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As part of the leadup to the 2021 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, Extemp Central will be providing daily research & development (R&D) posts for each of the tournament’s fourteen topic areas. These will include links to important articles about each. It is hoped that these will aid in extempers preparation for this year’s national tournament.
The economic divergence between Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union and those that did not is one of the more underappreciated geopolitical developments of the past 30 years. | @anders_aslund https://t.co/9OYpUxv4z7
— Project Syndicate (@ProSyn) May 30, 2021
#WorldatFive: Most Europeans believe that the European Union is “broken”, damaged by its poor handling of the pandemic and slow vaccine rollout https://t.co/pd0r3QK8Rr
— The Times (@thetimes) June 9, 2021
Russia, driven by European Union- and NATO-related insecurities, is stoking Bosnia’s ethnic divisions while a complacent EU watches.https://t.co/ZeHi6QBcWC
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) June 1, 2021
Elections in Scotland confirmed the position of the nationalists. But what vision of an independent future are its supporters backing? https://t.co/4hHuSb4K3W
— The Nation (@thenation) June 9, 2021
The United States and the European Union are working toward an agreement that would settle long-running disputes over aircraft subsidies and metals tariffs that set off a trade war during the Trump administration. https://t.co/xC0j7VRjm2
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) June 10, 2021
The Nordstream 2 pipeline gives Russia the power it has long wanted over Europe— it robs Germany and other EU countries of leverage they could have used to apply pressure on Putin.@Judy_Dempsey on how Nord Stream has become Europe’s achilles’ heel: https://t.co/Je3C3d8EX8
— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) June 8, 2021
Germany must raise its state pension age to 68 and contemplate limiting payments or it will face severe financial problems as the baby boomer generation goes into retirement, the government’s economic advisers have warned https://t.co/pqDi5XZdms
— The Times (@thetimes) June 8, 2021
Mario Draghi sets tone in cooling EU-China relations https://t.co/ogXTilt1C1
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) June 6, 2021
Breaking News: Russia banned Aleksei Navalny’s opposition group, sending a clear message from President Vladimir Putin to President Biden ahead of talks next week. https://t.co/LoA3SjTj3f
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2021
An arrangement to manage trade and preserve peace in Northern Ireland after Brexit is souring relations between London and Brussels and risks unsettling the U.K.’s ties with Washington just as President Biden meets Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week https://t.co/NzDFwwkhhQ
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 9, 2021
France’s War in West Africa: “People Collected Severed Arms, Legs and Heads” https://t.co/ribdVPuXwQ pic.twitter.com/YOSK4KjBIr
— SPIEGEL English (@SPIEGEL_English) June 9, 2021
The European Union is installing a high-tech surveillance system at a migration flashpoint along Greece’s border with Turkey. But privacy advocates are calling for tougher oversight, worried that the technology will leave refugees stranded. https://t.co/1hBdDwje9S
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 31, 2021
Global Opinions: Opinion: Mario Draghi was supposed to save Italy. He’s falling short. https://t.co/vMAympnYez
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 6, 2021
Italy’s plummeting birth rate worsened by pandemic https://t.co/6dGSy902MJ
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 8, 2021
Russia declares Navalny’s groups ‘extremist’ in ongoing crackdown -lawyers https://t.co/od4hJW7ayj pic.twitter.com/Lg33kAEPxB
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 9, 2021