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EU summit will be 'unwavering' on arms for Ukraine
EU leaders will vow to continue arming and financing Ukraine in the face of "unspeakable" Russian "atrocities", according to a draft of next week's summit declaration.
Saturday
28th May 2022
EU leaders will vow to continue arming and financing Ukraine in the face of "unspeakable" Russian "atrocities", according to a draft of next week's summit declaration.
Hungary's premier Viktor Orbán declared a state of emergency due to the war in neighbouring Ukraine hours after pushing a constitutional amendment through parliament, where two-thirds of MPs are controlled by his Fidesz party, allowing his government special powers.
Neither Reagan nor Gorbachev achieved their goal at the famous Reykjavik summit of 1986. Despite that fact there are lessons that current leaders — particularly Vladimir Putin — could adopt from these two iconic leaders.
Political pressure is mounting for the European Parliament to unilaterally strip Russian lobbyists of their access badges.
A Ukrainian environmental lawyer has filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman, arguing that imports of Russian fossil fuels breach EU law and violate international human rights.
The government in Budapest responds to EUobserver opinion piece "Are Orban's Covid powers now the 'new normal' in Hungary?"
EU leaders will have no good news for Ukraine on the Russia oil ban next week, amid confusion on what Hungary really wants.
EU Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday that Poland's recovery plan could be approved within a week. This could also help unblock Warsaw's reluctance to agree to the tax deal.
Fewer people may be crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya compared to recent years, but the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says underlying problems remain entrenched.
Fruits and vegetables produced in the EU are still contaminated with hazardous chemicals, despite years-old promises by EU member states to phase them out.
Some Western European politicians are reviving the chimera of a negotiated settlement. None of this makes the current, half-hearted approach towards sanctioning Russia look better — nor does it shed any favourable light on the cravenness of Hungary's current government.
EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said "no stone should be left unturned" in helping Ukraine rebuild post-war, including possibly seizing and repurposing Russian central bank assets — a move which would likely be challenged under international law.
"Freedom is more important than free trade. The protection of our values is more important than profit," Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said in a speech referring to Russia and China at the World Economic Forum.
The West should use a $300bn hoard of frozen Russian treasure to rebuild Ukraine, four EU states are lobbying finance ministers to consider.
The European Commission manages a blacklist that aims to prevent fraudsters from accessing EU funds. But it is not being implemented properly, says an EU watchdog.
The world is at "a turning point," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned in Davos — urging Western countries to impose "maximum sanctions" on Russia.
The European Commission on Monday proposed to extend suspension of fiscal borrowing rule in 2023 — but advised prudence amid already rising real interest rates.
As the world continues to seek productive ways to provide assistance to the beleaguered citizens of Ukraine, the Hungarian government is now using the humanitarian crisis to further its own authoritarian ambitions.
Some 630,000 weapons are listed as "wanted items" in EU police databases, amid growing worries over right-wing extremism.
Last-minute Israeli blacklistings and red lines have prompted MEPs to call off an official trip, posing the question if Israel can belittle the EU Parliament with impunity.
On World Bee Day, it is essential to pay homage to a variety of pollinating insects crucial for our food security. A number of EU projects contribute to their sustained survival.
Eurozone finance ministers will discuss the economic worries with the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, agriculture ministers are set to talk food prices, and EU affairs ministers will put Hungary on the spot in the Article 7 procedure.
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Austria's ex-foreign minister Karin Kneissl should be blacklisted if they don't step down from top Russian state-owned companies, while EU countries should sanctions Europeans who take key jobs at Russian state firms.
In a debate between energy commissioner Kadri Simson and MEPs, some lawmakers called for a stronger response to Russian energy aggression.
The leader of the Catalan government, Pere Aragonès, denounced the use of the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware against Catalan politicians and MEPs during a visit to Brussels.
A Joint Investigation Team combines prosecutors, police and judges from different countries who come together under the coordination of Eurojust to synchronise cross-border investigations — with a track record of achieving results: from the Bataclan attacks to the MH17 investigation.
The French EU presidency is pressing to make some last-minute headway on the EU's migration and asylum reform but is still meeting resistance from a handful of member states.
Prices of cereals, fertilisers, and oilseed have shot up drastically in several European markets due to Russia's war on Ukraine, prompting some member states to seek EU aid.
Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war has threatened to be a public relations disaster for hard-right gatherings like the Conservative Political Action Conference — now meeting in Budapest and featuring Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who remains highly-cordial with the Kremlin.
The Nordic Bridges cultural initiative is now in full swing in Canada — an initiatives of the Nordic ministers for culture, to showcase interaction between their cultures and the rest of the world.
EU countries need to refill stockpiles after several member states supplied weapons to Ukraine in its fight with Russia, and to phase out existing Soviet-era weapons systems, and reinforce air defence.
The EU and US are carrying out legal assessments on whether it can use frozen Russian money to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
The EU unveiled its plans to increase solar generation capacity and accelerate the rollout of major renewable projects in the EU — as part of efforts to reduce energy imports from Russia.