Grasp the pattern, read the trend
No. 5, May/2022
Brought to you by CPG
Supported by KAS
Dear Readers,
As Ukraine’s fate looks set to be decided by a campaign in the south-east of the country, we bring you the latest on the Russian onslaught, which is now headed by a new commander with a fearsome reputation.
As part of our round-up of key developments around the continent, we delve into the record of the man known as the “Butcher of Syria”, and examine the geopolitical, humanitarian and economic fallout of the war in Ukraine amid fears that it could spread further into Europe.
I wish you an interesting read!
Peter Kononczuk
Deputy Editor in Chief
Webpage: www.cpg-online.de, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CPGTU
Main Sections
EU, International Relations and Geopolitics
Constitutional Law and Politics in Western Europe
Constitutional Law and Politics in Northern Europe
Constitutional Law and Politics in Central Europe
Constitutional Law and Politics in Southern Europe
Constitutional Law and Politics in Eastern Europe
Constitutional Law and Politics in Southeastern Europe
EU, International Relations and Geopolitics
Russia focuses war effort on south-east Ukraine, US vows massive help for Kiev
Determined defence by Ukrainians has forced invading Russian forces to regroup in the south-east, where shelling and missile strikes have already levelled cities and killed thousands. Western allies have pledged massive additions to Ukraine’s arsenal as it looks to stave off an attack which could decide the country’s future, amid fears the conflict could spread deeper into Europe. [CBS News][BBC]
Air raid sirens are now an incessant wail in eastern Ukraine as Russia intensifies its assault. Steady between Moscow’s crosshairs since the beginning of the invasion has been the key southern port city of Mariupol. If Russia takes Mariupol, it will be able to link up annexed Crimea with the southern regions of Ukraine that Moscow controls. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
Russia claimed that it had seized control of Mariupol in the eighth week of the conflict, but hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have held out at a steel works in the city. One Ukrainian official has said that Mariupol is “on the brink of collapse.” [CNBC] [AP] [Al Jazeera]
An escape route out of Mariupol was set up on April 29 for hundreds of civilians sheltering in underground tunnels. Russian President Vladimir Putin two days earlier had said that he agreed “in principle” to allow this humanitarian corridor. An estimated 100,000 civilians remain in the city. [Sky News] [Reuters] [Sky News] [Euractiv] [AP]
Russia seized its first city in the eastern Donbas region, Kremmina, on April 18. Its forces then on April 26 occupied the south-eastern city of Kherson. [Republic World] [The Guardian] [Republic World] [BBC]
According to Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the OSCE, Russia will look to annex the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions by mid-May. Carpenter also hinted that Russia could be planning an independence referendum in Kherson. [Republic World]
Russian forces have been accused of “genocide” since the withdrawal of their northern campaign. In Bucha, a town near the capital Kiev, eyewitnesses have described rape and kidnap victims, mass graves piled high, and bodies strewn on the streets. The Bucha massacre triggered international outrage and war crime investigations by Ukraine. [BBC] [NBC News] [CNN]
More than 5.4 million people have now fled Ukraine, according to the UNHCR. The United Nations has recorded over 2,700 civilian deaths since the beginning of the war, including more than 200 children. The United Kingdom’s defence minister has estimated that 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the February 24 invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has put the number of Ukrainian fighter deaths at 3,000. [Al Jazeera] [Forbes] [CNN]
US President Joe Biden on April 26 vowed that Western allies would “move heaven and earth” to continue sending weapons to Ukraine. He asked Congress on April 28 for USD 33 billion in support to Kiev, of which USD 20 billion would go towards military aid.[Al Jazeera] [Reuters]
Germany on April 27 responded to calls that Berlin had been reluctant to send Ukraine heavy weaponry by announcing it would supply Kiev with “Gepard” tanks. French President Emmanuel Macron promised that his country would supply howitzers. [Ukrinform][Al Jazeera]
Washington is hoping that Ukraine will make use of such an arsenal not only to fend off the Russian assault, but to also cause enough damage to prevent Moscow from pursuing any military action beyond Ukraine. [Reuters]
“We believe they [Ukraine] can win if they have the right equipment, the right support,” US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at an April 26 defence conference in Germany. [AP]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that an influx of military support for Ukraine meant that Russia is “in essence” at war with NATO. [New York Post]
Putin, meanwhile, said: “If anyone decides to meddle in ongoing events and create unacceptable strategic threats for Russia, they must know our response will be lightning-quick. We have all the instruments for this, ones nobody else can boast of. And we will use them, if we have to.” [The Express] [La Nacion] Lavrov warned on April 25 that the risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine should not be underestimated by the West. [Gulf News] [Reuters] [Euro News]
Meanwhile, Putin on April 20 hailed the successful test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Separately, two Russian missiles hit Kiev while United Nations Secretary Antonio Guterres was visiting the city on April 28. The day before, Guterres had met with Putin – the Kremlin strongman had reportedly said he still had hope for negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. [Reuters] [RFE/RL][Express]
Ukraine’s military have said that they believe Russia could attack Moldova in the near future. A Ukrainian military source told The Times there were a “number of indicators” that Moscow could take over pro-Russian Transnistria – an unrecognised breakaway region of Moldova which borders western Ukraine – with a view to attacking Ukraine from the west and ultimately seizing control of the rest of Moldova.
