Instead, Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary for defense policy, is set to attend in his place, the diplomat and official said, a decision that is still subject to change. Colby is the third-highest-ranking civilian defense official at the Pentagon and a close ally of U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The U.S. Department of Defense didn’t immediately […]
Continue ReadingCzechia will go ahead with the purchase of 24 American F-35 fighter jets but is seeking to improve the conditions of the deal, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Thursday. “We will definitely want to work on this and improve the contract, because the project is at such a stage that it must continue,” Babiš […]
Continue ReadingThe EU is preparing to propose a ban on their use later this year, with exemptions for “critical sectors” — a position likely to draw pushback from industry and some political groups. But even a full ban would leave Europe with costs of €330 billion by 2050, the report warned. “Providing clarity on PFAS with […]
Continue ReadingShe added Russia’s insistence on getting all of Donbas is merely a stalling tactic. “It’s a sort of a game from the Russian side where they agree to talk about a supposed peace settlement, while meaning something completely different,” said Stanovaya. “They can talk about the subject for hours, but it has nothing to do […]
Continue ReadingThe European Commission president (currently Ursula von der Leyen) leads the bloc’s executive arm, which has power over trade, agriculture, the single market and other internal policy areas — although foreign affairs is handled by the EU’s top diplomat (Kaja Kallas) and the European Council president (António Costa), with both reporting directly to EU countries. […]
Continue ReadingThe U.S. already supplies more than a quarter of the EU’s gas, up from just 5 percent five years ago, with dependence set to rise further as a total ban on Russian gas takes effect. But Jørgensen said the Commission is now actively seeking alternative suppliers to the U.S. and plans to deepen energy ties […]
Continue ReadingThe territorial destiny of Donetsk is the key issue preventing the conclusion of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. “The one remaining item … is the territorial claim on Donetsk. There is active work going to try to see if both sides’ views on this can […]
Continue ReadingSecretary of State Marco Rubio tried to do two things at once in testimony to senators Wednesday: take the temperature down after President Donald Trump rattled NATO by seeking to acquire Greenland, while delivering Trump’s message that the alliance must change. Rubio’s tightrope walk was on display at a sometimes-testy Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, […]
Continue ReadingThe notice will be published “in the next few days,” a spokesperson from Dinum said. That follows an announcement on Sunday by the Minister for State Reform David Amiel that France would target the adoption of a home-grown videoconferencing platform by 2027. France last summer mandated that officials get off WhatsApp and Telegram and instead […]
Continue ReadingAs Dutch lawmakers in the parliament’s digital affairs committee met Tuesday to debate the issue, they received a petition signed by 140,000 people calling on the government to block the acquisition. “If the Dutch government does something that [U.S. President Donald] Trump doesn’t like, he can shut down our government with one push of a […]
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