European Union nations’ energy ministers have agreed on a gas price cap, a spokesperson for the Czech Republic said on Twitter on Monday. The deal follows weeks of talks on the emergency measure that has split opinion across the bloc as it seeks to tame the energy crisis. The Czech …
Read More »Calls for EU lobbying rules to be reformed grow as corruption scandal rocks Brussels
Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a vice president of the parliament, is among four charged amid the investigation into suspected influence peddling involving a Gulf country. Belgian media have linked the probe to World Cup hosts Qatar; Doha has denied the accusations. Kaili was arrested after Belgian police staged 16 raids …
Read More »Stoltenberg warns about full-fledged war between Russia, NATO
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned about a full-fledged war between Russia and the Western military alliance if the war in Ukraine spirals out of control. Speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK on Friday, Stoltenberg said he feared that the war in Ukraine “will spiral out of control and become a …
Read More »US to send more weapons to Ukraine as EU adds to arms for Kyiv
The United States has agreed to send more weapons to Ukraine as the European Union is to add 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) to a fund used to help arm Kyiv. Washington is to officially announce on Friday its decision to send another arms package to Kyiv, which will include …
Read More »EU finalizing plan for new anti-Russia sanctions – Politico
The bloc may reportedly blacklist 180 Russian entities and individuals in the tech, financial, and media sectors EU officials have discussed a new sanctions package against Russia over the Ukraine war, Politico reported on Monday. The potential additional restrictions include nearly two hundred listings linked to key Russian industries, including …
Read More »European leaders open divisive summit on energy crisis
European Union leaders opened a two-day summit Thursday divided on whether, and how, the bloc could impose a gas price cap to contain the energy crisis fueled by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his strategy to choke off gas supplies to the bloc at will. And, for …
Read More »‘How’s Brexit going?’ British politics mocked at home and abroad
Britain’s political and economic turmoil has been greeted with thinly veiled satisfaction among pro-European and leftist politicians abroad, with some commentators drawing parallels to chaotic Italy. New British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will set out tax and spending measures on Monday, two weeks earlier than scheduled, as he races to …
Read More »Ukrainian grain going to EU instead of Africa – El Pais
At least 38% of the grain exported from Ukraine under the UN-brokered deal is shipped to the EU instead of the developing countries in Africa for which it was intended, Spain’s El Pais newspaper reported on Thursday, citing UN data and ship tracking figures. According to the report, more than …
Read More »Russia says it will retaliate against EU visa restrictions
Russia said on Thursday it would retaliate against European Union curbs on visas for Russians, but would not close itself off from the bloc. “The interests of us, of our people, will be taken into account in the first place when choosing retaliatory measures,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told …
Read More »EU countries are running out of weapons, says Borrell
European countries struggle to fill up their weapons stocks while Kyiv asks for continued military aid. EU countries’ stocks of weapons are severely “depleted” in the wake of sending arms to Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Monday. During a debate with EU lawmakers, the top diplomat urged …
Read More »Serbia, Kosovo fail to reach agreement – EU
The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo failed to reach a solution in a crisis meeting in Brussels on Thursday but agreed on further talks in the coming days to solve tensions between their countries, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “Unhappily, we did not yet (come) to an agreement …
Read More »US says studying Iran’s response to EU proposed text
The United States Department of States has said that it has received Iran’s response to the EU proposal on the nuclear deal, and it is studying it.
Read More »Hungary says EU ban on Russian oil crosses ‘red line’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has blasted European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen for “attacking” EU unity with a proposed Russian oil ban, saying it crosses a red line.
Read More »Turkey ‘destroyed’ EU hopes by jailing Erdogan critic: MEPs
Turkey “deliberately destroyed” its chances of joining the EU by jailing Osman Kavala, a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the European Parliament said Thursday.
Read More »Germany to end EU training mission in Mali
Germany will end its participation in the European Union training mission in Mali but is ready to continue with a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country under certain conditions, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Wednesday. France and allies fighting Islamist militants in Mali earlier this year said they would …
Read More »EU demands ‘proper answer’ over detained staffer in China
The European Union has demanded a “proper answer” from Chinese authorities over the arrest of a local employee at its Beijing mission who has been held for eight months. The EU Delegation in China staffer was detained by police in September 2021, the bloc confirmed in an emailed statement. “Despite …
Read More »EU estimates up to 80% of population has had COVID
The European Commission said that between 60% and 80% of the EU population was estimated to have been infected with COVID-19, as the bloc enters a post-emergency phase in which mass reporting of cases was no longer necessary. In preparing for this less acute phase, European Union governments should ramp …
Read More »EU law targets Big Tech over hate speech, disinformation
Big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta will have to police their platforms more strictly to better protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and other harmful online content under landmark EU legislation approved early Saturday. European Union officials clinched the agreement in principle on the Digital Services …
Read More »Baghdad says almost 4,000 repatriated from Belarus borders
Iraq has repatriated almost 4,000 of its citizens stuck on the Belarus borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia in recent weeks, Iraq’s foreign minister said Sunday. Since November 18, the Iraqi government has organized “10 flights from Baghdad to Belarus” to repatriate its citizens, Fuad Hussein told …
Read More »Macron, Draghi call for reform of EU fiscal rules to allow more investment
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Thursday on the EU to reform its fiscal rules in order to allow greater investment spending while acknowledging the necessity to reduce debts. “Just as the rules could not be allowed to stand in the way of our response …
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