EU

US Will Defeat EU Army
The testy slap-down by US President Donald Trump to the idea of a European army was telling. Any notion of the Europeans stepping away from American "protection" would be anathema to Washington. That's because American power is not about "protecting" Europe. That's just the vainglorious, propaganda mythology. [...]
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Euro is Too Weak For German Economy, Too Strong For Most Others in Euro – MP
German conservative Friedrich Merz said Thursday that Brexit would have a major impact on continental Europe's economy. He added that Brexit was the biggest threat the EU could be facing at the moment but didn't hope to see another referendum in the UK. [...]
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Russia May Start Using Euro in Trade With European Union – Economy Ministry
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently indicated that Washington was "making a colossal strategic mistake" by "undermining confidence in the dollar" amid Russian plans to reduce the country's dependence on the US currency in global trade. [...]
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Le Pen’s Eurosceptic party beats Macron’s in EU parliamentary election poll
The landslide success of Emmanuel Macron’s party seems to be fading away as the party of his presidential rival, Marine Le Pen, is overtaking his ruling alliance six months ahead of European parliamentary elections, a poll shows. [...]
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EU 404? Not finding itself on Iran exemption list, Europe vows to defy US sanctions
European countries have vowed to maintain “effective financial channels” and to keep trading with Tehran after the US announced that the EU is not among those spared from its sweeping sanctions against Iran. [...]
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EU to Boost Border Security With AI Lie Detectors That Can Spot Illegal Migrants
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. [...]
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Mattis Attempts to Sell US Exit From INF Treaty to EU Allies
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 [...]
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Danish Bill Proposes 12 Years in Prison for ‘Pro-Russia’ Opinion
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 [...]
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‘End of love story’: Poll says for 2/3 of EU citizens life wouldn’t be worse without the bloc
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. [...]
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Italy Resists EU Calls to Slap Sanctions Over Cyber Attacks – Reports
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. [...]
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EU energy system will collapse if sanctions target Russian oil & gas – BP boss
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 [...]
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EU Tries to Persuade US to Exempt SWIFT From Iran Sanctions
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. [...]
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Informal Meeting in Austria: EU Heads Discuss May’s Brexit Proposal (VIDEO)
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. [...]
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It’s Unclear Whether EU Will Fall Apart, But Change is Coming – US Investor
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. [...]
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Swift turn: German FM says Europe needs bank transactions system independent from US
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,” [...]
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‘Everybody in EU Understands That Russian Gas Cannot be Substituted’ – Scholar
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. [...]
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Euro could collapse without ECB bond guarantee – Italy’s right-wing Northern League party
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. [...]
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Libya, migrants & karma: Europe’s new migration policy wrecks on North African reality
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 [...]
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Stockpiles of surrendered Western arms in Syria a sign of ‘gross interference’ – Russia
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 [...]
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