European Union

EU Commits $19 Billion to Ukraine Under G7 Plan

The European Union on Thursday confirmed it would give Ukraine 18.1 billion euros ($19 billion) as part of a bigger G7 loan backed by profits from frozen Russian assets. The Group of Seven advanced economies last month finalised an agreement on a $50 billion loan to Kyiv to help prop up the country as it struggles to fight back against Moscow's ...

New EU Commission Gets Green Light to Launch Defense, Economy Push

European lawmakers on Wednesday gave Ursula von der Leyen's new executive team the green light to start work, as the EU chief warned there was "no time to waste" to boost the bloc's defenses and competitiveness. From supporting Kyiv against Russia's invasion to war in the Middle East, China's economic rivalry and the imminent return of Donald ...

Georgian Parliament to Convene After Contested Vote

Georgia's new parliament is to meet for its first session Monday amid opposition protests over an allegedly rigged election and the pro-European president demanding the result be annulled. Nearly a month after the October 26 vote, won by the governing Georgian Dream party, political turmoil continues in the small post-Soviet country in the ...

Josep Borrell Visits Geitaoui Hospital

The European Union has provided crucial aid to Geitaoui Hospital to support its recovery efforts. During his visit to Lebanon, Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, toured the hospital's section of those affected by the devastating fires caused by the war, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to aiding ...

Borrell from Beirut: A Ceasefire and the Application of 1701 Are the Only Solution

On an official visit to Lebanon on Sunday, European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell stressed the need to “put pressure on Israel and Hezbollah” to “accept the ceasefire offer made by the United States.” President Biden's envoy, Amos Hochstein, had relayed the offer to both sides during his latest visit to the two countries, which ...

COP29 Scramble for New Deal After Poor Nations Reject Offer

Fierce bargaining at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan dragged into Saturday after a $250 billion a year offer from rich nations was flatly refused by developing countries hardest hit by Earth's rapid warming. Negotiators from nearly 200 nations spent another harried and sleepless night in a sports stadium trying to land a compromise figure for ...

World Leaders Split as ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu

Israel and its allies denounced the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as Turkey -- and rights groups - welcomed the move. The court also issued warrants for Israel's former defence minister as well as Hamas's military chief Mohammed ...

Deadlocked COP29 Awaits Fresh Draft Deal on Final Day

Representatives from nearly 200 nations awaited a fresh proposal Friday for a potential compromise in marathon climate finance talks on the last day of a hard-fought COP29 summit in Azerbaijan. The gruelling two-week conference in the Caspian Sea city Baku is almost certain to go into overtime, with key details for a deal yet to be released, let ...

Russia Could Strike Western Countries, Putin Warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a "global" war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries. The Kremlin strongman spoke out after a day of frayed nerves, with Russia test-firing a new generation intermediate-range missile at Ukraine -- which Putin hinted was capable of ...

World Still Split Over Money as Clock Ticks on COP29

A fresh draft of a climate pact unveiled Thursday at COP29 failed to break an impasse over money, with time running out for nations to reach a long-sought trillion-dollar finance agreement. The UN climate summit in Azerbaijan is supposed to conclude on Friday but the latest draft only underlines divisions as nations return to the negotiating ...

‘Steep Climb’ Ahead as Clock Ticks on Stalled Climate Talks

Pressure mounted on rich nations Wednesday to commit nearly $1 trillion a year in assistance for poorer countries as time runs out to strike a deal at the COP29 climate talks. With two days left to break the impasse in Azerbaijan, wealthy nations have still not revealed how much they are willing to provide the developing world to cope with ...

New European and British Sanctions on Iran Over Support for Russia

Iran's foreign ministry Tuesday slammed as unjustified the new sanctions by the European Union and Britain against Tehran over its support for Russia's war on Ukraine. "While the president of Ukraine has admitted that no Iranian ballistic missiles have been exported to Russia, the measures of the European Union and United Kingdom in ...