EU: Ukraine’s EU membership: still some way off – by Dorina Baltag

On Sunday, the fourth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appealed for it to be granted membership of the European Union. On Tuesday, members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved—with 637 votes in favour—a resolution which called for a range of measures and seemed to offer a European perspective to the country.

Ukraine expressed its interest in the EU soon after declaring its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. This was understood as a foreign-policy reorientation which would open new prospects for co-operation with western countries and bring modernisation and socio-economic development.

It was not however until after the Eastern Partnership was established in 2009 that the EU-Ukraine relationship was institutionalised, through the conclusion in 2014 of the Association Agreement. The agreement is a comprehensive document—circa 2,140 pages, including 46 annexes, three protocols and a joint declaration—published in the Official Journal. The detailed provisions imply alignment of Ukrainian laws and policies with the EU acquis, which requires extensive legislative and regulatory approximation, including sophisticated mechanisms to secure the uniform interpretation and effective implementation of relevant EU legislation.

Read more at: Ukraine’s EU membership: still some way off – Dorina Baltag

Ukraine-EU relations: Ukraine applies for European Union membership - by Rachel Treisman

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially signed an application for Ukraine's membership in the European Union, according to a post from his verified Facebook page.

"[Zelenskyy] has just signed a historical document — Ukraine's application for European Union membership," tweeted Andrii Sybiha, the deputy head of the president's office. Ukraine's prime minister and head of parliament also signed a joint statement, he added.

Read more at: Ukraine applies for European Union membership : NPR

Two Dutch ISIS women, three children escaped Syrian camp, fled to Turkey | NL Times

 Two Dutch women and three children escaped a Syrian prison camp in Al Hol and reported to the Dutch embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara with a request to return to the Netherlands, the government said in a letter to parliament on Thursday. "The women and children are currently in Turkish detention, awaiting prosecution and/or deportation by the Turkish authorities".

Read more at:  https://nltimes.nl/2019/11/01/two-dutch-isis-women-three-children-escaped-syrian-camp-fled-turkey

German - US relations: Germany rejects US demand for ground troops

Syria: Germany rejects US demand for ground troops.

It was also reported recently that the Netherlands will also not provide ground troops as requested by the US for Syria. 

Polls in Europe show that there is very little "appetite" in Europe for more, or additional military involvement in Syria or anywhere else in the Middle East, specially since the US pulled out of the multi-national nuclear agreement with Iran, and as such, created more unrest in the region.

The Netherlands will not provide ground troops for the new US mission in Syria, defence minister Ank Bijleveld told news agency ANP on Friday, following the weekly cabinet meeting.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Read more at
https://p.dw.com/p/3LkP3

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