EU-Russia
Poland: Living with Russia’s threat at the border
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.
Tweets of the Week: Rentrée, Phil Hogan, Merkel on Navalny
Happy September it’s good to be back, except for Big Phil, ‘cause he got the sack, and Angela Merkel condemns novichok attack.
Poroshenko: More tanks in Donbas than in the German Bundeswehr
The former president of Ukraine sat down with EURACTIV warned that without the elusive ceasefire the loss of Ukrainian lives continues.
The evolution and functioning of Europe’s natural gas market as a result of the Third Gas Directive
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.
Brussels charges Gazprom with market abuse
The European Commission charged Gazprom on Wednesday (22 April) with abusing its dominant market position in Central and Eastern European gas markets.
EU links sanctions on Russia to Minsk ceasefire deal
��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.
Ukraine urges EU leaders to back peacekeeping mission in Donbas
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.
Russia wants to divide the west, Tusk tells Obama
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.
Commission condemns Russian travel bans on EU officials
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.
Šef?ovi?: EU gas supply ‘secure’
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.
Will Energy Union give business to abusers of human rights?
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.
Šef?ovi? hopes to convince Orbán to disclose energy agreements
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.
EU Summit: Merkel ready to compromise on Greek debt
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.
EU leaders give ‘cautious support’ to Ukraine’s peace plan
On Thursday, EU leaders welcomed the ceasefire agreement to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, but said they gave it 'cautious support.'
Juncker: Minsk agreement ‘excellent news’
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'.
Stubb after Ukraine ceasefire agreement: ‘We should give peace a chance’
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.
Hollande: ‘Ukraine agreement is a ray of hope’
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".
Ukraine ceasefire agreement ‘absolutely weak’, Grybuskaite says
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.
Tusk after Ukraine ceasefire agreement: “We have to be cautious”
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.
Cameron: EU-Greece ‘standoff’ affects the UK’s economy
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”.
Civilians in eastern Ukraine need protection
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.
Šef?ovi? ‘very surprised’ at Russia’s decision to cut EU gas supply via Ukraine
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.
Ukraine, Russia, EU sign a $4,6 billion gas deal
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.
Ukraine election ‘free and fair’, MEP delegation says
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.