The agreement was reached after negotiators from the council and the parliament agreed on a provisional text for new rules to make the Internet a safer space for European citizens…reports Asian Lite News
The European Council has said it has reached a provisional political agreement with the European Parliament on a new legislation to combat hate speech, disinformation and other harmful content online.
The legislation, named the Digital Services Act (DSA), “aims to protect the digital space against the spread of illegal content, and to ensure the protection of users’ fundamental rights,” the European Council added on Saturday in a press release.
The agreement was reached after negotiators from the council and the parliament agreed on a provisional text for new rules to make the Internet a safer space for European citizens. Talks began on Friday and continued till the early hours of Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, the DSA “gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online,” and will “upgrade the ground-rules for all online services in the EU”.
The provisional political agreement will have to be rubber-stamped by the European Council and the European Parliament before the legislation goes into effect.
The European Commission will need to issue a recommendation on Ukraine’s compliance with the necessary membership criteria, he added…reports Asian Lite News
Ukraine has completed a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the European Union to decide on membership for Kyiv, Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen handed the questionnaire to Zelensky during her visit to Kyiv on April 8th, pledging a speedier start to Ukraine’s bid to become a member of the EU following Russia’s invasion of the country.
“Today, I can say that the document has been completed by the Ukrainian side,” Zhovkva told the Ukrainian public broadcaster Sunday evening.
The European Commission will need to issue a recommendation on Ukraine’s compliance with the necessary membership criteria, he added.
“We expect the recommendation … to be positive, and then the ball will be on the side of the EU member states.”
Zhovkva added that Ukraine expects to acquire the status of a candidate country for EU accession in June during a scheduled meeting of the European Council meeting.
The European Council is to meet June 23-24th, according to the Council’s schedule on its website.
“Next, we will need to start accession talks. And once we hold those talks, we can already talk about Ukraine’s full membership in the EU,” Zhovkva said.
EU carriers include popular airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, which have stopovers in transit hubs at Frankfurt, Munich, Paris and Amsterdam.
Indians travelling to the UK on EU carriers are being denied boarding at the origin in India if they do not have a transit or regular Schengen visa, according to local media reports.
EU carriers include popular airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France and KLM, which have stopovers in transit hubs at Frankfurt, Munich, Paris and Amsterdam.
Post-Brexit, the EU is insisting that non-EU citizens must have a transit Schengen visa to fly to the UK on transit flights of its carriers.
Indians travelling to the UK can do so without requiring a transit visa if they have a stopover in Gulf countries or Switzerland, which isn’t a part of the EU and doesn’t require the Schengen visa rule for its carrier Swiss.
If passengers are denied boarding at the origin airport in India, they may or may not be eligible for a refund. “Passengers should be aware of the travel requirements, so refund depends on the conditions of the ticket bought,” an EU airline official was quoted as saying.
Interestingly, Switzerland — which is not a part of the EU — is spared of this rule for its airline Swiss. People going from India to the UK on one-stop flights can do so via places like the Gulf and Switzerland without requiring a transit visa for these places. The other option remains non-stop flights of Air India, Vistara, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
The change, say airline officials, took place in the middle of the pandemic from January 1, 2021. At that time, India had a bubble system for international connectivity with stringent conditions on which nationalities can travel which flights in terms of taking one-stops. The bubble system essentially was for point-to-point travel between India and other countries with conditional connections allowed to some. So at that time, travel between India and the UK happen mainly on direct flights or via places like the Gulf whose airlines did not strictly follow the no-transit rule for Indian travellers.
Now as regular flights resumed, many travellers — those without transit Schengen visas and booked on Lufthansa, Air France-KLM to fly from India to the UK — are being caught off guard when denied boarding at the origin airport in India.
“Passengers should be aware of the travel requirements, so refund depends on the conditions of the ticket bought,” said an EU airline official.
How dumb can that be ?? 🤦🏻🤦🏻
What happens to Transit Travel Business through International Airports ??
Someone in EU wants UK to do more business and European Airlines to miss the opportunity. https://t.co/FVPks5Exnc
Afraid of losing business, some EU carriers are learnt to have requested foreign governments to raise this issue with the Union. After the resumption of scheduled international flights by India, foreign airlines can again offer one-stops between India and rest of the world.
This one-stop business has substantially gone up on India-US-India sector after Russia’s war on Ukraine. Due to longer routes and expensive jet fuel, US carrier United has reduced India non-stops by half; Delta has not resumed India flights it had suspended in March 2020 and American has only one daily (Delhi-New York). Till its fleet is augmented, Air India says it can’t add more non-stops to the US. As a result, the Gulf and European are getting a lot of business for this route.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Ukraine last week, promising a speedier process for the country to join the EU….reports Asian Lite News
The delegation of the European Union (EU) to Ukraine said on Monday it has resumed its work in Kiev.
“The EU is back in town,” the diplomatic mission tweeted.
