Category: Євросоюз

European Union legislators took the unprecedented step Wednesday to begin process of imposing sanctions on Hungary for presenting a “systematic threat” to the bloc’s Democratic values. The European Parliament voted 448-197 to launch an Article Seven process, which could result in the suspension of Hungary’s EU voting rights. The vote dealt a serious blow to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, further isolating him from powerful allies in the midst of his ambitious effort to push Europe toward Hungary’s version of an “illiberal democracy.” Orban managed during his eight years in office to deflect his critics, who contend Hungary’s electoral system is …

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The European Union must flex its muscles as a world power, EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday, as he spoke critically of U.S. President Donald Trump’s retreat from international engagement. In his annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Juncker, who is entering his final year as president of the European Commission, urged EU states to bridge angry divisions over budgets, immigration and other issues in order to capitalize on a chance to shape the world. “Whenever Europe speaks as one, we can impose our position on others,” Juncker said, arguing that a …

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Pope Francis is summoning senior Catholic bishops from around the world to a February summit to discuss the church’s burgeoning clergy sex abuse scandal involving attacks on minors and years of cover-ups of allegations against parish priests. The Vatican said Wednesday the heads of the national Catholic bishops’ conferences would meet with Francis from February 21 to 24. The meeting of more than 100 church leaders is believed to be the first of its kind and a recognition that top church officials view the sex abuse scandal as global in scope. The church is now facing abuse scandals in the …

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Russia’s defense minister says Moscow and Beijing intend to regularly conduct joint war games similar to the massive ones being held this week. Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Wei Fenghe, on Wednesday visited the Tsugol firing range in eastern Siberia where nearly 300,000 Russian troops and about 3,200 Chinese troops are participating in joint exercises. The weeklong Vostok (East) 2018 maneuvers launched Tuesday span vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East, the Arctic and the Pacific Oceans. They involve 1,000 Russian aircraft and 36,000 tanks. China sent 900 combat vehicles and 30 aircraft to join the drills …

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European Union governments are failing to comply with air quality limits that are already weaker than the World Health Organization’s recommendations, the bloc’s auditors said Tuesday. The findings by the EU watchdog come as Brussels is taking half a dozen member states to court over their failure to enforce the bloc’s air quality laws. Respiratory illness caused by pollution result in 400,000 premature deaths a year, costing governments heavily in health care expenses, the European Court of Auditors found. “There are still considerable impacts on public health,” said Janusz Wojciechowski, one of the report’s authors. As many as 23 out of the bloc’s 28 nations are failing to comply …

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At the height of the crisis over Catalonia’s secession drive last year, thousands of companies moved their legal headquarters out of the region, the Madrid stock market and government bonds took a hit, and the Spanish state came under strong pressure. Nearly a year later, the organizers of an illegal referendum on independence for Catalonia are in jail or in self-imposed exile, Spain has a new prime minister, and the economy has stabilized. But the situation remains tense and could flare up any time. Danger for economy Despite the crisis, Catalonia remains one of Spain’s main economic powerhouses and still accounts for around a fifth of national gross …

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Italy and Austria issued sharp retorts to the new U.N. human rights chief Tuesday over her plans to send in teams to investigate the treatment of migrants, with Italy saying the move is “inappropriate, unfounded and unjust.” A foreign ministry statement recalled all the praise Italy has received over the years for rescuing migrants, providing assistance projects in migrants’ home countries and cracking down on Libyan-based smuggling networks that have greatly reduced the number of arrivals. The ministry said it hoped the data “will help the newly installed high commissioner” understand Italy’s commitment and its track record. Former Chilean President …

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A senior Kosovo official said on Tuesday any agreement on normalizing relations with Serbia must include the country’s recognition by Belgrade and its admission to the United Nations. Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj said during a conference in Slovenia that a “very complex process” lies ahead in the European Union-mediated negotiations that aim to solve a long standing dispute between the former war foes. Serbia has refused to accept Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence that came after NATO intervened in the 1998-99 war to stop an onslaught by then-Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic against Kosovo ethnic Albanian separatists. Around 100 countries …

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An annual address to the European Parliament on Wednesday by European Commissionc President Jean-Claude Juncker puts a spotlight on EU elections next year. Who’s voting and for what? More than 350 million adults in the European Union’s 27 member states can vote, most on Sunday, May 26, 2019 — two months after Britain becomes the first country to leave in a move that has spurred nationalist, anti-EU groups across Europe. By proportional representation, they will elect 705 members to the European Parliament, which divides its time between Brussels and Strasbourg. Ranging from tiny Malta with 6 seats to Germany with …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Chinese counterpart at an economic forum in the far eastern port city of Vladivostok today as armed forces from both countries descend on eastern Siberia to launch Moscow’s largest-ever military drills. Russia’s week-long deployment alongside Chinese and Mongolian troops, known as “Vostok-2018” (East-2018), comes at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and the West over accusations of Russian interference in Western affairs and ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. Comparing this week’s show of force to the Soviet Union’s 1981 war games during which between 100,000 and 150,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers took …

