All posts tagged: Politico

Russia launches Department of European Problems to deal with EU – POLITICO

Russia launches Department of European Problems to deal with EU – POLITICO

Russia has a new governmental department to deal with the EU and NATO: The Department of European Problems. The unit already existed within Russia’s foreign ministry, but was previously known as the Department of Pan-European Cooperation (DOC) before it was last week renamed the much spicier Department of European Problems (DEP), according to Russian media. Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told local media the name change reflected “changes in geopolitical realities,” including the “obvious degradation of multilateral cooperation structures in Europe.” Russia’s relations with Europe have been in a deep freeze since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The EU imposed sweeping sanctions on the Kremlin, confiscating Russian assets and pledging support for Ukraine. Moscow announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe in March 2022, and in July this year suspended its participation in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. Source link

EU foreign policy chief warns French energy giant on human rights violations – POLITICO

EU foreign policy chief warns French energy giant on human rights violations – POLITICO

TotalEnergies contracted a Mozambican security unit to defend the plant despite warnings that some soldiers had allegedly carried out human rights abuses.  The energy company told POLITICO it had “no knowledge of the alleged events described” nor “any information indicating that such events took place.” The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, responding to written questions from members of the European Parliament, said Wednesday that he and the Commission had “taken note of the article” and “the alleged actions of the Mozambican army against civilians.” He said that EU legislation going into effect in 2027 would make European companies accountable for the impact of their operations on human rights and the environment inside and outside Europe and require EU countries to “ensure that any victims receive compensation.”   “As such, TotalEnergies will have to comply with the directive should they decide to resume their operations in Cabo Delgado,” Borrell said. The directive, adopted in July, compels companies to safeguard the environment and human rights in their supply chains. The revelation of alleged atrocities at TotalEnergies’ …

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

It’s ‘our business’ if we want to deploy North Korean troops against Ukraine – POLITICO

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that it was Russia’s prerogative to deploy North Korean troops for the war in Ukraine. Speaking to journalists at the final press conference of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Putin said: “This is our sovereign decision. Whether we use it or not, where, how, or whether we engage in exercises, training, or transfer some experience. It’s our business.” Putin’s comments mark the first time that the Russian president commented on the dispatch of the North Korean military to Russia. While he did not deny their presence on Russian territory, he did not specify why they were there. Source link

Football player transfer rules ruled offside by top EU court – POLITICO

Football player transfer rules ruled offside by top EU court – POLITICO

Judges said the rules “impede the free movement of professional footballers” and “are similar to a no-poach agreement.” While some restrictions could be justified, these “do not appear to be indispensable or necessary,” they said. “Those rules impose considerable legal risks, unforeseeable and potentially very high financial risks as well as major sporting risks on those players and clubs wishing to employ them which, taken together, are such as to impede international transfers of those players,” the court said in a statement. They also “have as their object the restriction, and even prevention, of cross-border competition which could be pursued by all clubs established in the European Union, by unilaterally recruiting players under contract with another club or players,” it said. “The possibility of competing by recruiting trained players plays an essential role in the professional football sector,” it said. “Rules which place a general restriction on that form of competition, by immutably fixing the distribution of workers between the employers and in cloistering the markets, are similar to a no-poach agreement,” it said. FIFA …

Far right, far left in European Parliament miss out on millions because of bureaucracy – POLITICO

Far right, far left in European Parliament miss out on millions because of bureaucracy – POLITICO

“My feeling is that the burden [of paperwork] is really to discourage you,” the person said. Both parties were formed in the wake of June’s European election. Such EU-wide votes always result in a shifting of the political landscape and this time was no exception. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party started the ESN not long after being kicked out of the Identity and Democracy group (ID) because of the extreme views of its leading MEP, Maximilian Krah. After the election, ID fractured into two new far-right groups, Patriots for Europe (home to MEPs from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz) and the ESN. Now, AfD is trying to register the ESN as a political party too. Meanwhile on the left, a number of parties, frustrated at how the Party of the European Left operates, jumped ship and started the ELA. In EU-speak, European political parties — sometimes known as Europarties — are associations of like-minded national parties, and their function is to coordinate at the EU level as well as to …

