1 hour ago Former EU foreign policy chief accused of fraud and corruption

Federica Mogherini is among three individuals detained as part of a fraud investigation

Events

25 h. ago Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini faces corruption accusations in fraud probe

The EU's former foreign policy chief faces corruption accusations alongside two others arrested this week

Events

55 h. ago Ukraine war live: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff set to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid US push for peace deal

Talks come after Witkoff led US discussions with Ukraine at weekend amid European concerns that Kyiv will be pressured to make concessions to MoscowUS-Russia talks may pile pressure on Kyiv to make concessions, says EU foreign policy chief See all our Ukraine war coverageThe Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin will meet Steve Witkoff for their talks on Tuesday afternoon. It’s now approaching 9.10am local time in Moscow.Their meeting would take “in the second half of the day”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, while refusing to be drawn on Russia’s red lines, saying megaphone diplomacy was not helpful.Russian military commanders told Putin in comments reported on Monday that Russian forces had captured the frontline Ukrainian towns of Pokrovsk – a key logistics hub – and Vovchansk and were advancing elsewhere, which the Russian president hailed as successes to enable further gains. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgement that either place has fallen into Russian hands. Co...

Politics

3 d. ago Zelenskyy to meet Macron, as US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner head to Moscow – Europe live

Ukrainian president embarks on busy week of diplomacy as US ups pressure to end warArriving at the ministerial meeting in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said this week could be “pivotal” for diplomacy on Ukraine.“It is clear that Russia does not want peace, and therefore we need to make Ukraine as strong as possible in order to them to be ready to stand up for themselves in this very, very difficult time,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago The week Europe realised it stands alone against Russian expansionism

Washington’s Putin-appeasing plan for peace in Ukraine has failed, but many heard death knell sounded for European reliance on US protectionKaja Kallas, the European Union foreign policy chief, asked her officials this week to dig up the number of times Russia had – in its various guises – invaded other states in the 20th and 21st centuries. The answer that came back was 19 states, on 33 occasions. Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, was not just indulging in some form of historical mathematics. She was seeking to make a point that lies at the heart of the dispute between the US and Europe over Ukraine’s future, a dispute that has again revealed the chasm across the Atlantic about the true nature of the Russian regime.Kallas reads history books as a leisure activity and – drawing on her own country’s history of Soviet occupation – has long maintained that the Soviet Union fell, but its imperialism never did. “Russia has never truly had to come to terms with its brutal past o...

Politics

7 d. ago Putin trying to negotiate an end to Ukraine war as he cannot win it on battlefield, says EU’s Kallas – Europe live

EU’s foreign policy chief says ‘there’s one aggressor and one victim’ in conflict amid US push to end the warIn case you missed it, US president Donald Trump defended his peace envoy Steve Witkoff overnight after Bloomberg reported that he allegedly advised Putin’s aide Ushakov on how to speak with Trump and conduct the talks.Trump did not appear too bothered by it, though. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Any Ukraine peace plan needs Kyiv and Europe ‘on board’, says EU – Europe live

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas leads reaction as reports circulate about a secret plan between Moscow and Washington to end the warUkrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has met with US army secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, saying the pair had a chance “to assess the situation on the ground and to witness first-hand the consequences of Russian aggression.”“While Russia continues killing innocent civilians, destroying homes, and targeting critical infrastructure, the strategy of pressure on Russia is proving effective. It is crucial to further strengthen energy and financial sanctions against the aggressor state,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago EU could admit new members by 2030, says its foreign policy chief

Kaja Kallas tells reporters more countries could join 27-country bloc, including Montenegro, Albania and UkraineThe European Union could admit new members by 2030, its foreign policy chief has said, as officials praised reform efforts by frontrunners Montenegro and Albania, while criticising backsliding in Serbia and an even steeper democratic decline in Georgia.The verdicts came as the European Commission published its annual report cards on 10 countries that aspire to join the EU, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 injected new momentum into a process that had long been moribund. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Zelenskyy calls for Ukraine to join EU before 2030 after commission delivers warning on corruption

EU says reforms needed ‘with regards to the fundamentals, in particular rule of law’ to have a chance to ‘provisionally close accession negotiations by the end of 2028’We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings (9:26) in just over an hour – when EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargment commissioner Marta Kos are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions. Continue reading...

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last month EU says Ukraine must accelerate reforms on rule of law and other ‘fundamentals’ if it wants membership

EU says reforms needed ‘with regards to the fundamentals, in particular rule of law’ to have a chance to ‘provisionally close accession negotiations by the end of 2028’We will formally get the EU’s commentary on the enlargement ratings (9:26) in just over an hour – when EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargment commissioner Marta Kos are due to speak to journalists – but we have just had a brief glimpse of what’s coming during Kos’s appearance in the European parliament.She said these have been “significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine,” stressing that “reforms pay off.”I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions. Continue reading...

Politics