The European Union (EU) is hopeful that progress can be made on many issues affecting the South Asia Region at the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu.

European nations, Israel’s largest trading partners and a historical bastion of support, are taking stronger measures to support Palestinian sovereignty and condemn what many see as aggressive, expansionist Israeli policies.
 

Twenty-five years ago the Berlin Wall fell, and most Central European states went on to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). Now that we are addressing urgent challenges in the Middle East, Ukraine, Africa, and Asia, shouldn’t U.S. public diplomacy efforts be transferred from Central Europe to these hotspots?

The issue of climate change presented a golden opportunity for Europe to flex its soft power, economic muscle and high-minded internationalism for the good of mankind. Perhaps, mused some, the EU should rebrand itself the “Environmental Union.”

Sweden is to "recognise the state of Palestine", Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said, the first long-term EU member country to do so. "The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution," he said during his inaugural address in parliament.

The North and Midlands would be hit hardest by Britain quitting the European Union, according to an economic analysis which revealed that the number of jobs which are dependent on trade links with the bloc now exceeds 4 million.