Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Ticker

Putin offers Russian citizenship to Ukraine regions

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree to allow residents in the eastern Ukraine territories, held by Moscow-backed rebels, to obtain Russian citizenship under a simplified procedure. The move piles pressure on Ukraine's president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky, who won by a landslide last Sunday and promised renewed peace talks with Moscow. Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin called Putin's move an "aggression and interference" in Ukraine's internal affairs.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Podcast

Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza

This week's Euroscopic explores the consequences of Moscow's terror attack, the convergence of public safety and border/migration policy in an EU election year, and the United Nations Security resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Investigation

How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route

Psychotropic drug abuse is one of the many dangers migrants face along the Balkan route. In overcrowded camps, doctors prescribe tranquilisers to calm people down. And black market circuits and pharmacies selling drugs without prescription contribute to the issue.

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us