Brexit

It seems that there is no such person in the world who has not heard a word about Brexit (a portmanteau of "British" and "exit"). All the media is witting non-stop about the Brexit saga and how it is affecting the UK.

The country was scheduled to withdraw from the EU on March 29, 2019. Last year, in the autumn, after months of negotiations, London and Brussels agreed on a draft declaration on their future relations after Brexit. However, before the agreement comes into force, it must be ratified by the EU and UK parliaments. On 29 January 2019, the British Parliament voted on seven amendments related to the withdrawal agreement and managed to adopt only one amendment.

The House of Commons instructed Theresa May to get from the European Union a new wording of the Irish insurance option. It did not suit London politicians that Northern Ireland could remain in the Customs Union with the EU.

Yellow Vests Movement

France has also faced political jitters quite recently. Last weekend yellow vests kicked off their thirteenth straight weekend of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s reforms. The protests took place not only in Paris but also in other cities. Initially, the yellow vests came together to demonstrate against a sharp growth in diesel taxes. Now they are demanding more radical measures, e.g. the resignation of the president. They remain adamant despite all efforts of Emmanuel Macron to soften the issue. For instance, he announced tax cuts and an increase in the minimum wage. Such measures would cost the country's budget nearly 10 billion euros in 2019, resulting in a budget deficit of 3% what is above the European Commission limit.

European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici made it clear that the EU would be more patient in case of swings in the French budget.

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank has announced the ending of its massive bond-buying program worth 2.6 trillion euros. This measure helped the euro area to break away from its debt crisis. The central bank's decision to end QE after nearly four years is believed to symbolize the end of crisis-era policies in the eurozone despite the difficulties the region faces today.

The ECB President acknowledged that downward pressure on consumer price growth may continue, and additional stimulus measures will be needed to boost it. The GDP rate is expected to slow down to 1.7% from 1.8% this year and inflation to 1.6%. from 1.7%.

Kosovo Conflict

Deputies of the Parliament of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo passed a number of bills on the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force (SBC) into full-fledged armed forces.

After such measures, the armed forces of Pristina are expected to reach 5 thousand active soldiers and 3 thousand reservists. The government is planning to spend 300 million euros over three years in order to equip and train its newly established Kosovo army.

Serbia did not recognize the independence of Kosovo. President of Serbia Aleksandr Vucic expressed hope that another armed conflict in Kosovo and Metohija would not take place.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thinks likewise about the current situation. He believes that this conflict threatens the safeness of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and the security of Serbia, as well as peace and stability in the region.

Earlier, the authority of the self-proclaimed Republic had imposed a tariff of 100% on goods made in Serbia.

Annexation Of Crimea By Russian Federation

The armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine has been lasting for almost five years. During this time, there have been many attempts to accuse Russia of initiating the conflict and brand it as an aggressor. The last attempt was in November 2018 when two warships and a tugboat of the Ukrainian Navy — "Berdyansk", "Nikopol" and "Yana Kapu" illegally crossed the border of Russia, entered the temporarily closed waters of the territorial sea of the Russian Federation and began moving from the Black sea to the Kerch Strait. According to the press service of the Crimean Border Control of the FSB, no requests had been made for the passage of these ships. Threatening maneuvering and insubordination to the legitimate demands of the Russian authorities forced Russian patrol ships to use weapons to stop them and to detain the vessels.

The European Union supported Ukraine and condemned Russia's actions.