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Natural hazards, armed conflicts, human-induced or amplified disasters, and often, complex crises – a combination of these may result in humanitarian emergencies. Meeting complex humanitarian needs, especially in resource-scarce environments, requires intervention beyond national capacities. Therefore, broader humanitarian action is essential to save lives, preserve the health and dignity of victims, assist recovery, and improve prevention, preparedness and resilience. This action encompasses humanitarian ...

On 9 December 2022, 20 years after the signature of the EU-Chile Association Agreement in 2002, the EU and Chile reached an agreement in principle on a new EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement, which comprises modernised trade and political and cooperation pillars. Negotiations were launched in November 2017, based on a Council negotiating mandate, which was the first-ever to have been published prior to the start of negotiations. Although the trade pillar had operated smoothly and led to an expansion ...

On 6 December 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the four founding members of Mercosur – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – reached a political agreement on the trade pillar of the EU-Mercosur association agreement. Additional negotiations had taken place since March 2023 to address various concerns sparked by an earlier 2019 agreement in principle. While the legal basis of the text, now referred to as the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement, is still unknown, several ...

Economic security has become crucial for the EU. Both the Letta Report on the future of the single market and the Draghi Report on the future of European competitiveness emphasise the need to intensify efforts to secure the EU's supply of critical raw materials (CRM). Europe is vulnerable to both coercion and geo-economic fragmentation because of its high dependency on strategic raw materials from countries with which the EU is not strategically aligned. Diversifying imports of strategic raw materials ...

Respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights is a core value of the European Union (EU), and one that is promoted through its policies. The European Parliament's Sakharov Prize honours the work of people who stand up for these freedoms and rights. This year's Sakharov Prize is to be awarded to María Corina Machado, leader of Venezuela's democratic forces, and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia. They represent all Venezuelans both inside and outside the country who are fighting to restore ...

Leaders met in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November 2024 for the 19th summit of the G20, hosted by the Brazilian G20 presidency. The meeting was overshadowed by events that are further increasing divisions among the world's leading and emerging economies: Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which entered its 1 000th day, the escalating conflict in the Middle East, and the election to a second term of President Donald Trump, whose 'America First' approach to foreign policy includes threats to ...

A sharp deterioration in the population's health, as well as in healthcare systems, is often the consequence of armed conflicts, natural hazards or human-made disasters, of which there have been many in recent times. The European Union (EU), a significant global humanitarian player, views health as an essential part of its assistance.

The European Union’s policies influence third country trading partners’ domestic policy in different ways. Unilateral legislation in the green and digital fields, for example, contribute to setting global standards as traders must comply with EU requirements to access the Single market. The digital transition cooperation between Africa and the EU could lead to further regulatory convergence in the digital field. The EU's human-centric approach to digital policy, fostering consumer protection and ...

Since Russia started its war of aggression against Ukraine by illegally annexing the Crimean peninsula, it has been seeking to foster relations with countries in the Global South that are not firmly aligned with the Western world. In 2023, a change in Russia's foreign policy of 2016 placed a greater emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Africa, where the Kremlin has been building influence since the Soviet era. Russia's strategic goal is to counter the United States presence in the ...

Kaja Kallas served as the prime minister of Estonia from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, she was awarded the Walther Rathenau Prize in recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in foreign policy. Having joined the Estonian Reform Party in 2011, Kallas has been its leader since April 2018. From 2011 to 2014, she was a member of the Estonian Parliament (12th Riigikogu) and served as chair of its Economic Affairs Committee (2011). She was also a member of the 14th Riigikogu (2019 to 2021). As a Member ...