Contents tagged with EU
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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Europeans to abandon Russian Soyuz launch vehicles
European astronauts will no longer use Russian launch vehicles to reach the International Space Station (ISS), announced René Pischel, head of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Moscow Office, at the Eurasian Aerospace Congress.
The ESA, just like NASA, intends to stop using Russian rockets to send its astronauts to the ISS. The ESA’s astronaut Luca Parmitano, who flew to the ISS in July this year, could be the last to do so using a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle.
“Unfortunately, the launch of …
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Ukraine intends to join EU Digital Single Market
European Union Assessment Mission has started its work in Ukraine. Its goal is to test the readiness of the telecommunications sector of Ukraine for integration into the EU Digital Single Market (DSM), reports the press service of Ukrainian President.
On August 17, Zelensky's adviser Mikhail Fedorov had a meeting with an Assessment Mission in the President's Office. The representatives of the General Directorate of the European Commission DG Connect also participated in the meeting.
"The …