Balkan plot to dig up Yugoslav leader Tito’s remains hits a wall  – POLITICO

Balkan plot to dig up Yugoslav leader Tito’s remains hits a wall  – POLITICO

The proposal to rehouse Tito has caused rifts within Serbia’s ruling coalition, which although led by the center-right Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) also includes the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Movement of Socialists, as well as the ultranationalist Serbian Oathkeepers. Outside the government, prominent intellectuals in Serbia have balked at the idea of disinterring Tito, who is still beloved in Serbia and across the region.  The main street in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, still bears Tito’s name, as do streets in North Macedonia, Montenegro and Slovenia. Even places as far from Serbia as Algeria, Brazil and Egypt have roadways bearing Tito’s name, as well as EU countries France and Italy. In an interview with POLITICO this week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić poured cold water on the idea. . | Olivier Bunic/AFP via Getty Images As the lifelong president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Tito led an atypically moderate socialist country that maintained a close relationship with both West and East. Figures such as conservative British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were among his …

The winners and losers of the new European Commission – POLITICO

The winners and losers of the new European Commission – POLITICO

The decision to give the center-right Austrian People’s Party’s Magnus Brunner the internal affairs and migration portfolio could be read as Brussels’ tacit recognition of the scale of the migration challenge Europe has faced, especially in the wake of the so-called migration crisis.  Ireland There were signs Dublin might be lumped with a tiny portfolio after Prime Minister Simon Harris was the first leader to publicly defy von der Leyen’s demand for countries to send both a male and female candidate. That, coupled with the fact members of the European Parliament from candidate Michael McGrath’s party openly campaigned against von der Leyen, built up a sense of foreboding. But in the end, McGrath received the portfolio for democracy, justice and the rule of law. Not too shabby, all things considered.  Losers Glenn Micallef  The Maltese candidate’s lack of experience as a minister and short political career led to a portfolio with little relevance at the European level and even less clout. The youngest commissioner, 35-year-old Micallef, received the intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport portfolio.  …

Trump will kein zweites Duell gegen Harris  – POLITICO

Trump will kein zweites Duell gegen Harris  – POLITICO

Von JAKOB HANKE VELA Mit CARLOTTA DIEDERICH — KEIN ZWEITES DUELL: Trump will keine Revanchepartie gegen Kamala Harris und gibt bekannt, er werde nicht nochmal mit ihr debattieren. — ZINSSENKUNG: Donald Trump gerät wegen der geplanten Zinssenkung der US-Notenbank in Konflikt mit seinen republikanischen Parteikollegen geraten, die die Unabhängigkeit der FED bewahren wollen. — SOLARENERGIE: Das Energieministerium kündigte gestern eine 40 Millionen Dollar Investition in Sonnenenergie an.  — GELDER AN ÄGYPTEN: Trotz menschenrechtlicher Bedenken geben die USA 320 Millionen Dollar an zuvor blockierter Militärhilfe für Ägypten frei, weil das Land eine Schlüsselrolle in den Friedensverhandlungen zwischen Israel und der Hamas einnimmt.  — LANDWIRTSCHAFT: Das US-Repräsentantenhaus hat einen Gesetzesentwurf verabschiedet, der strengere Kontrollen für den Kauf von amerikanischem Ackerland durch ausländische Investoren vorsieht, um den Erwerb durch Länder wie China, Russland und den Iran zu verhindern. — AMTSÜBERGABE 2025: Rechtzeitig vor der nächsten Übergabe stellen die amerikanischen Sicherheitsbehörden das Ereignis auf ein höheres Sicherheitslevel.  Willkommen bei DC Decoded, dem werktäglichen Amerika-Briefing von Jakob Hanke Vela und Carlotta Diederich über die aktuellen Entwicklungen jenseits des großen Teichs. …

The EU’s urgent need for new resources – POLITICO

The EU’s urgent need for new resources – POLITICO

Coming in at around €350 billion in total, the grants provided to member countries under the recovery funds must be repaid starting in 2028, with estimated annual costs running somewhere between €22 to €27 billion. And according to an agreement between the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament of 2020, the Commission’s proposal for the next seven-year budget, which is expected in late 2025, must detail how these loans will be repaid. However, until the presentation of the bloc’s five-year strategic agenda this summer, EU leaders were notoriously silent on the issue, even then only noting that “we will work towards the introduction of new own resources.” Similarly, in her Political Guidelines for 2024-2029, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen simply noted “new own resources will be needed to ensure sufficient and sustainable financing for our common priorities.” But where will they come from? The Commission has twice identified potential sources of revenue: the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the upcoming Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the reallocated profits …