Category: Євросоюз

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party is sticking to its flagship plans for “radical” reform of the judiciary, despite seeing two bills vetoed by the president this week, PiS head Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Thursday. Kaczynski, who holds no government post but is widely seen as Poland’s de facto leader, also promised legislation to reduce the concentration of ownership in private media, in the face of what was likely to be “strong resistance.” In his first public comments since President Andrzej Duda’s veto of two bills designed to give the government direct influence over the make-up of the Supreme …

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The Turkish parliament has approved a series of changes to its bylaws, which critics say aim to further curtail opposition voices. The amendments cover a range of issues from what the parliament speaker can wear to how long a bill can be debated. The government insists the changes will render parliament more effective. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is accused of increasing authoritarianism, has long criticized the opposition for allegedly obstructing the work of parliament. The changes come as Turkey is engaged in an unprecedented crackdown on the alleged perpetrators of last year’s failed military coup, which human rights group …

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Moldova’s constitutional court rejected on Thursday a plan to hold a referendum that might have boosted the powers of pro-Russian President Igor Dodon and paved the way for a roll-back of the ex-Soviet nation’s trade pact with the European Union. The court ruled that Dodon had acted against the constitution in March, when he signed a decree to hold a referendum on whether to grant him the power to dissolve parliament and call a snap election. The decree also proposed cutting the number of members of parliament. “The president exceeded his authority,” the court ruled. Moldovan politics is divided between …

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As Vice President Mike Pence prepares to visit Montenegro and hold talks with Western Balkan leaders in August, a senior State Department official says U.S. engagement in the region remains strong. This is being welcomed by those countries leaders amid concerns that deep cuts in the proposed budget for the State Department could diminish Washington’s role in these fragile democracies exposed to Russian interference. VOA’s Keida Kostreci reports. …

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stripped former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship Wednesday, leaving him effectively stateless. Saakashvili became a citizen of Ukraine and was appointed governor of Odessa by Poroshenko on May 30, 2015. Ukraine’s State Migration Services posted a statement July 26 mentioning Saakashvili by name and citing laws under which citizenship could be revoked, such as by submitting false documents with a citizenship application. The statement also mentioned unspecified documents recently sent by Georgian authorities. The immigration service stated that Saakashvili’s case, including the newly obtained documents, had been sent to the citizenship commission. According …

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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara has agreed to purchase Russia’s S-400 missile systems, despite NATO concerns. The controversial purchase comes as Ankara tries to court Moscow, after a Turkish jet downed a Russian bomber operating from Syria in 2015. “We have now taken steps with Russia about this issue [buying S-400 systems]. Deals have been inked,” Erdogan announced Tuesday to his parliamentary deputies. “In God’s will, we will see S-400 missiles in our country and precede the process with joint production.” The Turkish president did not miss an opportunity to dismiss concerns of his NATO partners. “Why will …

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The European Union warned on Wednesday that it was ready to act within days to counter proposed new U.S. sanctions on Russia, saying they would harm the bloc’s energy security. Sanctions legislation overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday has angered EU officials: they see it as breaking transatlantic unity in the West’s response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Brussels also fears the new sanctions will harm European firms with connections to Russia, and oil and gas projects on which the EU is dependent. “The …

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Officials at the museum of the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz say some exhibits are going on a tour of Europe and North America to bring its tragic truth about the Holocaust to a wider audience. The museum says Wednesday this will be its first-ever traveling exhibition and will include some 600 items. Most of them will come from the museum, but also from other collections, like Israel’s Yad Vashem.   The “Not long ago: Not far away” exhibit will include personal items of the victims and an original barrack from the Auschwitz-Monowitz part of the camp, a German …

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Firefighters in France have intensified their efforts to control a wildfire that began sweeping through parts of the Riviera coast Tuesday night and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. The fire is the most recent of several wind-fueled blazes that are consuming forests and scrublands between Marseilles and the city of Nice in southeastern France. At the nearby marinas of Saint-Tropez resort, the fast-approaching fire prompted the evacuation of about 10,000 people, including 3,000 from campsites. Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blaze, with planes and helicopters dropping tons of water on the area’s hilly terrain, where fires regularly …

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In the first flush of enthusiasm for France’s Emmanuel Macron, the fresh young politician who upended French politics and snatched his country’s presidency this year, Italian politicians were no different from European counterparts in seeing him as a JFK-type figure who’d help Europe overcome major challenges — from Brexit to the migrant crisis. But Italy is quickly falling out of love with Macron and irritation with France’s president is mounting in Rome. Tensions have crept into diplomatic relations between France and the government of Paolo Gentiloni, prompted by Macron’s response to Italian pleas for more European assistance with the mainly …

