Tag: EU
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European GDP and industrial production rise slightly in Q2
According to the latest Eurostat figures, the EU’s GDP for the second quarter of this year grew by 0.5%, while employment increased by 0.1%. GDP increased by 0.4% in the Euro area. The latest figures show an improvement from the first quarter of the year, when GDP remained stable in the Euro area and increased…
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Morocco wants Ceuta: EU still providing Morocco with funds to supposedly control its border
Moroccan Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi has made controversial comments on Moroccan television announcing that Morocco seeks to annex the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The Justice Minister made this comments as he was discussing the Ceuta migrant crisis on Saudi-television Asharq News last Tuesday. The Minister said that the Moroccan government engages in regularly…
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Spain imposes border controls on arrivals from Italy until the end of August in tit-for-tat border dispute
The Italian government instituted border checks on non-EU nationals arriving from Spain following the Ceuta crisis, but the Spanish government has responded by introducing border checks on all Italian passengers arriving in Spain until the end of August. The tit-for-tat border dispute began after the Italian government raised the alarm over the border incident in…
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European Union’s GDP grows by 1.5% in 2025: Malta at 4%
The European Union’s GDP grew by 1.5% from 2024 to 2025, accelerating slightly from the 1.1% growth registered in 2024, according to the latest Eurostat figures. Malta significantly outpaced the European average, with its economy expanding by 4.0% in real terms during 2025. This made Malta the second-fastest-growing economy in the European Union, behind Ireland,…
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Malta affirms support for Spain after agreeing to an urgent meeting in response to the Ceuta border crisis
European interior and security ministers met online for an extraordinary Council meeting chaired by the Irish Presidency in response to the Ceuta border crisis. The meeting was called by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and many European countries, including Malta, endorsed the call. Following the meeting, Malta issued a statement declaring its support for and…
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Burglaries increase in Malta in 2024 but still down by 18% since Covid Pandemic: -3.1% in the EU
Burglaries in Malta went down by 18.4% in 2024 compared to their 2019 level going down from 5,187 to 4,235 according to the latest Eurostat figures. Comparatively, they went down more significantly than the EU’s average which went down by 3.1%, falling from approximately 5.43 million in 2019 to 5.26 million in 2024. The largest percentage…
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Europe and the US strengthen their ties with the Philippines as China keeps encroaching on the Philippine’s Maritime Waters
During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 33rd ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial in Manila last week, both the United States and the European Union reaffirmed and strengthened their relations with the Philippines as China continued its increasingly belligerent activities in the maritime territory of the Philippines. Chinese Coast Guard personnel confronted Philippine Navy personnel…
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EU Council approves 21st sanctions package: EU High Representative says EU mission in the Red Sea will protect commercial shipping
The EU Council has adopted the 21st sanctions package against Russia after agreeing to a derogation addressing Greece’s objections to the proposed restrictions. Greece opposed the ban on EU operators transferring Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries. Under the final rules, such transfers may continue temporarily under qualifying long-term contracts concluded before 24 February…
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The EU boards its first Russian shadow fleet tanker
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas announced that on Monday 20th July, the EU has boarded the vessel, South Star suspected of carrying a false Cameroonian flag and conducted an inspection of the vessel. However, the EU did not seize the vessel. The vessel is suspected of being part of Russia’s shadow fleet network and was…
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Malta keeps failing rule-of-law test as EU Commission highlights decade-long trials and corruption backlog
Malta has once again received a negative assessment from the European Commission, which found that the country had made no progress on several long-standing rule-of-law reforms and only limited progress in tackling high-level corruption, protecting journalists and opening the legislative process to public scrutiny. The Commission’s 2026 Rule of Law Report, published on 17 July,…
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European Union extends security agreements with Djibouti
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas travelled to Djibouti and extended the EU’s security and economic agreements with the host country. These agreements are essential to ensure that one of the world’s most important chokepoints — the Bab al-Mandab Strait — remains open for international shipping. The High Representative signed the EU-Djibouti Status of Forces Agreement…
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Europe to defend its skies with Ukrainian drones
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv yesterday, where she and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a new EU–Ukraine Defence Industrial Partnership and signed a letter of intent marking the first step towards a broader Drone Deal between Ukraine and the European Union. The partnership aims to import and integrate Ukraine’s battlefield-tested expertise…