A tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev, 1931-2022 Evert Van de Poll Two deaths What an ominous coincidence: within a few days, we were struck by the death of two persons who symbolize two diametrically opposed visions for the future of Europe.…
Turbulent times are nothing new for the 400-year-old Temple du Marais, venue for next week’s State of Europe Forum in Paris . The storming of the Bastille Castle in 1789, triggering the French Revolution, took place just two hundred metres away. That led directly…
Even as we recoil in horror at Russia’s brutal destruction of Mariupol in the east, we watch with bated breath the contest for the French presidency in the west. Much hangs in the balance. The election outcome will shape France’s…
A column in de Volkskrant, a leftish Dutch newspaper, grabbed my attention this week: ‘Europe must rearm itself, especially morally.’ For the first time in two generations, the term ‘rearmament’ is reappearing in the headlines. The shock-effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been…
This year’s performances of Johan Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion by choirs and orchestras across Europe have an extra dimension of pathos as Ukraine suffers under unprovoked aggression. Considered one of the greatest musical works ever composed, the sacred oratorio depicts the…
