Category: Євросоюз

Authorities in Spain say police are raiding several public and private offices across Catalonia in an operation against the alleged misappropriation of public development aid money. Investigating magistrate Joaquin Aguirre in Barcelona ordered Thursday’s raid as part of a probe into at least 2 million euros (US$2.3 million) in development grants from the local government that were allegedly misused in an unspecified manner.   It said the investigation, which is also looking into possible abuse of power and fraud charges, has been going on for more than a year and remains sealed.   Private news agency Europa Press reported that …

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The Kremlin says it doubts that Yulia Skripal has issued a statement of her own free will after her recovery from poisoning that Britain blames on Russia. Skripal, who was poisoned along with her ex-spy father in a nerve agent attack, said Wednesday her recovery has been “slow and painful” and that she doesn’t need assistance offered by the Russian Embassy. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Thursday the Kremlin doesn’t know whether Skripal made her statement under pressure or independently, where she is or if her rights have been respected by British authorities. Russia has vehemently denied …

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An abortion debate that has inflamed passions in Ireland for decades will come down to a single question on Friday: yes or no? The referendum on whether to repeal the country’s strict anti-abortion law is being seen by anti-abortion activists as a last-ditch stand against what they view as a European norm of abortion-on-demand, while for pro-abortion rights advocates, it is a fundamental moment for declaring an Irish woman’s right to choose. couple If the “yes” side prevails and the constitutional ban on abortions is repealed, the government plans to introduce legislation that would allow abortion within the first 12 …

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French and Rwandan leaders vowed to work together on key African security issues Wednesday, as they sought to move forward after bitter differences over Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Standing alongside his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, French President Emmanuel Macron said the two leaders had agreed to work “pragmatically” on issues of mutual concern, especially on African hot spots like the Sahel, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. Referring to years of tension over the Rwandan genocide, Macron said it was not a question of underestimating the past, but rather assuming it and trying to overcome it. He …

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President Donald Trump’s top health official said Wednesday that the U.S. and global partners will “take the steps necessary” to try to contain a new Ebola outbreak, asserting that the fight against infectious diseases is one of the administration’s top priorities for the World Health Organization, the U.N. agency taking the lead.  Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar stopped short of predicting whether the outbreak in Congo that’s believed to have killed at least 27 people will be contained, but he praised WHO’s early response and vowed: “If it spreads, we will take further actions.” Azar’s comments on …

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Britain’s newly-married Prince Harry has had a long love affair with the African continent. He spent his post-graduation year in Lesotho, launched a children’s charity there and fell in love with his bride-to-be in Botswana. Africa is also the couple’s rumored honeymoon destination. Royal watchers are betting he and Meghan Markle will celebrate their recent marriage in the southern African nation of Namibia, known for its sand dunes and pristine beaches. That love for Africa shone through, observers said, at the wedding. Ululating guests gave the celebration an African flavor, while impassioned musical performances and a stirring homily from a …

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A dozen prominent anti-Kremlin thinkers and activists have published an open letter condemning a major Washington research organization for hosting an off-the-record round-table dinner for two oligarchs listed on a U.S. Treasury-issued registry of 210 wealthy Russians identified as close to President Vladimir Putin. The Atlantic Council, which hosted Pyotr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, principals of the U.S.-sanctioned Alfa Group, published the condemnatory letter on its website before the private dinner Monday, which was internally billed as “an outlook for the Russian economy in an era of escalating sanctions.” The open letter criticizing the Atlantic Council, co-signed by major Kremlin …

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Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned along with her ex-spy father in Britain in March, said they are “lucky to have survived” the nerve agent attack. In her first on-camera appearance since the assassination attempt, Skripal called her recovery “slow and painful” but said she hopes to return to her home in Russia someday. Skripal and her 66-year-old father, Sergei, spent weeks hospitalized in critical condition after they were found unconscious in the English city of Salisbury, 145 kilometers southwest of London. Britain says the Russian state poisoned the Skripals with a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok that likely was smeared …

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The United States on Tuesday gave American customers of Russia’s biggest van manufacturer GAZ more time to comply with sanctions, further backing away from its initially uncompromising stance on GAZ’s owner, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. The United States slapped sanctions on Deripaska and his companies — including GAZ — and some other Russian tycoons in April, in response to Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and what Washington called other “malign activities.” Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters previously that sanctions on GAZ could affect its contracts with German carmakers Volkswagen and Daimler, as well as with …

