Category: Євросоюз

The big day is nearly here for Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as the couple are to wed Saturday in the town of Windsor, just outside London. The former American actress confirmed this week that her father will not attend the ceremony because of ill health. Huge crowds are expected as well-wishers try to catch a glimpse of the royal couple and, as Henry Ridgwell reports, from the security operation, to the catering, to the flowers, the day marks the culmination of months of preparation. …

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The U.S. ambassador to Russia said he would not speak when he appears on the panel of the St. Petersburg economic forum (SPIEF) next week which he was to participate in with Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch recently added to a U.S. sanctions list. “While I will not be participating in any panel discussions at SPIEF, I will be meeting as many people as possible to discuss the road ahead,” the envoy, Jon Huntsman, said in a video posted by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Twitter. Russian media said earlier that Huntsman was scheduled to give a speech at …

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Close to 3.5 million people caught up in the conflict in eastern Ukraine urgently need humanitarian aid, according to the U.N. — which says its assistance program has received a small fraction of the funding it needs. Populations live under the constant threat of artillery and gunfire, mines, and unexploded ordnance — and now face growing food insecurity and outbreaks of diseases like TB. For VOA, Henry Ridgwell traveled to the front line earlier this week and has this report. …

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The newly-opened bridge linking Crimea and Russia carries traffic both ways, but the political divide its construction has come to symbolize is most apparent to those who call the territorially contested peninsula home. As Russian President Vladimir Putin led the televised, inaugural crossing of the controversial span on Tuesday—ensconced in the cab of a bright-orange, (partly) Russian-made Kamaz dump truck to emphasize the new route’s commercial promise—senior members of the Mejlis, the self-governing body of Crimean Tatars that Russia outlawed upon its annexation, saw a very different image. “The bridge is Putin’s image-boosting project for the sake of his electorate …

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Hundreds of truck drivers blocked roads across Bulgaria on Thursday as European Union leaders met in Sofia, protesting proposed EU rules they say would cost their jobs and put their firms out of business. Transport company owners described the initiative, known as the Mobility Package, as a protectionist measure designed to help rival firms in western Europe. The Bulgarian transport association said around 120,000 drivers from the country would lose their jobs under the proposed rule changes. Trucks from Bulgaria and other low-wage eastern European countries are a common sight on the roads of western Europe, competing with local firms …

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Hundreds of residents gathered in the southern Spanish town of Algeciras on Thursday to protest about the increasingly violent drug trade in the underprivileged area, which is an entry point for smugglers bringing hashish and cocaine into Spain. Traffickers bring consignments of drugs onto the beach in the area, often in broad daylight, and police have been physically attacked. Police unions have asked for more resources to fight the illegal trade. Residents, local politicians and police representatives gathered in the town holding a large banner reading, “For your safety, for the safety of everyone.” Police have made huge drug seizures in recent months in Algeciras, the Mediterranean’s largest port and a trans-shipment hub …

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When EU leaders pose for a “family picture” with counterparts from six western Balkan nations hoping to join the bloc, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will stay away in protest – highlighting how long and hard their road to membership is likely to be. Thursday’s summit, the first such meeting in 15 years, is meant to demonstrate the European Union’s renewed commitment to a region that remains fragile two decades after the ethnic wars that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia. Spain does not even recognize the independence of Kosovo, which will attend the Sofia summit along with Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, …

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President Tayyip Erdogan is driving Turkey “to the cliff” through ideological politics and a determination to control the central bank, the main opposition party’s presidential candidate said on Wednesday as the lira hit new record lows. Muharrem Ince, who seeks to end Erdogan’s 15-year hold on power in next month’s elections, said the central bank and other economic institutions must be able to operate independently. Erdogan said this week he plans to take greater control of the economy after the June 24 presidential and parliamentary polls, comments which drove the lira to fresh record lows. It is down 15 percent …

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Moscow is protesting the arrest of a journalist in Ukraine, and the Council of Europe and other human rights groups have expressed concern.   Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, detained Kirill Vyshinskiy, the head of the Ukraine office of Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, on treason charges. His arrest followed SBU raids of the Kyiv offices of RIA Novosti and RT television Tuesday.   The agency alleges the Russian state-funded media outlets were being “used as tools in a hybrid war against Ukraine.”   The Kremlin denounced Ukraine’s action as an attack on media freedom, and the Russian Foreign …

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Like most everyone else with a taste for fairy tales, Germans love the spectacle of a royal wedding. But since the country’s last emperor, Wilhelm II, was forced to abdicate in 1918, Germans haven’t had a monarchy of their own to fuss over and so have adopted Britain’s royals as surrogates. It should come as no surprise then that German tabloids, television stations and social media have buzzed with the latest details of Prince Harry’s fast-approaching marriage to American actress Meghan Markle — from the wedding guest list and the bridal dress to the loaded family dynamics and the lemon …

