Tag: Arab Spring

Democracy will not necessarily deliver successful results when applied in the non-Western sphere. It can set general guidelines, but varieties will persist, writes Roman Rukomeda from Ukrainian Foundation for Democracy - People First.

The European Union is likely to adopt fresh sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the coming week, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.

What if there are democratic elections and the people choose a regime that violates the principles of Western human rights? What happens if, after tremendous Western effort to force democratic elections, the electorate chooses to reject Western values and pursue a very different direction? George Friedman, leading expert at Stratfor, the US intelligence consulting firm, offers a view on recent development in Egypt.

The European Union has only one way out of the present financial, economic and institutional crisis: enlargement of its territorial borders bringing an infusion of 'new blood' and centralisation of management inside the EU, argues Dr Roman Rukomeda.

Massive violence against Christian Copts in Egypt and the ransacking of a TV station in Tunisia by Islamists is raising the long-avoided question whether the Arab spring has opened the door to democracy or to cultural and religious intolerance instead.

Europe's recovery cannot succeed if European societies continue to economically and politically exclude their young people, argue Henri Lastenouse and Xavier Damman.

A chorus of countries led by the EU and the US has called for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying they will impose further sanctions on a regime which is "torturing and slaughtering" its own people in what the UN said could be crimes against humanity.

The European Commission yesterday (25 July) ruled that Italy and France did not breach EU rules by adopting their own measures to deal with an influx of migrants from Tunisia earlier this year, but failed to respect the "spirit" of the Schengen agreement.

The European Union said today (20 June) it was preparing to expand its sanctions on Syria in response to worsening violence against opponents of the government. 

Europe must be more assertive in its foreign policy, especially by unambiguously supporting the Arab revolutions, otherwise it risks wasting an historic opportunity which could later count against it, said former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema in an exclusive interview with EurActiv.

Tom Spencer analyses in depth the background and context of the Arab revolutions, the European Union's "flabby diplomacy" and the repercussions these developments will have on the EU's political leaders, arguing that these could even prematurely end Catherine Ashton's term as the bloc's foreign affairs chief.

Russia, a traditional ally of many Arab regimes that are being ousted by democratic revolutions, claims its diplomats "saw the changes coming" and that most of the autocratic regimes had in fact "overstayed their luck".

Events in the Arab world have awakened Azerbaijan’s society, and while it is too early to say whether there will be mass protests, the fear and disappointment which were prevalent in Azerbaijan are no longer visible, writes Arif Yunusov of the Institute of Peace and Democracy, arguing that political life in Azerbaijan has been enriched by the emergence of a new power: the young.

Security forces have arrested some 500 pro-democracy sympathisers across Syria after the government sent in tanks to try to crush protests in the city of Deraa, a Syrian rights organisation said today (26 April). The EU condemned the "violent repressions".

Returning from a visit to Egypt, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said yesterday (24 March) that EU countries would be asked to help relocate on their territories a few thousand Eritreans stranded on Libya's borders with Tunisia and Egypt.

France broke ranks with its European partners yesterday (10 March) by becoming the first country to recognise Libya's opposition and by deciding to "explore the possibility" of carrying out targeted bombings in the civil war-torn country. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton finds herself pushed onto the sidelines as EU leaders flock to Brussels for a crisis summit.

EU ambassadors in Libyan capital Tripoli have backed proposals by Muammar Gaddafi's regime to establish an independent mission to assess the situation on the ground, a diplomat told the press, despite the insistence of top EU officials that the embattled dictator should step down.