Many boats have left North Africa and have been heading to the Italian island of Lampedusa – such as these migrants who arrived earlier this year in February. More than 4,000 migrants have arrived on Europe’s shores by boat in the past two days, with the Italian government calling the crisis ‘increasingly glaring’. The emergency comes days after Italy’s Home Secretary Angelino... 

NSA headquarters US officials on Friday slammed plans to construct an EU-centric communication system, designed to prevent emails and phone calls from being swept up by the NSA, warning that such a move is a violation of trade laws. Calling Europe’s proposal to build its own integrated communication system “draconian,” the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said American tech companies,... 

Hungarians have begun voting in the country’s parliamentary elections, which are likely to bring another victory for the ruling right-wing Fidesz party. Voting stations opened at 6:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Sunday and are due to close at 7:00 p.m. local time (1700 GMT), with exit polls expected soon afterwards. The National Election Office announced that by 0700 GMT some 9.5 percent of voters... 

On the 65th anniversary of NATO, the debate over the organization’s expansion remains highly contentious, with some viewing it as a broken promise to Russia after the fall of the Iron Curtain. NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty, was signed on April 4, 1949 when the US, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland joined the members of the Treaty... 

In one of its most shocking reports since the beginning of the Ukrainian Crisis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is warning today that President Putin has ordered the immediate implementation of “Project Double Eagle,” which when fully realized will cause all global energy supplies to be purchased in gold thus, in effect, ending the US Dollar reign as the global reverse currency and collapsing... 

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg clash over the EU and Ukraine during a televised debate. The two politicians clashed over whether the UK should remain in the European Union (EU) or leave the bloc during a televised debate on BBC on Wednesday. Clegg called his anti-EU opponent an isolationist, warning that an in/out referendum on Britain’s... 

Thousands of people celebrate with Kosovo and Albanian flags in Pristina on February 17, 2009 (L). Sevastopol residents at a celebratory show held after the referendum on Crimea’s status (R). The West has so far refused to legitimize Crimea’s decision to secede from Ukraine. Yet Kosovo, which was a part of Serbia, also broke away from its parent country, but has been recognized by the US and... 

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (R) and Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk sign the political provisions of the Association Agreement on March 20, 2014. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy says Ukraine’s interim government has signed the “political” provisions of an association agreement with the EU. “Signing [the] political part [of the] EU-Ukraine Association... 

Portugal, a member of the EU since 1986, is rapidly losing its population due to significant emigration. In terms of the economic indicators Portugal is approaching the level of the least developed countries in the Eastern Europe. The decline became particularly rapid three years ago, when Portugal began to receive financial assistance from the EU. Isn’t it an odd coincidence? The country is... 

Senior officials from Kuwait’s foreign and interior ministries have ended a twoday visit to Brussels after discussions and meetings with EU officials that focused on lifting of Schengen visa for Kuwaiti citizens. Ambassador Walid Alkhobaizi, director of Europe department at Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) and Kuwait TV that they were tasked by the First Deputy Prime Minister... 

Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk Ukraine’s interim prime minister says the country will likely sign a long-awaited political accord with the European Union next week. Arseniy Yatsenyuk made the announcement on Wednesday, after talks with US President Barack Obama at the White House. “I’m sure that next week Ukraine is to sign the political part of the association agreement... 

The EU threatens the abolition of its trade agreement with the US, and other deals, if blanket surveillance by the NSA on EU citizens doesn’t stop. MEPs announced a resolution that wraps up a six-month inquiry into America’s violation of data privacy. Edward Snowden became one of the pillars of this resolution, following an invitation from the European Parliament to provide testimony for the inquiry.... 

Russia is ready to retaliate with counter sanctions against the EU and US if they go ahead with economic measures against Russia over tension in Crimea, the Russian Economic Ministry has said. “We hope that there will only be targeted political sanctions, and not a broad package affecting economic trade,” Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksey Likhachev said. “Our sanctions will be,... 

Russia has defended a decision by Ukraine’s Crimean authorities to hold a referendum as the standoff between Moscow and the West over the crisis-hit Eastern European country continues. Speaking by telephone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said steps taken by authorities in Crimea were “based on international... 

National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden answered questions before the European Parliament on Friday, saying that the United States spy agency pressures its allies to take steps towards further enabling widespread and indiscriminate surveillance. “One of the foremost activities of the NSA’s FAD, or Foreign Affairs Division, is to pressure or incentivize EU member states to change their...