Articles

According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Israel is not doing enough to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Yet, it need not fear sanctions from the EU. Dutch minister Veldkamp calls it a success that the sanctions proposed by Kallas are still on the table, in case Israel fails to comply with EU agreements on allowing more humanitarian aid. Still, Veldkamp himself will never support the proposed sanctions package, especially the economic measures. After all, Israel is a crucial trade partner for the Netherlands. Delaying concrete action is therefore not a diplomatic success, but rather a cover-up meant to conceal the absence of political action.

On the night from Thursday to Friday, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Iran, claiming it aimed to neutralize the nuclear threat. This escalation in the Middle East marks a dangerous low point and is being followed with grave concern across the globe. Civilian casualties are mounting on both sides: 24 in Israel so far, and over 200 in Iran.

This past Sunday night, Europe suffered yet another blow in a short span of time: Poland, too, elected a eurosceptic president. Karol Nawrocki won the nail-biting election race with his conservative-nationalist platform, defeating his pro-European rival, Rafal Trzaskowski. Poland’s shift to the right once again raises the question: what explains the global turn toward (far) right-wing ideologies? Economic or cultural developments such as globalization or emancipation movements are often cited. But the real explanation — and the solution — for the “shift to the right” lies much closer to home.

On Friday, May 2nd, a key meeting was scheduled to take place in Rome between Iran and the E3: France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Although the talks were cancelled for unknown reasons, European leaders will inevitably have to sit down with Iran. In October 2025, the UN resolution endorsing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will expire. Under this agreement—also known as the Iran Deal—Iran agreed in 2015 to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the easing of Western sanctions.

In December 2024, after more than fifty years, the reign of terror and oppression by the Assad regime in Syria came to an end. The country is now working toward a future under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While the international community is focused on the direction HTS will take, an arguably even more important question is being overshadowed: what will happen to the economic sanctions imposed by Western countries since 2011?