Section: European Voice (EU)
The Norwegian TV series that’s enraged the Kremlin
Okkupert (“Occupied”), the most expensive Norwegian television show in history, never mentions the word “quisling.” And yet its premise — a Russian occupation of Norway — evokes Vidkun Quisling’s Nazi collaborationist government and is permeated with the still unshakable trauma of that era. Between 1942 and 1945, Quisling’s puppet...
Europe to Russia: We won’t forget Crimea
Two years have passed since Russia illegally annexed Crimea and Sevastopol. March 18, 2014, marked the beginning of Russia’s ongoing attack on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and represents the most blatant violation in decades of the U.N. charter, international law, the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris — documents at the...
The POLITICO Caucus participants: March 2016
Find the article with the results of POLITICO’s Caucus here. Anders Ahnlid, ambassador, Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU, Brussels Joaquín Almunia, former vice president and European commissioner for competition; former leader of the Spanish opposition and minister of employment, Madrid Burkhard Balz, German MEP, European...
Republicans round on Obama’s NATO choice
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s choice to fill the number-two slot at NATO in Brussels is drawing fierce opposition — but not from allies in Europe or Canada. Instead, it’s U.S. congressional Republicans who are taking aim at Rose Gottemoeller, a high-ranking U.S. diplomat, in a fight that reflects broader partisan tensions in...
Europe draws red lines on Turkey migration deal
The EU is taking a tough line with Turkey on a controversial migration deal, with many of Ankara’s demands being pushed back or downright ignored. A draft of the statement, obtained by POLITICO, that European leaders will discuss with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu over breakfast on Friday shows few signs of progress towards what...
Did Putin once again outfox Obama?
Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Monday that Russia will begin pulling out of Syria appeared to take the White House by surprise, and revived concerns that the Russian leader is outmaneuvering Barack Obama. Just six months after he threw international relations into a tailspin by launching airstrikes in Syria, Putin on Monday declared that...
EU pushes for closer Russia cooperation
The EU needs to take a tough line on Russia and keep its sanctions in place while at the same time engaging with Moscow to tackle problems such as Syria and Libya, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Monday. “We had unanimity among the 28” on new guidelines for the EU-Russia relationship, Mogherini told reporters after...
Piotr Gliński: Poland’s anti-gay green
WARSAW — Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński is a one-time Green party activist and vegetarian. This biography makes him something of a strange fit in a right-wing government where the foreign minister railed against “a world made up of cyclists and vegetarians, who only use renewable energy and who battle all signs of...
Yes for Ukraine, win for Europe
KIEV — Ukrainians were surprised to learn about the Dutch referendum on the European Union’s association agreement with Ukraine: Why had the issue touched a nerve in the Netherlands? But the vote is not really about Ukraine — it’s about distrust of national politics and the country’s growing Euroskeptic sentiment. The...
EU extends Russia sanctions
EU sanctions against Russian citizens and firms were extended for six months on Thursday as the bloc sought to maintain pressure on supporters of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The sanctions affect 146 people and 37 firms — most of them Russian — that are accused of supporting Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the conflict in...
