Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sent a letter in February to the US, Canada and several European countries –  including Ireland – about their  interpretations of a key security pact. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/EPA

Russian threats to Finland over neutrallity are also threats to this country

Pedestrians walk on a sidewalk  in Chisinau, Moldova.  File photograph: Getty Images

There is widespread concern that Kyiv will not be enough for Vladimir Putin

Russian president Vladimir Putin: ‘I am convinced that the true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible precisely in partnership with Russia.’  Photograph:  Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images

Russian military build-up is to leverage Nato concessionswithout jeopardising Nord gas pipeline

Taliban members on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday. Photograph: Jim Huylebroek/The New York Times

World View: Cambodia offers a sobering precedent for Afghanistan’s predicament

British prime minister Boris Johnson: In its role as the “guardian of the treaties”, the European Commission is duty-bound to ensure the rule of law is adhered to – the option of not suing the UK is simply not on.  Photograph: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

UK’s defiance of treaty obligations and protocol provisions requires legal action

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photograph: Turkish president press office/Handout/EPA

Beyond his religious base, the Turkish president’s appeal seems to be shrinking

Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, is in regular contact with other world leaders about tackling the digital giants. Photograph: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg

Recent curbs on Facebook and Uber suggest governments are beginning to rein in giants

Rights groups fear autocratic leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte will argue they should also take down “subversive” dissident sites.

World View: Censorship, democracy and free speech key to interference in public discourse

British prime minister Boris Johnson. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

World View: British voters have been sold a dream, in the same way Trump peddled ‘Maga’ to the masses

Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the election result echoes a similar refusal by Germany’s right to accept that Germany had been defeated in 1918. Photograph:  Erin Schaff/The New York Times

World View: Without understanding, gulf between Republicans and Democrats can become a schism

Joe Biden appears certain to win the popular vote by at least three percentage points and take the college.

‘Winner-take-all’ system means elections can be decided by voters in handful of swing states

A protest against a ballot initiative that would allow Uber and Lyft to continue classifying drivers as independent contractors. The proposition was carried, curtailing the ability of drivers to claim employee rights. Photograph: Jim Wilson/The New York Times

State-wide ballot initiatives dealt with hot-button issues like abortion and tax policy

 Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban:  The European Commission is seeking to bring Hungary to book for repeated breaches of EU legal standards. Photograph: Johanna Geron/Reuters

Brussels cannot even recommend enforcement against laggards like Hungary

Lord David Frost: the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator will be involved in fresh talks this week with  the EU’s team led by  Michel Barnier.  Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA

Analysis: London’s rejection of treaty-based dispute resolution makes any hopes of a deal more remote than ever

Big Ben in London: Downing Street bizarrely claimed Boris Johnson had not really had time to understand the deal he did with Leo Varadkar last October. Photograph: Adrian Dennis  AFP

London’s repudiation of joint approach breaks dispute-resolution mechanism

We must place all ethical issues on the limits for published content within a single media council, through which newspapers, online publications, broadcast news, online news and social media platforms could be subject to one broad ethical code.

Fake news, misinformation and privacy threats dangers on changed landscape

European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis: will not seek to reactivate the rules yet “because the crisis continues”. Photograph: Francois Lenoir

Fiscal rules suspension shakes up ideas of post-Covid responsibility and growth

Coffins of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre are taken from a former battery factory in Potocari, about three miles from Srebrenica, to be buried at a nearby cemetery and memorial centre in Bosnia, on July 10th, 2016. Photograph: Andrew Testa/New York Times

Powers of ICC and UN Security Council must be bolstered to enable action with real teeth

Chief justice John Roberts and Judge Neil Gorsuch joined the Democratic appointees as the supreme court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

World View: The judgment from a very conservative court is surprising

German chancellor Angela Merkel: her accord with Emmanuel Macron is a conscious end-run around the German Constitutional Court. Photograph: Odd Andersen

