In February 2026, the UK Environment Agency (EA) announced a series of high-profile arrests in a packaging waste fraud case. Investigators suspect recycling market participants of manipulating Packaging Recovery Notes (PRN) — certificates confirming that packaging has been recycled. Yet the regulators themselves acknowledge that this is not an isolated…

Italy has become the leader among Schengen zone countries in the number of visas issued to Russian citizens. According to data from VFS Global — the world’s largest visa operator, serving embassies of more than 20 countries — the Italian visa operator VMS, which operates in many Russian cities, issued…

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the escalation of hybrid threats against Europe have forced Brussels and many European capitals to rethink their defence plans and doctrines. To build up and modernise the defence sector, the EU has launched a number of large-scale programmes: the Act in Support of Ammunition…

Until recently, Cyprus was perceived as a “safe haven” for Russian capital—a jurisdiction with light regulation, a favorable tax system, and strong ties to Russian business elites. However, by 2026 the situation has changed dramatically. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the tightening of European Union sanctions policy,…

February 2022 and the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marked a new turning point for Germany — a fundamental reassessment of the country’s position in the European security system, its military doctrine, and the restructuring of its economy. But does this represent mere adaptation to new threats, or is…