Earlier, Hungary introduced psychological tests for migrants demanding asylum on the basis of persecution for having non-standard sexual orientations. Such tests were later ruled out by the European Court of Justice. [...]

US President Donald Trump earlier announced that Washington would be withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, citing alleged violations by Moscow. Russia has firmly denied the accusations and expressed regret at the decision. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that the US is currently in talks with its EU partners over Washington's decision to withdraw from the INF Treat [...]

Danish lawmakers have gone on the offensive against interference in public debate, sparking criticism that a new proposal, which could entail criminal liability for expressing opinions similar to those of Moscow, may become a step toward silencing public debate. According to a bill brought forward in local parliament, Danes could face a jail term if they voice dissent over the government's posi [...]

Nearly two-thirds of EU citizens think that life wouldn’t be worse without the bloc, a recent survey revealed. It probably highlights the end of a love story between Brussels and those living in the union, an analyst told RT. The report which says there is a significant divide between the leadership and the people within the EU was released by the Friends of Europe think tank on Thursday. [...]

Earlier in the day, the Netherlands and the UK reportedly sent a memo to the other European bloc member urging them to update their sanctions list with penalties, which cyber crimes they think should carry. Italy is opposing a European Union push to slap sanctions on countries that carry out cyberattacks, a confidential EU document seen by Reuters states. [...]

Sanctions against Russia’s key energy companies would inevitably lead to a collapse of the European energy sector, BP CEO Bob Dudley has warned, according to Sputnik news agency. “I do not think that would happen. If sanctions were put on Rosneft or Gazprom or LUKoil like what happened with Rusal, you would virtually shut down the energy systems of Europe, it is a bit of extreme thing to happe [...]

Washington’s sanctions against Tehran would fundamentally change other countries’ economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic, the Financial Times has written. EU finance ministers will try to persuade the US administration not to disconnect Iran from the international payment system SWIFT, the newspaper reported on Tuesday. [...]

An informal meeting of the EU heads of state and government, devoted to Brexit as well as issues such as internal security and migration, is being held in the Austrian city of Salzburg, which started on Wednesday and is due to conclude later in the day. [...]

Change is coming, Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst, told Sputnik, commenting on the growing discontent with Brussels policies among Europeans and the increasing popularity of nationalist conservative parties. According to the analyst, the EU's swollen bureaucratic apparatus remains a stumbling block in the way of Europe's development. [...]

The European Union should set up a system that would allow Brussels to be independent in its financial operations from Washington, according to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. It is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system,” [...]

During their August 18 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project is profitable for both sides and should not be politicized. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Gerhard Mangott, a political analyst from Austria's Innsbrook University, shared his views on the EU's energy issue. [...]

Italy’s ruling Northern League party predicts the dismantling of the euro unless the European Central Bank (ECB) offers a guarantee to reduce yield spreads in the eurozone. "The situation can’t be resolved and it is going to explode,” the economics spokesman of Italy’s ruling Northern League party, Claudio Borghi, told Reuters. [...]

The EU's new plan to create refugee camps in North Africa is unlikely to ever work, as it's never considered the situation on the ground – something that Europe helped create when it intervened in Libya, experts warn. Years of unending migrant influx have apparently stretched both the capacity and hospitality of some European nations to the limit. While the new Italian Euroskeptic government has [...]

The Western-made weapons surrendered by armed groups in Deraa are “material evidence of gross interference” in Syria, according to Russian Foreign ministry. The Syrian province was under militant control for years. "Enormous number of Western-produced modern weapons and equipment was handed over by reconciled militants to the Syrian army," spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, during her weekly n [...]

Donald Trump’s policy of pressuring European countries on issues like defense spending, Russia cooperation or trade will ultimately end NATO, Willy Wimmer, Germany’s former State Secretary for Defense, told RT. Commenting on the outcome of this week’s NATO summit in Brussels, during which the US president criticized European members of the alliance of spending too little on defense and berat [...]

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party is continuing its efforts to repatriate Syrian refugees, formally urging the German federal government and the EU to lift their debilitating economic sanctions against the Arab Republic. [...]

US President Donald Trump's introduction of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the EU will force them to build new trade ties, professor at Aalto University and CUHK, Carl F. Fey, told RT. “US actions will surely push the EU to strengthen trade relationships with other countries such as China. Russia, being a near neighbor could also benefit,” he told RT, adding � [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The newly imposed tariffs by the Trump administration on steel and aluminum imports from EU, Canada, and Mexico represent abuse of power, US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said in a statement. "Imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on our most important trading partners is the wrong approach and represents an abuse of authority intended only for nationa [...]

US will have hard time convincing key EU members to offset overreliance on Russian piped gas with US LNG. Russia's largest gas producer Gazprom and the European Commission have recently resolved a seven-year anti-trust dispute. Much of this comes amid President Donald Trump’s so-called American energy independence push as well as both US and several EU members thrust to wean Europe off of geopol [...]

American stock markets reacted negatively after the United States imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped over one percent, S&P500 dropped 0.54 percent, while the Nasdaq was 0.16 percent in the red. [...]

Unable to win concessions from from its trading partners ahead of the Friday deadline, the US has introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union. The new 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico come into force at midnight (04:00 GMT, Friday), according to US Commerce Secretary Ross. [...]

By trying to bring an end to the Russo-European Nord Stream 2 project, the US is pursuing its own economic interests rather than taking care of Europe's energy security. Washington is seeking to boost sales of its own expensive liquefied natural gas to Europe, thus undermining the Old Continent's competitiveness. [...]