Prior to Berlin-Paris recovery deal, GCC may have set in motion EU crisis

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA

First attempt at resolving budget deadlock fails as deep divisions become evident

Taisoeach Leo Varadkar and Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEn at the second day of a Special European Council summit in Brussels. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA

Taoiseach and Micheál Martin agree to exploratory talks next week after Dáil adjourns

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he aims to defend Cap funding levels. File photograph: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Reuters

Taoiseach calls for maintenance of Cap funds as member states try to broker budget deal

President of the European Council Charles Michel: he is charged with brokering a deal among the 27 member states.  Photograph: Francois Walschaerts/AFP via Getty Images

Deadlock over how to fund EU over next seven years to be addressed at Brussels summit

Italy’s  Luigi Di Maio, Bulgaria’s Ekaterina Zaharieva and European commissioner in charge of neighbourhood and enlargement policy Hungary’s Oliver Virelay at a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on February 17th. Photograph:  Francois Walschaerts/AFP

Foreign ministers override idea naval presence might lure migrants with hope of rescue

EU officials remain deeply unconvinced by Boris Johnson’s professed commitment to raising regulatory standards. Photograph: Frank Augstein/AP Photo

UK’s chief Brexit negotiator says trade talks would not extend beyond end of this year

High representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell: has compared Israel’s annexations to Russia’s actions in Crimea. Photograph:  Christof Stache

Brussels to discuss how to warn Israel ‘price to pay’ for annexing Palestinian territories

European Council president Charles Michel. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Getting the frugal five to cough up even for a compromise remains hugely problematic

Growth in the euro zone ‘turned out better than expected in the third quarter but disappointed at the end of the year’. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty

Significant fallout from coronavirus on EU economy likely, warns commissioner

A member of the Libyan internationally recognised government forces heads out to the front line atop a military vehicle from Misrata on February 3rd, 2020. Photograph: Ayman Al-Sahili/Reuters

Europe Letter: Austria rejecting plan to revive naval rescue operation causes deadlock

No surprises: EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Inclusion of role for the European Court of Justice will be a red rag to British

European Council president Charles Michel, EU Parliament president David Sassoli and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen giving a speech on the future of Europe in Brussels on Friday. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Leaders of EU institutions strike upbeat note as city’s Grand Place lit up in UK colours

Polls show Ireland’s voters retain the most positive image in the EU of the EU. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP

There are important strategic challenges ahead in post-Brexit EU

EIB president Werner Hoyer: “Climate is in everything we do.” Photograph: EPA

EU investment arm aims to put 50% of all lending into climate and sustainability projects by 2025

British MEP Richard Corbett holds a banner after a vote on the withdrawal agreement at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, on January 29th. Photograph: Francisco Seco/Pool via Reuters

Europe Letter: Issues associated with UK’s withdrawal will not disappear overnight

Britain’s Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage holds a union flag during a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday. Photograph: John Thys/AFP

Overwhelming mood was of reluctant Yes to allow what Barnier called ‘orderly withdrawal’

A pro-EU,  anti-Brexit protester in London: The willingness of EU leaders to circumvent MEPs’ involvement in the election of commission president Ursula von der Leyen has led to calls to give them more teeth. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP

Europe Letter: Obsession with internal organisation must give way to focus on issues

Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid (right) and Germany’s minister of Finance Olaf Scholz shake hands as German state secretary for finance Joerg Kukies looks on. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet EPA-EFE

State finances could take €2bn hit, warns finance minister

Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, attends a foreign affairs meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels. Photograph: John Thys/AFP  via Getty Images

Military and naval missions will be mandated to enforce UN arms embargo on Libya

Tánaiste Simon Coveney briefs Irish journalists in Brussels on Monday, after a meeting with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. Photograph: John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Peers back amendment to give EU nationals proof of right to stay in UK after Brexit

Ireland is set to be allocated €30 million in grants from a European Union green fund to help ease the transition away from peat production.  Photograph: Cyril Byrne

