Europe

Volodymyr Zelensky, an actor who found fame in a TV series about a teacher who became President of Ukraine, has become President of Ukraine.

What are legal considerations for the UK in deciding whether to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden or the US?

The House of Commons has voted on various options for the future UK-EU relationship in the hope that an agreed UK position may help to break the impasse following the Commons' rejection of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement. The Government says it may hold a further Commons vote on future relationship options. What options have been proposed?

A Westminster Hall debate on the ‘Russian annexation of Crimea’ has been scheduled for Wednesday 24 April 2019 from 9.30-11.00am. The debate has been initiated by John Howell MP.

The EU has agreed to extend Article 50 a second time. This could delay Brexit until 31 October 2019. This has implications for the UK while it remains in the EU, and could also impact on decisions taken within the EU over the next few months

With a week to go until the UK was due to leave the EU, EU leaders have agreed to delay Brexit. But unless the House of Commons approves the Withdrawal Agreement next week the UK could be faced with a choice between leaving the EU with no deal on 12 April or coming up with an alternative plan that could mean a longer extension and taking part in the European Parliament elections

With the UK due to leave the EU next week and no Withdrawal Agreement as yet approved by the House of Commons, the Government has requested that the EU agree an extension to the Article 50 period in order to delay Brexit. Under what scenarios could an Article 50 extension be agreed with the EU? And could this lead to the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections?

On 11 March 2019 the UK government and the EU agreed a series of 'interpretations' and 'clarifications' of the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration they negotiated in November 2018. What is in the published documents? What are their effects? To what extent do they provide legally binding guarantees? How did they change the Attorney General's legal opinion of the Withdrawal Agreement? What was the result of the second 'meaningful vote' held in the House of Commons on the updated 'package', and what happens next?

What could happen if the EU and UK negotiators don't agree a withdrawal agreement in time and the UK has to leave the EU on 29 March 2019 without one - and with no framework for future relations either? This paper looks at how such a situation might come about, the constitutional implications for the UK and in some cases for the devolved administrations, and what the impact might be in a range of policy areas.

For many former Soviet States, proximity to a resurgent Russia has given rise to territorial conflicts and thousands of deaths. This paper looks at the areas of conflict, the causes of the conflicts, Russia's role and international attempts to broker peace.

The EU and UK negotiators agreed the texts of a Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration on a framework for a future EU-UK relationship, and the time came for the UK Parliament to vote on it. But on 15 January Parliament rejected the two documents by 230 votes. The EU has said there will be no renegotiating the texts but has offered assurances on the intention that the backstop arrangement to prevent a hard Irish border would be temporary if it had to be introduced. This paper looks at what the EU has offered by way of 'clarifications' and 'assurances' on the backstop and whether the EU would offer an extension to Article. 50 might .

A debate will be held in Westminster Hall on Monday 14 January at 4.30pm on e-petitions 229963, 221747 and 235185, relating to leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement, 232984 and 241361 relating to holding a further referendum on leaving the EU, and 226509 and 236261 relating to not leaving the EU. Paul Scully MP will open the debate.

Russian intelligence services hit the front pages to an unprecedented degree in October 2018