Historically, Russia’s geographic vulnerability has made establishing buffer zones critical to its national security. Erosion of the buffer, as in NATO expansion eastward, is viewed by the Kremlin as a threat to vital security interests. Russia is a continental power vulnerable to land attack and in the past has suffered tremendous devastation from large, powerful neighbors. For Russia buffer zones are critical to defend the country’s extensive borders.

There are three fundamental pillars for a remote work strategy:

Pillar One is focused on creating a conducive environment for the adoption of remote work. As remote working is a new way of working, it will need new and different measures in place to support it into the future. Changes to how and where people work will have impacts on a number of different areas such as the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, health and safety legislation and tax arrangements. The actions in this pillar are centred on supporting employers and employees.

In the end, there is no question that Kyiv will have to find a way forward with Moscow, either through both sides implementing their commitments in the Minsk agreements (in whatever order they can agree to) or some new deal that covers much of the same ground. Any plausible settlement will involve the withdrawal of Russian troops, some level of autonomy for eastern Ukraine and the reunification of Ukraine with its east. Although Moscow remains the main address for peace talks, there nonetheless are good reasons for Kyiv to do more to rebuild relations with its eastern population.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has initiated the creation of the Crimean Platform. The Crimean Platform is to be launched during a summit on 23 August 2021 in Kyiv. The aim is to elaborate a long-term strategic vision of the de-occupation of Crimea, both at the national level and in the international arena. The National Security Council of Ukraine is working on a comprehensive de-occupation strategy. The Crimean Platform will become a foreign policy instrument of the de-occupation strategy.

Source : European People’s Party (EPP) March 2021

EU policy regarding China should be based on the following principles: Cooperate where possible; Compete where needed; Confront where necessary. This approach allows the EU to react to the evolution of the bilateral relationship with flexibility.

Beijing’s policies in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and to some extent throughout the Western Pacific, are exhibiting greater assertiveness to match its’s rising military clout. As its military power has expanded, China’s behavior has become noticeably more assertive, if not aggressive, in such locales as the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea. In the East China Sea, Beijing is contesting Japan’s control of the Senkaku islands and pressing its own claim to that territory.

The EU vaccine strategy was supposed to be a forceful show of European solidarity, an assertion of the single market’s buying power and a moral stand against Trumpian “vaccine nationalism” resulted in a rollout that has left the EU lagging behind the United Kingdom and the United States. Here are some of the reasons:

Source: Politico

#SustainablePublicAffairs: Doriane Marin has joined public affairs consultancy #SustainablePublicAffairs.

Afore Consuting: Jonathan Taylor, a former vice president of the European Investment Bank and director general at HM Treasury, has joined Afore Consulting as a senior adviser to work on banking and financial services, as well as sustainability issues.

List of countries where French is the official language

1. Bénin
2. Burkina Faso
3. Congo
4. Democratic Republic of Congo
5. Côte d’Ivoire
6. France (Metropolitan France and Overseas France)
7. Gabon
8. Guinea
9. Mali
10. Monaco
11. Niger
12. Senegal
13. Togo

List of countries where French is used as a co-official language alongside one or more other languages

Author: Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC)

When it comes to Russia, a clear, coherent U.S. strategy has been virtually non-existent. There has been a failure on behalf of administrations in Washington to demarcate their priorities and take actions that complement America's purported values in Moscow's relationship. The United States' foreign policy towards Russia has failed and will continue to fail until policymakers in Washington develop a coherent strategy that identifies their priorities and embeds them into action.