EU funds expected to help retrain workers at power plants like Moneypoint

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen greets Croatia’s prime  minister Andrej Plenkovic at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Photograph: Vincent Kessler/Reuters

Europe Letter: State faces fight for its survival amid drastic population declines in Balkans

European Commission’s Valdis Dombrovskis: EU must put “our money where our mouth is” in terms of climate targets for 2050. Photograph: Patrick Seeger

To access fund, EU states must prepare plans for transition and furnish details of actions

Croatia prime minister Andrej Plenkovic (right) looks on next to EU council president Charles Michel, during their meeting in Zagreb, Croatia  January 9th. Photograph:  Denis Lovrovic/AFP via Getty

Ethnic Croats residing in Bosnia Herzegovina cut off despite lack of physical infrastructure

Donald Trump’s attitude to Nato commitments has alarmed many of his allies. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/AFP via Getty

Europe Letter: Destabilising attack on Iran pushes the boundaries of Nato alliance

Emily O’Reilly: Her work has increased the office’s focus on transparency in the institutions. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Irish woman tops poll in first round of voting and now faces run-off

EU consumer rules standardise charges

European Council president Charles Michel, Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at an EU summit in Brussels on Friday. Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP

Poland enters reservation to meeting target due to country’s huge dependence on coal

World and EU leaders react to Boris Johnson’s victory in UK election.

Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party secured a majority in a landslide election victory

European Council president Charles Michel: ‘We have a way of working in order to guarantee the unity of the European countries, to guarantee the transparency and to try to keep a close co-operation with the United Kingdom.’ Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP Photo

Relief in EU as UK’s position becomes clearer although no-deal cliff-edge remains possible

European Council president Charles Michel gestures at the European Union leaders summit in Brussels: France is calling for nuclear power to be key. Photograph: Yves Herman

Poland raise objections as coal makes up 80% of country’s energy

European Council President Charles Michel arrives at a meeting of the EU27 leaders on Thursday. Photograph: Julien Warnand/EPA.

The EU wants its message to be heard. It is serious about climate diplomacy

 European Council president Charles Michel: wants to send a signal to the final sessions of the COP25 climate summit in Madrid of  EU willingness to provide global leadership on climate change. Photograph: Johanna Geron

Climate change and multiannual financial framework also on agenda at Brussels

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen rings the bell as she opens the College of Commissioners meeting on December 11th. Photograph: Aris Oikonomou/AFP

Deal includes 50-55% emissions reduction target for 2030 - a very demanding objective for Ireland

 Polish European affairs minister Konrad Szymanski in Brussels: “reforms” of the judiciary are seen as undermining Polish independence. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet

Disparaging comments sent from debate on Budapest, Warsaw and the rule of law

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary is opposed to increase in aviation tax. Photograph: Collins Photo Agency

Airlines lobby against increase in EU aviation tax

European trade commissioner Phil Hogan: “This is a regrettable and very serious blow to the international rules-based trade system”

WTO appeals mechanism to shut down as US administration refuses to appoint new judges to the court

British prime minister Boris Johnson looks at a photograph of a four-year-old boy with suspected pneumonia having to sleep on the floor in a hospital because of a shortage of beds, having initially refused to look at it. Photograph: ITV/PA Wire

Tánaiste rejects Johnson’s claim that checks will not be needed on goods

 Minister for Foreign Affairs  Simon Coveney  after meeting Palestinian officials on December 3th, 2019, at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Photograph:  Abbas Momani/AFP via Getty Images

Coveney urges EU foreign ministers to make clear the EU would respond to threatened annexation of parts of West Bank by Israel

Although the Tánaiste Simon  Coveney refused to be  drawn into criticising Boris Johnson in the middle of the election campaign, he made it clear the Irish and British governments do not share their interpretations of crucial elements of the Withdrawal Agreement. File photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times

British Prime Minister claimed over the weekend such checks would not be necessary

Students and professors of the University of Palestine carry placards at  a demonstration against the US policy shift on Israeli settlements. Photograph:  Said Khatib/AFP

