European Union

Reuters reports: Germany said on Monday it was prepared to back an immediate European Union embargo on Russian oil, a major shift from Moscow’s biggest energy customer that could let Europe impose such a ban within days. Russia’s energy exports – by far its biggest source of income – have so far largely been exempt from international sanctions over the …

Reuters reports: Brazil’s top election authority, the Supreme Electoral Court, told Reuters on Monday it has invited the European Union for the first time to observe its general elections this year, when President Jair Bolsonaro will seek re-election. Bolsonaro has questioned the validity of Brazil’s electronic voting system and made baseless allegations of fraud in the 2018 race, stirring concerns …

Reuters reports: European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha showed the “cruel face” of Russia’s army and pledged to try to speed Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the European Union. During a visit to Bucha, where forensic investigators started to exhume bodies from a mass grave, von der …

Reuters reports: Western leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday agreed to strengthen their forces in Eastern Europe, increase military aid to Ukraine and tighten their sanctions on Russia as Moscow’s assault on its neighbour entered its second month. In a display of unity at an unprecedented triple summit of NATO, the G7 and the European Union, the military alliance announced …

Axios reports: The prime ministers of Poland [photo], the Czech Republic and Slovenia will visit Kyiv on Tuesday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and convey the European Union’s “unequivocal support” for Ukraine. The three leaders will be visiting an active war zone with the blessing of EU leadership, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “The purpose …

The Associated Press reports: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for an immediate cease-fire between the Russian and Ukrainian forces. “Our call to both Russia and Ukraine is: let the firing stop as soon as possible, let Russia and Ukraine make a beautiful contribution to peace,” Erdogan said Tuesday during a joint news conference with Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, …

Newsweek reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the European Union on Monday to allow Ukraine to join the bloc “immediately.” He insisted in a televised speech that Ukraine had earned the right to join the EU and this could be achieved through a “new special procedure.” “I say this as honestly as possible, the people of Ukraine have already …

The Associated Press reports: The European Union’s chief executive says the 27-nation bloc will close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund supplies of weapons to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in response to Russia’s invasion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that “for the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and …

The New York Times reports: The European Union will freeze the assets of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, but will not impose a travel ban on them, two diplomats familiar with the draft E.U. sanctions said on Friday. The news, which was reported earlier by The Financial Times, came just hours after …

The Associated Press reports: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “barbaric attack” on an independent nation that also targeted “the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order.” The EU will hold an emergency summit in Brussels, where NATO is also meeting after Poland and the Baltic nations bordering Russia and Ukraine called …

The New York Times reports: European Union ambassadors were preparing on Tuesday to adopt an immediate set of sanctions in response to Russia’s recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine, according to two E.U. diplomats with knowledge of the talks in Brussels. The sanctions, which will target people, government and business entities in the separatist regions and in Russia, were …

The Associated Press reports: Hungary will not change its immigration policies despite a recent ruling from the EU’s top court that found them in contradiction with the bloc’s laws, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said today. Orban’s announcement came as Hungary is locked in a dispute with the EU over the bloc’s jurisdiction over the affairs of its 27 members. A …

Yahoo News reports: A Belgium politician has said anti-vaxxers threw a Molotov cocktail at his home after he said vaccinations were the way out of the coronavirus crisis. Pascal Arimont, an MEP for the Christian Social Party, used a Facebook post to condemn the attack outside his house. The fire bomb was thrown at his home in Büllingen on Saturday, …

Euronews reports: Concerns over a new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa have prompted fresh travel restrictions in Italy and Germany on Friday as Brussels mulls EU-wide flight restrictions. The European Commission will propose to suspend air travel from southern Africa amid concerns over the variant, EC President Ursula Von der Leyen [photo] said on Friday. The proposal could be …

Reuters reports: Hungary will not leave the European Union but will resist attempts from Brussels to erode its sovereignty, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told his Fidesz party on Sunday. Nationalist Orban, who faces a close parliamentary election next year for the first time in more than a decade, was re-elected chairman of Fidesz on Sunday. “After communist bureaucracy … we …

Politico Europe reports: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is worried “it is getting harder and harder” to find compromises between European Union countries on hot-button issues like migration and the rule of law. “It is imperative to do everything possible to find a way to keep Europe together,” Merkel said in a wide-ranging interview published in Saturday’s edition of German newspaper …

Euronews reports: A Turkish law banning insults against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The court said the law against attacks on the “image” of the head of state was “not in keeping with the spirit of the European Convention”. The ruling followed a case against a young Turkish man who …

The BBC reports: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has accused the EU of blackmail in a heated debate with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen over the rule of law. The clash in the European Parliament follows a top Polish court ruling that rejected key parts of EU law. Mrs von der Leyen said she would act to prevent …

Politico Europe reports: France is to use its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU to launch a global campaign to abolish the death penalty, President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday. In a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in France, Macron said Paris would host a summit in 2022 to press for an …

Reuters reports: Hungary has called on European Union institutions “to respect member states’ sovereignty” after it backed a Polish court ruling that some EU law is incompatible with the Polish constitution. Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a Hungarian government decree on Saturday, his press chief told state news agency MTI, welcoming the ruling by Poland’s Constitutional Court which has plunged …