Tag Archives: European Union

European Union Drops Air Travel Face Mask Mandate

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 …

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EU Proposes Sanctions On Russian Orthodox Leader

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 …

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Germany To Support EU Ban On Russian Oil Imports

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 …

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Brazil Invites European Union To Observe Election

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 …

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EU To Speed Consideration Of Ukraine Membership

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 …

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Hungarian PM Viktor Orban Elected To Fourth Term

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in Sunday’s national elections, claiming a mandate for a fourth term as a still incomplete vote count showed a strong lead for his right-wing party. In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters at an election night event in Budapest, Orban addressed a crowd cheering “Viktor!” …

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Western Leaders Agree To Bolster Aid To Ukraine

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 …

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Biden To Travel To Europe To Meet With EU Leaders

CBS News reports: President Joe Biden will travel to Europe next week for face-to-face talks with European leaders about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Tuesday. Biden will meet with NATO and European leaders at a summit in Brussels on March 24. He will also attend a scheduled European Council summit, where efforts to …

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Three EU Prime Ministers To Visit Zelensky In Kyiv

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 …

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Turkey Miffed Over EU’s “Sensitivity” To Ukraine Joining

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, …

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Zelensky: Russia Should Be Considered “Terrorist State”

NBC News reports: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia should be considered a “terrorist state” following a deadly attack in central Kharkiv Tuesday. “This is terror against the city. This is terror against Kharkiv. Terror against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in a morning speech. Video shared on social media by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and verified by NBC …

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Zelensky Calls For Ukraine’s Immediate EU Admission

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 …

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EU To Ban Russian Airlines And State Media Outlets

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 …

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US, EU, And UK Cut Russia From SWIFT Bank System

NBC News reports: The United States and its allies announced Saturday an agreement to take aim at Russia through SWIFT, a service that facilitates global transactions among thousands of financial institutions. “We commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and …

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EU To Freeze Assets Of Putin And His Foreign Minister

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 …

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EU Vows More Sanctions For “Barbaric Attack” [VIDEO]

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 …

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EU Sanctions On Russia To Target Banks, Businesses

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 …

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Hungary Vows To Defy EU Court On Asylum Requests

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 …

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Anti-Vaxxers Attempt To Fire Bomb Home Of MEP

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, …

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Germany’s Angela Merkel Leaves Office After 16 Years

The Associated Press reports: Angela Merkel was assured of a place in the history books as soon as she became Germany’s first female chancellor on Nov. 22, 2005. Over the next 16 years, she was credited with raising Germany’s profile and influence, working to hold a fractious European Union together, managing a string of crises and being a role model …

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