Amid latest signs of US support for Israel, pressure grows on Brussels to broker talks

Dara Murphy: His responsibilities have not yet been defined although his appointment as an “expert” may have raised some eyebrows.  Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

Former TD on European People’s Party salary of €150,000

Wildly optimistic: the European Commission   had  hoped to have the Multiannual Financial Framework  agreed ahead of the summer’s European Parliament elections. Photograph: Getty

Negotiations on EU’s €1.13tn spending ceiling bedevilled by endless list of must-haves

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen:  “The Finnish proposal is not enough. I am concerned at the severe cuts in this proposal compared to the commission proposal.” Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Difficult talks on next five-year budget expected to run well into next year

Current EU Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier: he has been reappointed to co-ordinate negotiations on the future relationship with the UK. Photograph: AP Photo/Michael Sohn

Draft leaders’ conclusions reiterate urgency of ‘timely ratification’ of withdrawal agreement

Dara Murphy, then minister of State for Data Protection, in 2017.  File photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons

Dáil committee seeking to investigate complaint unable to do so once FG TD resigns

Outgoing European Council president Donald Tusk: A good film, he joked, is one “that starts with an earthquake and builds up to a climax”. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

Jokes and high emotion as EU leaders step down after five turbulent years

Finnish Minister of Labour Timmo Harakka said more work was required on the EU tax proposal.

Law requiring large firms to publicly report taxes and profits blocked by 13 members

A man sits on steps of Museo Correr as water floods into St Mark’s Square. Photograph: Alberto Lingria/Reuters

Europe Letter: The 10 highest tides in the city’s history have come in the past 20 years

European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen in Strasbourg: Promised the commission would bring forward a new “pact for migration” in the spring next year. Photograph:   Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

Incoming president says EU must provide leadership on climate change

David O’Sullivan, former Irish secretary-general of the European Commission, has moved into the private sector to join the Brussels office of legal firm Steptoe & Johnson.

Former EU ambassador to the US David O’Sullivan joins legal firm Steptoe & Johnson

Designated president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen: the new executive will take up office on December 1st, a month after planned. Photograph: Maja Hitij/Getty

Brussels proceedings against London set to be launched as response deadline passes

French president Emmanuel Macron: Some say  the French approach panders to the far-right’s anti-immigrant lobby. Photograph: Eric Feferberg

Europe Letter: French insistence on reform obstacle for North Macedonia and Albania

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe’s budget has been approved.

State one of nine to be found fully compliant with its Stability and Growth Pact obligations

The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union on Tuesday ruled that cases concerning the application of EU law must not be dealt with by courts or tribunals that are not independent. Photograph:   John Thys/AFP/Getty

European Union expresses concern about issues raised over judicial independence

Amichai Luria presents a bottle of his wine, sold mainly for export, at the Shilo winery in the Jewish settlement of Shilo in the occupied West Bank. The EU announced that goods from settlements - Jewish communities built in areas occupied by force in 1967 – must be specifically labelled, infuriating Israel. Photograph: Getty Images

US claims court ruling was anti-Israel

European Commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen: Wrote twice to British prime minister Boris Johnson asking him to make the nomination. Photograph: Annegret Hilse/Reuters

Move over UK’s failure to nominate new commissioner for duration of membership

 Emily O’Reilly’s first term has seen a shift in her office’s main preoccupations with individual citizens’ complaints to a focus on raising accountability standards in the EU institutions. Photograph: Alan Betson

Europe Letter: Emily O’Reilly is bidding for re-election for a second term as Europe’s Ombudsman

Supporters with a banner of jailed former Catalonian regional government deputy president Oriol Junqueras. Photograph: Susanna Saez/EPA

Top EU court advised that Spain does not have right to deny jailed Oriol Junqueras his seat

Two men watch as road is covered by a landslide in Derrybrien, Co Galway in 2003. Photograph: Joe Shaughnessy.

