Tag: European Union

As Zelensky Visits Kherson, World Bank Says Ukraine Needs $411 Billion to Rebuild

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine traveled to the southern region of Kherson on Thursday in his second trip near the front line in two straight days, visiting areas ravaged by Russia’s campaign to destroy energy infrastructure. Mr. Zelensky’s visit, which he chronicled on the Telegram messaging app, came a day after his trip to the contested eastern city […]

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Meta Manager Was Hacked With Spyware and Wiretapped in Greece

A U.S. and Greek national who worked on Meta’s security and trust team while based in Greece was placed under a yearlong wiretap by the Greek national intelligence service and hacked with a powerful cyberespionage tool, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and officials with knowledge of the case. The disclosure is […]

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China as Peacemaker in the Ukraine War? The U.S. and Europe Are Skeptical.

When Mr. Putin visited Mr. Xi in Beijing right before the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, their governments proclaimed a “no-limits” partnership in a 5,000-word statement. The two men saw each other again last September at a security conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Mr. Xi has not talked to Volodymyr Zelensky, the president […]

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Qatargate Is a Warning to Europe

ATHENS — It’s like something out of a crime novel. On an early December morning last year, after months spent staking out residences and tapping phones, Belgian police officers raided dozens of places across Brussels. Over the course of the next three days, in apartments and hotel rooms and offices, they seized laptops, cellphones and […]

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Biden and E.U. Leader Seek Common Ground on Trade and Ukraine

WASHINGTON — President Biden and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, opened negotiations on Friday over the critical minerals used in electric vehicles amid concerns of a potential trade war triggered by the Biden administration’s signature clean energy legislation. The recent tensions with European allies center on provisions in the legislation […]

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Why Russia Has Such a Strong Grip on Europe’s Nuclear Power

The pinched cylinders of Russian-built nuclear power plants that dot Europe’s landscape are visible reminders of the crucial role that Russia still plays in the continent’s energy supply. Europe moved with startling speed to wean itself off Russian oil and natural gas in the wake of war in Ukraine. But breaking the longstanding dependency on […]

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Georgia Protests Quiet Down as Government Pulls Back Russian-Style Law

TBILISI, Georgia — Tensions in the Caucasian republic of Georgia subsided on Thursday as quickly as they had flared, but opposition leaders and others who had flooded the central avenue in the capital, Tbilisi, for two consecutive nights warned that their fight was far from over. Calm returned to the capital city and others throughout […]

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U.S. and Europe Angle for New Deal to Resolve Climate Spat

Free-trade deals are legal agreements that the World Trade Organization defines as covering “substantially all trade” between countries, including a broad range of goods and, typically, services. They usually take years to negotiate and, in the United States, require the approval of Congress. Scott Lincicome, the director of general economics at the Cato Institute, said […]

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The Roots of the Georgia Protests

TBILISI, Georgia — When Russia invaded its neighbor Georgia 15 years ago, it gobbled up swaths of land, rained missiles on Stalin’s hometown and halted its tanks just outside Tbilisi, the Georgian capital and seat of a defiantly pro-Western government. This week, however, a stealthier Russian import entered the capital, setting off stormy street demonstrations […]

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Ukraine Needs Shells, and Arms Makers Want Money. Enter the E.U.

BRUSSELS — So desperate is Ukraine for ammunition, it is firing considerably fewer artillery shells than it otherwise would, its defense minister says. But it is still going through shells faster than the West can produce or supply them, and making more shells is expensive. If arms manufacturers are to increase production and build new […]

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Moldova’s Pro-Europe Leader Tries to Thwart Russia’s Influence

This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more. When Maia Sandu, president of Moldova, graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2010, she intended, like others in her class, to keep clear of politics. “Up to a point,” said the […]

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The E.U. Offered to Embrace Ukraine, but Now What?

BRUSSELS — When the European Union offered Ukraine a path to membership last year, it was in many ways an emotional response to the Russian invasion. Leaders were under pressure to show solidarity with the victims of aggression, even though many opposed the idea. Since then, preoccupied with passing sanctions, scrounging up aid and scouring […]

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Sunak Hopes to Move Past Brexit, at Long Last, With E.U. Deal

It remains to be seen whether the agreement, known as the Windsor Framework, will clear the way for Northern Ireland to form a government after months of paralysis in Belfast. That will depend on whether the Democratic Unionists can be coaxed back into a power-sharing arrangement with the Irish nationalist party, Sinn Fein. Still, the […]

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To Heal Brexit Wound, U.K. and E.U. Strike a Northern Ireland Trade Deal

LONDON — Britain and the European Union struck a landmark agreement on Monday to end a festering dispute over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, potentially resolving one of the most poisonous legacies of Britain’s exit from Europe’s trade bloc in 2020. The agreement, concluded after weeks of confidential talks and multiple false starts, could […]

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Janet Yellen in Kyiv: Economic Aid to Ukraine Is Vital

KYIV, Ukraine — A year ago, the capital where I am now was under siege by Russian forces. Sounds of gunfire and explosions filled the streets; missiles rained down on this and other cities across Ukraine. Many people, including Vladimir Putin, expected that Ukraine would quickly collapse. One year later, Russia’s barbaric attacks continue — […]

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Rishi Sunak Nears U.K.-E.U. Deal on Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol

