Section: European Voice (EU)
Dear Martin, we’ll miss you. Love from Donald and Jean-Claude
The president of the European Commission on Thursday expressed “regret” over Martin Schulz’s decision to swap Brussels for Berlin. Jean-Claude Juncker described Schulz, who in the early hours of Thursday told POLITICO he will step down as European Parliament president and seek election to the German parliament, as a “convinced and...
Martin Schulz chooses Berlin over Brussels
Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, will run for a seat in the German Bundestag next year, he told POLITICO. Given that he’s set to head the list for the state of Nord-Rhine Westphalia, he is close to guaranteed a seat in the federal parliament — formalizing his ambition to be a contender for Germany’s top job in...
Will Nikki Haley put the US in Russia’s corner?
Nikki Haley is about to become a major player in Donald Trump’s reset with Russia. As word spread Wednesday that the president-elect had chosen the South Carolina governor as his ambassador to the United Nations, some observers saw it as a sign that Trump will abide by his pledge to cooperate more with Moscow. Haley is not a flame-thrower...
Russian tankers accused of flouting EU sanctions
At least two Russian tanker ships on Tuesday smuggled jet fuel into Syria by way of Cypriot ports, violating EU sanctions regime, reported Reuters. The Russian defense ministry claimed EU restrictions did not apply to Syria-based military aircraft and refueled its warplanes that continue its bombing campaign of opposition-held areas in support of...
Vladimir Putin’s favorite US congressman
This summer, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher used information he received directly from the Russian government to promote one of President Vladimir Putin’s top priorities: removing the name of the martyred Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky from a global anti-corruption law. Multiple independent investigations blamed Russian officials for the death in...
For EU, Poland is not yet lost
GDAŃSK, Poland — Poland’s de facto ruler, Jarosław Kaczyński, is betting he can get away with emasculating his country’s constitutional court without incurring European Union sanctions. To be sure, things are looking up for the conservative nationalist. Under President Barack Obama, the United States joined the EU in criticizing the...
Khodorkovsky’s advice: Treat Putin as a bandit
LONDON — When it comes to relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has blunt advice for Europe: Wake up — and stop playing nice. The former billionaire chief of Yukos Oil, once Russia’s richest man, spent 10 years in prison on fraud and tax evasion charges that were widely viewed as political retribution by the...
François Fillon, Thatcherite with a thing for Russia
PARIS — Call it Droopy’s revenge. For five years, former French prime minister François Fillon worked obediently in the shadow of a man who mocked him as a “loser” in private and once berated him publicly as a mere “collaborator.” Nobody cared much about Fillon, because he was there to carry out the bidding of Nicolas Sarkozy. Now Fillon...
Central Europe sees Trump as a kindred spirit
WARSAW — Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the U.S. presidential election proved to the nationalist and populist governments of Central Europe that they are out in front of a global political wave. But while cheering Trump’s win, there is concern — especially in Poland — that the unpredictable businessman may end up cutting a deal...
The new Putin coalition
Vladimir Putin, it used to be said not long ago, had no friends. His invasion of Crimea and meddling in eastern Ukraine made him persona non grata in mainstream Europe and America. Asia saw little value in Russia’s no-growth economy. These days the Russian leader is on a roll. Without having to backtrack on anything of substance (or...