A source from Ukraine’s military forces told The Times: “We believe the Kremlin has already taken the decision to attack Moldova. The fate of Moldova is very crucial. If the Russians start to take control, we will, militarily, be an easier target and the threat to Ukraine will be existential.” [The Times]
Explosions in Transnistria earlier in the month ramped up tensions. Authorities in Transnistria blamed Ukraine for the attacks. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s defence ministry called the attacks a “planned provocation” by Russia. [The Times] [Euro News] [Reuters] [ABC News] [Forbes]
Zelensky has said: “The whole European project is a target for Russia”. [BBC]
Poland and Bulgaria on April 27 became the first countries to have their gas supplies cut off by Russia – a move which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called “unacceptable”. Putin had demanded that “unfriendly” countries pay for gas imports in roubles in a bid to counter the devastating effects of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy. [Al Jazeera] [Politico]Brussels has said it could take legal action against EU countries which agree to this payment demand. [FT] [Reuters] [CNN] [Euro News] [DW]
Zelensky has said that due to the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports, Ukraine could lose tens of millions of tonnes of grain this year – likely triggering inflation and food shortages. According to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence, Ukraine is the fourth largest producer and exporter of agricultural goods in the world. [Sky News] [The Guardian]
The World Bank has estimated that the physical damage done to Ukraine since the invasion amounts to over USD 60 billion and counting. [Reuters] [The Telegraph] [The Economist]
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Putin appoints ‘Butcher of Syria’ as new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new commander to lead Russian forces in Ukraine after losing around eight generals and thousands of military personnel in a war that has been slowed by poor logistics and a disorganised command structure.[CNN]
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov, born in August 1961 in the Russian Far East city of Ussuriysk, takes control of the country’s military as Moscow struggles to unify its forces under one command structure in Ukraine. Since the start of the war, there has been no top commander identified operating in or near Ukraine. [ISW]
Russian forces have appeared to be acting independently from one another with no clearly recognisable operational design. Moscow’s military campaign has also been beset by communication problems, including the use of cell phones instead of military communication devices. [CNN]
Dvornikov’s principal assignments will be the integration of the Western Military District (WMD) and Central Military District (CMD) under his command, defending the Kherson Oblast from Ukrainian counterattacks and an advance toward Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and possibly Odessa. He will also need to encircle eastern Ukraine, capture Mariupol and win the campaign in Kharkiv. [ISW]
Analysts with the Institute for the Study of War assume that he was appointed due to his military seniority and his responsibility as the commander of the Southern Military District (SMD), which operated in the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. [ISW]
Dvornikov has been described as an “old school” general and a “blood and soil nationalist,” who is trained in Soviet military doctrines that view obliterating civilian targets as a means of gaining battlefield momentum. A career military officer, he has risen steadily through the ranks since starting as a platoon commander in 1982. He fought during the second war in Chechnya and took several top positions before being placed in charge of Russian troops in Syria. [The Guardian]
Putin dispatched Dvornikov to Syria to stabilise the forces of the Russian regime. For a 10 month period from 2015-2016, he was the commander of the Russian Forces in Syria and earned the title the “Butcher of Syria” due to the bombings of civilian targets and critical infrastructure. He was responsible for the Russian campaign against the Islamic State in Syria’s east. [The Guardian]
A former senior Israeli military official, who closely studied the Russian general’s strategy and tactics in Syria, says Dvornikov had shown determination and some military sophistication in the Syrian arena. He questioned, though, whether he can turn around Russian forces in Ukraine. [Haaretz]
After returning from Syria, Dvornikov wrote about the importance of having a unified command in a full-fledged war or military campaign, and claimed that he reorganised the Syrian forces under a unified command. He also focused on the urban warfare that he experienced in Syria. [Voenno-promyshlenny Kur’er] [ISW]
Dvornikov’s strategy in Syria was based on using Russian air superiority to indiscriminately bomb urban centres to cause as much damage as possible, and to terrorize civilians and sow fear among the rebel groups, commentators have said. [Haaretz] [ISW]
From 2000-2003, he was Chief of staff and, then, commander of the 19th Motor Rifle Division in the Second Chechen War, where he participated in the battle of Grozny and subsequent operations in the country. He started his military career in 1982 at the age of 21 in the Far Eastern Military District, where he was platoon commander, company commander and battalion chief until 1991. [ISW] [Russian Ministry of Defence]
Although he has had a long and stellar military career, his path was not unique. Many Russian generals have had similar careers, including the two leading Russian military figures serving in Syria – Colonel-General and Commander of the WMD, Alexander Zhuravlev, as well as Colonel-General and Commander of the Eastern Military District Alexander Chayko – who were in charge for approximately two years. [ISW]
His accolades include the order for military merit and order of courage in 1996, the order for merit to the Fatherland in 2000, the Hero of the Russian Federation in 2016 and the order of merit to the Fatherland, 3rd Class with sword in 2017, and order for merit to the Fatherland, 2nd Class, in 2021. [ISW] [Russian Ministry of Defence]
He graduated in 1978 from the Ussuriysk Suvorov Military School and from 1978-1982 attended the Moscow High Command Training School of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Republic. In 1991, he graduated from the Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze Military Academy, which is now the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and in 2005 graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. [Ussuriyskoe SVU] [Russian Ministry of Defence]
He is married to Irina Dvornikova and has two daughters. [Defence Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence]
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OSCE finds Russia broke humanitarian law; Biden hits out at ‘genocide’ in Ukraine
Russia has broken international humanitarian law by deliberately targeting civilians in Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a report published on April 13.
While the report emphasises that it is difficult to identify war crimes concerning particular incidents in Ukraine, it nonetheless points to “clear patterns of IHL [international humanitarian law] violations by the Russian forces in their conduct of hostilities.”
It says that if Russia had respected obligations under international humanitarian law, there would have been a considerably smaller number of victims. In particular, the report found that an attack on a Mariupol Maternity House and children’s hospital on March 9 clearly violated the obligation to issue a warning before an attack. That means that those responsible for the attack committed a war crime, the report said. The same, according to the report, is most likely the case for an attack on the Mariupol Theatre on March 16. [OSCE Report]
The report analysed possible violations of international human rights law, such as the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Although Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on March 16, and will cease to be a party to the ECHR on September 16, the European Court of Human Rights remains authorised to deal with claims of violations of the convention by Russia that occurred before that date. [Council of Europe]
The report found that credible evidence suggests fundamental human rights such as the right to life and the prohibition of torture have been violated in Ukraine, mostly in areas under the effective control of Russia.
On April 12, a day before the report was published, US President Joe Biden described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as “genocide.” The UN defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group.” [UN Genocide Convention]
While other leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron have avoided using the term, Biden said that for him, “it’s become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian.” However, he added that in the end, it will be up to lawyers to determine if Russia has committed genocide in Ukraine. [Politico] [Washington Post][Euronews]. The Kremlin described Biden’s accusations as unacceptable. [The Guardian]
Although Ukraine is not yet a party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, it accepted a preliminary investigation by an ICC prosecutor into allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by Russia in Ukraine since 2013. [ICC]
While the European Court of Human Rights is responsible for human rights violations by states, the ICC deals with actions by individuals. The ICC is separate from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which is the main court of the United Nations. The ICJ ordered Russia to stop its military operations in Ukraine on March 16, after Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention [ICJ].
