
Russian diplomats in EU: unpaid wages, low morale
Jaded Russian diplomats in dark suits are parroting old propaganda lines in EU capitals, according to a grim portrait of Russian diplomacy after one year of war.
Thursday
9th Feb 2023
Jaded Russian diplomats in dark suits are parroting old propaganda lines in EU capitals, according to a grim portrait of Russian diplomacy after one year of war.
From February to November 2022, there were 213 military attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. 40 percent of them are still destroyed.
'Europeans need to pull their weight in Ukraine. They should pony up more funds.' Such has been the chorus since the start of the war. The problem is the argument isn't borne out by the facts, at least not anymore.
The ECHR ruled that Russia was in "effective control" of separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine from 11 May 2014. In doing so, the court has formally acknowledged the inter-state character of the conflict and Russia's culpability for human rights abuses.
Pressure is mounting for EU states to ease multiple-entry visas for human rights defenders from Belarus and Russia. But with EU states in charge of issuing visas, the possibilities for a coordinated EU approach appears limited.
Sanctions targeting Russia's fossil fuel earnings are now in place but as exports by European-controlled tankers persist, revenues still flow into the Kremlin purse.
Senior EU officials pledged more military aid and Russia sanctions on a unique trip to Kyiv on Thursday (2 February), as Russian president Vladimir Putin amped up talk of World War Three.
Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky writes that it is self-evident that Vladimir Putin and his cronies must be held accountable for planning and ordering a war of aggression — whatever the legal hurdles.
IAEA chief spent last week in Ukraine and is heading to Russia to seek an agreement on a protection zone. "I don't know for how long we are going to be lucky in avoiding a nuclear accident", he told MEPs.
Europe's response to Elon Musk's Starlink broadband internet system — currently used by Ukraine in its war against Russia — is to deliver its first services sometime next year.
Poland is urging other EU states with Leopard-class tanks to send them to Ukraine after Germany softened its position on re-export.
Accusations of Russia appeasement have redoubled following Germany's decision to continue withholding tanks from Ukraine.
Legal scholars, however, have argued that without the backing of the UN general assembly, it would be legally challenging to set up a tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine.
The Antwerp diamond industry has managed to evade sanctions for nine European sanctions packages. They remain convinced that voluntary measures will suffice to eventually reduce the trade in Russian blood diamonds to zero. That's incomprehensible.
Proofing European security against Russian aggression must include more than just military hardware: equally pivotal is the improvement and expansion of the continent's critical transport infrastructure. European policymakers have been aware of this need since at least 2017.
Sweden is demanding Hungary ratify its Nato accession, following fears Budapest may leverage rule of law and frozen EU funds in exchange.
EU countries should consider a new round of Russian diplomatic expulsions, Estonia has said after ejecting 21 more Russians.
Turkey and Sweden have hit a wall in talks on Nato accession, with some predicting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won't give way till July.
Dutch media authorities have granted a broadcasting license to TV Rain, a Russian news channel suspended in Russia and then also forced to leave Latvia following a row over its coverage of the Ukraine war.
A majority in Czechia, Hungary, and Poland are open to their countries hosting Ukrainian refugees, according to a survey by Globsec, the Bratislava-based think tank, published last week.
Six Russian fertiliser and chemicals barons will partly get off the hook on EU sanctions, in the first significant loosening of EU measures since Russia invaded Ukraine.
EU leaders' bark will be worse than their bite on Russia sanctions at this week's summit, if disagreements drag out.
Historically, Muscovite and Russian elites viewed the territories that comprise modern Ukraine with indifference or greed, not fear. Ukraine was too far away to matter.
In the last-minute deal, the EU unblocked Hungary's opposition to joint financial assistance to Ukraine and the bloc's adoption of the global minimum tax.
Upcoming EU sanctions will strike at Russia's media bullhorn, while shedding light on the horrors behind the propaganda lies.
From the outset, arms manufacturers eyed this war as a profitable business opportunity. Structural changes took place across the EU, not only to fast-track arms to Ukraine, but also to make more public finance available to the highly-lucrative arms industry.
"We cannot afford any more delays," Czech minister Zbyněk Stanjura said of aid to Ukraine, adding that his country's EU presidency is "fully committed to finding a compromise".
How should democratic states co-operate with authoritarian governments in the future? My organisation, Democracy Reporting International, has studied the security strategies of 13 democratic governments to understand how they see this relationship.
The agribusiness narrative is a masquerade. A smokescreen to water down environmentally-friendly reforms and maintain industrial agriculture. A smokescreen to which a majority of European policy-makers, including member states, are dangerously buying into.
The EU Commission has downplayed Russia's threat to stop selling oil to countries which adopt a Western cap on prices.
Vladimir Putin himself is somewhat suspicious of Serbia's leader, as are most who deal with the opaque Aleksandar Vucic. The Russian president has preferred to keep his Serbian counterpart compliant, via a tight rein of annually-reviewed gas pricing.
The EU proposed a plan to use the proceeds from the €300bn Russian Central Bank assets to help reconstruct Ukraine, but suggested the funds should be returned if a peace agreement were to be signed.
Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday asked for air defence systems and generators, as Russia has been pounding Ukraine's vital energy infrastructure.