Category: Євросоюз

Two documentaries on the plight of refugees off the Italian coast and the Greek coast have received Oscar nominations this year. “Fire at Sea,” by Gianfranco Rosi has been selected in the Feature Documentary category and “4.1 Miles” by Daphne Matziaraki has been nominated in the Short Documentary category. VOA’s Penelope Poulou spoke with Rosi about his film and how these documentaries bring public awareness to the refugees crisis in a tough political climate. …

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Russia’s long-time U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, died suddenly on Monday in New York, a day before he would have turned 65 years old. The Russian foreign ministry announced his death in a statement, giving no details of the circumstances.  The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Peter Thomson, told VOA that he was informed Churkin had “some sort of cardiac arrest” at the Russian Mission and was taken to a hospital where he died.  Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in office for most of Churkin’s time at the U.N., called him “an outstanding diplomat and an intellectual star.”  …

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A cease-fire in eastern Ukraine aimed at halting fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Moscow-backed separatists went into effect Monday. Ukrainian officials, however, warn it is at risk of falling apart. Under the cease-fire announced in Munich by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, both sides are supposed to abide by the two-year-old Minsk agreement and withdraw heavy weaponry from the front lines. Yet, just hours before the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany announced this latest truce, a separatist leader was issuing military threats. Alexander Hug, chief of a monitoring mission for the Organization for Security and Cooperation …

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French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Monday called Syrian President Bashar Assad “the most reassuring solution for France,” a major divergence with her nation’s official policy.   Le Pen, head of the anti-immigration National Front, spoke after meetings with Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. They were among numerous officials, including the Christian Maronite patriarch, that Le Pen was meeting on her two-day visit to Lebanon, a former French protectorate.   The trip represented the first major foray into foreign policy for Le Pen, a leading candidate in France’s April 23 and May 7 election. …

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Vice President Mike Pence says the United States will “continue to hold Russia accountable,” but that President Donald Trump has directed a search for ways to find “new common ground with Russia.” Pence’s comments came Monday in Brussels alongside European Union Council President Donald Tusk. “In the wake of Russian efforts to redraw international borders by force, we will continue to support efforts in Poland and the Baltic states through NATO’s enhanced forward presence initiative,” Pence said. “And with regard to Ukraine, the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable and demand that Russia honor the Minsk agreements beginning …

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The Kremlin says its decision to recognize passports and other documents issued by separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine is a response to Ukraine’s blockade of rebel regions. The weekend’s move by Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn sharp criticism from Ukraine, which called it a violation of a two-year-old peace deal. Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, a conflict that has killed more than 9,800 people Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the decision was a humanitarian move to help struggling residents in the rebel regions, who have faced a transport blockade …

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Jewish communities in Europe say they feel especially vulnerable following the terror attacks across the continent in recent years, and want governments to dedicate extra policing and intelligence efforts to keep them safe.  Community leaders meeting at the Munich Security Conference Sunday also warned that the rise of populist far right parties threatens their way of life.  Jewish leaders say the plight of their people in Europe will always be seen in the shadow of the Holocaust.  U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence and his family travelled the few kilometers out of Munich Sunday to the site of the former Nazi concentration …

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Greece will need less in emergency loans from international lenders than originally agreed in its third bailout program due to a better-than-expected budgetary developments, the head of the eurozone bailout fund was reported on Monday as saying. Klaus Regling told German newspaper Bild that at the end of Greece’s money-for-reforms package in August 2018, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will “probably have paid out far less than the agreed maximum amount of 86 billion euros” because the Greek budget was developing better than expected. The comments came shortly before eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels to assess Greece’s progress …

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A draft of President Donald Trump’s revised immigration ban targets the same seven countries listed in his original executive order and exempts travelers who already have a visa to travel to the U.S., even if they haven’t used it yet. A senior administration official said the order, which Trump revised after federal courts held up his original immigration and refugee ban, will target only those same seven Muslim-majority countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya. The official said that green-card holders and dual citizens of the U.S. and any of those countries are exempt. The new draft …

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is making his first visit to Europe since taking office, to reassure allies the United States remains a staunch friend amid concerns about the new administration’s “America First” strategy and its overall approach to global affairs. Pence is scheduled to have dinner with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel Sunday in Brussels. On Monday, Pence will meet with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, EU Council President Donald Tusk, and other EU officials. The European Union will likely seek clarity on Trump’s prediction last month in two European newspapers that other countries would follow Britain and leave …

