Tag: Negotiations
The von der Leyen Commission’s half-time scorecard – POLITICO
If Ursula von der Leyen’s five-year term can be likened to a soccer match, her team is heading for the half-time break with the scores even and a few bruised shins (mostly from self-inflicted errors).
It’s been a wild ride.
When they took the field in December 2019, von der Leyen’s squad of commissioners envisioned a diplomatic offensive in which Brussels would sneak a few goals past its chief geopolitical counterparts, China and the United States. Tactically, the formation was
Greta Thunberg doesn’t want you to talk about her anymore – POLITICO
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Greta Thunberg’s childhood ended during the pandemic.
Just a few months before the arrival of the coronavirus, the Swedish teenager and her fellow activists had organized a march of millions — possibly the largest climate protest in history. But lockdowns put an end to the boisterous Fridays For Future school strikes, which Thunberg had pioneered and spread around the world. With entire countries in isolation, Thunberg’s movement was “paralyzed,” recalled Dominika Lasota, one
‘Ukrainian’ separatists are Russian citizens – POLITICO
With the world braced for war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally demanded that the Ukrainian government negotiate directly with separatist leaders in the occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. In the absence of such discussions, he said, implementing the Minsk peace accords is “impossible.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has declared that direct talks with the so-called People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are a “red line” that his government will not cross, calling the separatists “terrorists.” Instead, Zelenskiy has pushed
In Ukraine, even peace accords can be a Russian weapon – POLITICO
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In their frenzied diplomatic effort to dissuade Russia from a new invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders are pinning renewed hope on the long-stuck Minsk peace accords.
The Minsk agreements, first negotiated in 2014 and 2015, were intended to bring an end to the war with Russian-backed separatists, then raging in eastern Ukraine.
But the pact is fiercely disputed and flawed, with ambiguous provisions open to conflicting interpretation and serious contingencies unplanned for.
Since
With Russian guns pointed at Ukraine, West and Moscow dive into talks – POLITICO
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GENEVA — U.S., European, and NATO officials are adamant the intense week of diplomatic meetings with Russia is a dialogue, not a negotiation.
But with upwards of 100,000 Russian soldiers quite literally pointing guns at Ukraine, with tanks and other heavy weaponry massed on the border, and President Vladimir Putin openly threatening military action if his demands for security guarantees are not met, this week’s talks have all the markings of a hostage
Europe remembers its forgotten war – POLITICO
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PISKY, Ukraine — Machine gun fire pulsed in the distance as Elgard, a 23-year-old junior lieutenant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, walked a muddy road lined with bombed-out houses in this wrecked, abandoned village on the edge of Donetsk, the regional capital held by pro-Russian separatists.
Clutching his Kalashnikov at the ready, Elgard, who goes by the call signal “Svan,” pivoted instinctively at an intersection and scanned for danger in the direction of
Europe’s under-fire gatekeeper – POLITICO
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As EU leaders prepare to meet their Western Balkan counterparts on Wednesday, they might want to ask the European Commission’s point man for an impartial view of the region’s efforts to meet democratic standards and one day join the bloc.
Then again, they might not.
According to more than a dozen officials from multiple institutions and an analysis of internal documents, European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi has overseen a push to play down concerns
How the Zoom revolution will transform the Brussels bubble – POLITICO
This article is part of After Corona, a series exploring how the pandemic has changed the world.
The hottest debate in Brussels this fall won’t be about rule of law or the budget. It’ll be about teleworking, hot desking and online voting.
Organizations around the world are grappling with how to apply lessons from the pandemic and adapt to the Zoom revolution. And the European Union’s two largest institutions are no exception.
Debates have broken out in the European Commission
The Portuguese presidency’s policy efforts, marked – POLITICO
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Portugal’s presidency of the Council of the EU started with empty press centers, fresh Brexit headaches and a slew of problematic policy fights that had been prolonged by the pandemic.
As the six-month stint closes Wednesday, the country was celebrating a mega-deal on the bloc’s agricultural subsidies, a coronavirus vaccine travel passport coming July 1 and agreements on a host of other tricky issues.
The easing of pandemic restrictions lent a helping hand,