European Parliament condemns Putin's election as illegitimate
The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's March presidential election as illegitimate, Ukrinform reported on April 25.
The European Parliament overwhelmingly adopted a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's March presidential election as illegitimate, Ukrinform reported on April 25.
The proposal "would target those responsible for threatening the stability, security or sovereignty of EU member states or third countries by undermining elections, the rule of law, facilitating acts of violence or do so through the use of information manipulation and interference," Bloomberg wrote.
The EU is assessing imposing sanctions against over a dozen companies that continue to supply Russia with weapons technology, such as navigation systems for missiles, Bloomberg reported on April 23.
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote that the law will help introduce a number of changes to help university students have more flexibility and autonomy in higher education.
"Adopting the 14th sanctions package is one of the most important things," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said when he arrived in Luxembourg for a ministerial EU meeting.
Members of Moldova's pro-Russian opposition parties met in Moscow on April 21 to establish a new anti-European political bloc aimed at derailing Moldova's planned accession to the European Union, Bloomberg reported.
The Group of Seven (G7) countries are discussing using frozen Russian assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, Reuters reported on April 18, citing European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
"We have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have to take them (out) from our barracks where they are just in case and send them to Ukraine where the war is raging," Josep Borrell told reporters after a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting on the island of Capri.
The European Council in a statement released after the first day of a summit in Brussels condemned Iran's attack and expressed full solidarity with the people of Israel, reiterating its commitment to "Israel's security and regional stability."
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed European Council summit participants on April 17, calling for urgent assistance with air defense systems in order to counter daily Russian attacks.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered on April 17 to buy Patriot air defense systems from more hesitant allies in order to send them to Ukraine, The Guardian reported.
The first tranche of 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) was given to Ukraine on March 20.
The governments of Belgium and Czechia sent a letter to other EU leaders on April 17 calling for new restrictive measures against Russia over its disinformation activities within the European bloc.
America's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned far-right German lawmaker Maximilian Krah last December in New York over suspicion that he was receiving money from Kremlin agents, an investigation by Spiegel and ZDF published on April 17 uncovered.
The EU approved the financial aid package for Ukraine in February, allocating two-thirds of the amount in loans and one-third in grants. Ukraine has agreed to implement various reforms as part of the conditions for receiving the funds.
The European Council approved the law on the prosecution of violation or circumvention of EU sanctions, mainly concerning the sanctions against Russia, the parliament's press service reported on April 12.
The EU is set to approve Ukraine's reform plan in May, unlocking an additional 1.9 billion euros ($2.04 billion) in financial aid during late spring.
"We are seriously concerned. These are legitimate concerns about transparency, which should not be used to justify the restriction of space and the stigmatization of civil society organizations," Pawel Herczynski, the EU's ambassador to Georgia.
The European Parliament voted on April 11 to pass rules allowing member states to ban imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG), Reuters reported.
While Spain has increased its military spending since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it stood at 1.26% of its GDP as of the end of 2023, far below the 2% benchmark for NATO members.
EU finance ministers will discuss this week a plan and an investment agenda submitted by Kyiv as it seeks to secure 50 billion euros (around $53.7 billion) from the European Union's four-year Ukraine Facility, Reuters reported on April 10, citing sources in the German Finance Ministry.
The European Union plans to provide lethal military aid to Moldova, EU Ambassador to Moldova Janis Mazeiks told reporters in Chisinau on April 10.
The EU Court of Justice ruled on April 10 to lift sanctions against Russian business tycoons Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, imposed in response to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"We have started preparing a 14th sanctions package, which should be adopted in spring," Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said at the "Standing with Ukraine: European Parliament's legacy for the sanctions regime" conference of the Socialists and Democrats parliamentary group in Brussels.
Czech Transportation Minister Martin Kupka said that Russia has made "thousands of attempts to weaken our (railway) systems" since the beginning of the full-scale war.
The new Portuguese government is fully in support of Ukraine's EU bid, the country's foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, said on April 4, presenting it as a shift from the "ambiguous" stance of the previous administration, Euractiv reported.
Finland's government has decided to keep the border with Russia closed "until further notice," the Finnish Interior Ministry reported on April 4.
The Czech government announced on March 27 that it had uncovered a Moscow-financed propaganda network that sought to influence European politics and turn public opinion against aiding Ukraine. Prague named Viktor Medvedchuk, a Kremlin-linked former Ukrainian oligarch, and Artem Marchevskyi, a media manager who used to work at one of
The Russian propaganda network recently uncovered by Czech intelligence paid European and Belgian lawmakers to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said in Brussels on March 28.
Kyiv will continue promoting a decision to implement a complete ban on imports of Russian grain into the European Union and has reasons to believe Hungary will not block such a move, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with European Pravda.
EU ambassadors "agreed on a new compromise" regarding the extension of the trade agreement with Ukraine, ensuring a "balanced approach between support for Ukraine and protection of EU agricultural markets," the Belgian presidency of the EU Council announced on March 27.
Lauri Hussar, the speaker of the Riigikogu, Estonia's Parliament, visited Kyiv on March 26 and met with his Ukrainian counterpart Ruslan Stefanchuk.