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Former Italian Premier Matteo Renzi has resigned as Democratic Party leader in a bid to win a fresh, stronger mandate before the national election in which populist political forces are positioned to pose the biggest challenge.   As promised, Renzi told fellow Democratic leaders at a meeting Sunday that he was resigning. But Renzi insisted he won’t submit to what he called the “blackmail” of a more left-leaning faction threatening a schism if he again seeks the top party post.   The national election, due in early 2018, might come earlier if Premier Paolo Gentiloni loses control of a frequently …

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The United States says it is disturbed by Russia’s decision to recognize passports and other documents issued by rebel authorities in eastern Ukraine.   The recognition, in an order signed by President Vladimir Putin that was announced Saturday, “is alarming and contradicts the agreed-upon goals of the Minsk Agreement,” the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said Sunday on Twitter, referring to a two-year-old agreement on ending the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Russia was a signatory of the agreement.   More than 9,800 people have been killed in fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.    President …

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Vice President Mike Pence was the latest in a trio of high-ranking Trump emissaries to tell European allies in person that the United States will steadfastly support NATO and demand that Russia honor its commitments to end fighting in Ukraine. Some European leaders, however, remain skeptical of whether Pence and the U.S. secretaries of state and defense actually speak for President Donald Trump. And they worry those declarations might easily be swept away at the whim of the mercurial American president.   “We are waiting for actions,” said Polish President Andrzej Duda. “We only know what the media has reported …

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Muslim organizations in the Netherlands have criticized disparaging comments about Moroccans made by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders, but say they are just the latest in a long string of insults.   Launching his campaign Saturday for the Netherlands’ March 15 parliamentary election, Wilders criticized what he called “Moroccan scum” for making the Netherlands unsafe.   Ebubekir Ozture, director of the Muslim umbrella group Contact Organ Muslims and Government, on Sunday called Wilders comments “reprehensible,” but added, “It is not the first time and probably won’t be the last time,” that Wilders has used such language.   Wilders was convicted late …

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Turkish officials say 26 people have been detained following a car bomb attack that killed two people in the southeast part of the country. The car bomb exploded Friday near the lodgings of judges and prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, bordering Syria. Footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building and wrecked cars. In a news conference at the town’s courthouse Saturday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the explosion killed the 11-year-old son of a court clerk and a 27-year-old neighborhood guard. Eleven people remained hospitalized, including the public prosecutor’s wife, the minister …

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Russia considers the second round of Syria peace talks, held this week in Kazakhstan, a success, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Saturday. The director of the ministry’s Middle East and North Africa department, Sergey Vershinin, told Russian state media the talks in Astana were an important step toward resolving the Syrian crisis. Three guarantor countries — Russia and Iran, which back the Syrian government, and Turkey, which backs some rebels opposed to it — organized the talks in Kazakhstan. In addition to the host country, others attending included representatives from Damascus and armed Syrian opposition groups, the United Nations …

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In his first major foreign policy speech, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has said at the Munich Security Conference that America will be ‘unwavering’ in its support for the NATO alliance – but warned allies that they must step up defense spending. Amid controversy over the Trump administration’s ties to Moscow, Mr. Pence said the US would continue to hold Russia accountable. Henry Ridgwell reports from Munich. …

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While German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed that European nations strengthen their multilateral ties, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence praised NATO but made no mention of the European Union, fueling concerns about America’s new approach to international affairs. At the Munich Security Conference Saturday, Merkel delivered a speech stressing the importance of supporting organizations such as the European Union, the United Nations and NATO that have played key roles in the post-Cold War global order. “Will we be able to continue working well together, or will we all fall back into our individual roles?” Merkel asked. “I call on us, and …

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The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, met his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar Friday at NATO’s Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey. Talks between the NATO allies reportedly focused on Washington’s support for Syrian Kurdish militias in the fight against the Islamic State group. The United States says it chooses carefully among Kurdish fighters when lending its support to Syrian rebels battling Islamic State. Ankara dismisses the Americans’ arguments and says they are actively supporting the People’s Protection Units, the YPG, whose fighters the Turks contend are terrorists group united with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, …

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U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told European allies that American security is tied to that of Europe and described NATO’s principle of collective defense as a bedrock commitment. He made the comments at the Munich Security Conference, where heads of state and delegates from across the world are gathered at a time when many fear the global world order is at risk. Henry Ridgwell reports from the conference. …

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