Speculation is heating up in Brussels over this week’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. Many in the West suspect Russia to be behind the sabotage of the pipelines, but Moscow has denied any involvement, pointing the finger at the U.S. or Ukraine instead.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss this week held her first set of bilateral meetings with world leaders since taking office earlier this month. But there are questions about whether London can forge productive partnerships in a post-Brexit world with the U.S. and EU, and Truss’ meetings did little to assuage those doubts.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her annual State of the European Union speech to the EU Parliament this week, where she spoke of the EU’s solidarity and invigoration following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. But the rise of the far right in Italy and Sweden may undercut her message of unity.
Documents are flying around Brussels with various proposals to resolve Europe’s energy crisis, ahead of a pivotal emergency meeting of the EU’s energy ministers scheduled for tomorrow. But there remain several unanswered questions, including whether those proposals will be durable or sustainable in the long term.
European Union bureaucrats are busy figuring out how to implement the agreement reached this week in Prague by EU foreign ministers to end visa facilitation for Russian tourists visiting the union. But many of the bloc’s members fear that the policy could strengthen Putin’s hand and hurt ethnic Russians living in the union.