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For Brussels and Washington, the elections pose their own dilemma. In Georgia and Moldova, Western actors have drawn firm lines against Moscow’s proxies. In Kosovo, by contrast, they have treated SL as indispensable to participation, tolerating a monopoly for the sake of appearances. By accepting representation via a party compromised by violence and clientelism, Western policy risks damaging the country’s institutions and its own credibility on democracy.

In Kosovo’s elections, Serb representation is the west’s fig leaf

Left without a functioning Assembly since February 2025, Kosovo’s febrile politics is due for another test. With options for representation of the Serb minority limited to Belgrade-backed proxies, October’s local elections are much more than a local contest

The minister was visiting Poland and is seeking to find common cause with European democracies. Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has found an increasingly sympathetic ear in parts of central and eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, even though almost all European countries only maintain formal diplomatic ties with Beijing and not Taipei. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.

Taiwan diplomat appeals for sovereignty to be upheld

By: EBR | Thursday, October 2, 2025

Taiwan’s new ambassador in Brussels has made an impassioned plea for his nation’s sovereignty to be respected

Earlier this week - during a lengthy speech at the UN General Assembly - Trump also accused Nato allies of "funding the war against themselves" through their purchases of energy from Moscow.During Trump’s first term in office, the US removed Turkey from the F-35 programme after it purchased S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia.

Trump urges Turkey to stop buying Russian oil as Erdogan chases deal on F-35s

By: EBR | Monday, September 29, 2025

US President Donald Trump has urged Turkey to stop buying oil from Russia, part of a wider drive to cut off Moscow’s energy funding as the war in Ukraine rages on

These overt military violations have suspiciously coincided with severe simultaneous disruptions at major European airports. NATO’s response wasn’t just paltry; it was accompanied by Trump statements that suggest the clearly deliberate violations by Moscow were “a mistake,” inviting more Russian aggression instead of deterring it.

Why the U.S. security stance is worse than a dormant NATO

By: EBR | Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Russia’s recent violations of NATO airspace have further exposed the security gap between transatlantic allies. The imperative for Europeans to build credible deterrence by bolstering their military posture as well as their financial and industrial efforts has never been more urgent

More recently, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has said that Hamas would "feel more emboldened" by the international push to recognise Palestine.His words, during a joint news conference with Netanyahu on 15 September, echoed the Israeli argument that recognition is a "reward for terrorism," following the devastating Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.

What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?

By: EBR | Monday, September 22, 2025

The UK, Australia and Canada have recognised a Palestinian state, while France and other countries are set to do so in the coming days

But that’s not enough to remove the real challenges that parts of the electorate are facing. Rural Moldovans worry about bills and harvests. Urban youth complain about unemployment, corruption, and low incomes, while the elderly suffer poverty because of small pensions. Fear of war stands at the bottom of the list, after all these other priority concerns.

Moldova’s twin battles: Russia from abroad, proxies and fragmentation at home

By: EBR | Thursday, September 18, 2025

Moldova’s upcoming parliamentary election will mark the next face-off between Brussels and Moscow in the EU’s neighborhood. If Chișinău holds the pro-EU line, it will show that even a small democracy can move forward under extraordinary pressure

Europe needs to adjust quickly to the fact that the new U.S. interventionism in European domestic politics is a feature, not a bug, of a politically reshaped America. European political actors must move quickly beyond their surprise at such actions and converge soon around a common stance of principled objection, while considering what further steps they can employ both in terms of their own communication strategies and legal and regulatory responses.

A Less Democratic America: Implications for Europe

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Since his return to power, U.S. President Donald Trump has relentlessly questioned and challenged democracy at home and abroad. In an increasingly illiberal world, the U.S. withdrawal from democratic leadership offers Europe a chance to step up by reenergizing its global purpose, forging new alliances, and championing values of unity

This time Belarus insists it has nothing to hide.Representatives of 23 states, including the US, Turkey and Hungary, watched the military exercise."We consider that the exercise is unprecedented in its transparency," Major General Valery Revenko, assistant to the Belarusian defence minister, told journalists at the training ground.

Belarus and Russia’s show of firepower appears to be a message to Europe

By: EBR | Wednesday, September 17, 2025

In a large field 45 miles (72km) from Belarus’ capital Minsk, a battle is raging

Putin’s attack on Poland happened to occur on the eve of the annual State of the Union address by the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to MEPs. She proposed that the EU funds what she called a “drone wall” and a space surveillance system for Europe’s Northeastern flank with Russia including the Baltic states and Poland.

Putin tries it on with Poland and aims to drag Europe into his war of conquest

By: EBR | Monday, September 15, 2025

Russia’s war on Ukraine rekindles Poland’s centuries-old vigilance against Moscow’s aggression

Regrettably, despite Taiwan’s significant global contributions, it remains largely unrecognized by the international community and is unable to participate in the United Nations system. Taiwan’s unwarranted exclusion stems from China’s deliberate misrepresentation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758. The resolution is falsely linked with the so-called “one China principle” and continues to be wrongfully weaponized to block Taiwan’s participation.

“Chip in with Taiwan” for Global Peace and Prosperity

By: EBR | Friday, September 12, 2025

Today, the world faces mounting uncertainties and challenges—from prolonged conflicts and democratic backsliding to economic coercion and disinformation campaigns

Around sixty people, including opposition politicians, street demonstrators, and the editor of an independent newspaper, are now in jail. They are essentially political prisoners. The country’s foreign-influence law is starting to curtail the activities of Georgia’s once-thriving nongovernmental sector.

Time for EU decisions on Georgia

By: EBR | Thursday, September 4, 2025

Away from the daily headlines, Georgia’s rapid retreat from democracy continues apace. This fall could be crucial in determining whether and how Europe can push back and impose costs on those who are taking the country backward

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s instinct to set up what’s now called “the coalition of the willing” to prepare security guarantees for Ukraine was the right one. But it has fallen short. Too many European countries are still paralyzed out of acting militarily in the absence of U.S. involvement. And the few who aren’t, keep repeating like a mantra that they wouldn’t deploy troops before a ceasefire, which is all the motivation Putin needs to scupper any such deal.

Europe’s summer of Trump delusion

By: EBR | Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Despite a shifting global order, Europe keeps playing by the old handbook. To become a truly geopolitical power, the EU and its member states must assert their economic and military strength both in trade negotiations and on the Ukrainian battlefield

The EU is capable of sudden and profound shifts once it commits to specific objectives. It is also capable of acting with determination. It created the Schengen Area for passport-free movement for citizens of many European states and managed to hold onto and even enlarge that area despite the 2015 migration crisis.

Betting on Europe

By: EBR | Thursday, July 17, 2025

The rift between Brussels and Washington raises questions about which side will emerge stronger. The Europeans are laying the groundwork to enhance their power and have already proved their ability to withstand epochal change

"There were moments last week where I believe it was almost palpable that there was an agreement nearly in place, and really what needs to happen in the hours and days ahead is a renewed effort to arrive at an agreement that can protect jobs, can protect economic stability in Ireland, in Europe and in the United States."

US-EU framework trade deal was ’tantalisingly close’

By: EBR | Wednesday, July 16, 2025

A framework agreement on trade between the United States and the European Union (EU) was "tantalisingly close" before US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on imports from the EU, Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris has said