When Icelanders asked themselves what the European Union had to offer them, they concluded that the economic and security benefits of EU membership were not as obvious as the negative consequences for their identity and sovereignty. On 29 August, Icelanders rejected the resumption of EU accession negotiations: 52.8% against, 47.2% in favour, on a turnout of 82.5%. The margin was just under 13,000 votes. The result almost mirrors Brexit (51.9% against 48.1%) and the Norwegian

The prospect of Russia escalating its war onto EU and NATO territory is drawing growing attention in political circles and the media. This article examines why the Kremlin might choose to escalate, what it hopes to achieve, and what Europe and NATO can do to prevent Moscow from carrying out its plans. The purpose of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow on 25 August remains somewhat unclear, but an American belief that Russia is considering a military operation again

Former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has called for elections to be held. Elections during wartime: the restoration of democracy or another beauty contest? Fedorov's call has reignited the debate, but let us ask ourselves whether elections change Ukraine's future if we are once again being offered a choice between representatives of the same system, without clear programmes, genuine competition, or any real possibility for military personnel not just to vote but to stand

INTRODUCTION Whenever we discuss elections in European countries and their impact on Ukraine, we refer to the policies that a given party promotes or implements, and the consequences of those policies both domestically and beyond its borders. These parties broadly divide into two camps: left and right. Parties in each camp share common features that distinguish one from the other. The principle of dividing parties into 'left' and 'right' has long been established in political

What restrictions does the 21st sanctions package impose on Russia? The EU's 21st sanctions package against Russia became the second such list approved by the Council of the EU this year. The package covers increased pressure on: the banking and cryptocurrency sector; Russia's energy revenues, including the establishment of a price cap on oil; the 'shadow fleet' and oil refining; the military-industrial complex and drone manufacturers. It also provides for an expansion of exp

On 1 April 2025, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill called the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 in the Senate. It was immediately referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The sponsors were candid about their motivation to raise the cost of aggression high enough to force Moscow into genuine negotiations. At the time, relations between the Trump administration and Ukraine were lukewarm. The tensi

All for my ratings. Nothing against my ratings. Nothing for anyone else's ratings. That, in short, is how one might describe President Zelensky's personnel policy — paraphrasing the well-known saying of the fascist dictator Mussolini.. Why is the appointment and dismissal of ministers by the president a problem in Ukraine? There are presidential republics where the president serves as head of government and may appoint ministers — the United States, for example. However, the

Since assuming the presidency in 2017, Emmanuel Macron has energetically promoted the idea of European ‘strategic autonomy,’ a concept deeply rooted in French international relations theory. It envisages, among other things, the expansion of pan-European collective security mechanisms that would ultimately minimise the role of the United States. Despite the general difficulty of implementing this concept, Paris made substantial progress on one of its key aspects in March 2026

It is common for each side to claim victory following a negotiated peace deal, and the Iranian regime and Trump administration are no exception. Following months of kinetic and economic warfare, the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 17 June which formally concludes the conflict and establishes a framework for negotiations towards a final settlement over the following 60 days. To ensure their domestic legitimacy after a costly war, the Trump administration an

Among the first meetings Péter Magyar held after his parliamentary election victory were those with representatives of the Hungarian minorities in Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine. According to László Gubík, the leader of the ethnic Hungarian political party in Slovakia ‘Hungarian Alliance’, the incoming prime minister gave assurances that the policy of supporting ethnic Hungarians beyond Hungary's borders would continue. And indeed it has: on 21 April, in a phone call

China has traditionally occupied a special place in American foreign policy. For a long time, bilateral relations were predominantly based on partnership but over the past fifteen years, they have increasingly been characterised as intense competition or even confrontation. President Donald Trump’s policy combines both the legacy of a long partnership and the new geopolitical realities in which Beijing is frequently set against Washington. US-China relations at the end of the

Ukraine and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are unlikely partners. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait have traditionally based their foreign policy on balancing security partnerships with Western states, economic ties with Asia, and managing the global oil market together with Russia within the OPEC+ framework. Iran's strikes against Gulf countries have upended each of these dynamics and placed Ukraine in a central position among them. Ukraine can

Throughout Trump’s second term, his administration’s policies towards Ukraine, russia, and transatlantic alliances have been unpredictable and sometimes contradictory. The recently-released National Security Strategy attempts to outline a coherent vision for America’s new relationship with the world. The two-and-a-half pages on Europe are perhaps the most notable part of this vision, with the document’s harshest criticism reserved for its closest allies. Europe is portrayed a