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Explosions in Transnistria raise fears of new Russian military engagement
Two explosions in Transnistria in late April raised concerns that Russia may launch another military campaign in Europe to protect Russian speaking communities who seek independence from Chisinau.
Russia said the explosions on April 25 and 26 in the Moscow-backed region were attacks. Moldovan authorities said that they would place security forces on alert, fearing a spill-over from the war in Ukraine and subsequent entanglement. [The Moscow Times] [The Wall Street Journal]
On April 25, the local police announced that the Ministry of State Security in Tiraspol was hit by a grenade. While a few windows were shattered, there were no reports about casualties. The Transnistrian Ministry of Interior reported another explosion the following day in Mayak, about 30 miles north of Tiraspol. [Deutschlandfunk] [Newsweek] [BR]
The two incidents have heightened concerns that Moldova could be Russian President Putin’s next target after his February invasion of Ukraine.
Major General and deputy commander of the Russian Central Military District Rustam Minnekayev said on April 22 that Russia would conquer eastern and southern Ukraine, which would provide access to Transnistria, where he claims the Russian-speaking population are oppressed by Moldovan authorities. [BBC] [BR]
Moldovan President Maia Sandu convened a meeting of the Supreme Security Council on April 26, seeking to investigate the explosions. The Supreme Security Council found that they were an attempt to destabilise the region and cause friction between Moldova and Transnistria. The Supreme Security Council suggested increasing patrols along the borders and raising the preparedness of critical infrastructure and security facilities. [The Moscow Times] [Tagesspiegel] [moldpres]
International policy analysts of the Institute of the Study of War said that a Russian-backed false flag operation could be behind the attack. The incidents in Transnistria were discussed in the OSCE mission to Moldova. It called on all parties to refrain from further escalation that would undermine its mandate of conflict resolution. [moldpres]. [The Moscow Times] [Tagesspiegel] [moldpres]
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Moldova: Government denies Russian redeployment of troops in country’s separatist territory
Moldova has denied claims by Ukraine’s General Staff on April 1 that there has been an increase in military activity by Russian forces in Transnistria. [BNE]
The Transnistrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said on April 2 that there had been no increase in activity by Russian forces and that the region would operate in accordance with its mandate of ensuring peace and stability. [Transnistria]
Ukraine’s General Staff has said that Russia has redeployed some of its troops in the separatist territory of Transnistria, where approximately 1,500 Russian soldiers are already stationed. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Anna Malyar said that Ukraine had to be prepared for military strikes at its southwestern flank where Ukraine is adjacent to Transnistria [ukrinform].
Transnistria has officially neither condemned nor endorsed Russia’s war in Ukraine [Balkaninsight].
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Russia accuses Poland of plotting conquest of western Ukraine
The head of a Russian foreign intelligence service has accused Poland of planning to conquer western Ukraine – but offered little in the way of evidence.
Citing “intelligence received by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service”, Sergei Naryshkin claimed on April 29 that Warsaw and Washington had formed a plan to “establish Poland's tight military and political control” over parts of western Ukraine that were once ruled by Poland, including the city of Lviv. The Foreign Intelligence Service also accused Warsaw of seeking to carve out a “Greater Poland” from a weakened Ukraine. [Reuters] [NPR]
Sergei Klimov, the deputy chair of the Russian Senate’s foreign affairs committee, made similar claims about an alleged planned Polish invasion. [Euractiv]
A spokesman for Poland’s Internal Security Agency called the claims “lies” and said Russia had been propagating such assertions for several years. [Reuters]
On April 26 the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, claimed that “the West” planned “the disintegration of Ukraine into several states”. Patrushev is described as a “silovik” – a member of a group of ex-KGB and military veterans that hold considerable influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin. [Reuters] [Moscow Times]
There is no evidence that Poland, which has provided military support to Ukraine including T-72 tanks, itself plans to invade its eastern neighbour.
Poland has previously proposed an international “peacekeeping” mission in Ukraine but withdrew the idea in the face of opposition from NATO partners and Ukraine itself. [Euractiv] [Defense News]
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Russia halts gas deliveries to Poland, Bulgaria as bloc debates tougher energy sanctions
Moscow has cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, the toughest retaliatory move to date against international punitive measures over the war in Ukraine, while EU countries disagree over the severity of further sanctions on Russian oil and gas, which could badly dent some European economies.
Russian monopoly gas provider Gazprom cited “absence of payment in roubles” as the reason for suspending its gas deliveries. [Reuters] In a statement on April 27, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called Gazprom’s announcement “unjustified and unacceptable”, and labelled Russia’s use of gas “an instrument of blackmail.” [Reuters]
Russia supplied the EU with some 40 percent of its gas and 25 percent of its oil imports in 2020. EU members have paid Russia EUR 45 billion for oil and gas since it invaded Ukraine, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. [Reuters]
In contrast, Europe’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on April 6 that since the war began, the EU had only given EUR 1 billion to fund Ukraine’s defence. [The Guardian]
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on March 31 requiring foreign buyers to pay for Russian gas in roubles instead of euros or dollars – and face halted deliveries if they refuse. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
Putin’s decree requires buyers to open two accounts with Gazprombank, the unsanctioned bank affiliated to Russia’s gas provider. One account would be in euros or dollars, where the buyer would deposit the payment, which would then be converted into roubles into the second account.
The European Commission has warned companies against opening a second account in roubles, which it said would violate existing sanctions against Moscow. European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said all EU energy ministers agreed at a meeting on May 2 that going forward with Russia’s payment conversion scheme would breach sanctions. [The Guardian]
The Commission earlier suggested only opening one account in euros or dollars, depositing the payment there, and declaring the contract payment obligations fulfilled. [Politico]
EU members most reliant on Russian gas, including Berlin, Vienna and Budapest, are reluctant to agree to an embargo on Russian gas in the near future. [Al Jazeera]
Bulgaria is seeking supplies from Greece and Turkey, and Poland announced it had sufficient gas in storage for households, with next winter being the most difficult period for industry. [Euronews] Warsaw had already planned to ban Russian oil and gas by December.
