Contents tagged with Europe

  • Lithuanian ambassador recalled from Russia for consultations

    On Thursday, March 11, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported Lithuania’s decision to recall its ambassador to Russia, Remigijus Motuzas, for consultations. One of the reasons was the threats directed at Motuzas, after Vilnius District Court found former Soviet Union Minister of Defense, Dmitry Yazov, and a number of other Russians citizens guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the case of January 13, 1991 events. Then, during the clashes following the Soviet army …

  • Shell to withdraw from Gazprom’s Baltic LNG project

    The British-Dutch company Shell plans to withdraw from the Baltic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project following Gazprom’s decision to integrate it with a gas processing plant in Ust-Luga, announced Shell Russia Chairman Cederic Cremers in a statement.

    “Following Gazprom’s announcement on 29 March regarding the final development concept of Baltic LNG, we have decided to stop our involvement in this project. We have a number of other ongoing projects with Gazprom, including as part of the …

  • PACE adopts resolution which keeps sanctions against Russia in place

    The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution on “the PACE challenges”, which contains amendments that do not allow lifting sanctions from Russia and returning it to the assembly without fulfilling its obligations. According to Radio Liberty, 105 parliamentarians voted in favor of the resolution, 30 against, and 30 abstained from the decision.

    The resolution proposed a new complex mechanism for imposing sanctions, which would have canceled the existing …

  • EU, Canada and US accuse Russia of restricting navigation through the Kerch Strait

    The European Union countries, Canada and the United States condemn the inspections of the ships conducted by Russia in the Kerch Strait, as well as navigation restrictions caused by the construction of the Kerch Strait bridge, reported the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom.

     The statement was made after the International Maritime Organization (IMO) reviewed Ukraine’s complaint about “unauthorized construction and opening by Russia of a bridge across the Kerch Strait as well as the …

  • European Court of Human Rights orders Russia to pay opposition leader Navalny 20,000 euros

    The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Russia to pay 20,000 euros to the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, as compensation for moral damage.

    According to the information published on the ECHR website, the court has decided that Russian authorities will also be required to pay 2,700 euros of legal fees. Navalny demanded 100,000 euros compensation.

    The court ruled that Navalny’s house arrest in 2014, under which he was confined to his home for more than ten months, was illegal. The …

  • Poland to demand $900 billion in reparations from Germany

    Poland intends to demand reparations from Germany for the damage suffered during the Second World War in the amount of at least 900 billion dollars, stated the deputy of the Polish Sejm Janusz Shevchak, who is a member of the parliamentary group on the assessment of the amount of compensation.

    “As long as Germany does not pay off Poland’s debt for World War II, and we are talking about an amount of no less than $900 billion, it should maintain exceptional restraint when it comes to attacks on …

  • Macron to meet with Poroshenko and Zelensky ahead of the second round of presidential elections in Ukraine

    French President Emmanuel Macron will hold meetings with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and presidential candidate Vladimir Zelensky ahead of the second round of the presidential elections in Ukraine, reports LB.ua, citing two of its diplomatic sources. This week, Petro Poroshenko will also meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

    The last time Poroshenko met with Macron was during his working visit to France in November 2018.

  • Bundestag investigates ultra-right MP’s ties to Russia

    The Council of Elders of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, is investigating Markus Frohnmaier, a member of the ultra-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD), for possible ties to the Kremlin, the Spiegel Online reported.

    Frohnmaier is notorious for his pro-Kremlin stance, and several media outlets have reported that he could be “completely controlled” by Russia.

    “Whether the charges are correct must be determined by the Council of Elders,” explained Bundestag Vice President Thomas …

  • Baltic States and Poland begin next stage in synchronizing power transmissions systems

    The technical phase of the program of the synchronization of the electricity systems of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia through Poland has begun, reported Polish Radio .

    All four countries and the European Commission supported the project. Synchronizing the systems should be completed by 2025.

    During the National Energy Summit in Gdansk, Piotr Naimski, the Polish government's adviser on strategic energy infrastructure, called attention to the fact that gas interconnections between Poland, …

  • NATO's largest cybersecurity exercises begin in Estonia

    From April 8 to 12, 2019, the world's largest cybersecurity training exercises Locked Shields are held in Tallinn, reported the NATO Cyber Defense Center.

    "The annual exercise is a unique opportunity for national cyber experts to practise protection of national IT systems and critical infrastructure under the intense pressure of a severe cyberattack," stated NATO Cyber Defense Center in Tallinn.

    The goal of the exercises is to train the experts in the field of protecting information systems …