EU

“There is no sincere will for peace in Ukraine from the main actors in the West”
Russia has been put into an impossible situation, meaning they are responsible not only for what has been done in Lugansk and Donetsk, but also for what has been done on the side of Kiev, political analyst Alexander Pavic told RT. Apparently, the truce in Ukraine is not enough for the EU to hold back on yet more sanctions. [...]
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Russia may restrict import of Western cars, clothes in new sanctions tit-for-tat
Imports of Western cars and clothes into Russia could be restricted as part of a second round of "retaliatory" measures prepared in response to the sanctions against Moscow, says presidential aide Andrey Belousov. There are many sellers of non-agricultural goods in the West who are heavily dependent on the Russian market, the official said. [...]
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EU-Ukraine integration pact postponed till 2016 after talks between Moscow, Kiev & Brussels
Moscow scored a major diplomatic coup after Kiev agreed to postpone the enforcement of its Association Agreement with EU until the end of next year, following three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and European Union officials in Brussels. "We agreed on delaying the provisional application until the end of next year and to prolong the autonomous trade measures for the same period. [...]
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Putin: New sanctions odd & ineffective – simply damage those who introduce them
The latest list of sanctions looks “quite odd” in view of the peace drive including a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said as the EU’s restricting measures came into force Friday. Speaking after a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Putin said that Russia has not ruled out responding with tit-for-tat sanctions. At the same time, he sai [...]
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EU publishes Russia sanctions list: Energy, finance, defense targeted
Arms producer Kalashnikov and oil giant Rosneft are among Russian companies hit by a new round of EU sanctions, which have come into effect Friday morning upon being published in the EU Official Journal. The sanctions target the finance, energy and defense sectors. The union has restricted three Russian energy companies from raising long-term debt on European capital markets – Rosneft, Transn [...]
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Moscow to give ‘appropriate’ response to new EU sanctions
Moscow will take “appropriate measures” in response to possible new sanctions from the European Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said. “On many levels, the Russian leadership has made it clear that we’ll take adequate measures and our response will be absolutely comparable with the actions by the EU,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said at briefing in Moscow. [...]
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Latest Russia sanctions will take effect Friday, EU says
European Commission head Herman Van Rompuy confirmed the EU will unleash a new round of sanctions against Russia on September 12. The economic sanctions will reportedly target Russia's energy, finance, and defense sectors. The new limitations will come into effect after they are published in the official journal of the European Union on Friday. [...]
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US should commit to sending oil to Europe – EU Trade Commissioner
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht wants to see oil and natural gas exports from the US to Europe included in the forthcoming transatlantic trade deal which will create the world's largest free trade zone. Europe wants US oil and gas to help offset its dependence on Russian energy. About 30 percent of Europe’s total gas requirement comes from Russia, approximately half of that is vulnerable [...]
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Covert US-EU trade deal could make NHS privatization irreversible – trade unions
A group of high-profile trade unions have backed a growing campaign opposed to a new transatlantic trade deal critics claim will make the privatization of Britain's National Health Service (NHS) irreversible. Three of the UK’s largest unions have tendered motions to the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Liverpool, outlining their opposition to the cross-border agreement currently being negotiated [...]
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NATO Isn’t Going Anywhere – Carnegie Europe
After international summits end, there is always a collective sigh of relief. So it was with the NATO meeting in Wales that ended on September 5. All NATO leaders got something out of the Euro-Atlantic gathering, even if it wasn’t what they had wanted during the run-up to the summit. There were reassurances for NATO’s Eastern European members and promises of technical assistance to Ukraine [...]
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Airlines lose billions amid rumors of trans-Siberian flight blockade
Major airlines saw stock shares nosedive on Wednesday, after media reports said that Russia could block flights over Siberia. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the reports are simply rumors. “I’m not an advocate of using the method of bans and creating real problems for passengers, ordinary citizens who have absolutely no connection to the actions of those who unleashed t [...]
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“Ukraine truce depends only on political will from both sides”
As the ceasefire in Ukraine gets off to a shaky start, the only way to rebuild the billions of dollars of damage in the nation's east is for the EU and Russia to work together, Lode Vanoust, former MP and deputy speaker of the Belgium parliament, told RT. First off, Kiev has now agreed to what appears to be a major concession, decentralization of power, which wasn’t even on the negotiating ta [...]
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Kiev Officials Sign Ceasefire Agreement With East Ukraine Rebels
Just two days after the President of Ukraine and Russia both expressed a desire to resolve the conflict in Ukraine peacefully, representatives from the two self-proclaimed republics in East Ukraine and Kiev’s government agreed to a ceasefire after meeting behind closed doors in Belarus. Interesting timing considering that on Wednesday, after his phone call with Poroshenko, President Putin p [...]
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“Neither Russia, nor the West would give up Ukraine which is the real prize”
We are at the beginning of an epoch where at some point in the future there could be an open war between the advanced powers, and there is not much faith in the ceasefire in Ukraine, Samir Dathi, National Officer of the Stop the War Coalition, told RT. Ukraine's President is confident about a ceasefire - do you think he's right to be? [...]
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Lithuania asks EU for $60mn compensation over Russian embargo
Lithuania has asked the European Commission to allocate €46 million ($60 million) as compensation for Russian food embargo losses. Slovakia has also asked the EU to lift some sanctions against Russia to partially allow exports. Vilnius is expecting to receive at least part of the requested compensation, as Brussels sees Lithuania as one of the countries most affected by the Russian sanctions, [...]
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‘Losing momentum’: ECB cuts interest rate to new record low of 0.05%
The European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 0.05% from 0.15% in a strong response to combat deflation. The move comes as the EU is struggling to boost its stagnating economy, which Draghi. “Growth recovery was losing momentum,” ECB President Mario Draghi said at the news conference after the announcement was made to cut rates further. [...]
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UK doesn’t need Assad’s permission to launch airstrikes in Syria – Cameron
Britain could conduct airstrikes in Syrian regions captured by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said. He added that he did not need permission from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Speaking at the start of the NATO summit in Wales on Thursday, Cameron said he did not recognize Assad as a legitimate leader, labeling him as “part of the problem.” [...]
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NATO’s Summit Between Strategy and Tragedy – Carnegie Europe
The recurring motif in discussions on the sidelines of the NATO summit taking place on September 4–5 in Wales is this: “But what can NATO do for Ukraine?” The presence of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the gathering seems to indicate that the Western alliance has somehow made itself Ukraine’s guarantee power. But this is only true in a largely symbolic sense. In real terms, the [...]
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Russian food ban to cost EU $6.6bn a year – internal document
Russia's decision to impose a food embargo in response to Western sanctions may cost the European Union €5 billion ($6.6 billion) a year, according to an internal EU document. "The overall temporary restrictions currently applied by Russia potentially jeopardize €5 billion worth of trade," the report seen by Reuters states. [...]
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