Lithuania has become the 19th member of the euro joining its Baltic neighbours Estonia and Latvia. It is also expected to be the last to enter the monetary union for several years. This is a move with geopolitical and economic implications. The country comes on board the Eurozone with a growing economy.
In a lukewarm compromise among its main parties, the European Parliament declared on 17 December 2014 that it “supports in principle recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution, and believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced.” This comes in the wake of similar, and stronger, votes in European national parliaments. It is not enough; the EU needs to drastically review its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in light of the growing sense of unease across Europe regarding Israel’s aggressive settlement policy, and the lack of progress in the peace process.
Ukraine, Russia and the European Union have agreed on a deal that would secure the resumption of Russian natural gas flowing to Ukraine in time for winter.
