Month: May 2024

Євросоюз

15 EU states demand plan to send asylum seekers to third countries

Copenhagen, Denmark — Fifteen EU states have demanded a further tightening of the bloc’s asylum policy, making it easier to transfer undocumented migrants to third countries, including when they are rescued at sea. The demand, sent in a letter to the European Commission that AFP received on Thursday, comes less than a month before European Parliament elections, in which far-right anti-immigration parties are forecast to make gains. The letter asks the European Union’s executive arm to “propose new ways and solutions to prevent irregular migration to Europe.” The group includes Italy and Greece, which receive a substantial number of the people …

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Євросоюз

Dozens of countries sign up for Ukraine peace summit, Switzerland says 

berlin — A summit that Switzerland hopes will pave the way for a peace process in Ukraine has drawn delegations from more than 50 countries, Swiss President Viola Amherd said Wednesday.  The neutral Swiss government was seeking a broad-based turnout from different parts of the world, and 160 invitations were sent, Amherd said at a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after the two met in Berlin.  Switzerland wants to persuade more countries from the so-called Global South as well as China to sign up, she added.  “This work is continuing at full speed,” Amherd said.  Countries in South America, …

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Євросоюз

US commanders in Poland see Russian threat as ‘near-term’

As Russia ramps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, officials with the U.S. command in Eastern Europe say it’s urgent for NATO to be ready for a possible confrontation. VOA’s Eastern Europe bureau chief Myroslava Gongadze talked to the U.S. and Polish commanders during a U.S. Army transfer of authority ceremony in Boleslawiec, Poland. VOA footage and video editing by Daniil Batushchak. …

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Євросоюз

New protests erupt in Georgia after parliament passes ‘foreign agent’ law

Tbilisi, Georgia — Hundreds of protesters donning gas masks and protective goggles shut down streets in Tbilisi on Tuesday after Georgia’s parliament passed a so-called “foreign influence” law that critics call a copy of Russia’s foreign agent law, heavily relied upon by the Kremlin to suppress dissent. Ruling Georgian Dream party lawmakers approved the legislation despite warnings from Washington and Brussels that such a move might threaten Georgia’s partnership with the West. For over a month, tens of thousands of Georgians have flooded the streets to protest the legislation in the largest rallies the country has seen since the nation’s independence …

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Євросоюз

France declares state of emergency in New Caledonia as protests rage

Paris — France has declared a state of emergency in its overseas Pacific territory of New Caledonia after deadly protests by native-born, pro-independence activists who oppose efforts to expand the voting rights of French residents on the archipelago. Mainland France is glued to the events thousands of kilometers away — where fires were still burning Wednesday after two straight days of rioting that killed several people and left hundreds more wounded. Protesters have looted shops and torched cars and buildings, in the worst violence to hit the area in decades. Police have arrested hundreds, and French authorities extended a nighttime curfew. …

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