Contents tagged with EU

  • EU to provide Belarus with €29 million in assistance

    The Head of the EU Delegation in Minsk, Andrea Victorin, reported on March 31st that the European Union will provide 29 million euros of financial assistance to Belarus in 2016, twice as much as in 2015, as reported by Radio Polsha. “This money is being used for three main areas: the issue of migration, regional economic development and the issue of technical assistance,” the representative of the European Union said.Andrea Victorin also noted that the deicision signifies cooperation between …

  • EU delegate to Ukraine: Shokin's dismissal is an opportunity to initiate reforms

    The new Prosecutor General of Ukraine must ensure the General Prosecutor’s Office’s (GPO) independence from political influence and pressure, according to a statement made by the head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador Jan Tombinski."I noted that today, the Verkhovna Rada has accepted the resignation of the Prosecutor General. This decision provides an opportunity for a new start in the General Prosecutor’s office," he said.Tombinski expressed his hope that Shokin’s successor will be …

  • Lukashenko: Belarus does not need to choose between Russia and the EU

    During a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country does not need to choose between East and West, between Russia and the European Union, RBC reported.  

    "If the partners with whom we are in dialogue insist that we have to choose between the East or the West - that is, whether you are with Russia or the European Union, to put such a choice in front of us and to put us in such a position is inappropriate. I am …

  • The EU calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Nadiya Savchenko

    The EU has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko on the basis of the Minsk Agreements which state that “all hostages and illegally detained persons” in connection with the Ukrainian conflict must be released.

    The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, stressed in a statement that Brussels is worried about the fate of not only Savchenko, …

  • Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament doesn't recognize Savchenko verdict

    The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament endorsed a joint statement on the release of Nadiya Savchenko as announced by the Batkivshchyna Party Deputy, Alyona Shkrum.

    "Just now the Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Elmar Brok, released a statement concerning the verdict of the court of Donetsk, the Rostov region, the Russian Federation, on Nadiya Savchenko’s case," she noted.

    "The Committee does not recognize this verdict, considers the case …

  • Ukrainian MFA: We have three weeks to convince the Dutch to vote in favor of the Association Agreement

    The three weeks before the referendum in the Netherlands is the time to convince the Dutch to vote in favor of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba, stated this, as Interfax-Ukraine reported.

    "At the moment, the number of opponents is larger. However, the bulk of our activity with our friends in Holland will be held in three weeks, which, we believe and hope, will be a turning point," he said. …

  • European Commission to present proposal for visa liberalization with Ukraine in April

    The European Commission (EC) will present a proposal for visa liberalization with Ukraine in April. This was reported by the chairman of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, after a meeting on Thursday,  March 17th in Brussels with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. The President of the European Commission said that both sides are interested in facilitating travel for their citizens. He noted that Kiev has opened the way for the liberalization of the visa regime by undertaking …

  • Estonia urges the EU to implement an entry ban on those involved in the Savchenko case

    The Estonian Parliament wants the European Union to ban entry to the Russian officials responsible for the arrest, detention and unlawful condemnation of Nadiya Savchenko. This is reported in the statement taken during the meeting of the Estonian Parliament on the 15th of March, 2016.

    "The Parliament calls to ban the officials of the Russian Federation responsible for the detention, imprisonment and illegal trial of Savchenko from entering into the territory of the European Union", a statement …

  • Brussels warns EU banks against placing Russian Eurobonds

    The European Union fears that income from the Eurobonds will be received by Russians who are subject to sanctions. Earlier, a similar warning was issued by the White House.

    The European Union appealed to European banks to discourage them from placing Russian Eurobonds as reported in the Financial Times on Monday, March 15th. According to European experts, money raised from the placement of these Eurobonds could be used by Russia "for other purposes," including as a source income for …

  • Ukrainian lawmakers approve draft on combating corruption

    Ukrainian lawmakers approved draft legislation aimed at combating corruption by imposing control over the assets of senior and junior level officials and their families.

    Under legislation passed on March 15th, these officials are required to file electronic asset declarations and will be held criminally responsible for inaccurate or misleading information.

    The data will be available on the web for monitoring purposes.

    The European Union is putting pressure on Ukraine to implement anti- …