Contents tagged with Germany

  • Germany deals final blow to Nord Stream 2

    The 10-billion-euro project Nord Stream-2, which was blocked by U.S. sanctions, received a new and apparently final blow from the German authorities, who deprived the gas pipeline of the last hope for profitability.

    According to Handelsblatt, on Friday the German Federal Network Agency decided to deny Nord Stream 2 AG an exemption from the requirements of the updated EU Gas Directive.

    The German energy market regulator has ruled that Nord Stream 2 must comply with European competition …

  • U.S. upgrades its nuclear weapons in Germany

    The U.S. has upgraded its nuclear weapons stationed in Germany, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday, April 11. According to Der Spiegel, the secret operation to modernize the weapons took place in the autumn of 2019. As part of it, about 20 B61-type thermonuclear bombs were moved to the United States from the Buechel Air Base in western Germany. Two days later, after the software update the weapons were returned.

    Washington informed Berlin about the operation only shortly before …

  • Russia accuses Ukraine, Germany and France of undermining agreements to create joint council with Donbas militants

    The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the rejection of the agreements reached with representatives of the militant authorities in the Donbas was not only Kyiv’s initiative.

    "Unfortunately, strange things began to happen after the breakthrough. During the telephone talks, the assistants of the “Normandy" leaders, Berlin and Paris, under various pretexts avoided supporting the agreements between Kyiv and the Donbas,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

    According to …

  • Germany allows Poland to decide the fate of Nord Stream 2 pipeline

    German regulatory office for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railway market, Bundesnetzagentur has allowed Poland to participate in the consideration of the application to exclude Nord Stream 2 from the rules of the new EU Gas Directive. This issue is key for the future of the project, as European regulations can severely restrict gas supplies through the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

    Last year, the European Commission approved new changes to the EU Gas Directive. Now the Third …

  • Germany investigates Russian Prime Minister’s son-in-law for money laundering

    The prosecutor's office of the German city of Koblenz is conducting a criminal investigation against the son-in-law of the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, businessman Alexander Udodov, who is suspected of money laundering through the German company VG Cargo, reported the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger.

    The case against Udodov, his company and other unnamed firms was brought in 2013. According to the investigation, 90 million Swiss francs, which were received as a result of tax fraud …

  • Kyiv: Berlin made it clear, sanctions on Russia will not be lifted

    During his visit to Berlin, Anton Korynevych, the permanent representative of the Ukrainian  President to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, received a clear message from Germany that sanctions against Russia due to the annexation of Crimea would not be lifted.

    "During the visit to Berlin, we received important signals from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there could be no other position on Crimea and that the lifting of sanctions introduced for Russia’s annexation of Crimea is out …

  • Merkel invites newly appointed Ukrainian Prime Minister to Berlin

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal on the appointment to the post and invited him to visit Berlin.

    "Our bilateral relations have reached a high level thanks to increasing cooperation in recent years. The federal government will continue to support you and your government, especially in the areas of decentralization, energy efficiency, anti-corruption and the judicial system," reads Merkel’s statement, which was published on German …

  • Germany to allocate €6 million in humanitarian aid for Donbas

    The German government is increasing its financial support for the humanitarian activity carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ukraine.

    In 2020, in addition to the already promised €2 million, an extra €4 million will be allocated. Furthermore, in 2021 Berlin plans to allocate another €2 million to this purpose.

    Between 2019 and 2021, Germany will have provided a total of €12.3 million in financing for the ICRC’s humanitarian activity in Ukraine, DW reports.

    A …

  • Kyiv to let Germany manage railways for 10 years

    Kyiv is ready to give control of Ukrainian Railways to the German company Deutsche Bahn AG for 10 years, announced Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The speech was published on his Facebook page.

    He explained that it is not merely about developing the Ukrainian railway operator, but also about an “ecosystem-based” decision, which should demonstrate Ukraine’s “unprecedented openness” to investments. The prime minister added that the details of the …

  • German farmers urge Ukraine not to close land market to foreigners

    German farmers operating in Ukraine have urged Ukraine’s political leadership not to prohibit foreigners from purchasing land after the launch of the agricultural land market. A letter addressed to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Dmytro Razumkov, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, and the German Embassy in Kyiv was signed by 25 farmers from the Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Lviv, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Odessa and Cherkasy regions of Ukraine. …