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by Nathalie ALONSO / with Berlin and London bureaus Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Europe has weathered the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine so far, but businesses and households are already thinking about how to get through the next winter. Mild weather, government aid, gas storage facilities at full capacity and energy imports from other regions have helped Europe limit the economic damage caused by the war. Outside the western industrial […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Thursday accused the EU of seeking to fuel “geopolitical confrontation” by sending a civilian mission to monitor Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan. Moscow has sought to maintain its role as a powerbroker between the ex-Soviet republics despite being bogged down in its offensive in Ukraine. On Monday, the EU launched a civilian mission to help monitor Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan, bolstering the bloc’s role in a region viewed by […]
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) – TikTok’s chief executive will hold talks with top EU officials in Brussels on Tuesday as the West steps up its scrutiny of the Chinese-owned social media giant. Shou Zi Chew will meet EU vice-presidents Margrethe Vestager and Vera Jourova, the bloc’s home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson and justice commissioner Didier Reynders. On the agenda will be issues like privacy, content regulation and child safety online. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, […]
Washington, United States (AFP) The European Union and the United States urged Kosovo and Serbia Wednesday to take “immediate” steps to deescalate tensions amid mounting unrest in their border region. “The European Union and the United States of America are concerned about the continued tense situation in the north of Kosovo,” they said in a joint statement. “We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally deescalate the situation, and […]
by Marc BURLEIGH Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — EU energy ministers on Monday overcame months of wrangling to agree a price cap for natural gas in the bloc, drawing an immediate warning from Russia that the move was “unacceptable”. The price ceiling was fixed at 180 euros per megawatt hour, but with conditions attached and a word of caution from the European Commission that it may suspend the measure if “the risks outweigh the […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU agreed a fresh round of sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine on Thursday, after complaints from hawkish eastern European leaders some countries tried to water them down. The bloc’s executive arm last week proposed a ninth round of sanctions on Moscow. They included blacklisting “almost 200” individuals and entities, targeting three banks, curbing mining investments and banning more Russian TV channels. In the face of Russian strikes […]
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Monday that allegations of bribery by World Cup host Qatar to burnish its image at the European Parliament were “worrisome”, after Belgian prosecutors charged four suspects with corruption. One of the European Parliament’s vice presidents, Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili, was the highest-profile target remanded in custody on Sunday after investigators found “bags of cash” at her home. The bribery claims have rocked the EU’s […]
Athens, Greece (AFP) Greek authorities froze assets of European Parliament vice president Eva Kaili on Monday, after the Greek MEP was arrested on corruption charges over her alleged involvement in a graft scandal linked to Qatar. The measure, which also applies to her relatives, includes “bank accounts, safes, companies and other financial assets”, said the Greek anti-money laundering authority president Haralambos Vourliotis. Greek banks and state services have already been informed of the decision, […]
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) The EU on Wednesday escalated disputes with China to the WTO, requesting panels be assembled to hear cases over trade restrictions on Lithuania and on legal recourses for EU patent holders. “In both cases, the Chinese measures are highly damaging to European businesses” and, in the Lithuania case, “impact the functioning of the EU internal market,” the European Commission said in a statement. China is the European Union’s biggest trading partner, […]
Bruxelles, Belgium (AFP) China’s President Xi Jinping suggested in talks with EU chief Charles Michel that the spread of the less lethal Omicron strain of Covid-19 may allow Beijing to ease lockdown rules, European officials said Friday. Michel met the Chinese leader in Beijing on Thursday. According to an account of the meeting from a senior European official, Xi told Michel that Chinese “people were frustrated” after three years of the coronavirus epidemic. Anger […]
Bruxelles, Belgium (AFP) by Daniel ARONSSOHN The West’s plan to starve Russia of resources to fight its war in Ukraine by imposing a price cap on its oil exports hit a diplomatic logjam in Brussels on Friday. Poland does not think the $60 a barrel ceiling is low enough and has refused to back the plan, preventing the European Union from adopting the measure. On Thursday evening several European diplomats said the other 26 […]
Phnom Penh, Cambodia | AFP | EU chief Charles Michel said Saturday the bloc expected China to use “all the means at its disposal” to push Moscow to respect international law, days before a G20 summit expected to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine. The European Council president was speaking on the sidelines of a regional summit in Cambodia, where Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Southeast Asian leaders to support Kyiv. While China […]
