Category: Євросоюз

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the global community Tuesday to avoid militarizing the Arctic region, one day after Russia warned the West against making territorial claims in the area. Blinken is in Reykjavik, Iceland, for talks on climate change and to take part in an Arctic Council ministerial meeting. The United States has previously accused Russia of requiring foreign ships to seek permission to pass through the region and to allow Russian maritime pilots to board the vessels while threating violence against noncompliant ships.  “We’ve seen Russia advance unlawful maritime claims, particularly its regulation of foreign vessels transiting the Northern Sea …

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French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he would make his first visit to Rwanda at the end of this month, a possible breakthrough in relations overshadowed by France’s role during the 1994 genocide. “I confirm I am going to Rwanda at the end of the month. The visit will be one of politics and remembrance but also economic,” Macron said at the end of an Africa summit in Paris. He added he had agreed with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, whom he met on the sidelines of a summit meeting on Monday, “to write a new page in relations”. His visit will be …

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Spain’s prime minister flew to the country’s North African enclave Tuesday to contain a migration crisis with neighboring Morocco after 6,000 migrants swam or walked over the border.  Spain deployed troops and extra police to repel crowds who were trying to get around security fences from Morocco into the tiny Spanish territory after a huge incursion of migrants the day before.   Videos emerged that appeared to show Moroccan soldiers opening security gates to let migrants through to the Spanish port city.  “This sudden arrival of irregular migrants is a serious crisis for Spain and Europe,” said Pedro Sanchez in a …

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tuesday said there is, so far, no conclusive evidence a COVID-19 variant will affect the government’s schedule for lifting restrictions in the country, after warning last week it could do so. Speaking to reporters while touring a London mass vaccination center, Johnson said health officials would continue to gather data on the virus variant first identified in India to determine if is more transmissible and to what degree.  But he said, “I don’t see any conclusive evidence at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the roadmap.” Britain Monday moved into Step 3 of its …

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Spain faced a humanitarian and diplomatic crisis Tuesday after thousands of Moroccans took advantage of relaxed border controls in their nation to swim or paddle in inflatable boats onto European soil. By Tuesday morning, around 6,000 people had crossed the border into the Spanish city of Ceuta since the first arrivals began early Monday, the Spanish government said, including 1,500 thought to be teenagers. The city of 85,000 people lies in North Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, separated from Morocco by a double-wide, 10-meter (32-feet) fence. The sudden influx of migrants has deepened the diplomatic row between Rabat and Madrid in the wake of …

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Following a lull in arrivals of migrants in Italy due to the pandemic, hundreds have now resumed risking their lives in search for a better future in Europe. As weather conditions improve and with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Italy, traffickers are taking advantage and overcrowding vessels with migrants from the Libyan coastline. Rescue missions to save hundreds of migrants have resumed in the Mediterranean waters between Libya and the small Italian island of Lampedusa as calm seas and warmer temperatures have seen a significant rise in vessels attempting to make the crossing.     Human traffickers are also taking …

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he will join talks on climate change and take part in an Arctic Council Ministerial meeting.The State Department said Blinken will meet with Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson and Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir to discuss “U.S.-Icelandic priorities related to climate change, human rights, bilateral cooperation, and the Arctic.”Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2021.On the sidelines of the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting, Blinken will hold his first face-to-face encounter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday. The meeting comes at a time …

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About 3,000 Moroccans, a third of whom were presumed to be minors according to Spanish authorities, swam and used inflatable boats Monday to cross into Ceuta, the largest number of migrant arrivals in a single day into Spain’s enclave in northern Africa.A young male drowned attempting the crossing and others, including toddlers, were rescued suffering from hypothermia, health authorities said.The influx followed the souring of Spain’s relations with Morocco, its southern partner and key ally on controlling migration flows, over Madrid’s decision to allow the leader of a militant group fighting for independence from Morocco to receive hospital treatment.Ceuta and …

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Britain lifted many of its coronavirus lockdown restrictions Monday as infection rates have fallen to their lowest level since August. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, there are growing concerns over the spread of a new mutation of the virus first seen in India.Camera: Henry Ridgwell       …

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Pounding beats? Check. Uplifting lyrics? Check. Huge, backlit white wings? Check. After last year’s Eurovision Song Contest was canceled amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is roaring back to life this year with coronavirus bubbles added to its heady mix of music and melodrama. National delegations traveling to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam are abiding by strict measures to reduce the risk of infections, while the thousands of fans allowed to attend dress rehearsals, two semifinals and the grand final on Saturday will have to undergo testing to ensure they do not bring the virus into the cavernous venue. Executive producer Sietse …

