Section: European Voice (EU)
Putin extends counter-sanctions against EU
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Friday extending through 2018 sanctions against the EU that he imposed in retaliation for action by the West after the Kremlin’s military intervention in Ukraine. Putin’s move came in the same week that the EU formally approved a six-month extension of its sanctions against Russia,...
Long anticipated Trump-Putin meeting raises worries
President Donald Trump plans to sit down with Vladimir Putin next week, pursuing warmer relations with the Russian leader, despite multiple investigations into his campaign’s alleged ties to the Kremlin. The expected meeting at the annual G-20 summit in Hamburg, confirmed Thursday by national security adviser H.R. McMaster, will be...
Malta’s EU presidency: How did it go?
For Malta, the EU’s smallest country with a population of around 420,000, its first shot at the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU was pitched as the island’s coming-out ceremony. For smaller member countries, the presidency is as an extended advertising campaign, giving airtime to a country normally barely...
Five men guilty of murdering Putin critic Nemtsov
A Russian court on Thursday convicted five men of killing opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015. The court found former soldier Zaur Dadayev and four accomplices — all ethnic Chechens — guilty of the murder after eight months of hearings, according to Reuters. Nemtsov, 55, a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin, was...
Ukraine faces Eurovision fine
Ukraine’s state TV company should be fined for damaging the “brand reputation” of the Eurovision Song Contest, according to the organizers. “The contest’s steering committee … has recommended that UA:PBC [the Ukrainian state broadcaster] should receive a substantial fine in line with the rules of the competition,” said a statement by...
EU extends Russia sanctions through January 2018
The European Union extended sanctions on Russia by six months on Wednesday, maintaining restrictions on business with Russian energy, defense and financial sectors. The formal extension of the sanctions was passed unanimously by the Council of the EU. As a result of the measures, European businesses cannot borrow or lend money to Russia’s...
Paul Manafort registers as foreign agent
The firm headed by Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, made more than $17 million working as a foreign agent of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party, according to newly filed disclosure reports. Trump forced Manafort to step down from his campaign last year after The Associated Press reported that...
Brussels’ potential weapon against bad behavior — the budget
Wishful thinking is an occupational hazard for those who assess the health of the European Union. Those who want to see the EU fail underestimate its powers of resilience and recovery. Those who want to see it prosper underestimate its capacity for self-inflicted harm. On the eve of last week’s European Council its president,...
The ‘international man of mystery’ linked to Flynn’s lobbying deal
WASHINGTON — More than two years ago, two men started visiting Washington to push Turkey’s agenda in the capital. They dined with dignitaries and enlisted prominent lobbying firms from both sides of the aisle. It was an unremarkable Washington story, except for one thing: The last lobbyist one of the men hired was Gen....
Top Ukrainian military official killed by ‘terrorist’ car bomb
KIEV — A senior Ukrainian military intelligence officer was killed by a car bomb Tuesday, the latest in a series of high-profile murders in the country with possible links to Russia. Maksym Shapoval, a colonel in the Intelligence General Directorate, died as his Mercedes crossed an intersection in the west of Kiev. CCTV footage...
