Section: European Voice (EU)
Russian influence looms over Germany’s election
BERLIN — Long before the CIA and FBI came to the public conclusion last week that the Kremlin had interfered in the U.S. presidential election with the aim of helping Donald Trump, a senior German intelligence official told colleagues that Russia was interfering in German politics. The federal security agency had observed “active measures” from...
ExxonMobil helped defeat Russia sanctions bill
ExxonMobil successfully lobbied against a bill that would have made it harder for the next president to lift sanctions against Russia, clearing the way for the oil giant to restart a program worth billions of dollars if Donald Trump eases those restrictions as president. The company’s effort could be helped by outgoing CEO Rex...
How the Dutch Left blew it
ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands — Ahmed Aboutaleb was giving a lot of Dutch politicians sleepless nights earlier this year. A moderate Muslim of Moroccan descent, the mayor of Rotterdam is the most popular politician in the country. Had he entered the fray as his party’s candidate in the Netherlands’ national...
Europe hunkers down for Hurricane Donald
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. After a year scarred by referendums that hurled defiance at Brussels, climaxing in Britain’s June vote to quit the bloc, the European Union is bracing for more storms in 2017, starting with the landfall of “Hurricane Donald” from across the Atlantic. The U.S. president-elect was the elephant in the...
Freudlos in die Ferien
Es war der Morgen nach dem Weihnachtsgipfel, und allüberall im Land waren Menschen unzufrieden, bis hin zum Küchenpersonal: Teilnehmer grantelten über Donald Tusk, weil die Veranstaltung lang und länger wurde. Mario Draghi und Jens Stoltenberg darüber, dass sie lange warten hatten müssen. Und die Köche der Mächtigen, denn ihre...
One joyless Brussels day before Christmas
It was the morning after the EU summit, and all through the lands stirred feelings of annoyance, even among the mice. The leaders of Europe at Donald Tusk’s party running so long and so late. Mario Draghi and Jens Stoltenberg for being forced to wait. And the poor poor chefs, whose efforts to lay on the greatest of spreads, all went to...
Putin’s Revenge
Twenty years before Vladimir Putin began his ingenious campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election, his predecessor as Russia’s president stood on a dark street near the White House. In his underpants. Looking for a pizza. It was September 1994, and Boris Yeltsin was in Washington for a state visit with his new friend,...
For Russia, more love
The Republican party is warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin — even as evidence of his regime’s interference in the election intensifies. While some Republicans in Congress have slammed the Russian strongman and called for investigations into the Kremlin’s attempts to influence the election, the...
Europe confronts limitations at year-end summit
EU leaders attempted to draw a line under an excruciatingly tough year at Thursday’s summit by extending economic sanctions on Russia, clearing the path for a trade deal with Ukraine and agreeing to move towards greater military cooperation. Such incremental advances were overshadowed, however, by their powerlessness to halt the Syrian...
EU reaches deal on Ukraine trade pact
EU leaders in Brussels reached a last-minute agreement today to save the EU-Ukraine trade accord, which was under threat after a Dutch referendum in April rejected the deal. The referendum was not binding, but it made it politically difficult for the country’s parliament to ratify it. Leaders made a legally binding deal that, among other...
