Category: Євросоюз

Multi-nation talks on the prospects for Afghan security and national reconciliation, the third such round since December, began Friday in Moscow. Eleven countries are taking part in discussions, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan and India. Former Soviet Central Asian states have been invited to attend for the first time. The United States was also invited to the Moscow talks but Washington didn’t attend, saying it was not informed of the agenda beforehand and was unclear of the meeting’s motives. Just days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s frosty reception by the Kremlin, which refused to stop support for Syrian …

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Turkey says it may re-evaluate or suspend all migrant agreements with the European Union if it does not receive a positive response from the bloc on visa-free travel for Turks. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during an interview with broadcaster A Haber Friday the migrant deal and visa liberalization were a package, and therefore it was Turkey’s right to re-evaluate or suspend those if one element was not fulfilled. Cavusoglu also said Turkey had no issues with Russia at present and would strengthen cooperation on a cease-fire and political solution in Syria, after a chemical attack blamed on Syrian …

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France’s presidential election race looked tighter than it has all year Friday. With nine days to go until voting begins, a new opinion poll put the four leading candidates 3 percentage points apart. The two highest scorers in the first round April 23 will go through to contest a run-off May 7. According to a poll by Ipsos-Sopra Steria, centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen were tied on 22 percent each, with the far-left’s Jean-Luc Melenchon and conservative Francois Fillon at 20 and 19 percent respectively. That made the most likely second-round scenario one that pits Le …

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French judges investigating far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of European Union funds to pay for party assistants have asked for her European parliamentary immunity to be lifted, a judicial source said Friday. The latest twist in Le Pen’s legal woes was revealed nine days before the first round of the French presidential election, in which opinion polls see her finishing first or second and qualifying for a crucial second round in May. The French judges’ request, signed March 29 and filed with the prosecutor’s office and the justice ministry, is unlikely to be approved by European lawmakers …

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International organizations are demanding Russia investigate the abduction, detention and killing of gay and bisexual men in the country’s southern republic of Chechnya. United Nations human rights experts on Thursday called on Russian authorities to “put an end to the persecution of people perceived to be gay or bisexual in the Chechen Republic who are living in a climate of fear fueled by homophobic speeches by local authorities.” “It is crucial that reports of abductions, unlawful detentions, torture, beatings and killings of men perceived to be gay or bisexual are investigated thoroughly,” they added. The appeals follow reports in the …

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As the United States and Russia clash on Syria, another war-torn nation could play out as a renewed theater for the U.S.-Russia rivalry: Afghanistan. Thursday, U.S. forces dropped what was being called the largest non-nuclear bomb on a reported Islamic State militant complex in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. The U.S. strike came a day before Russia is to host multi-nation talks on prospects for Afghan security and national reconciliation, the third such round since December. Eleven countries are set to take part in Friday’s discussions in Moscow, including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan and India. Former Soviet Central Asian …

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Polish leaders welcomed a new multinational NATO battalion to Poland on Thursday, with the president calling it “a historic moment for my country.”   The near-permanent deployment of a NATO battalion under U.S. command marks the first time NATO troops have been placed so close to Russian territory, a step the Kremlin denounces as a threat to its own security.   But Polish President Andrzej Duda said the deployment, to Poles, stands as a symbol of liberation and inclusion in the Western democratic world.   “It’s not an exaggeration to say that generations of Poles have waited for this moment …

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Germany’s foreign minister urged Kosovo’s political parties Thursday to approve the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro to end their status as the only Western Balkan country without free travel rights in Schengen zone countries. Minister Sigmar Gabriel was in Pristina on Thursday as part of his regional tour. Opposition parties say Kosovo loses territory in the border agreement signed two years ago, and have blocked the governing coalition from ratifying the deal by continuously disrupting parliament. U.S. Senator John McCain also visited Kosovo on Thursday, urging Pristina to resume its dialogue with Serbia, saying that’s the only way to a …

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Russia’s lack of progress in cleaning up its doping culture and introducing a satisfactory testing regime continues to impede the country’s reinstatement to athletics, the IAAF said Thursday. Providing its latest update on Russia’s state-sponsored doping system, the  International Association of Athletics Federations also criticized the country’s decision to make Yelena Isinbayeva the head of the country’s scandalized anti-doping agency. “It is difficult to see how this helps to achieve the desired change in culture in Russia track and field, or how it helps to promote an open environment for Russian whistle-blowers,” Russia task force chairman Rune Andersen said in …

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Polls showed France’s presidential election campaign tightening further on Wednesday as financial markets fretted about the rising popularity of a far-left candidate who wants to put France’s European Union membership to a vote. Investors have long been anxious about election frontrunner Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, who has promised a referendum on whether to quit the EU and ditch the euro. She has been joined on the list of investors’ concerns by far-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon, who has surged in the polls after strong performances in two candidates’ debates. The Communist-backed Melenchon also wants a referendum …

