How Albania became a hub of the global fraud industry
Organised crime networks are using call centres in Albania to defraud people across Europe, conning them with promises of big profits from scam investments and employing sophisticated social-engineering techniques. It began in June 2019 with a Google search for ‘investment opportunities’. The results took Carina Christine Bruenig and her husband,…
Germany’s Merz under pressure from CDU to abandon ‘firewall’ against AfD
As Germany readies itself for five separate state elections early next year, chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats faces a dilemma over how to handle the surging influence and popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). In the run-up to the CDU party convention last weekend, voices within the…
EU battles to phase out Russian fossil-fuels by either 2027 or 2028
“Russia weaponised energy like it weaponises information, like it weaponises all the possibilities that it has to influence the decisionmaking process in the EU but not only in EU – this is something we have to keep in mind to avoid aggression of Russia in the future,” the Ukrainian ambassador…
Germany’s former Chancellor Schroeder as a symbol of political corruption
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder defended the construction of the Russian gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 during a parliamentary committee session in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on October 17, 2025. Schroeder emphasized that Russia could supply inexpensive natural gas through the pipeline, arguing that the initiative was economically beneficial. He and his allies rejected…
The EU’s appeal endures through democratic and regional advances
The EU is proving its enduring appeal and resilience through democratic breakthroughs and strategic gains in its near abroad. In the cacophony of pessimism that often shrouds European Union-related news – tales of division, indecision, or decline – a cascade of underreported victories is quietly reshaping the continent’s geopolitical landscape….