Contents tagged with EU

  • EU extends sanctions against Russia for another six months

    The Council of the European Union extended economic sanctions against particular sectors of the Russian economy for another six months. The sanctions will be in effect until July 31, 2020. The decision was made after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on December 12 informed the European Council on the progress in implementing the Minsk agreements by Russia, to which the extension of sanctions is related.

    “Given that the Minsk agreements are not fully …

  • Ukrainian President calls on EU to maintain sanctions against Russia

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a telephone conversation with the President of the European Council Charles Michel, said that he hopes that the sanctions against Russia will be extended, reports the press service of the Ukrainian President.

    "I expect that the leaders of the EU Member States will maintain unity in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as in the continuation of sanctions against the Russian Federation until full implementation of the …

  • Europe prepares for gas war between Russia and Ukraine

    Countries in the EU have been buying increased quantities of gas for commercial and strategic reservoirs, filling all the available underground gas storage almost to the brim, in light of growing risks that the current gas war between Russia and Ukraine will escalate this winter.

    In just over 3 weeks time, the current contract for the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will expire. To this day, despite Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas, nearly half of the gas supplied …

  • Russia’s Gazprom sues EU for loss of Nord Stream 2 capacity

    Nord Stream 2 AG, the Swiss subsidiary of the Russian company Gazprom, has taken the EU government to court regarding the gas legislation amendments that prohibit the Russian company from using more than 50% of the capacity of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

    As reported by Interfax, Gazprom informed potential investors about the start of the litigation through a memorandum on the placement of Swiss franc-denominated eurobonds that is scheduled to take place in mid November.

    Gazprom believes …

  • Estonia voices support for Ukraine joining EU and NATO

    Estonia is in favor of Ukraine joining the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu at a press conference.

    “Estonia is the devoted friend of the Ukrainians, and fully supports [Ukraine] joining the political family of the European Union and NATO on the basis of objective reforms and transformation in the country,” the minister said.

    He added that Estonia will never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea and the eastern …

  • EU approves Kyiv's plan for Donbas

    High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said at a press conference after a meeting with Foreign Ministers of EU member-countries in Luxembourg that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko presented a comprehensive and satisfactory plan on how to resolve the conflict in the Donbas.

    "We have received from him [Prystaiko] a fairly comprehensive and, I would say, satisfactory picture of the plans that the Ukrainian government and …

  • EU Parliament calls for response to Russian minisformation

    European Parliament has passed a resolution which names Russia as the chief – albeit not the only – source of misinformation directed against EU countries and other European countries, especially Ukraine and Georgia,reports Deutsche Welle..

    In a resolution passed on October 10, EU lawmakers drew attention to the “extremely dangerous nature of Russian propaganda,” and urged the European Commission to develop “an effective strategy to rapidly and reliably counter Russian misinformation”. In …

  • Ukraine presents new gas transit contract to Russia and EU

    At the recent trilateral negotiations, Ukraine presented a draft of the new gas transit contract to the EU and Russia, said Ukrainian Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel, as cited by Ukrainski Novyny news agency.

    “Ukraine presented draft contracts to the parties. It’s a roadmap of how, by January 1 next year, we will obtain an independent certified operator, a draft interconnector contract, and a draft transit contract,” Orzhel told the press after the meeting.

    The minister emphasized that Ukraine …

  • US Secretary of State calls on EU to abandon Nord Stream 2

    US Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland told journalists during a telephone briefing that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline during meetings with the future leadership of the European Union and urged European partners to abandon the project.

    According to him, "the energy independence of Europe is a matter of concern to the United States." Washington does not want Moscow to get such an instrument of influence on Europe, especially since Russia has …

  • EU agrees to extend sanctions on Russia by 6 months

    The EU will be extending the individual sanctions on Russian physical entities and organizations by six months.

    “Today EU ambassadors approved the decision to extend the restrictive measures for actions that have threatened the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine by 6 months, until March 15, 2020,” the press service stated. The Council of Europe added that the extension will be implemented over the next few days.

    “An analysis of the situation has shown that an …