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German automaker Daimler’s profits barely rose and were short of market expectations as its Mercedes-Benz luxury car division boomed while earnings lagged at its truck, van and bus businesses.   The second-quarter results were overshadowed by the growing controversy over diesel technology hanging over the automaker — and the auto industry in general — ahead of a meeting in Germany of carmakers and government officials next week.   The Stuttgart-based company reported Wednesday that net profit was up a scant 2 percent compared with a year ago, to 2.51 billion euros ($2.9 billion). Revenue increased 7 percent to 41.16 billion euros ($48 …

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New sanctions punishing Russia for its interference in last year’s US presidential election cleared a key step Tuesday as the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill expanding Congressional checks on President Trump’s ability to ease those penalties. VOA’s Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill. …

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The European Commission has pledged another $116 million to Italy to help its government manage the Mediterranean migration crisis. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said in a letter to Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday that he was setting up a special “contact team” in Brussels to coordinate with Italian authorities. The additional financial assistance the commission pledged to Italy raises by 12.5 percent the funds already allocated to Rome, to a total of over $1 billion. Through the first half of 2017, nearly 84,000 migrants arrived in Italy by sea, 20 percent more than during the …

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Katinka Hosszu has a case full of medals. She wants so much more. From marketing marvel to ambitious businesswoman to fledgling union organizer, the Hungarian swimmer known as the “Iron Lady” knows how to make a splash – in and out of the pool. Along with American star Katie Ledecky, Hosszu is perhaps the biggest name at the world championships this week, the home-country favorite whose face seemingly appears on every billboard around Budapest, whose every appearance at Duna Arena is accompanied by foot-stomping, flag-waving euphoria. She lived up to the enormous expectations in her first event of the meet, …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized Israel for security measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque, also known as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem. Rising tensions over the mosque could threaten attempts at rapprochement between Israel and Turkey. Erdogan chose his weekly address to his parliamentary deputies to launch a strong attack on Israel for the introduction of security measures to access the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims. Erdogan said Israel’s legitimacy makes sense to the extent it respects the rights of itself, Palestine and Palestinians.  He said the restrictions on the mosque are not due …

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Police with search hounds hunted on Tuesday for a chainsaw-wielding loner who mostly lived in the woods, a day after he stormed into an insurance office in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen and wounded two staff members. Police have identified the suspect as 50-year-old Franz Wrousis, a drifter with a criminal record, and warned residents that he could still be armed for attack. It was not clear what may have prompted the man to assault the two office workers, one of whom was badly hurt. CSS, whose office Wrousis stormed, said he was a client. Two other customers in the …

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New Zealand will be one of the first nations Britain will strike a trade deal with once it formally leaves the European Union — a promise made Tuesday by visiting British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson held talks in Wellington with Prime Minister Bill English on the second day of his two-day visit to Britain’s former colony.  Britain’s chief diplomat insisted that New Zealand would not be negatively affected once Brexit is a done deal.  “I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face,” Johnson affirmed, “Brexit is not, was not, will not be about Britain turning away from the …

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The parents of the critically-ill British infant, Charlie Gard, dropped their legal bid Monday to send him to the United States for experimental treatment after new medical tests showed such treatment could no longer help. VOA’s Correspondent Mariama Diallo reports on the heart wrenching story of baby Charlie that attracted worldwide attention and sympathy. …

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The International Monetary Fund is more optimistic about the economy of the 19-country eurozone after a run of elections saw populist politicians defeated and risks to its outlook abated.   In an update to its April projections published Monday, the IMF revised up its growth forecasts for many eurozone countries, including the big four of Germany, France, Italy and Spain, after stronger than anticipated first quarter figures.   Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is projected to grow by 1.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage point on the previous estimate, while France is forecast to expand 1.5 percent, up 0.1 percentage point. Projections …

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Serbia’s new chief war crimes prosecutor has filed a request to resume the landmark trial of eight former Bosnian Serb police officers charged with taking part in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.   The proceedings were halted after an appeals court ruled this month that the charges were invalid because they were filed when Serbia did not have a chief war crimes prosecutor. The trial marked the first time that a Serbian court had dealt with the killings by Bosnian Serb troops of around 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, Europe’s worst single atrocity since World …

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