Read more about the article The Council of the EU tops up the European Peace Facility financial ceiling by an additional €3.5 billion
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The Council of the EU tops up the European Peace Facility financial ceiling by an additional €3.5 billion

On 26 June, 2023, EU ministers adopted a decision to raise the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility (EPF) by an additional €3.5 billion. This is the second top-up in only six months, with the first one (worth €2 billion) being agreed upon on 12 December, 2022 (Council of the EU, 2022) and operationalised on 13 March this year. As commented upon by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, this step provides the Union with the necessary funding to remain steadfast in “delivering concrete military support to our partners’ armed forces” (Council of the EU, 2023).

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17 July 2023
Read more about the article Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid
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Playing the Long Game: Hungarian Parliament Continues to delay Sweden’s NATO Accession Bid

On 28 June 2023, the Hungarian Parliament’s House Committee rejected a proposal to schedule a weekly plenary vote ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership bid (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2023). Incidentally, this is the final week of the chamber’s spring session, meaning that Parliamentarians will not return until the ordinary autumn sessions start in late August or early September. Therefore, the only chance to vote on Stockholm’s accession to the alliance is through an extraordinary session, which may only convene upon a motion by the President, the Government or one-fifth of the Parliament’s members (Hungarian National Assembly, n.d.).

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14 July 2023
Read more about the article Will Modi’s Recent State Visit to Washington Impact India’s Foreign Policy Ahead of the SCO?
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Will Modi’s Recent State Visit to Washington Impact India’s Foreign Policy Ahead of the SCO?

The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a four-day state visit in the United States from the 21st to the 24th of June (Chatterjee-Miller, 2023;Pandey, 2023). The leaders reached numerous agreements on tariffs, manufacturing and green energy targets (Chatterjee Miller 2023). However, the most significant agreements discussed regarded defence and security. The US company General Electric will provide fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.

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12 July 2023
Read more about the article Italy & Saudi Arabia: From Arms Embargo to Enhanced Diplomatic Ties
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Italy & Saudi Arabia: From Arms Embargo to Enhanced Diplomatic Ties

On 31 May 2023, the Italian government announced an end to the embargo on the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia (Armellini & Adler, 2023). Italy maintained the ban between 2019 and 2020 following the escalation of Saudi Arabia’s violence against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen (Middle East Monitor, 2023)

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4 July 2023
Read more about the article Germany Prepares Permanent Force in Lithuania
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Germany Prepares Permanent Force in Lithuania

Germany is preparing to permanently station 4,000 troops in Lithuania to strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank. This was announced by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius during a visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Monday (The Associated Press, 2023). “We explicitly acknowledge our responsibility and our obligation as a NATO member state, as the largest economy in Europe, to stand up for the protection of the eastern flank”, Pistorius stated (Pitel & Foy, 2023). Pistorius was accompanied by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who welcomed this announcement and praised Germany for its dedication to NATO’s collective defence strategy (The Associated Press, 2023).

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28 June 2023