LONDON — Britain and the European Union neared a landmark agreement on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, announcing on Sunday that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, would travel to Britain on Monday to work out the final details with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. After two weeks of false starts, […]

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Dozens Drowned as Migrant Boat Breaks Up Near Italian Beach

A wooden boat carrying 130 to 180 migrants broke apart against rocks near a beach town in southern Italy early on Sunday, drowning at least 59 people, including a newborn and other children, the authorities said. Eighty people survived the wreck, according to Italy’s Coast Guard, which said helicopters, ships and jet skis were still […]

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War in Ukraine Has Changed Europe for Good

HELSINKI — A year ago, the day Russia invaded Ukraine and set in motion a devastating European ground war, President Sauli Niinisto of Finland declared: “Now the masks are off. Only the cold face of war is visible.” The Finnish head of state, in office for more than a decade, had met with President Vladimir […]

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A Year of Russia’s War on Ukraine Is Marked by Protests and Defiance

KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine marked the anniversary of the Russian invasion on Friday with a show of defiance, as anti-Kremlin protests took place around the world and the United States made a significant commitment of new weaponry to the country. Even as he and his allies braced for a prolonged war, Mr. […]

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Europe Has Weathered an Energy Crisis, for Now

Within months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, there was near panic in Europe over energy supplies. Mainstay flows of natural gas through pipelines from Russia were dwindling to a relative trickle, pushing wholesale prices up more than 10 times the level of a year earlier. Oil prices were high. Lawmakers warned of fuel […]

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A Year of War in Ukraine: A Guide to the Conflict

“A walk in the park.” That was the assurance skeptical members of the Russian military said they were given by superiors as it appeared increasingly clear that President Vladimir V. Putin truly did mean to wage an unprovoked war on neighboring Ukraine. And it seemed to make sense. Ukraine was a vastly outgunned nation led […]

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Poland’s Prime Minister Says His Country Was Right About Russia

Bashing Germany is popular with the Polish governing party’s conservative political base but has sometimes disrupted diplomatic and military cooperation between the two countries. When Germany offered Poland Patriot air defense systems in November, the defense minister in Warsaw swiftly accepted the offer with thanks. A few days later, however, the Polish governing party’s cantankerous […]

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China’s Courtship of European Powers Hits a Russian Wall

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has been on a high-stakes tour of Europe, defending his country’s interests in a clash with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and reaffirming Beijing’s friendship with Russia with a visit to Moscow. But China is also trying to woo European nations in an urgent bid to revive its economy […]

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Help! The Law Says Lufthansa Owes Me Money, but I Can’t Collect.

Dear Tripped Up, Last May, my wife and I were headed from New York to Valencia, Spain, via Munich, when the first leg of our Lufthansa flight was delayed, causing us to miss our connection. The Munich airport was a chaotic scene of passengers trying to rebook, but we eventually got a flight to Palma […]

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Putin Began His Unjust War One Year Ago. Here’s What Ukraine Needs Now.

A year since Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine, the war is far from over. However bravely Ukrainians fight on, and however muddled the performance of Russia’s military, Ukraine cannot prevail without continued and substantial Western assistance. Since the invasion, that has swelled to over $150 billion in American and European spending, and […]

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Rishi Sunak Pursues Deal on Northern Ireland

LONDON — Rarely have Britain’s politics looked so shambolic: a revolving door of prime ministers in Downing Street; the sudden resignation of Scotland’s formidable longtime leader, Nicola Sturgeon; and the lack of a functioning government in Northern Ireland. Yet beyond the disarray, there are the glimmerings of a path to a more stable United Kingdom. […]

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Macron Calls for Intensified Support for Ukraine but Eyes Peace Talks

MUNICH — President Emmanuel Macron of France called on Friday for an “intensification” of Western support for Ukraine, but, unlike other leaders addressing the Munich Security Conference, he also underscored that peace negotiations were the ultimate goal. Mr. Macron declared that the “neocolonialist and imperialist” aggression against Ukraine unleashed by President Vladimir V. Putin of […]

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Greece Border Abuses Highlight Europe’s Clashing Priorities on Migration

The human rights chief of the European Union border agency said last year that it should stop operating in Greece because of serial abuses by Greek border guards, including violently pushing asylum seekers back to Turkey and separating migrant children from their parents, according to confidential documents reviewed by The New York Times. The E.U. […]

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Italy’s Hard-Right Leader Vexes Europe by Playing Nice, Mostly

ROME — In the weeks before Italy elected the hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni, the left sounded “the alarm for Italian democracy.” The European Union braced for Italy to join ranks with members like Hungary and Poland who have challenged the bloc’s core values. International investors worried about spooked markets. But more than 100 days into […]

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U.K. Economy Sputters and Barely Avoids a Recession

It’s a notable upgrade from the bank’s forecast in November, when it expected a contraction of 1.5 percent. Britain is expected to experience only a shallow recession, far less severe than the one after the 2008 financial crisis or in the early 1990s, because unemployment is forecast to increase less than previously thought and traders […]

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In Speech to E.U. Leaders, Zelensky Links Europe to Ukraine’s Fate

With his soldiers fighting over the trenches and ruined towns of eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared for the first time in person before leaders of the European Union on Thursday and made an impassioned case that his country’s war with Russia was Europe’s battle, too. Describing Russia as “the most anti-European force of the […]

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