Photo by Mohammad Wasim on Unsplash An exhibition has been organized as part of the 74th International Astronautical Congress. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their son Heydar Aliyev attended the opening of the exhibition. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony symbolizing the opening of the exhibition, the attendees familiarised themselves with the stands of participating companies. The pavilion of the exhibition, installed on an area of 8,000 square meters, features the stands of 150 companies representing 36 countries. The ..read more

Photo by Alexandr Bormotin on Unsplash At a time when the Western world is pressurising Moscow with sanctions, many world-renowned companies continue to operate in Russia. Among them are Leroy Merlin, JT Group, Philip Morris, Ritter Sport, Raiffeisen Bank, Mondi, Mondelez, Mars, Unilever and others. In 2022, Ritter Sport increased profits by 91 per cent, Mondelez by 38 per cent, Japan tobacco by 26 per cent, Mars by 20 per cent and Mondi by 15 per cent. The biggest beneficiary of the blood business in Russia was Raiffeisen Bank, which quadrupled its profits. The Japanese-German ..read more

Photo by Nauris Pūķis on Unsplash Members of the European Parliament have assessed the written answers of Commissioner-designates Wopke Hoekstra (Climate Action) and Maroš Šefčovič (Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Deal).   The EPP Group said it “fully” endorses the nomination of Hoekstra as the new European Commissioner for Climate Action while the Socialists and Democrats have  say they have decided to endorse both appointments.    Elsewhere, the Greens/EFA Group have been involved in negotiations to secure “clear commitments from the Commiss ..read more

Photo by Joel & Jasmin Førestbird on Unsplash Member states have appointed a new European prosecutor to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Miranda de Meijer will serve a term for a non-renewable period of six years which will start on 1 November. This appointment takes place in the context of the partial renewal of the EPPO College.  As part of the transitional rules for the first term of office following the creation of the EPPO the European prosecutors from one third of the member states, determined by drawing lots, were to hold a three year non-renewable mandat ..read more

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash Economic relations are one of the important elements of civil society. They cannot appear and develop by themselves, but are formed under the influence of the state and society. If society has an influence on the economy through social norms, the state ensures its development based on the laws it adopts, writes Furqat Yunusov. The changes introduced in the new Constitution are significant in that they are aimed at ensuring the stable development of the national economy by reducing the role of the state in the economy, minimising the use of administrative regula ..read more

Photo by Andy Newton on Unsplash   In 2020 the UK finally left the EU, three years after the referendum and nearly fifty years since it joined what was then called the European Economic Community.  Nigel Farage confidently forecast that other Member States would soon follow suit, and that “after Brexit, the EU will no longer exist”. As usual he was 100% wrong.  More candidate countries are applying to join, while the debate on whether Northern Ireland and Scotland should leave the UK continues unabated. Remainers were right that Brexit would create more problems t ..read more

Photo by Yubin Zhou on Unsplash The EU and China have held high level talks about closer cooperation on common global challenges. A statement from the European Commission said, “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has had a severe impact on the global economy.” This, it said, had “triggered a humanitarian crisis and aggravating food and energy security challenges.” EC Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis called on China to “play a constructive role in ensuring lasting peace and mitigating the economic consequences of the war.” Dombrovskis met Ch ..read more

Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash Concern has been voiced after a Roma camp has come under suspected far-right attack.   The incident comes in the light of increasing social tensions in Italy,   A Molotov bomb was  reportedly thrown from a slowly moving Fiat Punto that drove past the Sinti village in San Giorgio a Colonica a Prato near Florence, in Italy.      The bomb set the entrance to the village on fire. Though luckily no one was injured, the fire caused significant material damage, including the destruction of a village wo ..read more

Photo by Orkhan Farmanli on Unsplash In a lightning operation earlier this week Azerbaijan disarmed the military infrastructure in Karabakh and dissolved the political system, describing the action as a solution to the peaceful reintegration of Armenians from Karabakh into the political and economic system of Azerbaijan. Very soon after the first military engagements began the EU issued a statement condemning the military escalation along the Line of Contact and in other locations in Karabakh.  “This military escalation should not be used as a pretext to force the exodus of ..read more

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash The Russian War and growing migration issues have forced MEPs to bolster the relevant budgetary areas by €2 billion.   On Wednesday, the Budgets Committee of the EU parliament set out its position on the reform of the EU’s long-term budget, emphasizing the urgency to “future-proof the EU budget.”   Members endorsed an extra €10 billion for the years 2024-2027. They have allocated an additional €3 billion towards the new STEP Platform and earmarked €5 billion to enhance the EU’s ability to respond to unforeseen crises.   As f ..read more