Other measures include greater restrictions on ‘shadow fleet’, banks and Nord Stream investment
The EU executive has called for lowering the price cap on Russian oil as it seeks to tighten energy and financial sanctions against the Kremlin’s ability to wage war.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed that western countries reduce the price at which Russian oil can be sold to $45 (£30) a barrel, down from the current $60.
Continue reading...EU’s hopes of US increasing pressure on Kremlin have been dashed, and Hungary could yet make situation worse
European leaders – who have promised to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine – face the prospect of having to introduce their planned expansion of economic restrictions on the Russian war economy without the United States.
European hopes that Donald Trump might increase the pressure on the Kremlin were dashed after the US president’s two-hour inconclusive phone call with Putin on Monday. Trump did not follow through on previous threats to introduce “large-scale” sanctions on Russia if there was no ceasefire, but instead extolled the prospect of restarting trade with Moscow.
Continue reading...EU’s hopes of US increasing pressure on Kremlin have been dashed, and Hungary could yet make situation worse
European leaders – who have promised to impose “massive” new sanctions on Russia after Vladimir Putin’s rejection of a ceasefire in Ukraine – face the prospect of having to introduce their planned expansion of economic restrictions on the Russian war economy without the United States.
European hopes that Donald Trump might increase the pressure on the Kremlin were dashed after the US president’s two-hour inconclusive phone call with Putin on Monday. Trump did not follow through on previous threats to introduce “large-scale” sanctions on Russia if there was no ceasefire, but instead extolled the prospect of restarting trade with Moscow.
Continue reading...UK prime minister heralds a ‘win-win’ but faces criticism for concessions on fishing rights
Keir Starmer has vowed his EU reset deal will deliver cheaper food and energy for British people, heralding a “win-win” as he sealed the high-stakes agreement with concessions on youth visas and fishing.
“Britain is back on the world stage,” the prime minister said after shaking hands on the deal with the EU’s Ursula von der Leyen in London. “It gives us unprecedented access to the EU market, the best of any country … all while sticking to the red lines in our manifesto.”
Continue reading...European court of justice says no ‘plausible explanation’ given for denying New York Times access to texts from pandemic
The EU’s highest court has cancelled a decision to withhold Ursula von der Leyen’s text messages with a pharmaceutical executive during the pandemic, in a significant defeat for the commission president.
The European court of justice on Wednesday annulled a decision taken by the European Commission in November 2022 to deny the New York Times access to the messages, after a freedom of information request by the paper.
Continue reading...Macron and von der Leyen expected to announce protections for researchers seeking to relocate amid Trump’s crackdown
France and the EU are to step up their efforts to attract US-based scientists hit by Donald Trump’s crackdown on academia, as they prepare announcements on incentives for researchers to settle in Europe.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, alongside the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will make speeches on Monday morning at Sorbonne University in Paris, flanked by European university leaders and researchers, in which they are expected to announce potential incentives and protections for researchers seeking to relocate to Europe.
Continue reading...President’s international engagements have set stage for explosive confrontations and Pope Francis’s funeral comes at an especially fraught moment
A spectre is haunting Europe: the spectre of Donald Trump flying to the Vatican this weekend and publicly feuding with international leaders in front of St Peter’s Basilica in the midst of the sombre rituals and rites that will mark the funeral of Pope Francis.
The US leader’s first international trip of his second term comes at one of the most politically fractious and fraught moments in recent memory, as his “America first” project sets fire to US alliances and trade relationships around the world. Between international tariffs, the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, the Trump team’s open antipathy toward Europe and its hard line on immigration from Central and South America, the papal funeral could prove to be a minefield of international diplomacy.
Continue reading...Member states are considering removing the country’s voting rights after its attempts to stymie support for Kyiv
The posters are going up all over Hungary. “Let’s not allow them to decide for us,” runs the slogan alongside three classic villains of Hungarian government propaganda.
They are: Ukraine’s wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen; and Manfred Weber, the German politician who leads the centre-right European People’s party in the European parliament, which counts Hungary’s most potent opposition politician among its ranks.
