Category: Євросоюз

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, whose Democratic Party (PD) is shedding support in opinion polls, suffered a further setback on Wednesday when two allies said they would not contest next year’s election. Renzi quit as prime minister a year ago after losing a referendum on his planned constitutional reforms. He aims to return to power at the vote due by May, but the PD has split under his leadership and his prospects seem to be dwindling. On Wednesday Giuliano Pisapia, a former mayor of Milan, announced that his small leftist party called The Progressive Camp (CP), which had been …

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High drama degenerated into farce with the attempted arrest of Mikheil Saakashvili by Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday, leaving international experts puzzled about the motives behind the move but in agreement on one point—the mishandled operation has so far served mainly to tarnish the image of Ukraine’s government. Television cameras captured most of the action as riot-clad security forces dragged the one-time president of Georgia from his Kyiv apartment to a waiting police van, only to be blocked by a mob of Saakashvili supporters who eventually helped him escape from the van. The Georgian firebrand-turned-Ukrainian opposition leader then led the crowd on …

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Two men were charged Tuesday in London with terror offenses over an alleged plot to kill British Prime Minister Theresa May, according to British government officials. Both will appear before a court Wednesday in the British capital in connection with what officials say was a conspiracy to launch a suicide-knife attack on Downing Street, the official home of the prime minister. News of the foiled assassination plot broke shortly after the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, Andrew Parker, had briefed the cabinet on the terrorist threat and informed ministers that his service had thwarted nine terrorist attacks this …

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A war on food waste in France, where supermarkets are banned from throwing away unsold food and restaurants must provide doggy bags when asked, has helped it secure the top spot in a ranking of countries by their food sustainability. Japan, Germany, Spain and Sweden rounded out the top five in an index published the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which graded 34 nations based on food waste, environment-friendly agriculture and quality nutrition. It is “unethical and immoral” to waste resources when hundreds of millions go hungry across the world, Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said at …

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Turkey’s president says the New York trial of a Turkish banker is a U.S. conspiracy being staged to “blackmail” and “blemish” his country.   President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Tuesday in Ankara, Turkey. His comments came as the trial of Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla continued in its second week. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab described criminal activities he was forced to divulge after he pleaded guilty to seven charges in October and became a government cooperator. His testimony likely will win him leniency at sentencing. The defense says Atilla is “not corrupt.” Erdogan says the trial is a ploy …

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Nearly 50 people were injured Tuesday near Duesseldorf, Germany,  when a passenger train collided with a freight train in the suburb of Meerbusch. Authorities say the train carrying 155 people hit the freight train Tuesday evening, west of Duesseldorf, causing serious injuries to at least three people, moderate injury to three more, and minor injuries to at least 41 other people. Rescue personnel are on the scene. The initial estimates of injury were lower; Deutsche Bahn rail company, which operated the passenger train, first estimated only five people had been hurt, then raised the estimate to nearly 50. The train …

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Three men were charged in Malta on Tuesday with murder in connection with a car bomb blast that killed anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a statement read in court said. Caruana Galizia, 53, died instantly when her car was blown up as she drove out of her home on October 16, a killing that shocked Malta and raised concern within the European Union about the rule of law on the tiny Mediterranean island.   The three men charged, Vince Muscat and brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio, all pleaded not guilty. It was not immediately clear whether police thought they had acted …

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Ukrainian security forces stormed Mikheil Saakashvili’s Kyiv apartment and arrested the former Odesa governor, now an adamant opponent of President Petro Poroshenko, accusing him of criminal ties with ousted ex-leader Viktor Yanukovych. Police used tear gas or pepper spray on protesters and Saakashvili appeared on the roof of the building during the drama, shaking his fist and accusing Poroshenko of being a traitor and a thief before being dragged away by security forces. As the events unfolded in the street, Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko alleged at a briefing that an “organized crime” group led by Yanukovych, who is in exile in …

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A high-ranking United Nations official has arrived in North Korea to help lower tensions over the secretive regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile testing programs. Jeffrey Feltman, the world body’s undersecretary-general for political affairs, left for Pyongyang Tuesday after a stopover in Beijing the day before. Feltman is the first U.N. official holding that rank to visit the isolated regime since his predecessor, Lynn Pascoe, in 2010.   U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that Feltman will discuss “issues of mutual interest and concern” with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice Minister Pak Myong Guk during his visit, which ends …

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Russia’s justice ministry on Tuesday designated nine U.S. media outlets, including the Voice Of America, as “foreign agents.” The ministry further listed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and several of its affiliates, after warning last month they could be affected. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law in November empowering the government to designate media outlets receiving funding from abroad as “foreign agents” and impose sanctions against them. Russian officials have called the new legislation a “symmetrical response” to what they describe as U.S. pressure on Russian media. On November 13, Russian state-funded television channel RT registered in the United States …

