Germany
Analysis
Nord Stream-2: Why not establish a Navalny tax?
The nearly complete Nord Stream-2 pipeline may not be the perfect storm, but it does present Washington and Berlin with a list of terrible...
Analysis
A ‘burn’ on the Ukrainian border
If you have been to Ukraine, you have surely tried 'gorilka', the national vodka-style spirit. The word 'gorilka' is derived from the verb 'gority',...
Archive
Record EU and US coal plant closures offset by China coal boom in 2020
A steep increase in coal plant development in China offset a retreat from coal in the rest of the world in 2020, resulting in...
Archive
EU probes possible anticompetitive behaviour by power exchange EPEX Spot
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether the power exchange EPEX Spot has been taking advantage of its dominant position...
Archive
Siemens Energy and Amprion ink tech deal for renewable electrical networks
The German transmission system operator Amprion and Siemens Energy signed a cooperation agreement on March 16 in Mülheim an der Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia,...
China
Uzbek Energy Minister sees low-carbon solar, hydro, wind future
Uzbekistan is committed to a low-carbon strategy, improving energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the Central Asian country's energy...
Analysis
Biden’s narrow timeline to get tough on Putin
On March 2, President Joe Biden’s administration, together with the United Kingdom and the European Union, announced new sanctions against Russia over last summer's...
Archive
Several EU nations halt AstraZeneca vaccine rollout over blood clot fears
Several nations in Europe have suspended the use of the Coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca/Oxford University over blood clot concerns, despite a statement by...
Germany
The Portuguese EU Council Presidency’s ambitions for digital recovery amid the pandemic
It has been two months since António Costa’s Cabinet took over the presiding over the EU Council and announced the delivery of a fair,...
Archive
Merkel says pandemic risks rolling back gains made by women
On the eve of March 8, the date marking International Women’s Day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic risks...
Archive
Gorbachev at 90: The man who awkwardly pushed humanity forward
As a Soviet teenager growing in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv in the mid-1980s, I was a happy camper. I was going to a...
Belgium
No human rights without the right to know
Access to information legislation was first seen in Sweden in 1766, with parliamentary interest to access information held by King Adolf Frederick. Finland followed...
Archive
Germany extends Coronavirus lockdown but eases some restrictions
Following a meeting with the country's 16 state premiers on Wednesday, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced an extension of the current lockdown measures until...
Archive
EU probes compensation for early closure of lignite-fired power plants in Germany
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether German plans to compensate lignite-fired power plants for phasing out earlier than foreseen...
Archive
Commission not to stop Nord Stream 2 if pipeline complies with EU law
Despite calls from the European Parliament to stop the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, the project is subject to national law...
Archive
Europe builds 14.7 GW of new wind farms in 2020, 19% less due to COVID
Europe built 14.7 GW of new wind farms in 2020, which was 19% less than what was expected before COVID, statistics on wind energy...
Archive
EU orders extra 200 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
German drugmaker BioNTech on Wednesday announced that the European Union will buy an additional 200 million doses of its Coronavirus vaccine, that will be...
Armenia
Good cop, bad cop? How the US and Europe want to deal with Erdogan’s Turkey
These are not good times for Turkey’s relations with the West. European diplomats in Ankara refer to a downward spiral to describe the relationship....
Archive
Germany partially closes borders with the Czech Republic, Austria over Coronavirus variant
Germany partially closed its borders with the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol on Sunday, reinstating temporary entry bans and border controls over growing fears for...
Germany
Poland’s dangerous new direction
I am deeply concerned for Poland. Something is changing, and I’m afraid a country I care about deeply is moving in a very dangerous...
Archive
Gazprom’s TurkStream draws less heat than Nord Stream 2
Gazprom’s TurkStream natural gas pipeline to Turkey and Southeast Europe has drawn less opposition, certainly compared with the controversial Nord Stream 2 from Russia...
Archive
Germany extends lockdown until March 7
Germany on Thursday extended lockdown measures from February 14 to March 7 in a bid to prevent a third wave in the country and...
Archive
Despite COVID, Europe invests €26 billion in offshore wind
Despite constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe confirmed a record amount of €26.3 billion of investments in new offshore wind farms in 2020.According...
Archive
Germany, Poland, Sweden expel Russian diplomats in tit-for-tat move
Germany, Poland and Sweden on Monday announced a coordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats in their countries, in response to a similar move by Moscow...
Archive
Russia reportedly expels three EU diplomats amid Borrell-Lavrov talks
Russia has expelled three European diplomats, from Germany, Poland, and Sweden, on grounds they attended illegal rallies in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei...
