The main topic of the meeting between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday will be issues related to a trade agreement between the parties after Brexit, the office of the head of the British cabinet said. "It is expected that he (Prime Minister) will tell Chairman von der Leyen that the citizens of Britain and Europe...

The tender around the modernization of the Bulgarian army, in dire need of an upgrade, is entering the political phase… The unusual characteristics of the request for proposals is an indication that defense minister Krasimir Karakachanov may already have made his decision, disregarding actual characteristics of future offers, in order to please US allies. A choice, if confirmed, which may result...

Next year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense plans to begin modernizing its missile defense system to ensure the ability to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles, the Sankei newspaper reported. According to the publication, it is planned to improve the existing Japanese missile defense system, equipped with SAM-4 medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. It is expected that the modernization work...

After several successful but sector-specific military industrial partnerships, Italy may be the first to answer France and Germany’s call to finally unite Europe around defense matters. Over past decades, the landscape has considerably changed with many players dropping out of the market, and the future of Europe’s defense lies in the continental partnership. Not a leader, but not out of the...

Italian Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti told Reuters that he had resigned after he could not get additional funding from the government. According to Fioramonti, billions of euro are needed by his ministry to improve the country's schools and universities. The minister told Reuters that he notified Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of his “irrevocable resignation” in a letter dated December...

Although the size of shadow economies in European countries declined during the post-crisis years, it remains significant, especially in Eastern Europe. Since the size of the informal sector in local developing economies directly depends on the quality of regulation, government efficiency and the level of development of human capital, it is possible to deal with it only in a comprehensive way,...

A group of Venezuelan oppositionists attacked a military unit on the border with Brazil, at least one soldier died, Venezuelan defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez tweeted. According to him, they seized part of the weapon, but the military returned it and detained several attackers, whom Lopez described as "opposition extremist sectors," and the incident called it a "terrorist attack." The...

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. He was accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Now his fate will be decided by the Senate, where the Republicans hold majority. The House of Representatives voted to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump because of "abuse of power". 230 people out of 435 members of the chamber voted for, and 197 - against. 229...

The debate on pension reform came to the finish line in France. Despite large-scale protests, Paris will not refuse the reform. “There will be no magic announcements,” said French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. According to him, the pension calculation system will be brought to a single standard, privileges for individual workers will be abolished. Now there are 42 pension programs in France....