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There are only two options on the ballot – “yes” or “no” – but tens of millions of Turks will cast their votes in a referendum on Sunday with a myriad of motives. The referendum could bring about the biggest change to Turkey’s system of governance since the founding of the modern republic almost a century ago, replacing its parliamentary system with an executive presidency. The question on the ballot paper may be about the constitution, but looming large is the figure of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who could win sweeping powers and stay in office until 2029 if the …

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Hungary denied Wednesday that a new education law was aimed at shutting down a university founded by U.S. financier George Soros, and suggested a possible compromise in a dispute that has drawn protests at home and criticism from Washington. Central European University (CEU) found itself in the eye of a political storm after Hungary’s parliament passed the law last week setting tougher conditions for the awarding of licenses to foreign-based universities. Critics said the new terms would hurt academic freedoms and were especially aimed at CEU, founded by the Hungarian-born Soros after the collapse of Communism and considered a bastion …

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Four surveillance rooms believed to date back to communist-era Yugoslavia and filled with dust-covered listening equipment have been discovered behind a Slovenian hotel situated next to one of the world’s largest limestone caves. The wiretapping rooms were found behind a solid steel door during renovation work at the back of the Hotel Jama and lead directly to the Postojna Cave’s interior. The spy rooms were likely built around 1969 when the hotel was under construction, according to Marjan Batagelj who heads the company managing the hotel and cave, a major tourist attraction in the former Balkan state. The absence of …

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Russia is struggling to source gas turbines for two new power plants it is building in Crimea, Russian Energy Ministry Alexander Novak said Wednesday. European Union sanctions bar European individuals and companies from providing energy technology to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The Black Sea peninsula has suffered electricity shortages since then. Three sources told Reuters last year that turbines for the Crimean plants would be made by Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies LLC, a joint venture in which Siemens has a 65 percent share. The German company categorically denied it intended to send turbines to Crimea. The …

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A British parliamentary report has raised the possibility that the voter registration site used in the run-up to the June referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union may have been attacked by foreign powers.   Parliament’s Public Administration Committee said Wednesday it “does not rule out the possibility” that a foreign cyberattack may have caused the website to crash on June 7.   The report mentions Russia and China as possibly being involved but says it has no proof of foreign intervention targeting the site.   Officials initially blamed the crash on a surge in voter demand following …

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that his government has had a lot of questions about what he said were ambiguous and contradictory ideas coming from the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Lavrov spoke at the start of a meeting in Moscow with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, adding that it is important for Russia to understand U.S. intentions. Lavrov also referenced last week’s U.S. strike on a Syrian airbase, which came in response to a chemical weapons attack, calling the U.S. response “troubling.” Tillerson was more brief in his opening statement, but like Lavrov, he …

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Strolling down the quayside in Izmir, a liberal bastion on Turkey’s Aegean Coast, Kubilay Mutlu and his Street Orchestra sing of “the naked emperor” and the collapse of sultanates in a bid to rally “no” voters ahead of Sunday’s historic referendum. With mainstream media saturated by pro-government campaigning ahead of the vote on broadening President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, those opposed to the changes are seeking alternative channels to get their message across. “No” supporters have complained of threats and bans from the authorities, and a report by one non-governmental group said television coverage of the “yes” campaign had been ten …

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The Hungarian government should engage in “serious, urgent and good-faith talks” with Central European University about legal changes seen to be targeting the school founded by billionaire George Soros, a U.S. diplomat said Tuesday. A bill signed Monday by President Janos Ader sets new conditions for foreign universities in Hungary, some of which seem aimed specifically at CEU. The law requires universities in Hungary also to have a campus in their home countries. While CEU is accredited in Hungary and in New York state, it does not have a U.S. campus. “We’re very concerned about the legislation,” Hoyt Yee, U.S. …

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Italy’s parliament approved on Tuesday measures to accelerate asylum procedures, cutting the number of possible appeals and speeding up deportations of rejected migrants. Since 2014 the number of migrants reaching Italy’s shores has surged, with half a million arriving in the country, and under European Union law Italy has to set up so-called “hotspots” where migrants with the right of asylum are set apart from those without. As a result, Italy’s asylum applications have jumped, burdening the national civil courts and with procedures further delayed by appeals that can take years. Under the new rules the asylum ruling can be …

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President Donald Trump gave his official approval Tuesday for Montenegro to join NATO, marking another step forward in the tiny Baltic country’s quest for NATO acceptance. The White House says Trump looks forward to meeting with Montenegro and other NATO leaders next month in Brussels to welcome the 29th member of the alliance. The White House statement said Montenegro’s accession will signal other countries seeking to join NATO that “the door to membership in the Euro-Atlantic community of nations remains open and that countries in the Western Balkans are free to choose their own future.” The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly …

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