Section: European Voice (EU)
Europe faces defense spending challenge
BERLIN — Goaded by Donald Trump, scared by Russia and eager to give fresh impetus to integration, Europe is gearing up to spend big on defense. The challenge the Continent now faces, according to politicians, industry leaders and experts, is to spend wisely. To get value for money and armed forces that truly increase their security, governments...
Ex-Georgian president Saakashvili arrested in Ukraine
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested in Ukraine late Friday, days after his supporters freed him from a police van in Kiev. Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, Yuriy Lutsenko, said in a post on his Facebook page that “everything was done to avoid bloodshed” and that Saakashvili, who has been accused of forming a “criminal...
Prosecutors: Manafort tried to write op-ed with Russian operative while under house arrest
Paul Manafort and a long-time Russia-based colleague with ties to Russian intelligence were caught last week ghost-writing an op-ed about his work in Ukraine, federal prosecutors working for special Russia counsel Robert Mueller said in a Monday court filing. Mueller’s office argued that by working on the article, which was never published,...
Prosecutors: Manafort tried to write op-ed with Russian operative while under house arrest
Paul Manafort and a long-time Russia-based colleague with ties to Russian intelligence were caught last week ghost-writing an op-ed about his work in Ukraine, federal prosecutors working for special Russia counsel Robert Mueller said in a Monday court filing. Mueller’s office argued that by working on the article, which was never published,...
6 Brexit bill bombshells
As recently as August, Britain’s official position in Brexit talks was that there wouldn’t be any money (or “net flow”) going from U.K. coffers to the EU after 2019. Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, told Brussels it could “go whistle” for a hefty Brexit bill. So much for that. Britain now (reluctantly) accepts it’ll be on...
Panel urges NATO to step up dialogue with China
NATO must adapt for futuristic warfare and seek partnerships with emerging powers, especially China, if the alliance hopes to respond to renewed threats from Russia and a fast-changing security landscape, according to a panel of military and diplomatic experts. In a detailed report published Monday, the experts, who were convened by...
Russia casts shadow over EU’s eastern summit
There wasn’t one mention of Russia in the official declaration approved on Friday by EU leaders and the six former Soviet republics that form the so-called Eastern Partnership. But the shadow cast by the Kremlin over the summit was impossible to ignore, as was the EU’s uncertainty over what to do about it. German Chancellor Angela...
How the EU broke Ukraine (with help from Russia)
Four years after the EU’s push for closer ties with Ukraine provoked Russia and helped start a revolution, the country is ravaged by war and nearly broke. So as EU leaders gather in Brussels Friday to celebrate the Eastern Partnership, their foreign policy initiative to strengthen relations with countries in the former Soviet bloc, the...
In the East, the EU is leaving its partners behind
Ask any of the EU’s six “Eastern Partners” what the Eastern Partnership policy means to them, and you’re likely to get several answers. Ask the EU, and you’ll get something else entirely. In response to these differences — which will once again be on display as leaders gather in Brussels for the fifth Eastern Partnership summit...
How the EU broke Ukraine (with help from Russia)
Four years after the EU’s push for closer ties with Ukraine provoked Russia and helped start a revolution, the country is ravaged by war and nearly broke. So as EU leaders gather in Brussels Friday to celebrate the Eastern Partnership, their foreign policy initiative to strengthen relations with countries in the former Soviet bloc, the...