Finland
Twilight of the Russian gods?
Alexey Navalny's three and a half years sentence in a penal colony is supposed to be a punishment for having violated his parole conditions...
Archive
Pfizer/BioNTech pledge up to 75 million extra vaccine doses to the EU
US drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have pledged to provide up to 75 million more doses of their vaccine to the EU...
Archive
German Health Minister says Chinese, Russian vaccines could be used in the EU if EMA approves them
Germany could use the vaccines developed by China and Russia if Europe's medicines watchdog approves them, the country's Health Minister Jens Spahn said on...
Albania
Karl von Habsburg: Speech on the future of Europe
The following speech was given on January 11 to honor the 60th birthday of Karl von Habsburg, the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine...
Archive
Germany floats grounding almost all international flights to combat new COVID variants
Germany is considering a ban on almost all international air travel into the country to stem spread of more infectious variants of Coronavirus, Interior Minister...
Archive
Sefcovic hails milestone for EU Battery Alliance
A second Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) to support research and innovation in the battery value chain complies with EU state aid...
Archive
Germany wants EU export restrictions on vaccine after supply shortage
Germany's Health Minister Jens Spahn has backed European proposals for the introduction of export limits on vaccines amid delivery delays of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot...
Archive
Defying US sanctions, EU lawmakers, Russian ship lays Nord Stream 2 pipe in Danish Waters
Despite US sanctions and a European Parliament resolution, Russian pipe-laying ship Fortuna has started work in Danish waters ahead of the resumption of construction...
Albania
The EU-China investment agreement is a disaster for the West
The EU-China Comprehensive Investment Agreement that was announced in December 2020 at joint virtual press conference between Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Xi...
Archive
Shell, MHI, Vattenfall to covert Hamburg coal plant to green hydrogen
Boosting Hamburg’s energy transition, Vattenfall, Shell, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Hamburg's municipal heat supplier Hamburg Wärme are planning to build one of the...
China
With Navalny’s arrest, Russia hands Biden his first test on human rights
Alexey Navalny’s arrest upon his return to Russia on Sunday has handed newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden his first challenge from the Kremlin in office.Navalny...
Germany
Learning the lessons of the Holocaust means telling the whole story
I was privileged to witness the United Nations General Assembly mark the very first International Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2006. The need to...
Archive
After Navalny arrest, MEPs want plug in Nord Stream 2 pipeline
The European Parliament passed a resolution on January 21 calling on EU member states to immediately stop work “once and for all” to complete...
Archive
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine likely to protect against COVID variant
The Coronavirus vaccine developed by US giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is likely to be effective against a new key mutation that...
Archive
Turkish FM Cavusoglu to visit Brussels for talks with EU, NATO
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is set to pay a two-day visit in Brussels on Wednesday, to hold meetings with EU officials and with...
Archive
Germany extends lockdown until February 14
Following a meeting with the country's 16 state premiers, Germany has decided to extend a strict nationwide lockdown until February 14 as a "precaution" for...
Archive
German FM suggests easing COVID restrictions for vaccinated people
Coronavirus restrictions should be eased for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.In an interview given...
Archive
Merkel ally Laschet elected new leader of Germany’s CDU party
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on Saturday chose Armin Laschet, North Rhine Westphalia state's premier, as its new leader.In 2018,...
Archive
Russian opposition leader Navalny will return to Russia on January 17
Russia's opposition leader Alexey Navalny will return to Russia on January 17, he announced on Wednesday from Germany, where he has been convalescing after...
Archive
Germany likely to remain in lockdown until April
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday warned that a dramatic explosion in the number of Coronavirus infections that has mutated in Britain, could force...
Archive
Uzbek plant begins production of mineral fertilizers by processing natural gas
Uzbekistan’s Joint Stock Company Uzkimyosanoat announced urea production has begun at the new, $985 million ammonia and urea production complex at Navoiyazot, Uzbekistan’s Energy...
Archive
Stunned world reacts to Capitol Hill disruptions
Even though the January 6 disruptions in Washington that resulted in five deaths are seen to fall exclusively in the domain of the term...
Archive
Merkel, Putin discuss possible joint vaccine production
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed cooperating on vaccine production during a telephone call on Tuesday, according to a statement issued...
Archive
EU voices concerns over Iran enrichment, nuclear deal
The European Commission voiced its concerns on Tuesday over Iran's plans to enrich uranium up to 20% purity at its underground Fordow nuclear facility...
Archive
Germany set to extend lockdown by 3 weeks
The German government and the country’s 16 federal states have agreed to extend a nationwide lockdown until January 21, German newspaper Bild reported on Monday,...
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