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In recent weeks, the unbelievable story of corruption of parliaments across Europe by the Caspian autocracy of Azerbaijan has created big waves in Germany. For the Aliyev regime, almost two decades of efforts to aggressively undermine democratic institutions remained without consequences.
EU ima snažan politički i ekonomski interes da svim zainteresovanim zemljama zapadnog Balkana ponudi mogućnost da se pridruže jedinstvenom tržištu EU, kao međukoraku u reformisanom procesu pristupanja EU iz dva koraka. Zemlje i ekonomije mogu sustići u razvoju. Da bi se to dogodila proces pristupanja mora biti vjerodostojan, zasnovan na zaslugama i ozbiljan. To se događalo i prije. Može se desiti ponovo.
The EU has a strong political and economic incentive to offer to any interested Western Balkan nation the chance to join its Single Market as an interim goal in a reformed two-stage EU accession process. Countries and economies can catch up. For this it must be credible, merit based and serious. It has happened before. It can happen again.
It is crucial to have a rule of law protection mechanism that unambiguously and concretely protects national judiciaries and the effective application of EU law at the national level.
Why should Germans, Dutch, Swedes and their leaders care about a possible tragedy on distant Greek islands where more than 40,000 refugees and migrants live crammed together in dismal sanitary conditions?
The EU and Turkey have a common interest to support more than 3.5 million refugees now in Turkey; to control mobility in the face of the biggest public health crisis in a century: and to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 2 million displaced near the Turkish border in Syria.
It is in The Gambia's interest to see its diaspora thrive in Germany. It is not in its interest to see it disappear. It is The Gambia's interest to help those in Germany who want an agreement.
EU Balkan enlargement is only possible if it is deeply transformative. None of the current candidates and potential candidates have a chance of joining without a deep transformation.
What is needed is a process that does not replace accession and yet is different; a process that promises EU influence and is also attractive and credible to Balkan publics and leaders.
Nobody in The Gambia wants a return to the tragedy of recent years, when tens of thousands were captured and mistreated in Libya and huge numbers died on the "backway" to Europe.
L'UE doit également prouver qu'elle honore sa parole face aux dirigeants qui s'emploient à établir des relations avec leurs voisins et avec les minorités dans un véritable esprit de réconciliation.
Komisja Europejska musi jak najszybciej zaskarżyć Polskę do Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej (TSUE) za naruszenie podstawowych wartości i zasad UE, koncentrując się na procedurach dyscyplinarnych i kontroli władzy wykonawczej nad sędziami.
The European Commission needs to take Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as soon as possible for infringement of the EU's fundamental values and principles, focusing on disciplinary procedures and the executive's control over judges.
The legitimacy of the Council of Europe matters. Its destruction would be a harbinger of much worse to come. What is needed are bold measures, both in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
This is the right moment for European democracies to send a strong signal that certain red lines should not be crossed and that certain types of behaviour are intolerable and unacceptable.
They have called for "cleaning our cities, street by street" and "mass expulsions". With so little to distinguish their views they are in fact ideological twins: Viktor and Matteo, defenders of a darker, illiberal Europe.