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Amsterdam unveiled far-reaching plans Wednesday to rein in tourism, reflecting the dissatisfaction of many residents who feel the city’s historic center has been overrun. The leading Green-Left and other parties negotiating a new municipal government after March elections vowed to return “Balance to the City,” in a document of that name seen by Reuters. “The positive sides of tourism such as employment and city revenues are being more and more overshadowed by the negative consequences,” including trash and noise pollution, the document said. Changes the document outlines include curtailing “amusement transportation” such as multiperson “beer bikes”; cracking down on alcohol use in boats on the canals; further restricting Airbnb and other home rentals; …

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President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal puts the United States on a collision course with some of its closest allies in Europe. Trump has directed maximum sanctions be applied to companies that continue doing business with Iran, causing alarm, especially in France and Germany, where companies like Airbus and Volkswagen have signed multimillion dollar contracts with Tehran. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports. …

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Ukraine’s state security agency raided offices of two Russian state-owned media outlets in the Ukrainian capital Tuesday and leveled treason accusations against a journalist, a move that drew sharp criticism from the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group. Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU, said the raids of the Kyiv offices of the RIA Novosti news agency and RT television were part of its investigation into Russian media outlets being “used as tools in a hybrid war against Ukraine.” The agency said the head of RIA Novosti’s Ukrainian office, Kirill Vyshinskiy, was detained for alleged treason, a crime that carries …

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European and Iranian foreign ministers are working to salvage the nuclear deal, after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said European and Iranian officials held talks to address various challenges — from maintaining and deepening economic, transport and financial relations, to protecting European companies doing business with Iran in light of promised U.S. economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic. WATCH: Iran sanctions ​Despite reported calls for a new or broader deal, Mogherini said the goal was to retain the 2015 agreement. “If we want to save this deal — …

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Russia’s new weapons, including an array of new nuclear systems, will ensure the country’s security for decades to come, President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday at a meeting with top military brass. Speaking in Sochi, Putin said the new systems unveiled this year would significantly increase Russia’s military capabilities and “ensure a strategic balance for decades.” The Russian leader presented an array of new nuclear weapons in March that he said couldn’t be intercepted. They included a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile; a nuclear-powered global range cruise missile; and an underwater drone designed to strike coastal facilities with a heavy nuclear …

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The European Union’s top diplomat said on Tuesday Communist-run Cuba could help broker fresh dialogue between the government and opposition in Venezuela, despite Havana’s frequent assurances the crisis afflicting its leftist ally was a sovereign matter. Federica Mogherini made the comments at a news conference in Brussels after hosting the EU’s first “joint council” with Cuba since the bloc dropped all sanctions on the island and agreed on a political framework within which to strengthen ties. The EU has said it is now Cuba’s top trade and investment partner, and arguably plays a bigger role than traditional allies like Venezuela …

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Russian lawmakers Tuesday unanimously approved, in first readings, legislation to retaliate against the United States and other Western countries for last month’s imposition by Washington of sanctions on some of Russia’s biggest companies and business people. One measure would empower the Kremlin to impose sweeping “counter-sanctions” in response. Another would make it a criminal offense to observe sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russia or to provide any information or advice on the punitive action. Refusing to supply services or do business with Russian oligarchs or companies sanctioned by the U.S. would be punishable by up to four years in …

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Dutch museums on Tuesday published two pages of Anne Frank’s diary that had previously been hidden behind a layer of sticky brown paper. The Anne Frank House Museum said at a presentation that it, and several Dutch historical institutes, were able to reproduce the lost pages after years of study by shining a light through them and photographing them in high resolution. The Jewish teenager apparently covered up the pages because she worried that other people in her hideout would read them, as they contain a series of dirty jokes and her thoughts on sex education, said Ronald Leopold, director …

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A Moscow court has ordered Russia’s most prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny to serve 30 days in prison for his role in organizing massive protests against President Vladimir Putin earlier this month. Navalny and hundreds of his supporters were detained during the demonstrations in Moscow and dozens of other cities on the eve of Putin’s inauguration to another six-year presidential term. Navalny was released a day later after being charged with inciting an unauthorized rally. Navalny, who also organized massive street protests to coincide with Putin’s 2012 re-election, was barred from the presidential ballot in March because of a conviction …

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France’s foreign minister warned on Tuesday that President Emmanuel Macron was prepared to respond to U.S. moves in the Middle East, marking a sharp departure from the warm relations on show during Macron’s visit to Washington last month. To date, Macron’s best buddy approach to President Donald Trump has produced little practical influence on his policies. “The situation in the Middle East is explosive, violence is doing the talking, war could loom,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament on Tuesday, a day after the United States moved an embassy in Jerusalem and Israeli soldiers shot dead more than 50 Palestinian protesters …

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