The European Commission has presented a proposal to the Council for a decision to grant an additional €460 million in financial support to Bulgaria under the SURE instrument, bringing the total support to the country to €971 million. Once the Council approves this proposal, the financial support will be provided in the form of loans…
EU council president Charles Michel has praised the “bravery” of Ukraine in its war with Russia. He was speaking at the Crimea Platform Summit on Tuesday. The former Belgian PM said, “Crimea is Ukraine. I start with the same, clear message I had the opportunity to convey last year when I took part in the…
EU member states have decided to impose restrictive measures on two additional individuals in response to what they call the ongoing “unjustified and unprovoked” Russian military aggression against Ukraine. The Council added the pro-Russian former President of Ukraine Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr Viktorovych Yanukovych to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out…
EU member states decided on Tuesday (26 July) to prolong by six months, until 31 January 2023 the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation. These sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded since February 2022, in light of Russia’s…
The Council has decided to provide € 1 billion of additional macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Ukraine, as a matter of urgency. Together with the emergency MFA of € 1.2 billion disbursed earlier this year, the total macro-financial support from the EU to Ukraine since the start of the war now reaches € 2.2 billion and it is…
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala presented on Wednesday the programme and main goals of the Czech Council Presidency’s semester. During her opening speech, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola noted that “with an illegal war on our continent, the Czech Presidency comes at a turning point in history. Our next steps will be decisive for our…
The Council has today decided to renew the sanctions introduced by the EU in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, until 23 June 2023. The restrictive measures currently in place were first introduced in June 2014, and include prohibitions targeting the imports of products originating from theillegally annexed Crimea or…
The Conference Plenary has concluded its work, with MEPs expressing their approval of the outcome and announcing that Parliament intends to kick-start EU reforms. Parliament’s delegation decided to support the Plenary’s draft proposals. MEPs highlighted the important role that Parliament played in the run-up to this moment, for example by guaranteeing that citizens’ input would…
The European Parliament and the French Council Presidency have reached an agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). “The agreement is the beginning of a new era for tech regulation worldwide. The Digital Markets Act puts an end to the ever-increasing dominance of big tech companies”, said Andreas Schwab MEP. Schwab leads the negotiation team…
The Council, which represents EU member states, has adopted restrictive measures, within the existing sanctions framework, on five more individuals. This, it says, is for “actively supporting actions and implementing policies that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.” “The persons designated are members of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, who…