Alongside Poland, the Baltic states have been appealing for weeks for a full ban on Russian fuel. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia ceased Russian gas imports on April 1. [Euractiv] [Euronews]
Germany, on the other hand, would suffer a recession if it was no longer supplied with Russian energy, Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned in a news conference on April 27, adding that German companies would continue to abide by their contracts by paying for Russian gas in euros. [Reuters]
The European Union on April 8 adopted plans to fully ban Russian coal by August, spearheading a fifth package of sanctions against the Kremlin. [Euronews] [EC]
A sixth package including an oil ban is currently being debated but will not be decided upon until an EU summit at the end of May, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Borrell said. However, the “EU [does] not have a unified position on this question,” Borrell told German newspaper Die Welt on April 25. [Reuters]
Germany was initially reluctant but has been diversifying its oil suppliers. Habeck said on April 26 that Berlin would no longer be dependent on Russian oil within “days.” [Euractiv] [Politico]
Meanwhile, Hungary is firmly opposed to oil sanctions and Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed to block oil and gas embargos, saying on April 6 that sanctions on Russian energy imports constitute a “red line” that could “kill Hungary”. [Politico]
Ukraine's President Zelensky has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Russian oil and to set a deadline for ending gas imports from the country. [Euronews]
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Serbian president claims NATO plane flew near passenger flight
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on April 7 that a NATO fighter jet flew near an Air Serbia passenger plane inside Russian airspace near the Latvian border. [BalkanInsight][N1]
He said this demonstrated the pressure on his country due to its neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that Serbia would seek additional information about the NATO plane incident. [BalkanInsight][N1]
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Finland, Sweden expected to apply for NATO membership
Finland and Sweden could simultaneously announce in mid-May that they are both applying for membership of NATO after decades of official military nonalignment, a move that would alter the European security landscape, and one which has prompted nuclear sabre rattling by a top Russian official.
A decision by the two Nordic countries to climb aboard would not just be a watershed moment for the Western military alliance, but would also bring about precisely what President Vladimir Putin has been warning against: an expansion of NATO next to Russia’s borders. [Politico]
Moscow has repeatedly warned Sweden and Finland against joining the military alliance. Putin launched what he terms a “special operation” in Ukraine partly to counter moves by NATO to grow its presence on Russia’s doorstep. [Reuters]
Even if they are close partners of NATO, Finland and Sweden do not have guaranteed help from the alliance in case of an attack. If that was a problem, for many years the two countries could live with it. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has caused a tectonic shift in the public mood and forced a rethink.
Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that simultaneous NATO applications by Finland and Sweden could be submitted on May 17 or 18, when Finnish President Sauli Niinisto makes a state visit to Stockholm.
Foreign Policy reported that when they do join, the two Nordic countries will be considerable assets. Finland has substantial armed forces, quality military intelligence and a history of defending a land border with Russia, Foreign Policy noted, adding that Sweden would come to the table with one of the largest navies on the Baltic Sea.
Finnish and Swedish accession would give the alliance a larger capacity to control the Baltic and so to support the defence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, according to The Strategist, an analysis website run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think tank.
At the same time, Finland’s 1,300 km border with Russia is a potential headache for NATO, which would have to develop a credible plan to defend it against Moscow. [Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
In Finland, support for NATO membership had shot up to 68 percent by April 11, up from previous levels of around 20 to 30 percent. [Foreign Policy] Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on April 13 that her country would make a decision in the next few weeks on whether to apply.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb was cited by The Guardian as saying: “Finns are very rational, pragmatic people. They adjust their opinion as the circumstances change. Now people have realised Russia is an unpredictable and isolated aggressor.”
Sweden, whose governing Social Democrats have a long history of opposing NATO, has been more cautious. As recently as early March, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson rejected joining the Western defence alliance for now, saying that applying for membership at this time carried a risk of destabilising northern Europe. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
But Swedes have swung behind the idea of joining, with a poll from April 25 showing 47 percent supported a NATO membership bid, while 21 percent were against. However, 59 percent supported joining if Finland did so too. [Foreign Policy]
Russia has been watching and is not happy. Former President Dmitry Medvedev, one of Putin's closest allies, warned last month that if Sweden and Finland joined the Western military alliance, Moscow would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania. Lithuania responded that Russia had deployed nuclear arms in Kaliningrad long before the war in Ukraine. [Reuters]
For Finland and Sweden to be admitted to NATO, all 30 current members of the alliance would have to agree, and that process could be hit by hiccups. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, whose country joined the Western military club in 2009, said on April 26 that the parliament in Zagreb “must not ratify anyone’s accession to NATO” until Bosnia and Herzegovina changes its electoral law.
Milanovic added that Finland and Sweden’s NATO accession was “a very dangerous adventure.” However, after fielding some anxious questions from the Finns, Croatia’s foreign minister confirmed, according to his Finnish counterpart, that Zagreb supports a NATO open-door policy. [Euractiv]
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EU pledges speeded-up process for Ukraine membership
The European Union has met Ukraine’s call for fast-tracked membership of the 27-nation bloc with a pledge to weigh Kiev’s application as early as this summer, potentially shaving off years from the integration process. [Euro News] [DW] [Euro News][Reuters] [Republic World]
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, on April 8 presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a questionnaire needed for a membership decision. She told Zelensky: “This is where your path towards the European Union begins.”
Von der Leyen added: “Russia will descend in economic, financial and technological decay while Ukraine is marching towards a European future.” [Euro News]
Zelensky signed an official request for EU membership on February 28, four days after the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian president lobbied hard, announcing at the time: “I say it as frankly as it can be, the Ukrainian people deserve and have the right to get membership of the European Union. This will be the main evidence of support for our country.” [Euro News]
Meanwhile, Georgia and Moldova handed in their applications to join the European Union on March 3. [rferl]
Observers view this flurry of membership appeals as a reaction to Russia’s February 24 invasion. Senior policy fellow and head of the Madrid office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, José Ignacio Torreblanca, said: “We need to recognise that Ukraine’s and Europe’s security can only be guaranteed by NATO and EU membership, and by nuclear deterrence against Moscow’s imperial ambitions.” [ecfr.eu]
A handful of Western European governments including Germany, France and the Netherlands have shown less enthusiasm over a potential fast-track route for Ukraine. They raised concerns that EU membership is not something that can be accelerated, citing bureaucracy and due process. Poland and ex-Soviet states have been quicker to back Ukraine’s speedy admission to the bloc. [Newsweek] [The Guardian] [Express] [DW]
Following the EU’s pledge to Ukraine, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Brussels to relaunch membership negotiations for his country. While Sweden and Finland were able to join the European Union within a few years of their applications,Turkey has been waiting since 1999 for admission. [Euractiv]
Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have also been waiting for more than a decade for a decision on EU membership.
