Month: July 2022

WHO Declares Monkeypox a Public Health Emergency

The report of the emergency committee that failed to reach consensus was released on Saturday. It revealed four key arguments against granting emergency status to the outbreak.

EU Countries Deny Commission Gas Rationing Powers

At their July 26th meeting, energy ministers rejected the Commission’s initial plan for emergency powers but committed to reducing gas usage by 15% between 1 August 2022 and 31 March 2023—at least they did in theory.

End of COVID Restrictions in France

Containment, curfews, and the use of the health pass are now a thing of the past. The scientific council, responsible for guiding the government’s health policy, is dissolved.

Vatican Obstructs German Church’s ‘Synodal Path’

Members of this ‘Synodal Path,’ a group made up of equal numbers of German bishops and lay Catholics, have called for allowing priests to be married, women to become deacons, and same-sex couples to receive the Church’s blessing.

Ukraine Committed to Wheat Export Deal

Dubbed the “Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the agreements will provide safe ocean passage out of the three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea—Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny—and on to the rest of the world.

Franco-British Clash Over Dover Travel Chaos

Since the UK’s exit from the European Union, it is no longer enough to show an identity card to cross the border. Every passport must be stamped, which takes more time.

Spain: Whispers from the Past

The playwright Federico Garcia Lorca once wrote that in Spain, “the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country.” He may be right.

Vatican Obstructs German Church’s ‘Synodal Path’

Vatican Obstructs German Church’s ‘Synodal Path’

Members of this ‘Synodal Path,’ a group made up of equal numbers of German bishops and lay Catholics, have called for allowing priests to be married, women to become deacons, and same-sex couples to receive the Church’s blessing.

Spanish Female Minor Found in Belgium with Jihadi Islamist

Spanish Female Minor Found in Belgium with Jihadi Islamist

This presents a case of border spanning, intra-European recruitment, with agents in Spain and Belgium escorting the minor from her home to their base of operations.

Ukraine Committed to Wheat Export Deal

Ukraine Committed to Wheat Export Deal

Dubbed the “Black Sea Grain Initiative,” the agreements will provide safe ocean passage out of the three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea—Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny—and on to the rest of the world.

July 27, 2022
Éric Ciotti Candidate for the Presidency of Les Républicains

Éric Ciotti Candidate for the Presidency of Les Républicains

Ciotti distinguished himself during the primary campaign by taking positions clearly on the Right, in contrast to the very centrist positioning of the finalist Valérie Pécresse.

July 27, 2022
Franco-British Clash Over Dover Travel Chaos

Franco-British Clash Over Dover Travel Chaos

Since the UK’s exit from the European Union, it is no longer enough to show an identity card to cross the border. Every passport must be stamped, which takes more time.

July 27, 2022
Spain: Whispers from the Past

Spain: Whispers from the Past

The playwright Federico Garcia Lorca once wrote that in Spain, “the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country.” He may be right.

July 26, 2022
The Bill has Come Due for Germany and Europe

The Bill has Come Due for Germany and Europe

Germany’s excessive energy dependence on Russia is not the outcome of a natural process, but rather the consequence of policies that have been irresponsibly made and artificially imposed.

July 26, 2022
Italy Sees 1,200 Illegal Migrant Arrivals Over the Weekend as Mediterranean Crossings Surge

Italy Sees 1,200 Illegal Migrant Arrivals Over the Weekend as Mediterranean Crossings Surge

Pictures from the day’s events suggest the vast majority of the illegal migrants who managed to reach Italian soil were military-aged men.

July 26, 2022
Germany: Number of Young People Sinks to New All-Time Low 

Germany: Number of Young People Sinks to New All-Time Low 

The figures are a stark reminder of the demographic cliff that Germany and the rest of Europe continue to race towards.

July 26, 2022
EU Speeds Up Balkan Expansion

EU Speeds Up Balkan Expansion

Commissioner Várhelyi specifically mentioned the western Balkans as a target of EU enlargement.

July 26, 2022
Hungarian Budget Cuts Deficit

Hungarian Budget Cuts Deficit

The first target of the Hungarian parliament’s adopted budget is to sustain the regulated utilities price scheme, the second is to strengthen its military defense.

July 26, 2022
EU Gas Rationing Proposal Likely to Burn Up

EU Gas Rationing Proposal Likely to Burn Up

From Madrid, Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera rejected Brussels’ plan as “not the most effective, nor the most efficient, nor the fairest.”

July 26, 2022