As the "Beast from the East" brings snow and severe cold to Europe, EU member states turn to their longstanding partner Gazprom to tackle the challenge, Andrzej Szczesniak, an energy security analyst, told Sputnik, explaining why Poland would rather freeze than embrace the Russia-led Nord Stream 2 project. [...]

An investigative journalist, known for reporting on the tax fraud and shady deals of Slovakia’s elite, was shot dead on Sunday. The killing resonated among the EU’s public, raising concerns over press freedom in the EU. The bodies of 27-year-old Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusnirova were found by officers on Sunday evening in their house in Velka Maca, a town east of the capital Bratisl [...]

A Hungarian city’s bid to become the European Union’s next “Capital of Culture” was allegedly rejected by EU officials because its video entry showed too many smiling, dancing, white Christians, the city’s mayor says. [...]

A majority of French and Germans, along with a considerable number of Britons and Poles, oppose the new US bill which may result in European companies being punished for cooperating with Russia. The French Institute of Public Opinion (Ifop) has conducted an opinion poll for Sputnik in order to try and determine how Europeans will react toward a new bill implemented by the US that threatens to impo [...]

To be “born again” Italy needs to ditch the euro, break away from NATO and the EU and become an ally of Russia, political analyst Lorenzo Valloreja told Sputnik Italy. Lorenzo Valloreja outlined his ideas in his book, titled “Beyond Prejudice” (“Al Di La’ Del Pregiudizio”), which will be presented to the public at the Italian Senate headquarters in December by the author, Senator Pa [...]

George Soros has lamented that the European Union is on the verge of collapse while Russia is becoming “a resurgent nationalist power.” Hungarian-American tycoon George Soros, who runs the $26 billion Soros Fund Management and chairs the global board of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), made the remarks while speaking to the Financial Times. [...]

Rudyard Kipling once wrote that “East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” The poet was referring to his experiences in India and Britain, but the line could increasingly apply to modern Europe. [...]

While the German SPD and CSU parties are struggling to form a new grand coalition during tough negotiations, Austria has already successfully formed its new government despite the fact that Vienna held its parliamentary election three weeks after Berlin. [...]

Leader of right-wing France’s National Front party Marine Le Pen said at the conference in Prague she hopes the European Union will be overthrown from within. Earlier in the day, the conference of anti-immigration parties of Europe took place in the Czech capital and was attended by Le Pen [...]

According to the Austrian government’s program, Vienna vows to end Turkey’s EU membership negotiations. Ankara has expressed strong protest over the program of the new Austrian government that has vowed to halt Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. [...]

Poland may lose its last EU ally over its unwillingness to vocally protest against the Ukrainian discriminatory education law, Polish independent commentator Janusz Niedzwiecki told Sputnik, adding that Warsaw is bowing to Washington's will. Meanwhile, Brussels is running out of patience over Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk accords. [...]

In the follow up to the results of the Catalan referendum on independence and the stern crackdown of the Spanish central government against voters, Czech Communist MEP Jaromír Kohlíček told Sputnik Czech that Madrid is likely to have more problems as it has other autonomous communities which desire more sovereignty. [...]

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream gas pipeline projects would be implemented on time, regardless of the new US law that expands sanctions against Moscow. Political analyst Alex Zubets told Radio Sputnik that Brussels is well aware of its own interests and is likely to back the project. [...]

Berlin must not spend billions on militarization to appease Donald Trump, the German foreign minister said, adding that Chancellor Angela Merkel should not “kneel” to the US president. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel attacked Chancellor Merkel in a blunt op-ed for the Rheinische Post newspaper. [...]

Washington's relentless efforts to fence off and punish countries which protect their own national interests and maintain sovereignty will result in the isolation of the US, geopolitical analyst Gilbert Mercier predicted in his interview with Sputnik. [...]

White House officials have been sending mixed signals regarding President Trump's stance on the new Russia sanctions bill. Political scientist Sergei Sudakov says Washington's uncertainty makes sense, since the bill puts the US and Europe on the path to a major trade war.   [...]

It is time for the EU to decide whether they want to defend Europeans and European business interests and stand up against what the Americans are trying to do, says MEP Nathan Gill from the UK Independence Party. [...]

The member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs claims that Brussels needs to restore strong dialogue and cooperation with Moscow as the anti-Russia sanctions lost any economic reasoning and turned into a mere political instrument. [...]

Poland is drifting away from the EU, which demands that Warsaw accept refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, former Polish member of the European Parliament, Joannа Senyszyn, told Sputnik. “The EU has repeatedly warned Poland over its refusal to take in refugees and [the changes to the country’s constitutional court, which Brussels believes pose a serious challenge to the rul [...]

Matteo Salivini, leader of Italian opposition Lega Nord party, told Sputnik on Friday that the extension of the European Union's anti-Russian sanctions was "absurd," since the restrictive measures were damaging for the economies of both Italy and the entire 28-member-bloc. [...]

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has lashed out against the EU, saying that the bloc's policies had brought Ukraine "to its knees," and turned it into a raw material colony. Speaking to Sputnik, Ukrainian political analyst Alexander Okhrimenko said that it was surprising that Kiev expected anything different from the Europeans. [...]

The European Parliament has passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the reintroduction of visa requirements for American citizens, raising the stakes in a long-running battle over the United States’ refusal to grant visa-free access to citizens of five European Union countries. [...]