Category: Євросоюз

Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund are likely to strike a compromise on Greece on Thursday, paving the way for new loans for Athens while leaving the contentious debt relief issue for later, officials said on Monday. IMF head Christine Lagarde suggested a plan last week under which the Fund would join the Greek bailout now, because Athens is delivering on agreed reforms, but would not disburse any IMF money until the eurozone clarifies what debt relief it can offer Greece. Underlining the IMF’s willingness to strike a deal after months of wrangling between its European chief Poul …

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The United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the “irreversible” global tool to address climate change.   The G-7 environment ministers issued a final communique Monday after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact. In a footnote to the communique, the United States said it wouldn’t join with the other six countries in reaffirming their Paris commitments, but said it was taking action on its own to reduce its carbon footprint.   “The United States will continue to …

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The party of new French President Emmanuel Macron has won the most votes in parliamentary elections. The centrist Republic on the Move party sidelined two major French parties in an unprecedented victory, making it easier for Macron to pass his agenda through the assembly. But as VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports, a relatively low voter turnout also shows that many French people have lost trust in their politicians. …

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Italy’s environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, says the United States and the rest of the G-7 are far apart on the Paris Climate Agreement and will remain so. Galletti is hosting other Group of Seven environment ministers for two days of talks in Bologna. He said despite the policy split with the U.S., talks will take place on all matters concerning the global environment, including ways to clean up the polluted oceans. “The international community is awaiting for our message,” Galletti said, calling it one of sustainable development, ecology and serving the world population. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott …

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Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May has unveiled her new Cabinet, aimed at focusing on social issues and “delivering a successful Brexit.” May on Sunday said the new line-up brought in “talent from across the whole of the Conservative Party.” She made Damian Green, former work and pensions secretary, her deputy by naming him first secretary of state. Treasury chief secretary David Gauke moves in to take Green’s place, while the leader of the House of Commons, David Lidington, becomes justice secretary. Lidington’s move sees him replace Liz Truss, who has faced criticism in the justice role and has been …

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Rafael Nadal defeated Stan Wawrinka in straight sets Sunday in the final match of the tennis French Open, winning the grand slam for the 10th time in his career. “It is really incredible. To win La Decima is very, very special,” the 31-year-old Spaniard said shortly after becoming the only man in tennis history to win a major tournament 10 times. Defeating Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, Nadal, often referred to as the “king of clay”, showed his dominance over the red clay courts of the French Open, also referred to as Roland Garros in Paris. “The nerves, the …

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Ukrainians celebrated the first day of visa-free travel to the European Union Sunday in what President Petro Poroshenko called “a final exit of our country from the Russian empire.” “The visa-free regime for Ukraine has started! Glory to Europe! Glory to Ukraine!” he tweeted from his official account Sunday morning. The arrangement will allow Ukrainians with biometric passports to enter all EU member states other than Britain and Ireland for up to 90 days every six months for tourism or to visit family and friends. Poroshenko met with Slovak counterpart Andrej Kiska Saturday on their common border, opening a symbolic …

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke on the phone with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about the dispute between Qatar and its Arab Gulf neighbors. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations last week with Qatar, accusing the small nation of supporting Islamist militants and Iran, allegations Qatar has said are baseless. U.S. President Donald Trump also had strong criticism toward Qatar. The call late Saturday came at Tillerson’s request after he urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states Friday to “no further escalate” the crisis and ease their blockade of Qatar, which he …

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Pressure is growing on Prime Minister Theresa May to announce her intention to resign in the next few months. Senior Conservatives told VOA it is only a matter of time before May, who’s scrambling to hang on to power, has to go. They say she faces the choice between either agreeing to go quietly or facing an immediate leadership challenge, which will throw the party into an internecine war between those who want a sharp rupture with the European Union and those championing a so-called softer Brexit that would see Britain remaining inside Europe’s Single Market and accepting continued European …

