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Türkiye has long been a strategic European Union partner on migration, security, and trade. However, following the attempted coup in 2016, Türkiye's democratic backsliding led the Council to freeze accession negotiations in 2018. Although relations have thawed, the EU is exploring a more realistic framework for bilateral relations. This 'At a glance' note has been produced at the request of a member of the European Committee of the Regions, in the framework of the cooperation agreement between the ...

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt, in Cairo on 17 March 2024, joined by the prime ministers of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. This meeting sealed the €7.4 billion EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership (the Partnership) to help boost Egypt's faltering economy and avert another migration crisis in Europe. Critics have raised concerns over the declared urgency of disbursing funds under this partnership without the ...

Since mid-November 2023, the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which controls large parts of Yemen, has attacked numerous Western commercial ships near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea. In response, major shipping companies have temporarily suspended Suez transits and diverted their trade. This diversion coincides with decreasing freight in another maritime chokepoint, the Panama Canal, provoked by lowered water levels. Rounding South Africa via the Cape of Good Hope is the shortest alternative ...

Cross-border parental child abductions in the EU are governed by The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and (except for Denmark) the Brussels II-ter Regulation. Countries outside of the EU may or may not be Contracting States to ‘the Convention’, but will not be bound by Brussels II-ter. Research has found that the often negative, long-lasting impact of abduction may continue throughout the lifecycle of those who have been abducted. It may also affect future ...

This infographic examines some economic differences and similarities among countries of the Gulf region and the EU, like GDP growth, GDP per capita and female labour force participation rate. In terms of trade, the Gulf region stands already as an important source of oil and gas for the EU, these products contributing almost two-third of total imports of the latter from the Gulf region.

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) covers Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. It consists of bilateral policies between the EU and the 10 individual partner countries, plus a regional cooperation framework, the Union for the Mediterranean. The EU boosted support for democratic transformation under the ENP in 2011, in response to the uprisings in its southern neighbourhood. It further reviewed the ENP in 2015.

More than 90 % of people who cross the external borders of the European Union (EU) irregularly do so with the assistance of migrant smugglers. The facilitation of irregular migration is a highly profitable criminal activity, given the relatively low risks incurred by the perpetrators. Detections of irregular border crossings are at their highest levels since 2016, yet demand for migration facilitation services has also risen to a new high. This high demand is not only due to the fact that people ...

EU Cooperation with African countries and the African Union (AU) is based on two distinct frameworks: namely (a) the Partnership Agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states and (b) the Joint Africa-EU strategy. The Partnership Agreement, which was signed in Cotonou (Benin) in 2000 between the EU and the ACP States and which has formed the legal foundation of the political, economic and development dimensions of the partnership for over 20 years, is in the process of being replaced ...

The European Union has been the biggest provider of external assistance to the Palestinian people for many years. Between 2014 and 2020, the EU allocated €2.2 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians. EU assistance to the Palestinians through the European Joint Strategy 2021-2024 amounts, indicatively, to €1.18 billion. EU financial assistance to Palestine* consists of different financial tools. The largest part of the assistance falls under the Neighbourhood, Development and International ...

Respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights is a core value of the EU, which it promotes through its policies. The European Parliament's Sakharov Prize honours the work of those who stand up for these freedoms and rights. With peace and human rights under increased attack today, the prize remains as relevant as ever. This year it has been awarded to the late Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran. The award ceremony will be held during the European Parliament's December ...