Lack of Derrybrien environmental assessment also sees EU court order €15k per day penalty

Tánaiste Simon Coveney (left) with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz during a joint European Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Johnson claimed firms would not face post-Brexit customs checks when exporting to UK

British prime minister Boris Johnson during a service at the cenotaph in St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, to mark Armistice Day. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Coveney says there must ‘no amnesty for anyone who committed crimes’ in North

Bories Johnson said his government would ‘always support’ the British armed forces. Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Tánaiste says proposals are ‘not consistent’ with Stormont agreement between governments

The Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe: “Change is coming”.

Minister cites Brexit uncertainty and impending global tax reform

Pierre Moscovici speaking at the launch of the European Commission’s autumn economic outlook on Thursday. Photograph: AFP via Getty

Euro zone economy heading for period of ‘subdued’ expansion

Ursula von der Leyen has been frustrated in her attempt to achieve gender balance in the European Union’s executive. Photograph: Reuters

Europe Letter: Ireland has poor domestic showing but performs best in the European Parliament

Olaf Scholz on European banking union: ‘We are only halfway through this project’. Photograph: EPA

German finance minister proposes Europe-wide deposit insurance scheme

Poland’s Mateusz Morawiecki, Bulgaria’s Boyko Borisov and Czech Republic’s Andrej Babis greet EU commissioner of digital economy and society Gunther Oettinger at the EU cohesion summit in Prague. Photograph: Michal Cizek/AFP

Unanimity on budget and contributions unlikely as EU leaders’ clash on ideas of ‘benefit’

 A youth carries a young boy as migrants walk towards waiting buses at the Hungarian border with Serbia on September 11th, 2015, in Roszke. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty

Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic refused to comply with burden-sharing quotas

The Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan: There is general agreement hundreds of thousands died – 1.5 million says Armenia but Turkey estimates the total at about 300,000. Photograph:  Sergei Gapon/AFP

Europe Letter: Sanitised narrative of Armenia informs Ankara’s targeting of Kurds

Michel Barnier: “It is not easy to work with this pooled sovereignty of the 27. We are not a federal state. We do not want to be a federal state.” Photograph: Francisco Seco/AP

EU’s Brexit negotiator hints that a future UK government could get more Brexit leeway

Boris Johnson: ‘The house cannot, any longer, keep this country hostage’. Photograph: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor Handout

EU agrees to accept British government’s request to delay Brexit until January 31st

 The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier leaving the European Commission in Brussels for a meeting with EU27 ambassadors to discuss an extension to the Brexit deadline. Photograph: EPA/Stephanie Lecocq

Decision allows for holding of pre-Brexit election, and makes clear the sole purpose of the extension is to allow for deal ratific(...)

Donald Tusk: EU has agreed a three-month flexible Brexit extension for the UK. Photograph: EPA/PATRICK SEEGER

Earlier departure possible should UK parliament ratify separation deal

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has co-signed a letter to European Council president Donald Tusk requesting a Brexit extension until January 31st. Photograph: PA

If EU gives UK delay until January 31st, pro-Remain parties will agree to an election

Jeremy Corbyn: keeping everyone guessing. Photograph: Ho/PRU/AFP via Getty

Stance puts renewed pressure on Labour Party to back general election on Monday

European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP

Labour leader Corbyn faces pressure to vote for general election in Commons debate

Michel Barnier: he said his new role would be about “rebuilding” ties after Brexit marked the “unpicking of 45 years of co-operation”. Photograph: Getty Images

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has been asked to continue to oversee evolving EU/UK relationship after Brexit

 A boy waves the EU flag during a demonstration   against Brexit, in London on Saturday  as members of parliament sat  to debate and vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s final Brexit deal. Photograph: Vickie Flores/EPA

‘No one is rushing the fences’ as countries wait to see what happens next in London

Outgoing president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker earned a round of applause from the hardbitten hacks. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Juncker and Tusk critical of French stalling over talks with North Macedonia and Albania

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