Illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol: EU renews sanctions by one year

The Council today decided to renew the sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until 23 June 2021. The restrictive measures currently in place include prohibitions targeting the imports of products originating in Crimea or Sevastopol into the EU, and infrastructural or financial investments and tourism services in Crimea or Sevastopol. Furthermore, the exports of certain…

Petition of Patriots of Ukraine to the Heads of State and Governments of the Member States of the EU

We publish here in full the text of a petition from the Patriots of Ukraine Worldwide addressed to the Heads of State and Governments of the EU Member States.  For the seventh year in a row, Ukraine and Ukrainians have been fighting at the forefront of international efforts to repel Russian armed aggression and the…

Russia: EU prolongs economic sanctions by six months

Today, the Council prolonged the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 July 2020. This decision follows an update by President Macron and Chancellor Merkel to the European Council on 12 December 2019 on the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which the decision on maintaining sanctions is linked. Given that the…

Iran: Does the EU need a new strategy?

Tensions between Iran and the US, which can ignite the entire region, are rising with the alleged sabotage of oil tankers, the US drone shot down by the Revolutionary Guards and heated rhetoric on both sides, writes Majid Golpour. This has fuelled the US to impose new sanctions directly on the Supreme Leader, Mr Khamenei, and his…

Russia Wastes No Time in Attacking Ukraine after the Presidential Election

The President of the Russian Federation has issued  a decree  offering a simplified procedure for acquiring citizenship of the Russian Federation by Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This is quite clearly a blatant interference of the Russian Federation in the internal affairs of Ukraine, and a…

Martial law in Ukraine and Reaction in Europe

Martial law in Ukraine

Despite multiple accusations by opponents and suspicions that the President is trying to postpone the Presidential Elections, the Ukrainian parliament still voted for the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. It has been imposed not for 60 days as the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine proposed initially, but for 30 days. And not in…