Category: EU Reporter

Water levels on the Rhine River are set to fall perilously close to the point at which it would effectively close, according to German data. This puts the trade of huge quantities of goods at risk and also hampers EU plans to increase the movement of goods along waterways by 25 percent by 2030, as […]

Last month’s declaration by the breakaway Moldovan region of Transniestria that it wanted to join Russia, coupled with a spike in anonymous bomb threats in Chișinău, looked like “a kind of prelude to an operation in Moldova”, Oleg Serebrian, Moldova’s deputy prime minister, told The Times. Transniestria hosts at least 1,500 Russian troops. Russia-friendly separatists […]

Afghan nationals who had worked for the German government are being prevented by the Taliban from fleeing the country, report German media outlets. News magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday said an emergency plan by the German government to evacuate thousands of former local staff of German institutions had stalled. It said Berlin had wanted to […]

Amnesty International apologised on Sunday for “distress and anger” caused by a report released on Thursday which stated that the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian army officials said they try to evacuate civilians from front-line areas. In an email to Reuters Amnesty said it had […]

Energy companies, including Belgian Fluxys and French utility EDF, have warned gas exports from the UK to the EU are “contaminated” with toxic elements that are often radioactive. Removing the materials has cost gas traders an estimated €320m. If the problem is left unchecked pipelines may have to be closed down this winter. EU countries […]

The Financial Times newspaper reports EU rules being discussed on political advertising are to create tensions between the European Parliament and the European Commission. The paper cites European Commission vice-president Věra Jourová as saying she rejected parliament’s desire to impose a total ban on personally targeted online political advertising, also known as microtargetting. “If we […]

The Kremlin attacked Ukraine because it believed it could afford to. It perceived nuclear deterrence between Russia and the West as reciprocal, and therefore almost a non-issue. It also saw, in military terms, Europe is disappearing from the world map.

Nato members are discussing with defence companies boosting weapons supplies to Ukraine, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. “We’re now working closely with the defence industry to produce more and to deliver more of different types of ammunition, weapons and capabilities,” he said. Stoltenberg added the war in Ukraine was the most dangerous period […]

Some Spanish supermarkets are experiencing ice shortages and limiting the number of bags sold to consumers as demand soars amid the third heatwave of the summer. High energy prices are being blamed for the lack of supplies, and, as a result, the price of ice bags is also increasing. “The increased demand due to the […]

Estonian foreign minister Urmas Reinsalu has called on the EU to impose a ban on travel visas for Russian citizens in order to further isolate Russia, Bloomberg reported. He raised the issue during a three-day trip to Ukraine when he met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The EU-wide visa ban should be part of the […]