The last country to join the European Union was Croatia in 2013. A unanimous decision by the bloc’s 27 member nations is needed to allow newcomers in. [The New York Times] [The Guardian] [Politico] [rferl]
Marie-Eve Belanger, a Geneva University researcher who specialises in EU expansion, said of the EU’s support for Ukraine: “Symbolic gestures are not as good as formal ones, but they’re not nothing.”
In 2013, there were months of demonstrations in Ukraine’s capital, known as “Euromaidan”, when Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych, refused to sign an Association Agreement with the EU. The popular unrest that followed prompted him to flee the country. [Foreign Policy]
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War in Ukraine is ‘serious setback’ to Europe’s post-pandemic recovery: IMF
The ongoing war in Ukraine has become a “serious setback” to Europe’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery as countries struggle to contain inflation, maintain growth as uncertainty restrains investment, and absorb some 5 million refugees, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on April 22. [IMF]
The nightmare combination of a slowdown and high prices is raising concerns that Europe will face a period of stagflation. Many economists had been expecting 2022 to see a strong rebound, but the continent’s prospects have suddenly changed. The spectre of stagflation’s return strikes fear into policymakers because there are few monetary tools to address it. [CNN][FT]
People’s incomes are down and hardship is up as inflation erodes the spending power of wages and savings, undermining consumer spending and confidence. [FT][UBS]
The Washington-based IMF has lowered its forecast in advanced European economies by 1 percentage point to 3 percent for 2022, while it has cut its projections for emerging economies by 1.5 percentage points to 2.7 percent. Several major economies, including France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, are projected to barely expand or even contract for two straight quarters this year, the IMF said. [IMF]
“Spiking energy and food prices are now cutting deeply into household consumption, and economic uncertainty is poised to restrain investment,” the IMF said. The IMF forecasts that inflation will accelerate to 5.5 percent in advanced economies and to 9.3 percent in emerging European economies, excluding Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. [IMF]
The European Union said the economies of 19 countries that use the euro expanded only 0.2 percent overall during January, February and March compared with 0.3 percent growth in the previous three months. In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, the consequences of the war in Ukraine have had an increasing impact on short-term development since late February, the Federal Statistics Office in Germany said. [New York Times]
Economic growth across Europe has varied since the start of the war.
The Spanish economy has performed slightly better than that of some other European countries, growing 0.3 percent over the same three-month period, a much slower rate than the 2.2 percent recorded in the last quarter of 2021. In France growth halted, while in Italy, GDP fell 0.2 percent from the previous three months. [New York Times]
“Clearly the picture for the first quarter is one of pretty weak growth,” said Angel Talavera, head of European economics at Oxford Economics. “Consumer confidence has tanked everywhere pretty sharply,” he noted, adding that household spending weakened as wages failed to keep pace with inflation. [New York Times]
Absorbing 5 million refugees fleeing the fighting in Ukraine, the largest exodus in Europe since World War II, is putting fiscal pressure on countries.
Budgetary pressures will be more acute in several countries that are opening their borders to refugees, for example in Poland, which has taken in around 3 million, and Moldova, where the number of refugees is very high relative to the population, the IMF said. This underlines the need to share the costs of humanitarian relief fairly among EU members. For non-member hosts, assistance by multilateral and regional partners should help manage costs, particularly where public finances are already stretched. [IMF]
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US Senators urge Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia
A US Senate delegation on April 19 urged Serbia to impose sanctions against Russia after Ukraine’s invasion. [ABCNews][AlbanianDailyNews]
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy indicated that they conveyed to Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic the importance of creating a community of democracies that condemn the war. [AlbanianDailyNews]
The senators stressed that if Serbia aims to join the EU, Belgrade should reconsider buying Russian and Chinese weapons. They emphasised that each country must decide about the best security alignments. [ABCNews]
Vucic has said that imposing sanctions against Russia, which is a crucial energy supplier, would be disastrous for Serbia, though he has also stated that improving cooperation with the US is one of his country's foreign policy priorities. [ABCNews][AlbanianDailyNews][BalkanInsight]
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Greece, Cyprus and Malta block European Union sanctions against all Russian-owned ships
Greece, Cyprus and Malta have blocked sanctions aiming to ban all Russian-owned ships or those with Russian interests from EU ports after the European Commission proposed banning all ships with a Russian flag or with another flag, i.e. Panama, but of Russian ownership. [Euractiv]
Ships sailing under the Russian flag have been banned, while Russian-owned vessels sailing under another nation’s flag can continue to dock at Europe ports. [Euractiv]
The EU had proposed a ban on all Russian and Russian-operated vessels from accessing EU ports. Certain exemptions will cover essentials, such as agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid as well as energy,” said EC President Ursula von der Leyen. [Euractiv]
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Cyprus refuses US request to provide weapons for Ukraine
Despite a US request, Cyprus will not provide arms to Ukraine, the Cypriot defence minister said on April 5, arguing that such a move would weaken his country’s deterrence capabilities. [Cyprus Mail] Providing arms to Ukraine would mean an end to Cyprus’s non-aligned foreign policy and neutrality. [Greek Reporter]
The United States had asked the Cyprus government to transfer Russian-made hardware, with which the Ukrainian military is familiar. [Kathimerini] On April 4, Nicos Anastasiades, the president of Cyprus, had given the green light for further talks on the issue. [Greek Reporter]
According to the Greek media, the US government requested anti-aircraft equipment and attack helicopters to be provided in order to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence capabilities. [Kathimerini] [Forbes]
In the past, Cyprus had declared it was ready to sell its Russian-made armaments on condition they were replaced with more modern Western weapons by the US. Maintaining Russian arms is costly, and it will become harder in the future because of Western sanctions on Russia. The latter is a provider of essential spare parts for Russian hardware in many countries. [Forbes] [Greek Reporter]
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Bulgaria to maintain veto on North Macedonia EU accession unless issues are addressed
Bulgaria will continue to maintain its veto position until “constitutional guarantees” are made for the rights of the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia. The EU Enlargement Commissioner has urged Bulgaria to lift its veto by June. [BalkanInsight] [Euractiv]
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Teodora Genchovska said on April 12 the country’s stance remains unchanged. Skopje’s integration in the EU will begin after Bulgaria’s stipulations are met. These include resolving issues relating to the collective history of the two countries and recognising the rights of nationals living on their territory. [BalkanInsight]
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Putin's war on Ukraine may spur anti-democratic drift in Europe, Eurasia: report
Russia’s attempt to overthrow the freely elected government of Ukraine could accelerate an anti-democratic trend across Europe and Eurasia, a new report by research institute Freedom House has said.
