Category: Євросоюз

Washington is ratcheting up pressure on Ankara over its decision to buy a Russian missile system, which was confirmed last month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Senior U.S. diplomats held talks this week in the Turkish capital to lobby against the sale as Washington warns of “grave consequences.” Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer met Wednesday with senior Turkish officials in the latest diplomatic effort to block Ankara’s procurement of Russia’s S-400 missile system. However Erdogan reiterated his commitment to buy the Russian system. In a television interview Wednesday, he indicated interest in expanding the purchase to Russia’s more advanced S-500 …

READ MORE

The Polish government is reconsidering whether to exhume human remains at a World War II-era site where Jews were burned alive by Polish neighbors, though the country’s chief rabbi says the work would violate Judaism’s prohibition of disinterment under most circumstances.      Authorities will weigh “various circumstances” in deciding if exhumations should go forward in Jedwabne, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told private broadcaster Polsat News.      During the German Nazi occupation of Poland, Poles killed at least 340 Jews on July 10, 1941. Most of the victims were locked inside a barn that was set on fire.      Some Poles want the massacre …

READ MORE

The intense search for two European climbers who went missing over a week ago in bad weather on the world’s ninth-highest mountain in Pakistan was called off Wednesday, after a Spanish-Pakistani search team lost hope of finding any trace of the pair. Karrar Haidri, the secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, told The Associated Press that it was not an easy but “a very painful decision” to take after the rescuers tried everything they could — including flying out drones — to find the two. Earlier in the day, hopes had started fading for finding Italian Daniele Nardi and …

READ MORE

Perhaps none of the communist legacies shared by Vietnam and North Korea highlighted during Kim Jong Un’s “goodwill visit” to Hanoi is stranger than the embalmed leaders on display in their capital cities, and the secretive team of Russian technicians that keeps the aging bodies looking ageless. Kim laid a wreath outside Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum in the Vietnamese capital on Saturday, after the conclusion of his shortened summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Inside the dark interior of the mausoleum, the embalmed corpse of Vietnam’s founding father lies displayed in a glass coffin for a steady stream of tourists …

READ MORE

An environmental movement is growing in Europe and looking to come to the U.S.: Kids and teenagers skipping class to protest and raise awareness of climate change issues. While their cause is mostly praised, their method is controversial. Should students go on school strikes for political issues? VOA’s Markus Meyer-Gehlen explains. …

READ MORE

The leader of the main center-right party in the European Parliament said on Tuesday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban must apologize for his criticism of the EU or his ruling Fidesz party could be suspended from the grouping. Orban, an outspoken nationalist, wants to remain in the EPP, Fidesz said on Tuesday, despite growing pressure within the European Parliament’s biggest grouping to suspend or expel it, a scenario backed by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. The Hungarian leader has long been at loggerheads with Brussels over his hardline stance on immigration and accusations — which he denies — that …

READ MORE

A call by French President Emmanuel Macron for reforms of the European Union to pave the way to a “European renaissance” won mainly just polite support on Tuesday from other EU leaders. Some officials portrayed Macron’s reform plan as part of a bid to become the new leader of Europe as Angela Merkel prepares her exit as German chancellor, and suggested it was at least partly intended to boost his waning popularity in France. His proposals, unveiled in an open letter to citizens of Europe that was published in newspapers across the EU, are to protect and defend Europe’s citizens …

READ MORE

The United States needs more firepower and focus to push back against ever-increasing Russian aggression across Europe and beyond, according to the top U.S. commander in Europe.   In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, European Command’s Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti called Russia the primary threat to stability in Europe and recommended the U.S. boost the number of troops it deploys to the continent on both a permanent and rotational basis.   Scaparrotti said he was particularly concerned about insufficient intelligence and surveillance capabilities, as well as a shrinking advantage on the high seas.   “I’ve asked for two …

READ MORE

In recent weeks, French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken out forcefully in favor of the European Union and Venezuela’s opposition protests. He has dominated town hall meetings to address grievances at home, and sought stronger ties in China. But when it comes to addressing the political crisis roiling former French colony Algeria, just across the Mediterranean, the normally loquacious Macron and his government have been remarkably silent. After ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, announced a controversial re-election bid on Sunday, the Elysee presidential palace issued only a brief statement, blandly expressing support for a vote “under good conditions,” and …

READ MORE

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth held a reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday to mark the 50th anniversary of the investiture of her oldest son Charles as Prince of Wales. Senior royals including Charles’s own sons William and Harry and their wives Kate and Meghan attended the party which the palace said paid tribute to the prince’s 50 years of service to Wales. Charles was created Prince of Wales, the title traditionally held by the heir to the British throne, in July 1958 when he was nine. He was formally invested with the title at a televised ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in …