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One of the first police officers on the scene of the London Bridge attack says he was met by pandemonium, as people fled in panic and the wounded lay on sidewalks.   But he also described how, within minutes, police had killed the attackers, ushered bystanders to safety and begun treating and evacuating the wounded.   Inspector Jim Cole, who was scrambled from his south London police station, said the response was “like something out of a Battle of Britain film” as officers piled into vehicles and raced to the scene. ​Triage, shelter inside a pub   In an account …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking a deal with a small Northern Irish party Sunday to stay in power after losing her party’s parliamentary majority in a catastrophic electoral gamble just days before Brexit talks are set to start. But with May’s personal authority in tatters, there were reports that moves were afoot within her Conservative Party to dislodge her, while opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was insisting she could be ousted and he could replace her. May’s Downing Street office said Sunday she had spoken with Northern Ireland’s pro-Brexit, socially conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to discuss finalizing …

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Kosovo votes in an early parliamentary election Sunday. The election was called in May when the government lost a confidence vote after the opposition accused it for not fulfilling promises to improve the country’s standard of living. Public opinion polls indicate a coalition of three former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is in the lead. The coalition, led by former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, is made up of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) of Kadri Veseli, the Initiative for Kosovo, NISMA, of Fatmir Limaj, and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AKK), Haradinaj. The three party …

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Danger lurks at Dracula’s castle.   Romanian authorities have closed a 13th-century fortress connected to Vlad the Impaler after a mother bear and her cubs were found roaming in the area.   The citadel, atop a mountain in central Romania, can be reached only by climbing 1,480 steps. It was shut in late May “for the safety of visitors,” its website said Saturday.   Local prefect Emilian Dragnea says the Environment Ministry had agreed to capture the four bears and relocate them elsewhere. Authorities blame people for leaving food in the area.   The citadel was repaired by 15th-century Romanian …

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Bahrain’s Foreign Minister that the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states should be resolved by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday. In a joint news conference with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Khalifa, Cavusoglu said Turkey would continue its efforts to resolve the dispute, as Qatar faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism. Cavusoglu also said Turkey’s military base in Qatar, to which Erdogan approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops, was aimed at contributing …

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A boat belonging to a Spanish aid organization has rescued 391 migrants attempting the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.   Laura Lanuza, spokeswoman for Spain’s Proactiva Open Arms aid group, says that its ship Golfo Azzurro on Saturday took on board 243 migrants from two smugglers’ boats it intercepted in international waters off the coast of Libya.   Lanuza says the migrants included one baby, a pregnant woman and several children.   The aid boat also saved another 148 migrants that it transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel.   Lawless Libya is one of the prime spots for …

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The Great British public has spoken. But as journalist Ian Hislop quipped Friday on a television comedy show, “no one knows what they said.” Hardly had the votes been counted in Britain’s indecisive election, in which no party got an outright parliamentary majority, than politicians took to airwaves and tapped away on Twitter to spin what the result meant. And crucially they debated whether the voters had rejected Brexit — or at least Prime Minister Theresa May’s hard version of a break with the European Union, which would see Britain not only relinquish EU membership but leave the single market …

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday she assumed Britain would stick to its plan for leaving the European Union after the country’s election upset, and that she wanted to work quickly on talks over Brexit. British voters failed to deliver a widely expected parliamentary majority for the Conservative party in Thursday’s general election, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May just days ahead of difficult Brexit talks with the EU. Speaking during a visit to Mexico City, Merkel said Germany was ready for the Brexit talks, which May said would begin June 19 as scheduled, although she now …

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Conservatives attempt to form minority government backed by the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland …

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Winning the French presidency was step one for Emmanuel Macron. Step two is nailing down the parliamentary majority France’s youngest-ever president needs to be effective. That happens in legislative elections that promise a monumental shake-up of the National Assembly and the consolidation of Macron’s grip on France’s levers of power. Not only is the two-round vote, this Sunday and next, expected to install hundreds of new faces in the 577-seat lower house, but many will likely be first-time lawmakers, making good on Macron’s campaign promises to take a broom to established, old-style politics. Half of the candidates for Macron’s fledgling …

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European countries are used to hung parliaments and forming coalition governments — or being governed by minority ones. But they are more unusual in Britain, partly because of Britain’s first-past-the-post voting system. However, several elections resulted in minority governments in the early part of the 20th century and, more recently, some governments have begun with outright majorities which then were lost because of resignations, by-elections and defections. The Labour Party had a three-seat majority after the 1974 general election but, by 1977, it lost its majority status and remained in power because of a pact it formed with the Liberal …

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