

Let us unite against extremists!

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this week’s European elections. They are likely to be “the most consequential parliamentary vote in EU’s history” (ECFR).