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Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has sent a tweet that seems to read like a farewell, amid rumors in Warsaw that she might be replaced. Szydlo sent the tweet after midnight following talks in her conservative ruling Law and Justice party on reshuffling the government. There have been rumors for weeks that party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski could become next prime minister though recent Polish reports suggest the most likely new leader will be Mateusz Morawiecki, minister for development and finance. Szydlo wrote: “Regardless of everything Poland is the most important. One that takes care of family and values (and is) …

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he plans to affirm an “ironclad” U.S. commitment to NATO during a visit to Belgium, Austria and France this week. Dogged by reports by several media outlets that the White House is considering replacing him with CIA Chief Mike Pompeo, Tillerson called those reports “laughable.” President Donald Trump also tweeted that Tillerson is not leaving any time soon. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Tillerson’s job insecurity speculation Monday as a distraction, saying the trans-Atlantic alliance “and NATO ministers are able to focus on the core tasks of the job we have to do despite …

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Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya insisted Monday that he was innocent of money-laundering accusations after an evacuation of the court building during a London hearing put him the in the center of a media scrum.   The Westminster Magistrates Court session was interrupted briefly by a fire alarm, forcing Mallya outside amid the waiting media. Television crews from India pursued Mallya, while he tried to avoid them.   “The allegations are baseless, unfounded, deliberate and you will see our submissions in court,” he said.   But the media kept pursuing 61-year-old businessman and former politician, circling him on the sidewalk.   …

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Ten suspects were arrested Monday over the October 16 car bomb murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta’s prime minister announced.   Joseph Muscat said eight Maltese citizens were arrested on Monday morning, given a “reasonable suspicion” of their involvement in Caruana Galizia’s slaying. Shortly afterward, he tweeted that two others had been arrested, but didn’t cite their nationality.   Police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the other two are also Maltese.   Overall, Muscat gave almost no details, citing concerns any information could compromise prospects …

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The finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro are deciding who should lead their regular meetings, with Portugal’s Mario Centeno widely tipped to take the helm of a group that has led the currency bloc’s crisis-fighting efforts. The decision of who will succeed Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem as president of the so-called eurogroup is expected later Monday. Dijsselbloem, who has held the post for nearly five years, has been one of the most high-profile European politicians during a period that saw a number of countries, notably Greece, teeter on the edge of bankruptcy and the euro currency itself …

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NATO’s chief says he’s looking forward to talks with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and that the military alliance is too focused on security issues to be distracted by rumors about Tillerson’s future.   Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that the alliance “and NATO ministers are able to focus on the core tasks of the job we have to do despite any speculation and rumors.”   Stoltenberg praised Tillerson’s “strong personal commitment to the trans-Atlantic bond and to NATO.”   President Donald Trump denied Friday that he wants to oust Tillerson, calling reports to that effect “fake news.”   …

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A Spanish Supreme Court judge ordered the release of six jailed Catalan politicians Monday, but upheld the continued detention of two separatist activists and two other former members of the regional government, including the vice president. Magistrate Pablo Llarena ordered ousted Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, the former regional interior minister Joaquim Forn and the leaders of two Catalan separatist groups to remain in jail without bail.   According to a Supreme Court statement, the judge ruled that, while he considered there was no risk the defendants would leave the country, it remained to be seen if their pledges to …

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Nationalist dominated the first round of local elections on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, winning more than 45 percent of the vote in preliminary results. The vote has been closely watched elsewhere, following Catalonia’s independence moves in Spain. The results mark a clear victory for the current ruling nationalist coalition in Corsica. Their Pe a Corsica list earned significantly more votes during this first round than two years ago, when they swept to an unprecedented victory in regional elections. A smaller nationalist ticket received far fewer votes. But should the two unite, they would capture the majority of seats …

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German authorities say a suspicious package containing nails that led to a bomb scare on a Christmas market in Potsdam was part of a blackmailing plot against a delivery company. Brandenburg state Interior Minister Karl-Heinz Schroeter told reporters Sunday the package was part of a scheme to extort millions of euros from delivery company DHL. It was delivered Friday to a pharmacy on the same street as the market in Potsdam and later destroyed in a controlled explosion. Schroeter said it most likely didn’t target the market.   Officials said the package’s sender was still at large and that an …

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Germany wants to support rejected asylum-seekers who voluntarily move back to their home countries with a one-time payment of 3,000 euros ($3,570). The Interior Ministry says those who qualify can apply by a Feb. 28 deadline and they would get the money once they return home. Migrants who agree to go back even before their asylum request is rejected have already been offered 1,200 euros per adult and 600 euros per child under a different program for almost a year. They are now eligible to apply for both programs. But the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported Sunday that 8,639 migrants …

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