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In defence of negotiations

At first glance, the Social Democratic basic values of liberty, justice, and solidarity seem to command one – and only one – obvious course of action regarding the war in Ukraine. The Russian attack is a flagrant violation of everything Social Democracy stands for: liberty is under attack and justice is undermined. Full solidarity is […]

A war of the 20th century and challenges of the 21st one

The terms and the time horizon of a peace solution in Ukraine remain highly uncertain and will shape our possible futures for the times ahead. But this should not delay a stronger response to the challenges of the 21st century we are confronted with. The outlook for 2023 clearly shows that we are entering a […]

Latvia: elections in the shadow of war

In the Latvian parliamentary elections on 1 October, the main ‘player’ was the war started by the neighbouring country Russia in Ukraine. The war indirectly determined both the winners and the losers of these elections. All four parties that achieved the highest results in the previous elections were pushed below the 5 per cent parliamentary […]

The better part of valour: peace for Ukraine

Not discretion, but clarity is the better part of valour. Ukraine has courageously resisted the imperialist assault on its sovereignty by Russia, whose most important war aim is to reach back to Peter the Great. Russia wants access to warm-water ports, and buffers against invasion to its West and North. Whatever the successes of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine, these aims have all been tainted in one way or another.

A new direction for a more European NATO

When, back in 2021, as the Foreign Minister of Spain, I approached NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about Spain hosting the 2022 Summit, I could not anticipate the very specific circumstances that the alliance faces today. I could not have imagined how decisive the Madrid summit would be for peace and stability in Europe.

Stop feeding the bear – the European Green Deal can be Putin’s kryptonite

When Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, Europeans had a simple choice: increase or decrease their energy dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Europeans chose to increase. National governments like Spain and France could have freed themselves from Russian gas just by implementing their own national building renovation plans. But they chose not to.

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