France’s Foreign Ministry refuses to name partners seeking to lift sanctions on Usmanov
The French Foreign Ministry has declined to name the international partners pressing for Alisher Usmanov’s removal from the EU sanctions list and has not explained the “national security considerations” it cited earlier. Paris has confirmed that it supports taking the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov off the European Union’s sanctions list,…
EU countries approve first five major joint defence projects
Representatives of EU member states on Wednesday, 16 September, approved at the level of permanent representatives the first five European Defence Projects of Common Interest (EDPCI). Each of them is set to receive €60 million in funding from the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP). Formal adoption of the list is…
Trump threatens EU with tariffs over proposal of associate membership for Canada
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened the European Union with “very serious” tariffs and a possible restriction of trade after a proposal to make Canada the bloc’s first associate member. The remarks were made on September 16 in North Carolina. Trump called the idea “laughable” and suggested Washington could treat…
Former President of Kosovo sentenced to 25 years in the Hague for war crimes
The Kosovo war crimes tribunal in The Hague has found former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi guilty of war crimes and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. Thaçi, 58, was convicted of murder, torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention committed in 1998–1999, when he was one of the leaders of…
Germany is checking hospital readiness for war
Across Germany, government agencies and hospitals are assessing whether the healthcare system could withstand a major armed conflict, a mass influx of wounded, and drone strikes. Bloomberg reported this on September 16. According to Bundeswehr estimates, in a war on NATO’s eastern flank, 300 to 1,000 wounded service members could…