Continue reading...Bloc to discuss trade, security and energy with leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
The EU is being urged to put human rights centre stage as it begins its first summit with the leaders of central Asia.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, are meeting the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan on Friday.
Continue reading...Intensive talks to take place next week on detail and structure of any British deployments if ceasefire deal reached
The UK is to “accelerate the pace and scale” of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine, with No 10 saying all options, including troops on the ground, are possible.
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said thousands of troops would be needed to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and agreement to end the war with Russia, whether by “sea, on land or in the air”.
Continue reading...Commission president says ‘something fundamental’ has shifted and democracy and rule of law are under threat
“Nothing is off the table” when it comes to raising money for defence, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has said, as she warned European values such as democracy and the rule of law were under threat in a increasingly “transactional” world.
Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, the head of the EU executive told reporters there was a new sense of urgency in the geopolitical sphere and that “something fundamental” had shifted since she began her second term in office on 1 December, nearly 100 days ago.
Continue reading...Exclusive: union umbrella body calls for new cooperation agreement ahead of Keir Starmer’s reset talks with Brussels
The UK should forge much closer ties with Europe amid an increasingly “volatile and unpredictable” global economy, Britain’s biggest trade unions will argue as they push for new workers’ rights across the continent.
In its first major intervention on Europe in five years, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) will call for a “much-needed” closer relationship with the EU, in a joint statement with European counterparts.
Continue reading...Leaders endorse von der Leyen proposal but show of unity over Ukraine is marred by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán
European leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels have agreed on a massive increase to defence spending, amid a drive to shore up support for Ukraine after Donald Trump halted US military aid and intelligence sharing.
But the show of unity was marred by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, failing to endorse an EU statement on Ukraine pushing back against Trump’s Russia-friendly negotiating stance.
Continue reading...Ursula von der Leyen says tariffs ‘will not go unanswered’ as Justin Trudeau says Canadians will ‘stand up if we need to’
Canada, Mexico and the EU have sharply criticised Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US, amid mounting fears of a global trade war.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday she “deeply regretted” the US president’s move, announced late on Monday, adding: “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered.”
Continue reading...With member states keen to link quotas to any deal, António Costa says defence and fisheries ‘are different things’
The EU will not let the question of fishing rights derail a pact with the UK on security and defence, the president of the European Council has said.
The comments from António Costa, who took over as the European Council president in December, is a boost for Keir Starmer, amid frustration among UK officials over EU insistence on linking a security deal to other demands, notably fishing rights.
Continue reading...Downgrading species’ protection status for political gain puts decades of conservation efforts at risk, says WWF
Europe’s wolves will lose their “strict protection” status, alarming conservationists who fear for the survival of an animal brought back from the brink of local extinction.
A committee charged with saving wildlife took the wolf’s protection status down a notch on Tuesday after members voted through a proposal from the European Union that lowers the bar for shooting a wolf.
Continue reading...European Commission should take office on 1 December after centre-right EPP and Socialists forge compromise
European parliament leaders have reached a deal to approve Ursula von der Leyen’s top team, paving the way for the new European Commission to take office on 1 December.
Leaders of the centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the Socialists and the centrist Renew group – who between them have 56% of the parliament’s 720 seats – forged a compromise on Wednesday intended to ensure that von der Leyen’s nominees would be approved in a vote next week.
Continue reading...EPC talks in Budapest hear calls for unity on continent as former US president’s return to White House brings uncertainty
European leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine, in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term that is likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.
Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU’s 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Continue reading...Maia Sandu’s victory amid claims of Russian interference boosts EU hopes and deals setback to Kremlin
Europe’s most powerful leaders have congratulated Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, after she won a second term, cementing the country’s EU aspirations and dealing a setback to the Kremlin.
With nearly 98% of the vote counted in the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday, Sandu had 54% of the vote, ahead of Alexandr Stoianoglo, a Kremlin-friendly political newcomer, backed by the pro-Russia party of Socialists.
Continue reading...The new mood to tighten laws is driven in large part by the success of far-right parties, in power in seven countries
EU leaders met in Brussels today with migration at the top of the agenda. Here we examine why that has happened – and what the European Commission, as well as national capitals, might do about it.
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