Democracy in the region has declined for 18 years in a row, according to the Nations in Transit report, which was released on April 20.
“Over the past 20 years, countries that once strove for democratic ideals have increasingly fallen under the sway of authoritarian strongmen, enticed by the promise of quick fixes to complex, systemic challenges,” said Mike Smeltzer, project director of Nations in Transit. “Once strongmen take power, they try to keep it at any cost, even going so far as to stamp out democracy in neighbouring states,” he added.
Among the 29 nations covered by the report, the predominant type of government is the “hybrid regime,” in which apparently democratic institutions belie undemocratic practices, Freedom House said. As an example, it cited countries that hold regular, competitive elections but may lack checks and balances on the victors, have problems with the rule of law, or fail to protect the rights of all citizens.
Only six of the countries covered – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia – have kept the designation of “consolidated democracy,” down from eight in 2004, but even in these “the corrosive effects of illiberalism and corruption” in 2021 led to score declines, the report said.
Slovenia saw the largest one-year decline, the report said, adding that the government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa has “bashed the free press”, eroded public trust in the judicial system, and sidelined the parliament over the last year.
Meanwhile, Armenia, Kosovo and Moldova have risen up the scale to become “hybrid regimes” since 2004. But Russia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have become “consolidated authoritarian regimes” over the same period, joining Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan at the bottom of the report’s scale. [Freedom House] [Politico]
“I’m heartened by the solidarity that so many democracies have shown with Ukraine, but it will take sustained, decisive, and unified effort to stem the broader authoritarian tide,” Smeltzer said.
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European Commission plans to ban thousands of dangerous chemicals
The European Commission on April 25 unveiled a plan to restrict the use of hazardous chemicals, a move which could affect up to 12,000 substances used across the EU. [EuroNews].
In a report last year about the public health impact of chemicals, the World Health Organization estimated that in 2019, 2 million people died from exposure to dangerous chemicals. [WHO]. The Commission’s Restrictions Roadmap aims to tackle this problem by banning health- and environment-harming chemicals such as flame retardants, bisphenols and all forms of PVC.
The restrictions and bans could affect up to 74 percent of consumer and professional products used in the EU, and industry groups voiced criticism during early drafts of the European Commission’s plan. [Chemical Watch].
But the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) – a network of environmental citizens’ organisations in Europe – welcomed the plan. According to estimates by the EEB, the process to ban all chemicals targeted by the roadmap will start within two years, and all bans will be in effect by 2030. [European Environmental Bureau]
Meanwhile, the European Commission decided to restrict use of the bee-harming pesticide Sulfoxaflor on April 14, only seven years after its admission to European markets. According to a leak from February, the Commission plans to cut pesticide use by 50 percent by 2030 [Forbes]. America has complained that US-produced goods on which Sulfoxaflor has been applied can no longer be exported to Europe [Euractiv].
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European Commission accepts Bulgaria’s EUR 6 billion recovery plan
The European Commission approved on April 7 Bulgaria’s EUR 6 billion economic recovery plan, though linked it to the completion of reforms, after Sofia made several adjustments to its energy transition policy and judiciary reform efforts. [BNR][Euractiv]
The funding is part of the European Union’s economic recovery plan after the COVID-19 pandemic. The sum is equal to 10 percent of Bulgaria’s GDP. Bulgaria is the 23rd European Union member whose plan has been approved. [RadioFreeEurope]
Bulgaria’s economic plan “combines investments in green and digital transition with reforms,” the European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, said. She added that anti-corruption reforms and accountability of the general prosecutor are mandatory if Bulgaria wants to receive the support. [RadioFreeEurope]
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Head of Polish ruling party slams long-time ally Hungarian PM over Ukraine
Poland’s deputy prime minister and head of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has criticised long-time ally Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over his stance on the war in Ukraine. [Euronews] [Notes From Poland]
Kaczynski slammed the Hungarian leader for not seeing “clearly what has happened in Bucha” – referring to mounting evidence of Russian war crimes against civilians in a Ukrainian town outside Kiev. [Euronews] [Notes From Poland] [Politico] “We cannot cooperate as we had in the past if this continues,” the Polish deputy prime minister added.
Orban – who for years has been a close strategic ally of Poland’s right-wing government – continues to maintain close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said that an investigation into what happened in Bucha needs to take place before conclusions are drawn because “we live in a time of mass manipulation.” [Politico]
Orban has referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an “opponent” and has not allowed the supply of weapons to Ukraine via Hungary. He has also spoken out against increasing European Union sanctions on Russia. [Euronews] [Politico]
Poland and Hungary have long supported each other in disputes over what Brussels sees as eroding principles of rule-of-law and democratic backsliding in the two EU member states. [Euronews] [Politico]
Kaczynksi’s PiS and Orban’s Fidesz parties also recently sought to strengthen cooperation among right-wing leaders in the EU. These efforts were met with criticism from the political opposition in Poland, who denounced the ruling party’s willingness to forge ties with groups that have links to Moscow. [Notes From Poland]
The new rift between Poland and Hungary resulted in a defence ministers’ meeting scheduled to take place in Budapest at the end of March being postponed, after ministers from Poland and the Czech Republic refused to attend due to Orban’s position toward Russia. [Euronews]
After achieving victory in parliamentary Hungarian elections this month [see story in this issue of Europe Monthly], Orban indicated that he wants to look past his and Warsaw’s differing views on Russia, saying that his country’s “alliance with Poland must be solidified.” [Euronews] [Politico]
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Kosovo and Serbia accuse each other of destabilising Balkans
Kosovo and Serbia accused each other of destabilising the Balkans during a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the UN Mission in Kosovo on April 20 in New York. [BalkanInsight]
The “malignant nationalism’’ of the authorities in Pristina creates an atmosphere of “complete insecurity” for the Serb minority in Kosovo, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said. His Kosovar counterpart Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said that Selakovic was manipulating facts in a way similar to what Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader, did in the 1980s.
Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK, Caroline Ziadeh urged Pristina and Belgrade to engage constructively and more actively in the EU-facilitated Dialogue. “While this process has led to meaningful results on various practical matters, a comprehensive normalisation of relations between the two sides so far continues to be elusive,” Ziadeh said. [UN]
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France: Paris expels six suspected Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover
The French foreign ministry announced on April 11 that six Russian diplomats were being expelled for allegedly working as spies under diplomatic cover after French intelligence services discovered a clandestine operation on its territory.
The six Russians expelled were in addition to the 35 already announced on April 4 as part of a joint European response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the French foreign ministry said. The government’s first responsibility is always to ensure the safety of French people and Europeans, the foreign ministry stated. [France24]
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised the operation on Twitter for "looking after our fundamental interests while in the shadows." [Franceinfo] [France24]
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Macron accuses Polish PM of interfering in French presidential election
French President Emmanuel Macron has accused Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of interfering in the French presidential election. [Notes From Poland] [Euronews]
Macron made the comments in an interview on April 6 ahead of his election victory [see story in this issue of Europe Monthly], saying that Morawiecki supported “extreme right” candidate Marine Le Pen, who was the French incumbent’s main opponent. [Notes From Poland]
The Polish prime minister had previously met with Le Pen as part of attempts to strengthen cooperation among right-wing leaders in the European Union. [Notes From Poland] [FT]
The French president also accused Morawiecki of antisemitism, adding that the Polish prime minister “is under EU investigation because he arbitrarily fired numerous judges” – a reference to a longstanding legal dispute between Brussels and Warsaw over contested changes to Poland’s judicial system. [FT] [Europe Monthly April 2022]
Macron’s comments – which led to the French ambassador being summoned in Warsaw – were called “incomprehensible” and “a lie” by Polish government spokesperson Piotr Muller, who added that they were the result of “political emotions that accompany every election campaign.” [Euronews] [FT]
Morawiecki had previously criticised Macron’s attempts to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine. [FT] [Euronews]
“President Macron, how many times have you negotiated with Putin? What have you achieved?” the Polish prime minister asked. “You do not negotiate with criminals, you fight them…Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?” he added. [Notes From Poland]
Macron responded by saying that he had aimed to “avoid war and build a new architecture of peace,” and denied that he was naive or complacent. [Notes From Poland]
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Germany warns Russian speakers of Kremlin disinformation campaign
The German government warned Germans with Russian roots not to fall for propaganda and instead to seek information about the war against Ukraine from independent news outlets after about 900 people participated in a pro-Russian car rally in Berlin. [DW] [Spiegel]
The government wants Russian-speaking people in Germany to use national and international media to prevent false narratives from influencing their opinions about the war in Ukraine, deputy spokesperson Wolfgang Buchner said on April 4. Russian state media is running a cynical and trivialising disinformation campaign, he said. [DW]
Interior ministry spokesperson Maximilian Kall cautioned against tensions escalating between Russians and Ukranians in Germany. The country’s intelligence services are monitoring this closely. [Spiegel] [DW]
Between three and six million Russian speakers are estimated to live in Germany, depending on whether people whose first language is Russian or people who can speak Russian are counted. Around 3.5 million German residents had migrated from former Soviet states, including Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as of 2019. [DW]
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Greece expels 12 Russian diplomats
Greece joined other European countries in expelling Russian diplomats by designating them as “personae non-gratae.” [Reuters]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on April 6 that 12 Russian representatives were “declared undesirable” according to the Vienna Convention, which dictates the appropriate behaviour of foreign diplomats in a host country. The ambassador of Russia was informed of the decision.[RadioFreeEurope].
The Russian embassy responded by calling the decision “unjustified” and a “hostile step” that further aimed to destroy bilateral relations. The embassy said that the actions “will not remain without consequences.” [GreekReporter]
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Estonia and Latvia close Russian consulates, orders diplomatic staff expelled
Estonia ordered on April 5 that the Russian consulates in Tallinn and Narva be closed, and diplomatic staff be expelled, while Latvia ordered the closure of Russian consulates in Daugavpils and Liepaja as tensions between the Baltic countries and Moscow increase due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. [WION] [ERR].
The Estonian and Latvian ministries of foreign affairs said in separate statements that the consulates will be closed by the end of April [National Post].
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Britain, Estonia to co-host NATO’s Defence Innovation European Headquarters
The United Kingdom and Estonia will co-host the European headquarters of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), a program initiated by the alliance to increase cooperation between the governments, start-ups, industry, and academia in addressing defence and security challenges. [Gov.UK][NATO]
The program will be launched in 2023.
Members of the alliance will agree on the NATO Innovation Fund, a EUR 1 billion venture capital fund to invest in start-ups that contribute to NATO’s objectives. [NATO][Gov.Estonia]
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Slovakia sends S-300 air defence system to Ukraine
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced on April 8 during a visit to Kiev that Slovakia would donate its entire S-300 air defence missile system to Ukraine in return for US operated and produced Patriot missile systems to replace it.
The decision came following weeks of discussions and speculation as to whether Slovakia would be willing to give up its air defence systems in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Europe-wide call for arms, particularly long-range air defences.
Heger met with Zelensky in Kiev, where he voiced gratitude to Ukrainians for fighting “for the freedom and democracy that we also profess.” Heger said that both countries had suffered under the Soviet regime, and voiced his support for Ukraine’s entry into the European Union. [Aktuality]
The S-300 is a Soviet-made long-range strategic air defence system that is made up of multiple components, including launchers, radars, and command and control modules. Such weapons are capable of protecting key military installations as well as cities from air attacks, although they are unsuited to protecting large swathes of territory. The Ukrainian armed forces operate the same type of weapons and are familiar with them, removing the need for specialised training, unlike in the case of Western systems. [Spectator]
US President Joe Biden thanked the Slovak government in a social media post for handing over its S-300 hardware, while US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “I thank the Slovak government once again for its willingness to help Ukraine meet its long-range air defence needs. This is just another example of our Alliance's strength and how (Russian) President Putin's actions have led to the strengthening of NATO.” [Pravda]
Previously, Bratislava had said it would give Ukraine its S-300 anti-air missile system only if it received an “adequate replacement.”
