On Oct. 26, Georgia held parliamentary elections under a proportional system with a 5% threshold. According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream party secured 53.93% of the vote, earning 89 parliamentary mandates but falling short of a constitutional majority. Opposition parties received 37.79% of the
Ukraine's Finance Ministry and the EU signed a memorandum and an agreement to attract up to 35 billion euros ($36.7 billion) as part of the G7 loan, the ministry said on Dec. 4.
The European Parliament has long upheld democracy, human rights, international law, and peace. This tradition has been especially evident in its robust response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. As the Parliament enters its 2024-2029 term, we examine its political stance over the past two years and assess what Ukrainians
For the fifth day in a row, Georgians are holding massive protests against their government in the country's capital, Tbilisi. The brewing dissatisfaction was ignited by the country's democratic backsliding under the leadership of the pro-Russian, increasingly illiberal government. The final straw appeared to be the parliament elections won by
Parliament was scheduled to vote on Dec. 3 on a new law proposing up to eight years imprisonment for accessing or disseminating confidential state register information during martial law, a bill that Ukrainian media and human rights organizations have urged parliament to reject on free speech concerns. However, parliamentary voting
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he called European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to convey to her his disagreement. The Slovak prime minister has repeatedly criticized the EU's support for Ukraine.
With the fate of further U.S. support for Ukraine, and thereby the future of the country, up in the air as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, the EU wants to send the message to Kyiv that it has its back. Kaja Kallas, the EU's new
The European Union has delivered 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, fulfilling the pledge it initially promised to deliver by the spring of 2024, the EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Kyiv Independent on the sidelines of her visit to Kyiv.
Antonio Costa, the new President of the European Council, and top European Union diplomat Kaja Kallas arrived in Kyiv on a surprise visit.
"Georgian Dream’s various anti-democratic actions have violated the core tenets of our U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership ... As a result, the United States has suspended this mechanism."
Protests have now spread from Tbilisi to Batumi, Zugdidi, Kutaisi, Telavi, Gurjaani, and other Georgian cities, sparked by the government's decision to postpone EU accession talks.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) condemned Georgian authorities’ aggressive response against protestors in Tbilisi, according to a statement released on Nov. 29.
Protesters claim that the refusal to negotiate accession to the EU by 2028 is "a betrayal of the country's interests."
The meteoric rise of hardcore nationalist Călin Georgescu in Romania’s first-round presidential election over the weekend is nothing short of remarkable. Georgescu surged from just a few percentage points in polls weeks before the vote to claim over 23% of the electorate, defeating candidates from the country’s two
The statement is a response to an article published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The newspaper reported on Nov. 24 that Odile Renaud-Basso, the president of the EBRD, had said the bank would not provide funds to DTEK due to its ownership by oligarch Rinat Akhmetov.
The EU's 15th sanctions package will include 30 legal entities from eight countries and 50 individuals, the Ukrainian president’s commissioner for sanctions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, said on Nov. 26.
The U.S. government is providing $46.1 million to purchase control systems and dozens of new transfers, while the European Commission pledged 62.8 million euros ($66 million) to restore 1.8GW of generating capacity and to protect power plant equipment from elements during the winter.
"While we're assessing the full facts, it's obvious that such (an) attack would mark yet another clear escalation from the side of (Russian President Vladimir Putin," EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said, according to AFP.
With Donald Trump back in office, Europe faces a new era of uncertainty. The once-reliable comfort of American support — a cornerstone of European security — is now more in question than ever. For decades, Europe has assumed the U.S. would always be there to pick up the slack. But those
Ukraine is preparing to begin the first cluster of accession talks with the EU in early 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukrainian lawmakers on Nov. 19.
"Strengthening Europe’s defense capabilities must go hand in hand with maintaining the United States’ commitment to enhancing our security," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.
"In 2022, Russia thought its full-scale invasion would end in days. 1,000 days later, Ukraine bravely resists. On the battlefield. And against criminal attacks on civilian targets," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
"I would like to understand the reasons why Hungary does not want to help Ukraine, which is fighting for freedom, and wants to assist the aggressor in this conflict," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters on Nov. 18.
Amid rising fears of U.S. aid being cut off under a second Donald Trump presidency, Ukrainians are left wondering whether Europe can rise to the challenge and fill the gap. Trump has promised to swiftly end Russia's war against Ukraine, speaking highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and making
The implications of Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine are being minutely dissected. Will he deliver on his boast that he can end the war within 24 hours? How will he do that — if he can? At what cost to
"We have had reports from intelligence sources on the existence of a factory inside China producing drones which are shipped to Russia," a senior EU official told Politico on Nov. 15.
EU member nations hope to approve the package by the end of the year, in time to adopt the sanctions on Feb. 24, 2025 — the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Some EU officials are urging the U.S. to provide more weapons and artillery to Ukraine, as well as permissions to carry out long-range strikes on Russia, sources told Bloomberg.
Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly hopes to exploit any effort by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to enforce a de facto capitulation of Ukraine. How might this plan unfold, and what should EU countries do now? This is how an ideal scenario might look for Russia: Step 1: Trump wants
Before the U.S. presidential election, it seemed like no one but Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters believed he could win. After all, the man is a convicted felon, a putschist-provocateur, an agent of chaos, and a walking scandal who has been disowned by almost all his former advisors, some
Editor’s note: This is issue 81 of Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak’s weekly “Ukrainian Economy in Brief” newsletter, covering events from Nov. 4-10, 2024. The digest highlights steps taken in the Ukrainian parliament related to business, economics, and international financial programs. The Kyiv Independent is republishing with permission. Benchmarks
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on Nov. 7, looked confident. Budapest was hosting the European Political Community gathering, with Orban hugging it out with the continent's leaders whose standing at home leaves them little leeway to challenge the Russian-friendly prime minister. Orban's standing at home, practically unchallenged since 2010, has
