Contents tagged with Council of the European Union
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Ukraine: Council of Europe’s new sanction policy too mild for Russia
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that it is disappointed in the new sanctions which the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers introduced on February 5. The Ukrainian department believes that the new procedure for responding to member-states’ violations of statutory obligations eradicates the possibility of punishing countries for the most severe violations.
The ministry drew attention to the fact that for more than five years Ukraine has been subjected to Russian armed aggression, …
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Lavrov warns that Russia may withdraw from European Council
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Channel Euronews that Russia would leave the Council of Europe on its own terms rather than give the Council the opportunity to exclude or expel Russia from its ranks.
"I don't think that Russia's participation in the European Council is more important to Russia than it is to the Council itself. This is my strong position,” Lavrov stated. He explained that Moscow joined the Council of Europe to ensure “pan-European, …
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Russia considers withdrawal from the Council of Europe
At a meeting with Liliane Maury Pasquier, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said that the Russian Federation is seriously considering the withdrawal from the Council of Europe, TASS reports.
“We have an internal decision to leave the Council of Europe. I am telling you this sincerely,” she told the head of the Assembly.
Matviyenko said that the reason for this announcement was the ongoing crisis in the …
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EU council approved new trade preferences for Ukraine
Ukraine gets a boost in its trade opportunities with the European Union as the Council of the EU approves new trade preferences, the organization’s website states. The Council’s decision finalizes the process for Ukraine, which occupies only 0.8% of the EU’s trade market while the EU is Ukraine’s largest trading partner.
The European Union has provided Ukraine with additional quotas for honey, cereals, processed tomatoes and grape juice. Some industrial goods will also enjoy more liberalized …
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Russia refuses to pay its third installment to the Council of Europe
According to Russia’s State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Russia will not pay a third of its contribution, which amount to €11 million, to the budget of the Council of Europe, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.
According to Volodin, payments to the budget of the Council of Europe are made in installments. Russia does not plan to pay the third installment, which would be due at the end of 2017, he said.
Earlier, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko spoke about …
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The Council of Europe calls on Ukraine to successfully complete judicial reform
The Council of Europe has sided with Ukraine and its people and supports steps to establish a fully independent, effective and professional judicial system, according to a statement by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland.
"As far as we have reached the mid-point of the implementation of the action plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine, I take this opportunity to welcome the progress made by Ukraine towards reforming the judiciary in order to guarantee its …
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Council of Europe: Repressions against Ukrainians and Tatars in Crimea are continuing
In annexed by Russia Crimea, repressions against Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars continue. This is stated in the report on the results of the visit of the mission of the Council of Europe to the peninsula, which happened during the last week of January.
During the visit, the delegation "met with numerous representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations, religious communities, national minorities, including the Crimean Tatars, as well as members of the media and local authorities." …
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Poroshenko submits Savchenko sanctions list to the President of the European Parliament
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gave European Council President Donald Tusk a list of people against whom Kiev proposes to impose personal sanctions for their involvement in the case of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, as stated by the Press Secretary of the President of Ukraine, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, on Twitter.
The Press Secretary later reported that the sanctions proposal were also submitted to the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz. Poroshenko called on Schulz to put …
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EU Council to Discuss Situation in Ukraine
On January 18th, at the meeting of the Committee of Foreign Affairs, the Council of the European Union will discuss the situation in Ukraine, reported the Council's press service. A discussion on the current situation in Syria and Iraq will also be on the agenda.
At the end of last year, the leaders of the "Normandy Four" (Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France) held talks over the phone and agreed to extend the validity of the Minsk Agreements into 2016. They also arranged another meeting of …