Category: Євросоюз

Mercedes is recalling about 1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because a starter part can overheat and cause fires.   The recall covers certain C-Class, E-Class and CLA cars and GLA and GLC SUVs, all from 2015 through 2017, including nearly 308,000 in the U.S.   The German automaker reported 51 fires worldwide, with about 30 in the United States. The company has no reports of any injuries.   Mercedes said in U.S. government documents released Friday that if for some reason the engine and transmission won’t turn over, a current limiter in the starter motor can overheat from repeated …

READ MORE

President Donald Trump will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House later this month.   White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says the meeting will take place on March 14. It will be the first in-person meeting between Trump and the German chancellor since the U.S. election.   Trump frequently criticized Merkel during his presidential campaign, accusing her of “ruining Germany” by taking in large numbers of refugees. Merkel, who wields significant sway in Europe, was critical of Trump’s refugee and immigration travel ban, which was blocked by the courts.   Sanders did not offer details on what …

READ MORE

Russia’s leading opposition figure has published a sweeping report accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption, claims which the government has shrugged off as propaganda. In a report posted Thursday, Alexei Navalny alleged Medvedev has amassed a collection of lavish mansions, yachts and vineyards managed by companies and charities controlled by his associates. Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, dismissed Navalny’s claims as part of election campaigning, saying in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that it’s “senseless” to comment on his “propaganda attacks.” Asked about the report Friday, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said he had nothing to add …

READ MORE

Britain’s MI6 Secret Intelligence Service is using a movie-theater ad in its push for more agents. The goal is to attract more women and ethnic minorities into the ranks of agents made famous by the fictional spy James Bond.   The 30-second spot marks the first time MI6 has advertised in cinemas.   Officials say they are seeking to promote more diversity in the service.   Director Alex Younger said Friday: ” I want everyone to know that, regardless of background, if you have the skills we need and share our values, there is a future for you in MI6.” …

READ MORE

Pope Francis will meet with European Union leaders a day before a special summit marking the 60th anniversary of the bloc’s founding treaty.   The Vatican announced on Friday the audience will be held March 24, the eve of the summit marking the anniversary of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which created the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community.   The evening meeting is expected to be public.   The first non-European pope in over a century, Francis has not hidden his concerns that the old continent is not living up to its history.   The pope previously addressed EU …

READ MORE

France’s next president may be a 39-year-old maverick former economy minister, affiliated with no mainstream political party and with no experience running for office.  Until now. On Thursday, and with less than two months to go before the first round of voting, independent centrist Emmanuel Macron finally unveiled his full political platform, outlining proposals ranging from downsizing France’s parliament and slashing government bureaucracy, to embracing closer European Union cooperation, fighting nepotism and rewarding businesses that hire from low-income neighborhoods. The former investment banker also positioned himself as a champion of the middle and working classes, as he described growing up …

READ MORE

Serbia’s outgoing prime minister, Aleksandar Vucic, reassured European Union officials visiting Belgrade on Wednesday that his country remains committed to joining the European bloc — but he cautioned that Serbs also want to pursue traditional ties with “friends from the East.” And in recent months, those friends in the Kremlin have been busy, say Western officials and analysts. From offering help with disaster relief to supplying sophisticated weaponry, including warplanes, the Kremlin is seeking to expand its influence in the Balkans, a region Moscow has viewed historically as in its sphere of influence, they warn. Moscow’s diplomatic offensive apparently is …

READ MORE

Serbia will hold a presidential election on April 2 that is seen as a litmus test of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic’s popularity, the parliamentary speaker said on Thursday. The vote will pit Vucic, whose Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is the largest in the ruling coalition, against the candidates of a fragmented opposition. It will be a test of his economic reforms, which have been backed by the International Monetary Fund, as well as of efforts to bring the Balkan country of 7.3 million people closer to the European Union. “I would like to use this opportunity to call all citizens …

READ MORE

A daunting new barrier is beginning to loom over Hungary’s southern border, capable of delivering electric shocks to unwanted migrants and armed with heat sensors, cameras, and loudspeakers that blare in several languages. The country was a main crossing point for hundreds of thousands of people trekking into Europe at the height of the migrant crisis in 2015. A hastily-erected first razor wire fence and tough new laws have cut arrivals to a trickle, but Budapest is not taking any chances. “Attention, attention. I’m warning you that you are at the Hungarian border,” the loudspeakers say in English, Arabic and …

READ MORE

Georgia’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a change of ownership at the biggest independent TV station Rustavi 2, in a move critics say is an attempt to silence the media. Hundreds of viewers, opposition politicians and supporters of Rustavi 2 rallied outside the court and moved to the broadcaster’s studio building in a gesture of support after the ruling was announced. The TV station has been fighting court battles since August 2015 when a court found in favor of former co-owner Kibar Khalvashi and ordered the seizure of its property and later the seizure of shares in the company that …

