Category: Євросоюз

Residents of the Spanish region of Catalonia will vote in regional elections Thursday — two months after separatist campaigners tried to declare independence following a disputed referendum. The Spanish government called the election in an attempt to take the heat out of the crisis — and is hoping that a silent majority will vote for pro-unity parties. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Barcelona, many Catalans who oppose independence say it would devastate the region’s economy. …

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Russia poses an increasing threat and is willing to use propaganda, subversion and cyberattacks to undermine Britain and the rest of Europe, Britain’s national security adviser said Monday. Mark Sedwill, who is overseeing a review of Britain’s security services, told a parliamentary committee that Russia is attempting to “sow dissension” and undermine democracy in Britain and other western nations. He said the threats from Russia included from unconventional warfare such as disinformation campaigns to the dangers posed from an increase in its military capability in the North Atlantic and in Eastern Europe. “We know that the Russian threat is definitely …

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As the most serious challenger during Vladimir Putin’s 18 years in power, Alexei Navalny has endured arrests, show trials and facefuls of green antiseptic that damaged his vision. But in an interview Monday with The Associated Press, he said the biggest thing keeping him from becoming Russia’s next president is a political system that punishes him for rallying support and conspires to keep his face off the airwaves. Putin’s approval rating is astronomical and he is widely expected to win another term with ease, but the fact that he won’t even say Navalny’s name suggests the anti-corruption crusader has struck …

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European Union environment and energy ministers on Monday agreed on renewable energy targets for 2030 ahead of negotiations next year with the European Parliament, which has called for more ambitious green energy goals. Ministers said they would aim to source at least 27 percent of the bloc’s energy from renewables by 2030 — up from a target of 20 percent by 2020. In October, the European Parliament called for this target to be increased to 35 percent, a level also put forward by a group of big technology, industry and power companies last week. As part of the package of …

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Wreckage from a Polish fighter jet that disappeared from radar Monday was found near a domestic air base, but the pilot of the Russian-made plane survived the crash, a defense official said. Deputy Defense Minister Bartosz Kownacki said the pilot was able to eject before the MIG-29 fighter went down near the central Polish town of Minsk Mazowiecki, which hosts an air base. The Defense Ministry said the accident took place on the jet’s approach to the base. Col. Piotr Iwaszko, commander of Tactical Air Force Base in Minsk Mazowiecki, said the crash was the first of a MiG-29 in …

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Hundreds of Romanian judges and prosecutors took part in protests around the country Monday to show their opposition to legal changes they say would hamper prosecutions. The first demonstrations were held outside courts in the capital, Bucharest, and other cities that included Cluj, Timisoara, Galati, Brasov and Constanta. The unusual judicial display continued in the evening with a silent protest outside the Bucharest Court of Appeal and outside a court in the central city of Brasov. Many of the participants held papers printed with the oath new judges take vowing to respect Romania’s Constitution and laws. In Cluj, people gave …

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Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Ukraine Sunday while trying to storm Kyiv’s October Palace following a rally against President Petro Poroshenko. The crowd, which was dispersed with tear gas fired by police, is the latest in support of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who was released from custody last week after having been detained and accused of trying to stage a Russia-sponsored coup. No serious injuries were reported from the demonstration, and the situation was relatively calm after nightfall. “You have to show them that you are brave, but very, very calm,” Saakashvili told the crowd Sunday. “I will …

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An employee of Britain’s embassy in Lebanon was found murdered Sunday. The body of Rebecca Dykes was reportedly found on the side of the road. Police sources told the British media that Dykes appeared to have been raped before she was killed but that the crime did not appear to be politically motivated. A statement from Dykes’ family said they were “devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca.” “We are doing all we can to understand what happened. We request that the media respect our privacy as we come together as a family at this very difficult time,” the …

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The Kremlin said Sunday that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency provided Russian authorities with information that thwarted a series of Islamic State bombings planned in St. Petersburg. Moscow said Russian President Vladimir Putin called U.S. President Donald Trump to thank him for the CIA information, a call the White House confirmed. Russia said the intelligence was significant enough for its Federal Security Service to track down seven suspects last week who were planning suicide bomb attacks Saturday on the two-century-old Kazan Cathedral and other sites in Russia’s second largest city. Three more were arrested Sunday who authorities said were linked …

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Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that Turkey hopes to open an embassy to a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem in the future.. “Because it is under occupation we can’t just go there and open an embassy,” Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling party in the city of Karaman. “But, inshallah [God willing] those days are near and… we will officially open our embassy there,” he said, without giving any precise timeframe. The comments come just days after Erdogan hosted a summit of leaders of Muslim-majority nations to denounce U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem …

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Controversy is swirling around the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World.  This new non-profit organization has come under intense criticism from health agencies and anti-tobacco campaigners who accuse it of acting as a smoke-screen for Big Tobacco, a charge vigorously denied by the foundation’s president.   Derek Yach, who created and heads the foundation, was one of the architects of the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which came into force February 27, 2005.    He said he believes the provisions of the Convention were still valid and have been largely successful in preventing people from smoking and “in …

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French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates his 40th birthday this weekend on the grounds of a former royal palace, in what some opponents called another tactless show of wealth. Rivals have branded former investment banker Macron “president of the rich” for policies such as the scrapping of a wealth tax and cutting the housing benefit, moves the president framed as reforms to boost investment and social mobility. Macron is staying with his wife, Brigitte, in a guesthouse close to the Chateau de Chambord, a former royal palace on the Loire that dates back to the 16th century. His office denied media …

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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hit the delete button on domestic rules protecting net neutrality. The FCC voted 3-2 on Thursday to end the 2015 Open Internet Order and enact the Restoring Internet Freedom initiative, which is widely seen as giving internet service providers (ISPs) more power to selectively limit internet access while favoring certain data streams. In large part, this is an internal battle within the United States over consumer choice and how the internet will operate. Nonetheless, it also could have a significant impact beyond America’s borders, especially for those who routinely interact with U.S.-based internet services …

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Austria’s Conservative People’s Party (OVP) reached a coalition deal Saturday with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which takes a hard line on immigration. The deal makes Austria the only western European country with a far-right group in government. Austrian conservatives led by Sebastian Kurz and FPO leader Heinz-Christian Strache said in a joint statement this was a “turquoise-blue agreement,” referring to each group’s political colors. “We want to reduce the burden on taxpayers … and above all we want to ensure greater security in our country, including through the fight against illegal immigration,” Kurz said. The 31-year-old will be Austria’s …

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Ukraine’s foreign minister applauded decisions announced this week by Canada and the European Union (EU) as important in demonstrating the international community’s solidarity with Ukraine and sending a clear message to Russia. “Look, Russia does not live in a vacuum, sanctions are effective,” Pavlo Klimkin said Friday in an interview with VOA. EU Council President Donald Tusk announced Thursday that leaders of the organization’s 28 member states were “united on the rollover of economic sanctions on Russia.” The European Union’s sanctions post constraints for Russia’s access to the coveted EU markets. Initially, they were put in place in 2014 “in …

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British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said Saturday it is likely Britain will want to negotiate a bespoke arrangement for a future trade deal with the European Union, rather than copying existing arrangements like the Canada-EU deal. The European Union agreed Friday to move Brexit talks onto trade and a transition pact, but some leaders cautioned that the final year of divorce negotiations before Britain’s exit could be fraught with peril. Summit chairman Donald Tusk said the world’s biggest trading bloc would begin “exploratory contacts” with Britain on what London wants in a future trade relationship, as well as starting discussion …

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European leaders finished a summit in Brussels agreeing that Britain has done enough to move on to the second phase of negotiations to leave the EU, but without any signs of agreement on matters of immigration. European Council leader Donald Tusk put immigration high on the agenda for the two-day summit. He said at the end of the day Friday that EU leaders will find it “very hard” to reach a compromise in talks on a new policy for admitting refugees by a June deadline. “Mandatory quotas remain a contentious issue although its temperature has decreased substantially,” Tusk told a …

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France gave the world butter croissants and foie gras, yet it has often been a place where being overweight was seen as almost sinful. Now, after taking a hard look at the contradictions in the mirror, its capital has launched a campaign to counter sizeism, an often disregarded kind of discrimination in the image-conscious city known for luxury fashion brands and tiny waists. Paris anti-discrimination chief Helene Bidard began the initiative after falling victim to weight-related insults and noticing how bias against French people who are overweight went unnoticed, never mind unpunished. “We see fat people as ugly and even …

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Turkish prosecutors have taken another step toward the prosecution and possible jailing of the country’s main opposition leader. On Thursday, Ankara prosecutors announced they had prepared their case against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and called for the lifting of his parliamentary immunity. The CHP responded by criticizing the ruling party and Turkey’s president. “[The] Justice and Development Party, and most importantly, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is different from the parties in the past. It has no tolerance against being criticized heavily and this intolerance is reflected in the indictment written by the prosecutors,” said deputy …

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United Nations human rights officials are condemning what they call the shocking and appalling mass executions of 38 men in Iraq on Thursday. The men, who were executed at a prison in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah, were convicted for terrorism-related crimes.  A spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, told VOA her office did not learn of the mass executions until after the fact. “That again just underscores the situation, that suddenly we get sort of word, we get news that there has been a mass execution,” Throssell said. “That goes back to the …

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