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European countries must not rush to repatriate Afghan refugees to their increasingly insecure homeland or blame their community for isolated crimes such as recent deadly attacks in Germany and in France, the top U.N. refugee official said on Monday. Two Afghans have been detained in Germany on suspicion of killing a 22-year-old German man, the public prosecutor’s office said on Sunday. French police detained a man who wounded several people in a knife attack in central Paris on Sunday, police and judicial sources said on Monday. The attacker, who a police source said was from Afghanistan, stabbed tourists and passersby. …

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Hundreds of thousands of Catalans are expected to fill the streets of Barcelona on Tuesday for the Spanish region’s first commemorative day since its leader declared independence last year and pitched the country into constitutional crisis. Supporters of splitting the wealthy northeastern region from the rest of Spain have in recent years used the September 11 “Diada,” the anniversary of the fall of their coastal capital to Spanish forces in 1714, to promote the cause. This year, Catalonia’s leader Quim Torra, who took over from his exiled predecessor after Madrid ended an unprecedented period of direct rule, has called for …

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Russia’s ruling United Russia Party suffered a rare setback in regional elections despite winning most of the seats, a reversal its leaders and election chiefs blamed on unpopular plans to raise the pension age. The results in weekend voting for heads of about one third of Russia’s regions were the worst for United Russia, which backs President Vladimir Putin, since elections for regional leaders were re-introduced in 2012. Four Kremlin-backed candidates were forced into run-off votes. Two were beaten into second place — by a communist and a nationalist — and two finished first but failed to win the more …

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A Romanian official said Monday that the U.S. needs to have a strong presence in Eastern Europe before a summit on boosting development in the region. Romania’s presidency hosts the 12-member Three Seas Initiative on Sept. 17-18 where officials will discuss about 40 regional government-approved projects that aim to boost interconnectivity in transportation, energy and the digital fields. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry will join regional leaders including Polish President Andrzej Duda and Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Presidential foreign policy adviser Bogdan Aurescu told The Associated Press that the …

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Final results from Sweden’s parliamentary election Sunday are expected later in the week, but preliminary results have one of Europe’s most liberal nations making a turn to the right and wondering how it will form a government. The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats that wants the country to leave the European Union and impose a freeze on immigration, appears poised to become the third largest party in parliament. With most ballots counted, the ruling center-left Social Democrats have 28 percent of the vote, trailed by the Moderates with 19 percent and the nationalist Sweden Democrats with almost 18 percent. The Social Democrats …

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French police have arrested a man who wounded seven people, including two British tourists, in Paris late Sunday. Reuters news agency quoted a judicial source saying there was no indication the attack was terror related. It also reported that four of those wounded were in serious condition. Witnesses told Agence France Presse the man was also carrying an iron bar. The incident reportedly took place at 2100 UTC in northeast Paris. …

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Thousands of Russians rallied against government-backed pension reforms and hundreds of them faced arrest Sunday, as Kremlin-backed candidates for the powerful mayor’s post in Moscow as well as a majority of regional governorships appeared headed to easy victory in elections scattered across the country. The split screen images of smiling voters on TV, and protesters facing down baton-wielding police on the internet, once again raised questions about Russia’s system of so-called “managed democracy” in which political freedoms are tolerated, but only to a degree.    Indeed, while the day saw unexpected results in a handful of races, Sunday’s vote was …

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Kosovo has barred Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic from visiting a Serb-populated enclave after dozens of protesters blocked the road to the village he had planned to travel to. Kosovar Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said on Facebook on September 9 that the revocation of Vucic’s permission to visit the village of Banje was made in the interests of the safety of citizens. President Hashim Thaci said on Facebook that he supported the decision but called protests and roadblocks unhelpful as Kosovo and Serbia make efforts for “peace and reconciliation” after the 1998-99 war between the two sides. Thaci added that the …

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Turkey’s arrests of an American pastor and other Western citizens have thrust its troubled judicial system to the forefront of ties with allies, reinforcing suspicions that the Turkish government is using detainees as diplomatic leverage.   Turkey scoffs at the idea that it treats detained foreigners as foreign policy pawns, and points the finger at the U.S. for cases against Turks in American courts. Turkey’s top appeals court judge weighed in this week, saying only “independent” courts can free pastor Andrew Brunson. The reality is more complex in a nation where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tightened his grip on …

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Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has compared Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan for Brexit to putting the country’s constitution in a “suicide vest” and handing the detonator to the European Union. The attack, and Johnson’s choice of language, widened the divide in the governing Conservative Party over Brexit. Johnson, a strong supporter of Brexit, quit May’s government in July after rejecting her proposal for close economic ties with the bloc after the U.K. leaves next year. His article in the Mail on Sunday ramped up speculation that he plans to challenge her leadership. But some Conservative colleagues condemned his …

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