{"id":19945,"date":"2020-03-20T11:25:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T11:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/?p=19945"},"modified":"2024-04-22T14:44:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:44:30","slug":"the-week-in-foreign-policy-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/2020\/03\/the-week-in-foreign-policy-10\/","title":{"rendered":"The week in foreign policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]This week in foreign policy, and domestic affairs, has been one like no other, with countries across the world introducing unprecedented measures to contain the spread of Covid-19. With news outlets saturated with stories and information relating to the coronavirus, we will continue to bring you foreign policy pieces you might have missed – as world activity continues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although relegated to a video-conference, EU leaders met this week with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the migrants crisis and the humanitarian situation in Idlib, Syria. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the UK\u2019s Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted to negotiate a resolution to the migrant crisis with Erdogan, as well as coordinate a humanitarian response to the situation in Idlib. Further details available on <\/span>Euractiv<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the courts\u2019 decision to declare a planned third runway at Heathrow \u2018unlawful\u2019, the proposed expansion has now been declared to be in a \u2018deep freeze\u2019, reports <\/span>CityAM<\/span><\/a>. Stefan Boscia writes that the aviation industry\u2019s crisis, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, will likely delay a government decision on the expansion of one of the UK\u2019s busiest and most international airports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over in the US, the Democratic Primary rumbles on, albeit with a reduction of live debates. Michael O\u2019Hanlon examines for <\/span>The Hill<\/span><\/a> how different foreign policy would be under either of the frontrunners, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Whilst the candidates appear radically different, O\u2019Hanlon suggests that upon examining their actions and proposals, their ideas could be reconciled. Many of Sanders\u2019 specific proposals, for example, rooted in international cooperation, and the fight against climate change, inequality and authoritarianism, are much more mainstream than his \u2018favorable comments about Fidel Castro back in the day might suggest\u2019, creating overlap with the more centrist Biden.<\/span><\/p>\n

The coronavirus has piled the pressure on the global economy, and for Iran – a nation subject to tough international sanctions and hit particularly hard by Covid-19 – the outlook is bleak. Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic Editor at <\/span>The Guardian<\/span><\/a>, reports that the UK has been pressuring the US behind the scenes to ease sanctions on Iran in order to help it fight the coronavirus outbreak. As 17,361 people in Iran have been infected with the virus, the Iranian embassy in London has appealed for sanctions to be lifted. The World Health Organization has suggested that the Iranian health ministry figures have underestimated the true numbers of those affected by the coronavirus by a fifth, meaning that the strain on the country is even greater.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst the UK\u2019s \u2018transition period\u2019 for leaving the EU is still due to expire at the end of this year, <\/span>the Telegraph<\/span><\/a> suggests that the UK is preparing to seek an extension to this transition period as both the UK and the EU are focused on the coronavirus crisis. The EU\u2019s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has been confirmed to have the virus, and his British counterpart, David Frost, is reportedly self-isolating with symptoms, adding further credence to the idea that an extension will be sought before the June deadline expires.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The British Foreign Policy Group is an independent, non-partisan think tank based in London. Through dynamic research, events and networks, we seek to strengthen the UK\u2019s international engagement, and advance our understanding of global affairs in the 21st Century.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more original research, comment and events from the British Foreign Policy Group, sign up to our Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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BFPG Researcher, Flora Holmes, examines the news and opinion you might have missed in the week in foreign policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":21482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-perspectives"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bfpg.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}