MEPs have given the green light to a €1.2 billion macro-financial loan to help Ukraine cover its external financing needs in 2022. Parliament agreed to an EC proposal to provide Kyiv with an emergency resource for EU neighbourhood countries struggling to pay their bills. It will be paid out in two instalments. Half of the…
An ECFR survey says Europeans believe Russia will invade Ukraine this year. In every surveyed country – apart from Finland (a plurality, 44%) – a majority of respondents think Russia will invade Ukraine this year. The breakdown for each country is as follows: Finland (44%), France (51%), Germany (52%), Italy (51%), Poland (73%), Romania (64%) and Sweden (55%)….
Russia’s military build-up on Ukraine’s border has triggered a mood change in Europe. Against a backdrop of rapidly escalating tensions, majorities in Europe now believe that Russia will invade Ukraine in 2022, and hold the view that the EU and NATO should stand behind Kyiv in such a scenario, according to a new polling-backed study…
A high-level delegation of the European Parliament, which travelled to Ukraine amid the current security crisis, concluded its visit on Tuesday. Nine members from the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Security and Defence Subcommittee, led by Chairs David McAllister (EPP, DE) and Nathalie Loiseau (Renew, FR) met with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the Speaker…
The European Court of Human Rights has issued a review of 2021. In 2021 the Court ruled on more than 36,000 applications. The number of Grand Chamber or Chamber judgments rose to 428 (relating to 1,037 applications), an increase of 9% compared to 2020. At the end of 2020 there were 62,000 pending applications. At…
“Unity and resolve, that’s what we expect from our Ministers of Foreign Affairs who will today discuss the situation around Ukraine. The country, whose citizens went onto the streets and died fighting for the European future of their country, cannot be turned down by cold pragmatism. We expect the European Union to show its strength…
President von der Leyen has issued the following statement on EU financial support for Ukraine “Last Friday, I spoke with President Zelensky to assess the situation in Ukraine created by Russia’s aggressive actions. We discussed how the EU could continue to support Ukraine both in the immediate and medium term. As ever, the EU stands…
The most effective response to the resurgence of COVID-19 is vaccination, say MEPs, addressing the main topic on the agenda of the European Council. In a debate with Commission President von der Leyen and the Slovenian Presidency, they insisted that vaccination remains the strongest and most promising weapon available against the pandemic. Additional efforts are…
Earlier this month, President Biden organised a much-publicised conference on “democracy”. It was an event he’d promised on the presidential campaign trail. The aims were highly laudable, not least as the meeting with the heads of state of Australia, India and Japan was to ensure that “the way in which technology is designed, developed, governed and…
The North Atlantic Council has issued a toughly worded statement on the current tense situation in Ukraine.It reads,”We are gravely concerned by the substantial, unprovoked, and unjustified Russian military build-up on the borders of Ukraine in recent months, and reject the false Russian claims of Ukrainian and NATO provocations. We call on Russia to immediately…
