The Polish editorial office ‘Belsat TV’, based in Minsk, Belarus, was systematically raided by the Belarussian police on the 21st of May 2021. Belsat TV was the last standing independent platform in Belarus under the rule of President Alexander Lukashenko. This was due to the approximately 500 arrests of journalists and media professionals since August … Continue reading The situation in Belarus
On July 15th, 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) reaffirmed the prohibition of wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace, thus supporting employers who restrict women from wearing Hijabs and other religious attires to their workplace, with the aim of maintaining a neutral … Continue reading The ban on Hijabs
Close to the end of June 2021, Hungary passed a law, imposing a ban on any LGBTIQ+ references for minors, which law led to several controversies in the EU. This implies that homosexual individuals are banned from appearing in educational matters or TV programmes in instances aimed for individuals under 18 years of age. This … Continue reading What actions can the EU take on Hungary’s situation?
Neil Agius, a 35 year old ex-Olympian broke the world record for the Longest Ocean Swim. This world record was previously held by the British Chloe McCardel with a distance of 124.4km. Neil Agius completed the 125.6km swim in 52 hours, which started from Linosa and ended in Gozo. The original route was from Tunisia … Continue reading Neil Agius breaks the world record!
The 24th of June 2021 marked another milestone for human rights. The European Parliament took a vote on a resolution that declares safe access to abortion as a human right. The resolution was passed with 378 votes in favour and 225 votes against. This resolution was proposed as a confrontation towards Member States that limit … Continue reading Abortion: A Human Right?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is known for being a global anti-money laundering watchdog, responsible for setting international standards to prevent illegal financial activities. After the vote taken yesterday among the FATF Task Force, the results showed a resounding agreement to list Malta on the Grey List of untrustworthy jurisdictions. The FATF updates two … Continue reading Malta Grey listed
The DB Group put forth a proposal to the Maltese Planning Authority consisting of a 31-storey tower and a 17-storey hotel located close to St George’s Bay in St Julians. Back in 2019, the approval of this project was halted by the Maltese Court as it was identified that one of the Planning Authority’s board … Continue reading The approval of DB Tower
As another term came to an end, on Monday 17th May 2021, ESO held its Annual General Meeting virtually on Zoom. AGM confirmed the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Public Relations Officer, Events Officer and International Office of the new executive team for the term 2021/2022. Furthermore, elections for Financial Officer, Media Officer, Social Policy … Continue reading Stqarrija: ESO AGM 2021
On Tuesday, the European Commission accepted the agreement which was concluded by the European Parliament and the Council on the revised rules of the Blue Card Directive. Amendments included more flexible admission conditions, enhanced rights and the possibility to move and work more easily between EU Member States. As stated by Ylva Johansson, the Commissioner … Continue reading A political agreement on new rules for EU Blue Card
On Thursday morning, it was announced that the European Parliament passed a motion in favour of a Commission proposal for the Digital Green Certificate, now renamed the EU COVID-19 Certificate. 540 MEPs voted in favour of the proposal, while 119 voted against, and a further 31 abstained from the vote. This digital certificate aims to … Continue reading European Parliament Approves EU COVID-19 Certificate for Travel
ESO - European Studies Organisation 