The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland leaving the European Union and Euratom represents a major challenge to the EU and its Member States, and has complex economic, financial, social and political implications for the entire Community acquis. The United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, the success of Eurosceptic and populist discourse, the radicalization of public opinion, as well as the persisting differences in the developmental trajectories of EU countries highlight the need to (re-)think the European project in order to provide Member States with a common sense of direction.

UK leaving the European Union takes place in an increasingly complex and challenging international context, and to make things even more complicated the bilateral negotiations meant to deliver an agreement by the end of this year are stalling. The good news is that the outcome of the presidential elections in the USA promises to be beneficial to the transatlantic relationship on the whole and to (eventually) contribute to the UK-EU relationship being repaired.

More than 100 years since the Great War (1914-1918) and 75 years since World War II (1939-1945), the traumas that the Romanians and the Hungarians alike have been through during this period are still present in the collective mindset of both nations.

If anyone needed remembering that the US is still the world’s leading superpower, Election Night proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. Not because it constituted a grand, majestic projection of power and international aplomb.

Each year since the fall of the Communist regime, on December 1st Romanians celebrate their National Day. On December 1st, 1918, at the end of the First World War, Romanians in Transylvania - representing the absolute majority of population in this province - decided to unite with Romania. This was the completion of The Great Union.

76 years ago, on 25 October 1944, the Romanian Army liberated the town of Carei in the North-West of the country. This was the final step in the complete liberation of North-West Transylvania from the foreign occupation imposed on Romania through the outrageous Vienna Diktat in 1940, arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been ruling Belarus with an iron hand since 1994. His dictatorial leadership, frequent violations of human rights in Belarus and repeated election rigging by Lukashenka’s regime pushed an increasingly desperate population over the edge. The last electoral fraud by Lukashenka’s regime - the August 9 presidential elections - triggered mass protests largely labelled as a “colour revolution”.

The arrival of COVID-19 suddenly ended the diplomatic lifestyle that has existed for decades. Diplomacy has moved to phones, emails and virtual meetings. Teleconferences and secure video have become the norm, making more difficult to engage in delicate negotiations. A global pandemic is not the best time for diplomacy and some fear that the virus crisis could fuel diplomatic atrophy, as the quarantine measures have prompted questions about the very nature of this profession.

The COVID-19 pandemic puts the EU member states and institutions in a position where they must rethink the way resources have been managed, in order to reduce, as much as possible, the economic, social and political crisis that occurred while prevention measures were taken. At the same time, the reaction of the EU and its member states actually highlights the values and principles constituting the foundation of the European concept.

On the 24th of May 2020, the day after the Sabbath, the trial of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started in the Jerusalem District Court. The one who indicted Netanyahu was Avichai Mandelblit, the Attorney General.
Netanyahu has reasons for concern, as his trial will be neither easy, nor swift and it could stretch for months or even years.