The EU evacuated its delegation from Kiev to the Polish city of Rzeszow shortly after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started on February 24, Xinhua news agency reported.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Ukraine last week, promising a speedier process for the country to join the EU.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offers accelerated EU accession process for Ukraine…reports Asian Lite News
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Ukraine on Friday, promising a speedier process for the country to join the EU.
“Ukraine takes another important step towards EU membership,” von der Leyen said on Twitter. She said the EU will accelerate this process “as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected.”
The EU’s executive chief said the bloc had allocated 1 billion euros (1.09 billion U.S. dollars) to support the Ukrainian armed forces with weapons, and a proposal to provide another 500 million euros (544 million dollars) was under discussion.
Von der Leyen and Borrell pledged the EU’s support for the country during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In an earlier tweet, von der Leyen condemned the missile attack on a train station used for evacuations of civilians in the city of Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine on Friday morning, describing it as despicable.
The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said it did not launch any “rocket attack” on the railway station.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the visit of the EU leaders to Kiev as a signal of support for Ukraine, the state-run Ukrinform news agency reported.
“This is a very strong signal that Ukraine and the European Union are together,” Zelensky said at the joint press briefing with von der Leyen and Borrell in Kiev on Friday.
Zelensky thanked the European officials for coming to Ukraine in difficult times and for visiting Bucha outside Kiev, where hundreds of murdered civilians were allegedly found after Russian forces withdrew, Xinhua news agency reported.
“We are with you in your dreams of Europe. I want to say very clearly: Ukraine has a place in the European family,” von der Leyen said.
Separately, Borrell said that the EU will be supporting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General in providing training and equipment to support the investigation of the Bucha massacre.
Von der Leyen and Borrell arrived in Kiev earlier on Friday for a visit, which marked the first trip by top EU officials to Ukraine since the start of the conflict with Russia.
Before talks with Zelensky, the European officials visited the town of Bucha, some 28 km northwest of Kiev, where at least 280 people, including children, were found dead after the Ukrainian army retook control of the town from the Russian military.
Prisoners Swap
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced that a third prisoner exchange took place between her country and Russia amidst the ongoing war.
In a Facebook post, Vereshchuk said the exchange took place on Saturday on the order of President Volodymyr Zelensky, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.
She said in the latest exchange, 26 Ukrainians have returned home, of which 12 are military personnel and 14 civilians.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that Ukraine has released 14 Russians, including nine women. On April 1, Ukrainian authorities conducted an “86 for 86” prisoner exchange.
Prior to that on March 24, they exchanged 10 for 10.
The package will be implemented once it is published in the EU’s official journal, which is expected to happen on Friday…reports Asian Lite News
The European Union has agreed on a new sanctions package, including an embargo on Russian coal imports for invading Ukraine.
The sanctions will be formally implemented on Friday after the bloc approved the measures, reported DW News.
The current French presidency of the European Council said late on Thursday that the bloc’s latest sanctions package has been given the political green light.
The main preparatory body comprising of each member’s EU representatives, known as Coreper, approved what would be the fifth EU package of sanctions, including a stop to coal imports from Russia, reported DW News.
The package will be implemented once it is published in the EU’s official journal, which is expected to happen on Friday.
Apart from an EU embargo on Russian coal imports, the sanctions includes an import ban on Russian wood and vodka.
Once implemented, it would be the bloc’s first sanctions package to majorly target Moscow’s energy industry.
The measures all short of a total ban on Russian fossil fuel imports, but EU officials said it could follow if Moscow maintains its assault, reported DW News.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it will need a full 120-day period to implement a coal ban, reported the publication.
Scholz said the country would need to use the full transition period in order to implement a ban on Russian coal.
EU leaders agreed that the fifth package of sanctions should include an embargo on coal and that there would be a 120-day window in which member states would need to find alternative sources.
Following a debate, a majority of the UN General Assembly voted to suspend Moscow from the body’s Human Rights Council.
Some 93 members voted in favour of suspending Russia, while 24 voted against. Another 58 members abstained.
Ursula von der Leyen added that the European Commission is also pushing for bans on Russian ships entering EU ports…reports Asian Lite News
The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued on Wednesday as the European Union (EU) is proposing its fifth sanction package against Russia.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the package, which will be discussed and given the final approval by EU ambassadors on Wednesday, includes bans on coal imports worth 4 billion euros a year and on four Russian banks.
She added that the European Commission is also pushing for bans on Russian ships entering EU ports, on Russian and Belarusian road transport operators, and on imports of oil, wood and cement, seafood and alcohol from Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that Russia will be more prudent this year in exporting food, especially to countries that are pursuing a hostile policy towards Russia.
Meanwhile, Putin said that “increased production volumes make it possible to ensure food prices in Russia that are lower than on the world market.”
Food self-sufficiency is Russia’s competitive advantage and the country must protect its people from price fluctuations in the global food market, he said.