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Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologized to EU lawmakers on Tuesday, saying the company had not done enough to prevent misuse of the social network and that regulation is “important and inevitable.” Meeting the leaders of the European Parliament, Zuckerberg stressed the importance of Europeans to Facebook and said he was sorry for not doing enough to prevent abuse of the platform. “We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility. That was a mistake and I am sorry for it,” Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks. In response to questions about whether Facebook ought to be broken up, …

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Japan, Russia and Turkey have warned the United States about potential retaliation for its tariffs on steel and aluminium, the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday, bringing the total U.S. tariff bill to around $3.5 billion annually. The three countries detailed their compensation claims in notifications to the world trade body, following similar moves by the European Union, India and China. Each showed how much the disputed U.S. tariffs would add to the cost of steel and aluminium exports to the United States, based on 2017 trade. Russia said the U.S. tariffs, which President Donald Trump imposed in March, would …

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Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, has approved a counter-sanctions bill aimed at imposing what lawmakers say are “painful” trade restrictions on the United States and other states they call “unfriendly.” In its third and final reading Tuesday, lawmakers argued the counter-sanctions bill was essential to safeguarding the “security and interests” of Russia. The law is expected to pass easily in Russia’s upper house of parliament and be signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. The measure gives the Russian leader broad authority to ban goods from the U.S. and other states the Kremlin deems as hostile to Russia. …

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In a much-anticipated speech, French President Emmanuel Macron presented plans Tuesday to improve health, education, security and infrastructure in France’s disaffected suburbs, which have been tinderboxes of unrest and sometimes incubators of radicalism. President Macron laid out a series of concrete, actionable measures for the country’s troubled banlieues, or suburbs — from more community policing, urban renovation, and educational support, to cutting through layers of bureaucracy, fighting drug dealing, and better communication with local mayors about suspected radicals. Macron said while suburbs were places of talent and promise, they were also places of violence where things were not working and …

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President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday that Ukraine had taken into account most international recommendations in the latest draft law to create an anti-corruption court, which may be voted on by parliament this week. A long-delayed tranche of loans from the International Monetary Fund’s $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program hinges on parliament approving the bill, but it has not been clear if the latest version of the law guarantees the court’s independence in line with external guidance. “Yesterday I was happy that the absolute majority of the recommendations of foreign partners including the Venice Commission were taken into account by the …

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A German court on Tuesday rejected a request from prosecutors to take former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont back into custody pending a decision on whether he can be extradited to Spain. Puigdemont was detained by German police March 25 after crossing the border from Denmark. Spain had issued a European arrest warrant and sought his extradition on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds — charges that stem from an unauthorized referendum last year on Catalonia’s independence from Spain.   He was released April 6 after a German court said it appeared he can’t be extradited for rebellion, the more …

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European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said Tuesday that the EU still has no idea whether U.S. President Donald Trump will slap tariffs on the bloc’s steel and aluminum exports next week. “We have no clarity yet,” Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels as EU ministers gathered for talks on trade. She noted that she and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross speak several times a week. In March, Trump imposed tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum, but granted the 28 EU countries an exemption until June 1. He also temporarily exempted big steel …

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A gay Chilean man who survived abuse by a Catholic priest said Pope Francis told him that his sexual orientation “doesn’t matter” to him and that “God made you like this.” Juan Carlos Cruz said he spoke to the pope about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month. “Juan Carlos, that you are gay doesn’t matter,” Cruz said Pope Francis told him, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. “God made you like this and loves you like this, and …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused countries with nuclear weapons of “threatening the world,” and criticized the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. “Those who have more than 15,000 nuclear warheads are currently threatening the world,” he said, referring to the approximate total number of warheads worldwide, most of which are held by the United States and Russia. Apparently referring to such states as Iran, he added: “Why are countries with nuclear warheads posing a threat to them?” “If we are to be fair, to show a just approach, then the countries with nuclear …

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Survivors of a devastating high-rise fire in London wept Monday as relatives paid tribute to some of the 72 victims at the opening of an inquiry into Britain’s deadliest blaze in decades. The Grenfell Tower inquiry is beginning with two weeks of tributes to those who died when a fire that began in a faulty fridge raced through the 24-story apartment block in June 2017. The statements from friends and family members are meant to keep the victims at the center of the inquiry, which will try to determine how the disaster happened and prevent a similar tragedy happening in …

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Sweden will send out instructions to its citizens next week on how to cope with an outbreak of war, as the country faces an assertive Russia across the Baltic Sea. The 20-page pamphlet titled “If Crisis or War Comes” gives advice on getting clean water, spotting propaganda and finding a bomb shelter, in the first public awareness campaign of its kind since the days of the Cold War. It also tells Swedes they have a duty to act if their country is threatened. “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up,” the booklet says. “All information …

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