European Union

Bloomberg News reports: The euro has suffered a swift and brutal slump this year, and now it’s crossed a major threshold for the first time in more than two decades: parity with the dollar. The 12% decline is the result of multiple pressures, from the war in Ukraine to an energy crisis and the growing risk that Russia cuts off …

The Associated Press reports: European Union leaders on Thursday are set to make Ukraine a candidate for joining the 27-nation bloc, a first step in a long and unpredictable journey toward full membership that could take many years to navigate. According to several diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity before a leaders’ summit in Brussels, Ukraine will receive the …

The Guardian reports: Russia has provoked concern in Brussels after threatening to retaliate over Lithuania’s ban on the transit of some goods across its territory to Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. The move by the government in Vilnius was described as “unprecedented” in Moscow, where the Russian foreign office said they reserved the right to respond to protect their …

Reuters reports: The European Union gave its blessing on Friday for Ukraine and its neighbour Moldova to become candidates to join, in the most dramatic geopolitical shift to result from Russia’s invasion. Ukraine applied to join the EU just four days after Russian troops poured across its border in February. Ukraine and Moldova will still face a lengthy process to …

Courthouse News reports: Tech giant Apple lost to Swiss watchmaker Swatch on Wednesday in a court fight over its use of the “Think Different” slogan. The company had appealed to the European General Court after Swatch successfully challenged Apple’s “Think Different” copyright before the European Union Intellectual Property Office in 2018 on the basis that the slogan was no longer …

Reuters reports: Apple will have to change the connector on iPhones sold in Europe by 2024 after EU countries and lawmakers agreed on Tuesday to a single mobile charging port for mobile phones, tablets and cameras in a world first. The political intervention, which the European Commission said would make life easier for consumers and save them money, came after …

The Associated Press reports: European Union leaders agreed Monday to embargo most Russian oil imports into the bloc by year-end as part of new sanctions on Moscow worked out at a summit focused on helping Ukraine with a long-delayed package of new financial support. The embargo covers Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered …

Politico Europe reports: The European Commission is facing a backlash against plans to send funding to Hungary as part of an effort to persuade Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to agree to EU sanctions on Russian oil. At a meeting of senior diplomats in Brussels on Wednesday, several EU countries raised concerns about a plan to offer Hungary compensation — first …

Deutsche Welle reports: Face masks will not have to be worn in airports and on flights in Europe, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday. The easing of the measure will be effective as of May 16. However, authorities stressed masks were still the most effective way to …

Reuters reports: The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a diplomat said on Wednesday. The Patriarch has been added to a draft blacklist that already includes hundreds of military officers and businessmen close to the Kremlin whom the EU accuses of supporting the war in Ukraine. The sanction, which would …

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 …