Category: Євросоюз

The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth. For years, Miller High Life has used the “Champagne of Beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow. At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such. The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the …

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The European Union is reportedly preparing emergency curbs on Ukrainian food products after several member states bordering Ukraine imposed their own import bans in recent days, complaining that a glut of cheap produce is hitting their own farmers. Following a virtual meeting with EU officials on Wednesday, Romanian Minister of Agriculture Petre Daea outlined the bloc’s plans. “The [European] Commission is making available to the five countries [Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia] 100 million euros [$109.32 million] from its crisis reserve. … It provides for the activation of exceptional safeguarding mechanisms, which means stopping imports until June 5 for …

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The European Union is reportedly preparing emergency curbs on Ukrainian food products. Some Eastern European states have imposed their own import bans in recent days, complaining that a glut of cheap Ukrainian produce is hitting their own farmers. Ukraine’s struggles to export grain following Russia’s February 2022 invasion have raised fears of a global shortage, as Henry Ridgwell reports. …

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New developments: Kyiv acknowledges Russian advances in Bakhmut. U.S. will be training Ukrainian soldiers on Abrams tanks, while Germany will build a tank repair hub in Poland. Britain sanctions a Russian judge and four others linked to the arrest and alleged poisoning of Kremlin critic and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced to 25 years for alleged treason and other offenses. Four European Union member states have banned Ukraine’s food exports to protect their own markets. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria say that an influx of Ukrainian food imports is harming their own farmers, who can’t compete with Ukraine’s low …

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Russia’s military acknowledged that a bomb accidentally dropped by one of its warplanes caused a powerful blast in a Russian city not far from Ukraine’s border, injuring two and scaring local residents. Belgorod, a city of 340,000 located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Russia-Ukraine border, has faced regular drone attacks during Russia’s current military operation in Ukraine. Russian authorities blamed the earlier strikes on the Ukrainian military, which refrained from directly claiming responsibility for the attacks. The explosion late Thursday was far more powerful than anything Belgorod residents had experienced before. Witnesses reported a low hissing sound …

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Ukrainian women from all walks of life have joined the armed forces to fight for their homes and country. Anna Kosstutschenko met with some near Bakhmut. Video: Pavel Suhodolskiy …

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Germany’s train system came to a standstill Friday when railway workers went on strike for eight hours.  EVG, the union representing the state-owned Deutsche Bahn workers, says its members need a raise to counter inflation.   Long distance and regional trains were affected by the strike, which lasted from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m.   The railway strike coincided with a walkout at four major German airports, affecting hundreds of flights. Reuters news agency reports 700 flights were canceled. …

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British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned from office, following an investigation that he bullied his colleagues. Several formal complaints were lodged against him.  In a resignation letter posted on Twitter Friday, Raab said, “I called for the inquiry and undertook to resign, if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever.  I believe it is important to keep my word.”  Raab said in the letter that he felt “duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me. I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and …

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The outcome of Turkey’s presidential elections next month is growing more uncertain, with a populist outsider entering the race and threatening to split the opposition vote — something that would help longtime incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. …

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They are called mercenaries or contractors or volunteers, and they fight on both sides in the war in Ukraine. But whether they are regarded as villains or heroes, their presence is having an unquestionable impact on the battlefield. The dark side of the irregular fighting forces assisting and resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion was driven home this week when two ex-convicts told a human rights group they had deliberately killed Ukrainian children and civilians while serving as commanders in Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group last year. In videos posted online by Russia’s Gulagu.net, Azamat Uldarov and Alexey Savichev described their brutality in …

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European Union countries have agreed to extend a proposal to reduce the amount of natural gas they use by 15% until spring of 2024. The goal is to continue to reduce their reliance on Russian gas. Valentina Vasileva has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Yuriy Zakrevskiy  …

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Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili — imprisoned in Tbilisi for more than a year — is in critical condition and, according to his family, his health is deteriorating. Poland, Ukraine and other European countries are calling for his release. His supporters say Russia is behind his captivity. From Warsaw, Myroslava Gongadze has this report. Camera: Daniil Batushchak. …

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By day, Jessica Wade spends her time in a laboratory at Imperial College London surrounded by spectrometers, oscilloscopes — and men. At night, she writes biographies on Wikipedia about women researchers like her who don’t have an online presence. “We can’t just do the shouting about how we need more women in science. We have to do the point of honoring and celebrating the women scientists that we have,” she told AFP. “And I think writing their stories, making sure the world recognizes what they’ve done is a really important way to do that.” Wade, 34, has worked at Imperial’s …

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Swedish counterpart outside Stockholm Wednesday, a rare visit intended to show Washington’s support for Sweden’s bid to join NATO. VOA’s Pentagon correspondent, Carla Babb, is traveling with the secretary and has this report from a Swedish naval base. …

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Russia’s invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try to sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine told U.S. lawmakers in graphic testimony Wednesday. Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022. Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November. He said about 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported …

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The U.S. Justice Department is pressing Congress for additional authority to funnel seized Russian assets to Ukraine.  In December, Congress authorized the Justice Department to transfer assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to the State Department for Ukrainian reconstruction. But the power applies only to assets confiscated in connection with violating U.S. sanctions under certain presidential executive orders.  As a result, millions of dollars’ worth of Russian properties confiscated in violation of U.S. export controls and other economic countermeasures cannot be transferred.  Now, the Justice Department is urging Congress to expand the range of forfeited assets that it can transfer …

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The Baltic countries have remained an important source of support for Ukraine as Russia’s assault drags on. In Latvia, people have kept up efforts to assist the Ukrainian military, while accepting Ukrainian refugees and making them feel welcome in an exile that for many, seems to have no end. Marcus Harton narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in the Latvian capital, Riga. …

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New developments: Black Sea grain deal inspections resume in Turkey Hungary adds honey, wine, bread, sugar to temporary ban on imports from Ukraine Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says like-minded countries should oppose “illegal unilateral pressure of the West” Ukraine’s defense minister said Wednesday that Patriot air defense systems had arrived in the country. Ukrainian officials long lobbied allies to provide the advanced weapons that are capable of shooting down enemy missiles and Ukrainian forces spent several months training in the United States and Europe to use the systems. “Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air …

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Polish and Ukrainian officials say convoys of Ukrainian grain transiting Poland for export abroad will be sealed, guarded and monitored to ensure the produce stops flooding the Polish market and playing havoc with prices. Tuesday’s announcement came after two days of intensive talks following protests by Polish farmers, who said much of the Ukrainian grain was staying in Poland and creating a glut that caused them huge losses. The deal will also end a temporary prohibition issued by Poland on Saturday to address the protests on the entry of grain from Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia, which are also affected by …

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Afghans living in Sweden say that iftar — or breaking fast during the month of Ramadan — is an opportunity to get together and learn about their cultural heritage. Abdul Wali Arian has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. …

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