READ MORE

A Californian musician and a Russian music fan decided to become business partners. They founded a company to manufacture high-end microphones from old machinery that once produced Kalashnikov rifles. VOA’s Faiza Elmasry has more. Faith Lapidus narrates. …

READ MORE

In his first major speech to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump assured U.S. allies that he is committed to NATO, but some of his fellow Republicans have been blocking a Senate vote to expand the alliance for months. The delay of the Senate’s consideration of Montenegro’s accession to the alliance has fueled questions about whether Trump’s administration and his party will stand up to Russia despite the president’s desire for better relations. Moscow opposes any further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic with a population of 650,000, hopes to win the approval of …

READ MORE

A leading presidential candidate vowed Wednesday to press on with his campaign, despite a formal inquiry into a fake jobs scandal tainting his family and amid growing protests against political corruption in France. Reversing an earlier promise that he would end his campaign if placed under formal investigation, conservative ex-prime minister Francois Fillon said at a press conference he would not give up despite a summons to appear before a judge March 15. He lambasted the judiciary and the media, likening the allegations against him to a political assassination.   “I won’t give up, I won’t surrender, I won’t pull …

READ MORE

It was his eighth failed attempt at getting into the European Union and Tahir claims that, just like half of his previous efforts, it ended in violence. Tahir, who requested his entire name not be disclosed to protect his identity, is from Pakistan. He is among an estimated few hundred migrants and refugees camped out in scattered locations on the Serbian border with Hungary. Unwilling to play the waiting game at the 17 official camps scattered across Serbia, he and others are trying to make their way across the heavily guarded fence. “We were walking in Hungary for 12 hours, …

READ MORE

Vladimir Jehlicka and his business partners spent 25 years building up their Czech machinery firm before deciding to call it a day. However, they faced a problem that is growing as the first generation of post-communist entrepreneurs nears retirement. Their children weren’t interested in running the shop but equally Jehlicka and his three partners didn’t want to sell their life’s work simply to the highest bidder: securing a future for the firm was as important as the sale price. In the end they found a suitable buyer for STS Olbramovice, which employs 90 people making cattle feeders and other farm …

READ MORE

As legal movement from Serbia to Hungary, into the European Union, becomes more difficult for refugees and migrants, some are taking their chances by finding their own way through the razor-wire border fence. Yet as Hungary ramps up its efforts to prevent crossings, alarming reports of violence by border guards on refugees are mounting. John Owens reports from the Serbian-Hungarian border. …

READ MORE

French conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon says he will not withdraw from the election despite having received a summons for fake parliamentary jobs investigation to face preliminary charges in an investigation into an alleged fake jobs scheme.   Fillon told reporters that his lawyers received the summons Wednesday. He denied all allegations and says legal procedure was not properly followed in what he called a political assassination and unprecedented probe during the election campaign for the two-round April-May election.   “I will not withdraw,” he told reporters at his campaign headquarters. Fillon was once the front-runner for the two-round April-May …

READ MORE

A former CIA officer, convicted for involvement in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in Italy, will not be deported from Portugal and will be released, her lawyer said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella gave a partial pardon to de Sousa, convicted in absentia in Italy for involvement in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric there, the president’s office said. “The Milan prosecutor revoked the detention order. The Italian Interpol agents who are here to extradite her have been informed and the extradition is no longer happening,” Sabrina de Sousa’s lawyer told Reuters.    De Sousa, a dual U.S.-Portuguese …

READ MORE

Vietnam is coming under pressure from lawmakers in Europe to improve its human rights record before ratification of an EU free trade deal that the Communist government prizes after the loss of a major U.S.-led agreement. European Parliament members voiced concerns in late February about Vietnam as its Subcommittee on Human Rights traveled to the Southeast Asian country. The committee recommended more debate in Vietnam on political rights and freedom of expression and religion. Europe’s human rights concerns Without meeting Europe’s strict conditions on human rights, ratification of the trade agreement will be difficult, the subcommittee’s chair was quoted saying …

READ MORE

A top NATO official on Tuesday called on authorities in Georgia’s Russian-occupied region of Abkhazia to rethink plans to close two crossing points into Tbilisi-controlled territory. “Closure of two crossing points along the administrative boundary line of the Abkhazia region of Georgia … which are used daily by hundreds of citizens, will have a negative impact on the situation on the ground and stability in the region,” NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. Adding that the move will restrict freedom of movement and impact the livelihoods of local residents, Lungescu also called on Russia to acknowledge the former Soviet republic’s internationally …

READ MORE