The Byelorussian SSR was one of only two Soviet republics to be separate members of the United Nations. Both republics and the Soviet Union joined the UN when the organization was founded in 1945.
Politics in Austria reflects the dynamics of competition among multiple political parties, which led to the formation of a Conservative-Green coalition government for the first time in January 2020, following the snap elections of 29 September 2019, and the election of a former Green Party leader to the presidency in 2016.
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary led by Viktor Orbán.
The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a country is eligible to join the European Union. The criteria require that a state has the institutions to preserve democratic governance and human rights, has a functioning market economy, and accepts the obligations and intent of the European Union.
Relations between the European Union (EU) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) or Sino–European relations are bilateral relations that were established in 1975 between the PRC and the European Community. The EU is the PRC's largest trading partner, and the PRC is the EU's largest trade partner.
China–German relations were formally established in 1861, when Prussia and the Qing dynasty concluded a Sino-German treaty during the Eulenburg expedition. A decade later, the German Empire was established, with the new state inheriting the Prussian-era treaties concluded with China. Sino-German relations during the late 19th and early 20th century were frequently tense, as Germany followed the example of other European colonial powers in carving out a sphere of influence in China; by 1914, Germany had obtained several concessions in China, including the treaty ports of Yantai and Qingdao and most prominently the Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory.
Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries, all but one are EU member states.
Bilateral relations exist and existed between Austria and Russia and their predecessor states. Since October 1955, the Republic of Austria maintains the constitutionally-mandated status of neutrality; the country is a founding member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEEC). Austria joined the EU in 1995. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a partner of ASEAN, a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as well as the leading member state of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Both countries are members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Hungarians in Ukraine number 156,600 people according to the Ukrainian census of 2001 and are the third largest national minority in the country. Hungarians are largely concentrated in the Zakarpattia Oblast, where they form the largest minority at 12.1% of the population. In the area along the Ukrainian border with Hungary, Hungarians form the majority.
The modern bilateral relationship between Hungary and Ukraine formally began in the early 1990s, after the end of communism in Hungary in 1989 and Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, the relationship has been marred by controversy over the rights of the Hungarian minority in the western Ukrainian region of Zakarpattia, where 150,000 ethnic Hungarians reside. Hungary and Ukraine have embassies in Kyiv and Budapest, respectively, as well as consulates in regions with large minority populations.
Foreign relations exist between Austria and the United Kingdom, and have been positive and friendly since Austrian independence in 1955. Both nations are members of the Council of Europe. The two nations share close economic and technological ties, and cooperate in a variety of fields, particularly when the UK was a member of the European Union and also more recently in condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They have also agreed to cooperate on mutual interests over matters involving security in the Balkans, including regarding Kosovo, Albania and Serbia and furthermore to work together on countering subversive Russian activity in the region.
European Union–Iran relations are the bilateral relations between Iran and the European Union (EU). The EU is Iran's largest trading partner, along with China and the United Arab Emirates. Trade with Iran is subject to the general EU import regime and the EU supports the goal of Iranian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The EU has accused and criticized Iran for human rights violations, which led to diplomatic tensions, but both sides aim at improving and normalizing relations. Should Turkey's accession to the EU take place, Iran will border the European Union.
China–Switzerland relations officially began in 1918. Economic relations between the two nations grew substantially in the 21st century, although relations became somewhat strained around 2020 due to Swiss criticism of China's persecution of the Uyghurs and the 2020 Hong Kong national security law. However, in 2024 relations became warmer again, with China adding Switzerland to the list of European countries whose citizens enjoy visa-free access for tourist travel. This was followed by a launch of negotiations regarding an updated free trade agreement, which were previously delayed by Swiss concerns about the human rights situation in China.
Language policy in Ukraine is based on its Constitution, international treaties and on domestic legislation. According to article 10 of the Constitution, Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, and the state shall ensure the comprehensive development and functioning of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of social life throughout the entire territory of the country. Some minority languages have significantly less protection, and have restrictions on their public usage.
Karin Kneissl is an Austrian diplomat, journalist, and politician. She served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2017 and 2019. Prior to assuming her government position, she was a lecturer.
Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries is an initiative by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote business and investment relations between China and 14 countries of Central and Eastern Europe : Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Prior to their 2022 withdrawal, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were members of the initiative.
Alexander Georg Nicolas Schallenberg OMRI is an Austrian diplomat, jurist, and politician who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of Chancellor Karl Nehammer since 2021, previously holding the office from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he held the position in the second government of Sebastian Kurz, before briefly serving as Chancellor of Austria as Kurz's successor from 11 October to 6 December 2021.
The Second Kurz government was the 33rd Government of Austria. Led by Sebastian Kurz as chancellor and Werner Kogler as vice-chancellor, it was sworn in by President Alexander Van der Bellen on 7 January 2020. It was officially dissolved and succeeded by the Schallenberg government on 11 October 2021.
Karl Nehammer is an Austrian politician who is the 32nd and current chancellor of Austria since 6 December 2021. A member of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), he previously was Minister of the Interior from 2020 to 2021, general secretary of the ÖVP from 2018 to 2020, as well as a member of the National Council from 2017 to 2020. Nehammer assumed the chancellorship as the successor of Alexander Schallenberg, who resigned to return as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Michael Linhart is an Austrian diplomat and politician who was appointed as the new Austrian Ambassador at Berlin on 15 December 2021. Before that, he served as minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Austria in the Schallenberg government from 11 October to 6 December 2021, ambassador of the Republic of Austria to France from 2018 to 2021 and Secretary-General at the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018.