The EU has declared a number of Russian diplomats working in Brussels “persona non grata,” and ordered them to leave host nation Belgium, Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said Tuesday in a statement.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov was summoned to communicate this decision, according to Borrell.
In response, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the EU said its website on Tuesday that the EU’s “openly unfriendly — moreover, hostile and, most importantly, completely groundless step continues the EU’s policy of dismantling the partnership between Russia and EU, which recently both sides proudly called strategic.”
It added that Chizhov has assured the EU side of “the inevitability of adequate reciprocal measures” by Russia.
Several EU member states, including Sweden, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Spain, also announced on Tuesday their decision to expel Russian diplomats.
The National Guard of Ukraine said Tuesday its divisions have arrived at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) site and taken control of the facility’s security.
“The major task of the national guardsmen on the Chernobyl NPP site is ensuring security and defense of its nuclear facilities as well as physical protection of nuclear material,” the National Guard said on Facebook.
The safety of the site and its transport infrastructure will be checked by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it said.
The perpetrators of war crimes and other serious violations as well as the responsible government officials and military leaders will be held accountable, said the statement…reports Asian Lite News
The European Union on Monday condemned in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns that have now been liberated.
High Representative Josep Borrell in a declaration on behalf of the EU on Russian atrocities committed in Ukrainian towns, said that haunting images of large numbers of civilian deaths and casualties, as well as the destruction of civilian infrastructure show the true face of the brutal war of aggression Russia is waging against Ukraine and its people.
“The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil,” read the statement.
According to the statement, the Russian authorities are responsible for these atrocities, committed while they had effective control of the area. They are subject to the international law of occupation.
The perpetrators of war crimes and other serious violations as well as the responsible government officials and military leaders will be held accountable, said the statement.
The European Union supports all measures to ensure accountability for human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine by Russian Armed forces.
“In particular, we fully support the investigation launched by the ICC Prosecutor into war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as the work of the OHCHR Commission of Inquiry. The EU is assisting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and Civil Society focused on collection and preservation of the evidences of war crimes,” read the statement.
“We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in these sombre hours for the whole world. The EU will continue to firmly support Ukraine and will advance, as a matter of urgency, work on further sanctions against Russia.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin “must stop this war” immediately and unconditionally.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.
Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised to help Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities…reports Asian Lite News
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the ‘atrocities’ in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine.
“This afternoon I spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the dreadful murders that have been uncovered in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left,” European Commission President said in a statement. European Commission President said that she has assured him of the European Commission’s full support in these terrible times.
“The harrowing images cannot and will not be left unanswered. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must not go unpunished. We agreed to ensure close coordination between us,” the statement said.
“The EU has set up a Joint Investigation Team with Ukraine to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity. The EU is ready to reinforce this effort by sending investigation teams on the ground to support the Ukrainian Prosecution Services. Eurojust and Europol are ready to assist,” read the statement.
Negotiated with President of the 🇪🇺 Commission @vonderleyen. Informed about inhumane crimes of the aggressor in the suburbs of Kyiv. Agreed – all guilty must be punished! Appreciate the EU's readiness to provide financial & technical support to the relevant JIT #StopRussia
She said, “a global response is necessary. There are ongoing talks between Eurojust and the International Criminal Court to join forces and for the Court to be part of the Joint Investigation Team. Such a coordinated approach from the Ukrainian authorities, the EU, its Member States and agencies, and the International Criminal Court will allow for the evidence to be collected, analysed and processed in the most complete and effective way possible. I have tasked Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to follow up and take contact with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General. The Commission will provide all the necessary technical and financial support to all EU-led investigations,” the statement added.
I spoke with President @ZelenskyyUa about the atrocious murder of civilians in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine.
The EU is ready to send Joint Investigation Teams to document war crimes in coordination with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.@Europol and @Eurojust will support.
Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities.
Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised to help Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia.
The Ministry said it had informed the EU delegation in Moscow of the entry ban, but it did not publish names of the targeted….reports Asian Lite News
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that “the top leadership” of the European Union (EU) has been barred from entering the country in response to Brussels’ massive sanctions imposed in the wake of Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
The restrictions apply to a number of European commissioners, heads of EU military structures, and the vast majority of lawmakers of the European Parliament promoting anti-Russian policies, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
The “blacklist” also includes representatives of the governments and Parliaments of some EU member states, public figures and media workers.
The Ministry said it had informed the EU delegation in Moscow of the entry ban, but it did not publish names of the targeted.
“We reaffirm that any hostile actions on the part of the EU and its member states will continue to inevitably receive a harsh response,” the statement said.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started on February 24, the EU massively expanded sanctions against Moscow.
It added a significant number of persons and entities to the sanctions list, and adopted unprecedented measures with the aim of significantly weakening Russia’s economic base, depriving it of critical technologies and markets, and significantly curtailing its ability to wage war.
