As war rages in Ukraine and thousands of refugees flee across the border, Poland, one of the EU and NATO's easternmost members, has stepped up to help its neighbours in a massive show of solidarity.
Happy September it’s good to be back, except for Big Phil, ‘cause he got the sack, and Angela Merkel condemns novichok attack.
The former president of Ukraine sat down with EURACTIV warned that without the elusive ceasefire the loss of Ukrainian lives continues.
The liberalisation of European gas markets is widely recognised as a success by industry analysts. But EU politicians are sometimes reluctant to celebrate it because liberalisation on its own has failed to deliver on another key objective – supply diversification.
The European Commission charged Gazprom on Wednesday (22 April) with abusing its dominant market position in Central and Eastern European gas markets.
“The duration of economic sanctions will be clearly linked to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements,” said EU Council President Donald Tusk on Thursday after EU leaders met for the March EU Council Summit.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has urged EU leaders to back Kiev's request to sendi an international peacekeeping mission to eastern Ukraine, where government forces are fighting pro-Russia separatists.
European Council President Donald Tusk visited the White House on Monday, where he met US President Barack Obama to discuss the Ukrainian crisis, the situation in Greece and negotiations on the transatlantic trade agreement.
The European Commission condemned on Tuesday (3 March) Russia's refusal to allow senior officials from Poland and Latvia, including an MEP, to enter the country to attend the funeral of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
Commissioner for Energy Union Maroš Šef?ovi? has said that he is 'reassured' that the supply of gas to the EU markets remains 'secure.' Šef?ovi? comments came after he held trilateral gas talks with Russia and Ukraine on Monday.
Turkey, Algeria, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and “other potential suppliers in the Middle East and Africa” were named in yesterday’s (25 February) Commission communication on Energy Union. EURACTIV understands that Iran and Iraq is also part of the Commission’s long-term thinking, as it searches for alternative suppliers of gas to Russia.
On Wednesday (February 25th) the European Commission launched its Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union. One of the key elements of the Energy Union is that member states’ energy deals with non-EU nations should be scrutinised on a mandatory basis by the European Commission before they are signed. Russia has always insisted that those deals are confidential.
The Greek question would certainly be raised at the Council summit, “if only in a minor way,” the German Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists ahead of Thursday’s informal Council meeting in Brussels.
On Thursday, EU leaders welcomed the ceasefire agreement to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, but said they gave it 'cautious support.'
Speaking to journalists on his arrival to the European Council meeting on Thursday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the Ukrainian ceasefire agreement as 'excellent news'.
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has warned Russia of a 'frozen relation' with the West if Moscow does not respect the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk on Wednesday.
On his arrival at the European Council, François Hollande called on leaders to remain vigilant on the Ukrainian question, and said that the next hours would be crucial. The French President recognised that "the agreement is no guarantee for long-term success".
The peace plan agreed to by France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia in Minsk on Wednesday to stop the fighting in eastern Ukraine is a 'weak solution', according to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday that Europe must be 'cautious', after the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia agreed to a ceasefire, in order to put an end to months of violence in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists on his arrival to the European Council meeting on Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the EU and Greece must find a solution to the Greek crisis, in order to end a “standoff that affects a growing British economy”.
On a mission to Ukraine accompanying EU Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner Christos Stylianides on 27 February, EURACTIV saw an NGO-run centre for internally displaced persons in the centre of Dnepropetrovsk, at some 200 km from Donetsk.
EU Energy Commissioner Maroš Šef?ovi? said he was 'very surprised' after Russia announced it would shift all its gas transit from Ukraine to Turkey, and that EU customers should buy this gas at the border with Greece.
After seven rounds of gas negotiations, Ukraine, Russia and the European Union signed a 4,6 billion dollar gas deal on Thursday. The agreement will see Moscow resume vital supplies of gas to its ex-Soviet neighbour over the winter in return for payments funded in part by Kyiv's Western creditors.
Sunday's parliamentary election in Ukraine was conducted in line with international standards, according to a team of MEPs that monitored the polls across the country.
