SNP MEP Alyn Smith has today given an impassioned speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg warning that the Leave campaigns lied and broke the law, and that politicians from the campaign will do so again in the upcoming EU elections. Smith said: “President, thank you. So as a Scottish and UK member it turns out reports of…
Still living in exile in Belgium, Carles Puigdemont the independent Catalan politician chose the Brussels Press Club as the venue to announce today his candidature for election to the European Parliament in the 23 May elections. Flanked by four colleagues from the party “Junts per Catalunya” Gorka Knorr, Erika Casajoanna, Calara Ponsati and Toni Comin,…
I met with Ekaterina Tsaranok the Founder of the Modern Education & Research Institute, based in Brussels, which is dedicated to the modernisation of the teaching profession and to the adaptation of professors to the quickly changing educational environment. The members of the Institute are universities and individual professors from the countries of Central Asia, the Eastern…
An inaugural meeting of the Regional Religious Freedom Forum in Taiwan has heard that the country is flying the flag for safeguarding religious freedom, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region. The meeting heard that Taiwan is committed to ending intolerance and persecution of religious minorities. Organized by Taipei City-based Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, the two-day event…
Mukhtar Ablyazov, has been described by the British press as “the world’s richest fraudster” . His story begins in 1963 in a modest village in the southern region of Kazakhstan, and it takes us across continents, through bedrooms and boardrooms, courtrooms and prison cells, to the lofty heights of the U.S. Presidency. This book, subtitled…
Whichever candidate emerges from Ukraine’s election must be ready to show a “real commitment” to tackling corruption and human rights issues, according to one of the country’s leading advocates. The first round of the key election on Sunday (31 March) left TV comedian Vladimir Zelensky well ahead of the incumbent Petro Poroshenko. The two men…
One of the world’s largest air services providers, dnata, has increased its global footprint by opening a new cargo centre at Brussels Airport. The company’s expansion into the Belgian capital represents an investment of €8 million and creates up to 100 local jobs with the company. Its new facility, which covers an area of 14,000…
Though migration remains important for Europe’s voters, a majority do not consider it to be the most important issue. Corruption, living standards, housing, unemployment and health rank above, or alongside, migration as key issues for European voters. Despite what Viktor Orban, Matteo Salvini and Steve Bannon have said, the EU elections will not be a…
Taiwan should be allowed to participation in global bodies such as the World Health Assembly (WHA), according to the country’s representative to the EU and Belgium. Speaking exclusively to this website, Harry Tseng appealed to countries to voice support for Taiwan’s involvement in such organisations, despite the ongoing opposition from China. He admitted that while Taiwan’s participation at…
At this week’s plenary session in Strasbourg MEPs welcomed the fact that the error rate for payments – as estimated by the ECA – had reached an all-time low of 2.4%. However, they raised some concerns about how testing samples were selected. MEPs are worried about the mounting payments backlog, which reached a new record of…
