Stephan Israel

Stephan Israel has been writing from Brussels about the crises and construction sites of the EU since 2002, first for the NZZamSonntag, then for the Zurich Tages-Anzeiger. He grew up in Zurich, studied Science Politique at the University of Geneva, and entered journalism in Bern with the news The Associated Press (AP). From 1992 he was correspondent for Central and Southeastern Europe, first based in Vienna, later in Belgrade. Stephan Israel has reported on the war in the former Yugoslavia for the Frankfurter Rundschau, the Tagesspiegel and the Stuttgarter Zeitung, among others.

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Ukraine is pushing for the EU to expand energy sanctions against Moscow to include Russian LNG gas. Russia has been able to massively expand exports of liquefied natural gas to some EU states, Vladyslav Vlasyuk said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s sanctions adviser was at a coordination meeting in Brussels this week, where he urged a ban […] continue reading →

The United Kingdom is returning as a fully associated member to the €95.5 billion EU research program, Horizon Europe. London and Brussels announced the deal in a joint statement on Thursday. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that the agreement underscores the EU and the UK as key partners and allies, working together at […] continue reading →

The Foreign Ministry in Stockholm and the EU Commission have confirmed that a Swedish citizen has been held in Iran for more than 500 days on dubious charges. The New York Times reported on Monday about the 33-year-old man, whose name is said to be Johan Floderus and who was last employed by the European […] continue reading →

Chances are good that EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell will get his proposal on long-term funding for Ukraine military aid through before the end of the year. continue reading →

The EU is in danger of failing in its ambitious commitments to procure ammunition for Ukraine. The member states have so far delivered 224,000 artillery shells and 2300 missiles, EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell announced at the informal meeting of defense ministers in Toledo. Thus, at the halfway point, only a quarter of the […] continue reading →

The Ukrainian President does not get what he wanted from NATO in Vilnius. But Volodymyr Zelenskiy shows his gratitude nonetheless. continue reading →

The heads of state and government provide security assurances to Ukrainian President Zelenskiy but are divided on what these entail. continue reading →

Is the EU failing as a mediator between Belgrade and Pristina? On Monday, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell informed the EU foreign ministers about the latest escalation. There is criticism from the EU Parliament. continue reading →

How will NATO address Ukraine's demand for swift membership? This is also a matter of concern for the defense ministers of the alliance during their preparatory meeting in Brussels. continue reading →

On Wednesday, EU ambassadors moved closer to an agreement on the 11th sanctions package Brussels wants to use to close loopholes in the sanctions regime against Russia. The positions were in “98 percent” agreement, a diplomat said. In particular, Ukraine’s blacklist of “war profiteers” (including Western companies with developed business ties in Russia) remains a […] continue reading →

Forty-seven heads of state and government are expected in Moldova's capital today for the second European Political Community summit, originally an idea of Emmanuel Macron. continue reading →

EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell was able to announce an agreement after the meeting in Brussels on Monday: EU foreign ministers agreed on the eighth sanctions package against Iran. The punitive measures are directed against five individuals and two entities. New additions to the list include a commander of a Tehran police organization and […] continue reading →

The EU actually wanted to have its eleventh sanctions package against Russia in place by the time of the G7 summit in Japan. The focus was supposed to be on preventing circumvention deals and to go hand in hand with a joint sanctions package by the USA and Great Britain. That had been the plan, […] continue reading →

A China expert and journalist in the Netherlands has become the target of an intimidation campaign believed to be backed by Beijing. continue reading →

On Wednesday, the ambassadors of the EU states agreed on the legal text for the so-called Track 2 for the joint procurement of artillery shells and anti-aircraft missiles for Ukraine. The EU intends to finance projectiles, particularly of 155-millimeter caliber, with €1 billion from the European Peace Facility. After the political decision by the heads […] continue reading →

The new instrument to strengthen the European defense industry (EDIRPA) was actually intended for rapid deployment from 2022. Today it finally clears an important hurdle. A compromise is also in sight on joint ammunition procurement for Ukraine. continue reading →

The Commission briefed member states’ ambassadors on the plans for the 11th sanctions package against Russia over the weekend. Diplomats said the focus will be on closing gaps in the existing sanctions regime and preventing circumvention.The new EU sanctions coordinator, David O’Sullivan, is traveling through Central Asia and has already visited Turkey. On Wednesday, the […] continue reading →

Twice, the EU's foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell announced an agreement in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Twice, in retrospect, this has turned out to be half the truth. On Tuesday, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti will meet again in Brussels. continue reading →