Section: POLITICO – Europe Edition (EU)
The race for EU membership
The United Kingdom might be trying to check out of the European Union, but there are at least 10 countries keen to be in. There’s a problem though: The EU’s golden age of expansion is over. While national governments would like to ensure political stability in the EU’s neighborhood, they have no appetite to let...
Trump can wipe out Russia sanctions with stroke of the pen
Senate Democrats are powerless to stop Donald Trump from easing sanctions against Russia after he takes office. But they’re determined to make Trump and Republicans pay a political price if he does. Trump’s appetite for warmer relations with Russia is drawing partisan fire in the Senate, even as a top adviser said the...
EU ministers reject Austria’s call to freeze Turkey membership talks
European Union foreign ministers on Tuesday rejected a push by Austria to halt Turkey’s EU membership talks over concerns about a crackdown on opponents since a failed coup in the summer. Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s foreign minister, threatened to block adoption of conclusions on EU enlargement before they are passed on to leaders...
Dutch threaten Ukraine trade deal
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he will ask EU leaders for legally binding guarantees to ensure an association agreement with Ukraine will not create a defense guarantee or become a step towards membership of the bloc for the country. In an interview with the Financial Times published Friday, Rutte warned that if the Netherlands does not...
EU’s Ukraine aid has limited impact on corruption
The unstable political and legislative climate in Ukraine has meant EU funds designed to help the country reform have had a limited impact and results are “fragile,” according to a European Court of Auditors report published Wednesday. In the report, which examined public finance management and anti-corruption measures between 2007 and 2015,...
Russia accuses Ukraine of sabotaging Trump
A top Russian official is accusing the Ukrainian government of undermining U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign by trashing him on social media and disseminating dirt on one of his close associates. A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday contended that the Ukrainian government over the...
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...
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...
Donald Trump’s win shakes Ukraine
KIEV — Donald Trump’s victory leaves Ukraine alone and afraid. The fear is that the new U.S. president-elect will choose warm ties with Moscow over the exasperation of supporting Ukraine, a country he described during the campaign as a “mess.†“Biggest loser in the world tonight...
Just how insecure are we?
Two years ago, incoming European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker had an idea. Over the previous five years he had seen a number of energy supply scares plunging parts of Europe into cold because of gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine. He had seen planned pipelines fall through, a sudden reversal by Germany on nuclear energy and...
