Philippe Gelie

Dec 9, 2024 | eurotopics.net | Francesca Sforza |Eric Frey |Philippe Gelie |Katharina Schuler

11 December 2024In the wake of Assad's fall from power, several European states have suspended asylum proceedings for Syrians and plan to rethink their policies regarding refugees from the country. Around six million people have fled Syria since the outbreak of civil war in 2011. Commentators question whether the conditions for a safe return are in place - and whether this is the debate Europe should be focusing on right now.

Oct 17, 2024 | eurotopics.net | Andreas Lieb |Philippe Gelie |Klaus Geiger |de Leo Andreina

There is no migration crisis, El País emphasises: “There is no urgency or exceptional situation: according to Frontex data the influx of irregular migrants to the EU is gradually decreasing. ... The figures tell one story, but the political narrative is going in the other direction, dictated by the far-right. ...

Sep 17, 2024 | eurotopics.net | Thomas Mayer |Claudio Tito |Hubert Wetzel |Philippe Gelie

French President Macron is kowtowing to the President of the European Commission, Le Figaro complains: “By replacing the sharp edges of the former captain of industry with the polished edges of his current foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, he is bowing above all to von der Leyen's authoritarianism and her avowed allergy to the French activist. ...

May 6, 2024 | eurotopics.net | Philippe Gelie |Marie Holzman |Lorenzo Lamperti |Nico Tanghe

Jinping will also visit Hungary and Serbia, but Croatia should by no means attempt to emulate these countries' foreign policy, Jutarnji list advises: “Budapest sees itself as a gateway to the East, and Serbia believes that China, like the West, will accept its multi-vector foreign policy. Putting aside all strategic issues, the worrying insight is that the Chinese president is visiting two countries that share his supportive stance for the war in Ukraine. ...

May 6, 2024 | eurotopics.net | Christoph B. Schiltz |Dilnur Reyhan |Philippe Gelie |Marie Holzman

China's head of state Xi Jinping is visiting Europe. At a meeting with Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Monday, the EU Commission President accused Xi of "flooding" Europe's market with subsidised goods and threatened to take "tough measures" and push for "fair and not distorted" competition with China. Xi visited Serbia on Tuesday and is in Hungary today, Wednesday. Commentators discuss how the Chinese leader and EU leaders are measuring up.