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The European Union has called on Russia to repeal its controversial “foreign agent” law, which has been used to target a growing number of Russian-language media outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The call, made on May 17 by a spokesman for EU foreign-affairs chief Josep Borrell, comes as Russian authorities both expand their targets of the 9-year-old law, as well their enforcement of it. Last week, court bailiffs moved to begin seizing property from RFE/RL’s Moscow bureau, requesting a list of equipment that potentially could be seized. Bailiffs also obtained a court order freezing the Moscow bank accounts used by RFE/RL.FILE …

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The United States and the European Union have announced they have begun discussions to “address global steel and aluminum excess capacity” and have suspended tariffs imposed on their goods while the talks proceed. The joint statement was issued Monday by United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, following virtual talks last week.   From his Twitter account, Dombrovskis thanked Raimondo and Tai, saying the agreement “gives us space to find joint solutions to this dispute” before the end of the year. The dispute came to a head …

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The decision by India and the European Union to restart stalled talks on a free trade pact comes amid growing unease on both sides about China’s rise, according to analysts.      The decision was announced following a summit of EU leaders in Portugal last week, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined via video conference.         The meeting was held days after the EU suspended efforts to ratify an ambitious investment agreement with China following tensions that have grown between the 27-member bloc and Beijing about its treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province.      …

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After dark months struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, Europe is finally hitting its stride, with vaccinations and economies picking up, countries emerging from lockdowns, and even opening their borders to foreign tourists.For Maison Nomade, the recent journey under France’s lockdown has been tough.Now, this vegetarian restaurant in northern Paris is finally reopening. Staff members idled by the pandemic are scrambling to get things ready.Staff at Maison Nomade restaurant prepare for its reopening next Wednesday. The EU has notched up the region’s growth predictions for this year. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)“It’s been pretty hard to be closed for that long, but we’re very excited, …

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After dark months struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, Europe is finally hitting its stride with vaccinations and economies picking up and countries emerging from lockdowns and reopening their borders to foreign tourists. But as Lisa Bryant reports from Paris, there is still a lot of uncertainty. …

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson voiced anxiety Thursday about a rise in the U.K. of the coronavirus variant first identified in India, after a closely monitored study of infections in England found it becoming more prevalent — just as the next big easing of lockdown restrictions is to begin. “It is a variant of concern. We are anxious about it,” Johnson said. “We want to make sure we take all the prudential, cautious steps now that we could take, so there are meetings going on today to consider exactly what we need to do. There is a range of things we …

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Hungary has announced plans to open a branch of a Chinese University in Budapest. Critics fear the development — the first of its kind in Europe — will be used by Beijing to spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda and could pose a threat to national security.   The so-called “Student City” will be built on the site of a former wholesale market outside the nation’s capital, with its centerpiece a branch of the prestigious Shanghai-based Fudan University.   Hungary said it will raise the standard of higher education, offer courses to 6,000 students from Hungary, China and further afield, while bringing Chinese investment and …

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The Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea on May 29 has been moved from Istanbul to Porto to allow English fans to travel under COVID-19 restrictions, European soccer’s governing body UEFA said on Thursday. The final was scheduled for Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium, but Turkey was last week put on Britain’s travel ‘red list’, meaning that no English fans would be able to attend the game. It will now be held in FC Porto’s Estadio do Dragao. UEFA said that each club would receive 6,000 tickets which are expected to go on sale from today. The final capacity …

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Hungary has announced plans to open a branch of a Chinese University in Budapest. Critics fear the development — the first of its kind in Europe — will be used by Beijing to spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda and could pose a threat to national security.   The so-called “Student City” will be built on the site of a former wholesale market outside the nation’s capital, with its centerpiece a branch of the prestigious Shanghai-based Fudan University.   Hungary said it will raise the standard of higher education, offer courses to 6,000 students from Hungary, China and further afield, while bringing Chinese investment and …

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Twenty-three people remain hospitalized Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan following a school shooting that killed nine people, seven of whom were children.  The attack occurred Tuesday morning when a gunman opened fire on a school there.”We have lost seven children … four boys and three girls,” Rustam Minnikhanov, the president of the Republic of Tatarstan, told state TV, according to Reuters.Authorities have said all 23 wounded remain in stable condition and at least eight — three adults and five children — will be transferred to Moscow for further treatment.Men carry a coffin with the body of Elvira Ignatieva, …

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