European Union

Türkiye gets its Way on Kurdish Groups, agrees to Swedish, Finnish NATO Bids, as Biden weighs F-16 Sales to Ankara

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Türkiye (formerly Turkey) spent this spring vowing that Sweden and Finland would not be admitted to NATO because of their stance on the Syrian Kurdish organization, the YPG. He seemed adamant, but the stance was clearly a bargaining position, whereby he sought to wring as […]

Climate Crisis

Greens return to French Parliament in Left Coalition, as Neoliberal Macron loses Majority

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – France’s parliamentary elections witnessed an upset, with centrist President Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République En Marche and its Ensemble coalition losing its absolute parliamentary majority. A majority requires 289 seats, and Macron’s party gained 245 seats. Among the beneficiaries are the Left and the Greens, who joined together in the […]

Climate Crisis

German Gov’t Dedicates 2% of Country’s Land Area to Onshore Wind

Kerstine Appunn

By Kerstine Appunn | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – More areas in Germany are going to be designated to onshore wind energy, with state governments ways of interfering being limited by new federal rules. German states will have to actively look for areas that can be designated for wind farm construction in order […]

Climate Crisis

German Economy & Climate Minister’s visit to Israel & Palestine focused on Renewable Tech not just Replacing Russian Natural Gas

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn | – Germany’s economy and climate minister has arrived in Israel for talks about bilateral energy cooperation, with a focus on developing renewable energies rather than short-term deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace shipments from Russia, German public broadcasters ZDF and ARD reported. Israel has large natural gas reserves but […]

Climate Crisis

Ukraine War: Europe declares Independence of Russian Petroleum, Looks to Mass Transit, EVs to Achieve “Freedom” Goal

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – France 24, with AFP, reports that the 27-member European Union succeeded on Monday in agreeing to a sixth round of boycott measures against Russia. Most importantly, Europe pledged immediately to halt two-thirds of all European purchases of Russian petroleum, and to halt 90% of such imports by the end of […]

Ireland

Sympathy for Colonized Ireland in the US Gov’t Doesn’t Extent to Colonized Palestine

Mohammed Samaana

Belfast (Special to Informed Comment) – A recent Congressional cross-party delegation visit to the UK and Ireland in order to save the Good Friday Agreement (which had paved the way for peace on the island of Ireland) was marked by controversy. Delegation leader Richard Neal (D-MA) used the word “planter” which was used in the […]

European Union

If Western Countries demand that Russia follow International Law, Why don’t They Themselves?

The Conversation

By Amyn Sajoo, Simon Fraser University | – With a passion that recalls the aftermath of the Second World War, politicians and commentators are demanding a global order that takes seriously the rules of the United Nations Charter — notably on respect for sovereignty and fundamental human rights. While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the […]

Climate Crisis

How Climate Solutions promoted by Western Governments avoid what needs to be Done

Waging Nonviolence

By Jenni Laiti and Florian Carl | – ( Waging Nonviolence) – “What local people?” This was the highly controversial question posed in 2014 by the former head of the British mining company Beowulf — to dismiss concerns over the impacts of a proposed iron-ore mine on the Indigenous Sámi people. The project is set […]

Greece

Turkey sees chance to Strengthen its hand at home and abroad in Ukraine War

The Conversation

By Ali Bilgic, Loughborough University | – The longstanding neutrality of Sweden and Finland was abandoned when both states submitted formal applications to Nato. But they are facing an unexpected obstacle on the way to membership: Turkey. While Turkey supports the alliance’s “open door” policy, Ankara’s veto reflects its aims to change the status quo […]