Contents tagged with EU
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Johannes Hahn: Corruption discourages investment in Ukraine
At the opening of the Ukrainian Week in the European Parliament, the European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, noted the progress made in the area of reforms in Ukraine. However, he also recognized that Kiev lacks perseverance and that a lot still needs to be done.
Speaking on Monday in Brussels, Hahn called for the continuation of judicial reform. He also emphasized the importance of fighting against corruption.
“The situation is …
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EU Ambassadors in Moscow call for investigation into killing of Boris Nemtsov
The Ambassadors of 28 EU countries and Norway laid flowers at the site of Boris Nemtsov’s assassination on the Moskvoretski Bridge in the Russian capital, as reported by a Dozhd correspondent.
Vygaudas Ushatskas, the head of the representative office of the European Union in Moscow, was also present. “The organizers and perpetrators of the crime must be found,” he said. Peter Eriksson, the Swedish Ambassador to Russia also demanded an unbiased investigation of the killing.
Boris Nemtsov was …
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European Commission postpones decision on visa-free regime for Ukraine
The European Commission will submit a legislative initiative to abolish visas for Georgia. This will be submitted to the Council of the EU next week. Such an initiative for Ukraine, however, has been postponed. This was reported via Twitter by a correspondent of Radio Liberty in Brussels, Ricard Yozvyak.
“The proposal for the visa liberalization of Georgia will be made by the European Commission next week. Ukraine will probably have to wait until after the referendum on the Association …
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49% of Dutch people aren't aware of upcoming vote on Ukraine-EU Association Agreement
Almost half of Dutch citizens do not know about the referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (EUAA), which will take place on the 6th of April 2016, according to the results of a TNS Nipo poll, as reported by the daily publication De Telegraaf.
The researchers found that 49% of the residents of the Netherlands do not know about the referendum. "It seems that too few people will vote," the edition notes. In particular, only 21% of the respondents said that "of course" they will vote …
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EU expects Ukraine to implement two more reforms before visa-free regime can be established
The European Union expects full implementation of two out of five commitments in the so-called “visa-free” package from Kiev.
A European diplomat said this to the correspondent of UKRINFORM in Brussels, commenting on the package of "visa-free" legislation approved by the Verkhovna Rada last week.
"Yes, indeed, there are still two important questions left: the National Anti-Corruption Agency and the law on electronic declarations," the diplomat said.
At the same time, he believes that the …
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European Council formally lifts sanctions against Belarus
The European Council formally lifted sanctions against Belarus on February 25th, citing improvements in the country’s human rights situation.
In particular, asset freezes and travel bans were lifted against 170 individuals, including President Alexander Lukashenko, as well as three Belarusian companies.
EU Foreign Ministers made the decision earlier this month after Lukashenko released several political prisoners in August of 2015. The appropriate legislation was approved on February 25th. …
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The EU is not satisfied with Ukraine's progress in fulfilling obligations for visa-free regime
The EU is dissatisfied with Ukraine’s fulfillment of all legal obligations concerning the adoption of visa-free regime in 2016, according to a Facebook post by Sergey Leshchenko, member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, after a meeting with the diplomats of the EU agencies in Brussels.
“More precisely, Ukraine has fulfilled three of the five requirements for adoption. The EU considered the amendments to three acts made last week but the EU did not consider a declaration law, according to …
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Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada calls on foreign governments to continue pressuring Russia
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted an appeal to the parliaments of foreign countries with regard to Russia and the threats of pro-Russian separatists to execute prisoners held in the Donbas region. This was stated in two resolutions, which were approved by 236 out of 239 deputies on the 18th of February.
The Ukrainian parliament has called on foreign countries to “use all available mechanisms at governmental, parliament and non-governmental levels. They should also give a clear signal …
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European Commission Makes Plans to Reduce Dependence on Russian Gas
The European Commission has introduced a new version of the proposal to create an Energy Union designed to reduce European dependence on Russian gas, as reported in a press release from the European governing body.
The proposal calls for the provision of several standards to ensure the security of the energy supply. In particular, it is proposed that the principles of solidarity are imposed, if necessary, to provide an emergency energy supply. This would involve the improved coordination of …
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Dutch company receives grant to print anti-EU-Ukraine AA ad campaign on toilet paper
A private company in the Netherlands, Raspoetin BV, has received a €50,000 grant from Dutch authorities to produce toilet paper with calls to vote against the referendum of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
The company is one of 72 organizations and individuals to whom the Commission for the Referendum has provided grants from a total fund of €2 million. An amount of €47,973 has been allocated for the "manufacture, transportation and distribution of the toilet paper, which is printed with …