READ MORE

The top U.S. commander for Europe says he would recommend the United States not sell its high-tech F-35 fighter jet to Turkey, if Ankara moves ahead with plans to buy a Russian missile defense system.  Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, head of U.S. European Command, says Turkey should reconsider its plan to buy the S-400 from Russia this year or forfeit other future American military aircraft and systems. He says the S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system would be a threat to the F-35. Scaparrotti says U.S. officials are currently in Turkey explaining the consequences of the S-400 purchase.   The State Department …

READ MORE

Greek authorities have charged 20 people with negligence in connection with the country’s deadliest wildfire in decades, which killed 100 and devastated the seaside town of Mati near Athens last year. Court officials say the suspects include the greater Athens regional authority chief, two local mayors, the former civil protection head, and fire service officials.   Among the 20 charged Tuesday was a 65-year-old resident of an area near Mati, who had allegedly been burning garden waste on open ground from which the fire started.   The charges include manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm through negligence and arson through negligence. …

READ MORE

Nigerian-American designer Wale Oyejide visited the southern Italian region of Calabria to photograph and film some of the migrants who have helped repopulate the deserted towns of this depressed area of Italy. Selected migrants were his models and wore his creations. The designer’s aim was to draw attention to an integration that has proven to be successful both for migrants and Italians. Calabria is an Italian region that has largely been forgotten. It is not on the tourist track because it lacks the comforts and amenities desired by people on vacation. For years now, many young people have chosen to …

READ MORE

From access to abortion to equal work opportunities, women’s rights are being eroded by a rise in global populism, a group of female leaders warned Monday. There has been a resurgence in nationalist-populist sentiment in many countries around the world, from Brazil to Turkey, the Philippines, Russia and the United States. That has led to a deliberate rolling back of rights gained through the “sacrifices and struggles” of generations of women, the newly-formed Group of Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion said in an open letter ahead of International Women’s Day. “More and more nationalistic, populist regimes are starting to …

READ MORE

The European Union executive accused Hungary’s nationalist government on Monday of distorting the truth about immigration into the bloc, marking a further deterioration in their troubled relationship ahead of European Parliament elections in May. The EU has long been critical of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s stance on migrants and his record on democratic freedoms. Orban says the EU has imperiled Europe’s Christian civilization by allowing mass immigration. Orban has recently stepped up his anti-immigration campaign with billboards and inserts in state media that vilify European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros, accusing them of being in …

READ MORE

French President Emmanuel Macron has made an impassioned defense of a new Europe in a newspaper column published in each of the 28 member states in which he laid out his ideas for a “European renaissance” ahead of EU elections in May. Calling the vote decisive and warning of a Europe in danger, his words are intended as a wake-up call for the bloc as he seeks to push fundamental reform of the European Union. Macron’s column coincides with rising tensions in the West, shaken by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies and Britain’s departure from the EU. A …

READ MORE

The Netherlands said Monday it has recalled its ambassador from Tehran after Iran expelled two Dutch diplomats in a dispute over an alleged plot to assassinate regime opponents. Dutch authorities accused Iran in January of involvement in the murder of two dissidents on Dutch soil in 2015 and 2017, and the European Union slapped sanctions on Tehran over the killings. Foreign Minister Stef Blok said in a letter to parliament that the government “has decided to recall the Netherlands’ ambassador to Tehran for consultations” over the row. Iran’s decision to expel the Dutch officials — which was not previously announced …

READ MORE

Sharp differences have emerged between the United States and Britain over farming standards and practices in any post-Brexit trade deal.   The trans-Atlantic allies have already begun exploratory talks on a trade agreement after Britain’s EU exit, which is scheduled for March 29. Britain, however, is resisting U.S. demands to open its markets to agricultural products currently banned under EU law.   The most widely-cited example is Europe’s import ban on American “chlorinated chicken” — carcasses that have been washed using chlorine to remove harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. Europe says an over-reliance on chlorine lowers overall production and …

READ MORE

British Prime Minister Theresa May will on Monday set out plans for a $2.11 billion (1.6 billion pound) fund to help to boost economic growth in Brexit-supporting communities, particularly in the north of England. The “Stronger Towns Fund,” details of which appeared in newspapers last month, is seen by many as part of May’s efforts to win support for her Brexit deal from opposition Labour lawmakers who represent areas that voted strongly in favor of leaving the European Union. Britain is due to leave the bloc at the end of the month and May, whose exit deal with Brussels was …

READ MORE

The Dutch man who married a British teenager after she ran away to join the Islamic State group says he wants to return home to the Netherlands with Shamima Begum and their newborn son. Yago Riedijk, 27, told the BBC from a Kurdish-run detention center that he met Begum within days of her arrival in Syria when she was 15. He said in an interview aired Sunday that the marriage was “her own choice.”   When asked if marrying a 15-year-old was appropriate, he said: “To be honest, when my friend came and said there was a girl who was …

READ MORE