Contents tagged with EU

  • EU demands Syrian war crimes be brought before ICC

    At the EU Council meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU member countries the EU representatives have reached the conclusion that Syrian troops and the Russian Aerospace Forces are responsible for targeted airstrikes on schools, hospitals and other social facilities in Aleppo.

    The EU condemned these actions in the Syrian city in a joint statement issued at the meeting.

    The statement said that hospitals and schools have become the targets of airstrikes. The EU went on to say …

  • Experts: Lifting sanctions on Russia would bring serious consequences for the EU

    The sanctions introduced against Russia have given a very clear signal to the Russian Federation and the rest of the world that its violation of the rights and territorial integrity of other countries would lead to an appropriate response. Their removal would have serious implications for the EU, says an expert report of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, published with the support of Rasmussen Global.

    "Removing the sanctions without serious political concessions …

  • EU considers expanding sanctions against Russia

    The European Union continues to discuss tightening of sanctions against Russia due to its actions in Syria although the EU countries have not reached a common position yet, Radio Poland reports. Ideas regarding tightening of the diplomatic sanctions against Russia emerged in discussions, particularly regarding the extension of a “black list” of people who would be prohibited from entering the EU and have their European financial assets frozen.

    In particular, this is the view of Germany and …

  • Media: Several EU countries are considering extending sanctions on Russia over Syria

    Several EU countries including Britain, France, and Germany, are exploring the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia due to the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo, as reported by the Financial Times, citing a high-ranking diplomat in the EU.

    As Reuters notes, citing French and British diplomats, the possibility of adding up to 12 names to the ‘Syrian sanctions list’ is being considered. However, for these measures to be adopted, they must be approved by all 28 countries of the …

  • The EU puts forth two requirements for Ukraine to receive 600 million euro aid tranche

    The European Union expects Ukraine to fulfill a number of conditions before granting a regular financial aid tranche of EUR 600 million, stated Hugues Mingarelli, head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, in Kyiv on October 10.

    The key conditions are a lifting of the 10-year moratorium on the export of timber imposed by Ukraine in 2015 and the organization of social security for internally displaced persons. Other conditions, according to a European official, have already been fulfilled by Kyiv. …

  • Lithuanian and Estonians MFAs: MH17 report will be eye opening for some countries

    The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and Estonia, Linas Linkevičius and Jürgen Ligi respectively, hope that the findings of the investigation on the MH17 crash in Ukraine, published by international experts, will open the eyes of some colleagues. The ministers made that statement at a joint press conference in Vilnius, Delfi reported.

    “Sanctions imposed against Russia have nothing to do with this but it will undoubtedly help to open the eyes of some colleagues,” Linkevičius said. …

  • Ukrainian Parliament is urging the world to condemn Russia’s ban of Crimean Tatar Mejlis

    The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has appealed to international organizations and parliaments not to recognize the decision of the Russian courts to ban the activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars. The Ukrainian parliamentarians are also requesting to consider the possibility of imposing sanctions against the judges who made the verdict. A total of 248 deputies voted in favor of this decision on the 5th of October.

    The Ukrainian Parliament called for measures that “will indicate the non- …

  • Lithuanian Foreign Ministry: Europe should be united in sanctions against Russia

    Russia, rather than the European Union, should normalize relations with Europe, and the West should maintain consistency and be united regarding sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation. This was the opinion stated by Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius, UNIAN reports.

    According to Linkevičius, proposals to impose new sanctions against Russia will not find support in the European Union; that’s why it is useful to maintain unity around already-imposed sanctions.

    “ …

  • EU leaders to discuss possibility of improving relations with Russia during summit in October

    The EU leaders will review the state of their relations with Russia and whether it will be possible to improve them during the upcoming summit, which will be held between the 20th and the 21st of October, as reported by Reuters.

    This issue was put on the agenda after a number of EU member countries started to express growing irritation with the economic sanctions against Moscow, which were imposed by Brussels due to Russia’s role in the crisis in Ukraine. However, according to Reuters, the …

  • EU doesn't recognize legitimacy of Russian elections in the Crimea

    The European Union does not recognize the elections to the Russian State Duma in the annexed Crimea, as stressed in a statement issued by the representative of the European External Action Service. “The European Union doesn’t recognize the illegal annexation of the  Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and consequently doesn’t recognize the holding of elections on the Crimean peninsula,” the statement says.

    The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission performed no activities in the …