Meanwhile, Norwegian Defence Minister Bjorn Arild Gram has said that his country will donate a Mistral air defence system consisting of about 100 missiles to Ukraine. Norway has previously sent 4,000 M72 anti-tank missiles and protective equipment to Ukraine. Norway’s prime minister has said his country will continue to ship weapons to Ukraine. [aftenposten] [nrk] [euractiv]
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Slovakia’s defence ministry approves EUR 450m armoured vehicle deal with Finland
Slovakia’s ministry of defence has approved a decision to buy 76 armoured combat vehicles from Finnish defence manufacturer Patria in a EUR 447 million contract, despite the Slovak finance ministry criticising the move. [Janes defence] Defence Minister Jaroslaw Nad said: “I have a mandate to sign an agreement” with the Finnish government by the end of September.
The Patria AMVXP is an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle that is slated to form the backbone of the Slovak armed forces. In addition to the 76 to be procured immediately, the contract includes options to bring total numbers up to 500 vehicles.
Nad said the Patria had been chosen because of the vehicle’s performance during evaluation and testing. He noted that the Slovak defence industry would benefit as “practically everything” besides the chassis would be produced in Slovakia. [Spectator] [TASR]
However, highlighting a division within the government, the Slovak finance ministry criticised the decision, saying that the defence ministry had not taken into account the total lifetime costs of the procurement. The Association of the Security and Defence Industry of the Slovak Republic also criticised the transparency of the tender, saying: “The method of its calculation needs to be clarified in a completely transparent and unquestionable manner.”
A further contract for Patria AMVXP vehicles from the Finnish manufacturer could be worth up to EUR 2.7 billion, according to the Slovak finance ministry. [Pravda] [Aktuality]
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Spain ships weapons to help Ukrainians
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on April 21 announced during a visit to Kiev that his country would send a shipment of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine comprising 200 tons of ammunition and other military material. [ElPaís] The package, including 30 trucks and 10 light vehicles, is the largest of its kind from Spain since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in February.
Sanchez met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and, accompanied by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, visited Borodianka, a town near Kiev which was the scene of several alleged war atrocities.
Sanchez described what has happened in Ukraine during the Russian onslaught as “potential genocide” and said Spain would send a police team to investigate war crimes. [LaVanguardia] [ElPaís]
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Serbia receives weapons from China in semi-secret delivery
Media and military experts said that six sophisticated Chinese transport planes landed at Belgrade’s civilian airport on April 9 allegedly containing surface-to-air missile systems for the Serbian military. [LATimes][WashingtonPost][AiR No. 15, April/2022, 2]
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed the delivery of the sophisticated medium-range anti-aircraft system, claiming that it was agreed in 2019. [LATimes][WashingtonPost].
China and Serbia have recently enhanced their diplomatic relationship as they have common opinions on political issues, including the Kosovo war and Ukraine’s invasion. [AiR No. 15, April/2022, 2]
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Finland, Norway invest in defence
Finland and Norway plan to plough more money into defence amid security concerns triggered by the Russian war against Ukraine.
The Finnish government has vowed to spend an extra EUR 2.2 billion to boost the country’s defence capabilities from 2023 to 2026. This year, the defence budget will be increased by about EUR 700 million. [Helsingin Sanomat] [Helsinki Times]
According to Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting change in the security environment have heightened the will to defend Finland if necessary and ensure that the country’s borders remain protected.
Kaikkonen said that Finland’s existing defence capabilities were “sound” but added that by investing additional money the likelihood of a military conflict would be lowered. [Helsinki Times]
The extra resources will be used to buy and maintain equipment, acquire and deploy new aircraft capabilities and to employ additional staff. [Helsingin Sanomat]
In Norway, the government has revised its defence strategy, unveiling a new plan to strengthen the armed forces. Odd Roger Enoksen, who until recently was defence minister, said that preparedness for emergencies was “not as it should be”. [aftenposten]
The main points of the plan include the Norwegian navy more frequently sailing in northern areas, improved training for the army and the home guard as well as closer work with allies. To reach these goals, about EUR 313 million will be invested. [thenationalnews]
Meanwhile, Norway and Sweden aim to collaborate more closely on their defence strategies, the prime ministers of the two countries announced at a joint press conference in Stockholm. Closer dialogue between top officials and joint training are planned. [Aftenposten]
At the beginning of April, the defence ministers of Sweden, Norway, and Finland met during military exercises in northern Norway called “Cold Response.” The ministers said they wanted to keep building on cooperation between Nordic countries as it always has been important but is even more so now. [highnorthnews]
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One in three undecided as Denmark readies for referendum on EU joint defence pact
One in three Danes are unsure whether their country should join the EU’s common defence policy ahead of a June 1 referendum on the issue called after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [dr.dk] [Europe Monthly April 2022]
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in March announced a referendum in which citizens will be able to decide if they are in favour of removing a clause which allows the country to opt out of the EU’s joint defence policy.
Surveys have shown that 33 percent of Danes are still undecided, while 36 percent would vote for the abolishment of the clause and 27 percent would vote to keep it, according to news website DR Nyheder. [Euractiv]
Although it is a member of the European Union, Denmark has historically shied away from various integration policies, including the bloc’s common security and defence initiative. Denmark is the only EU nation that opts out of this policy.
In past referendums, Danes decided against removing other of their country’s opt-out clauses, including one related to EU cooperation on justice issues.
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Pope Francis calls off meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill
The Vatican has cancelled a meeting in June between Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill to avoid possible “confusion” after the two religious leaders took different positions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Patriarch Kirill has backed Russian President Vladimir Putin. During a church service at the beginning of April, Kirill referred to the invasion of Ukraine as a means of defending “peace-loving” Russia. Earlier, he made several statements supporting Putin's “military operation” and denouncing Russia's opponents as “evil forces.” [Reuters]] [Reuters] [TheMoscowTimes] [CatholicNewsAgency]
Pope Francis said in an interview with Argentine newspaper La Nacion that the encounter was scrapped because such a meeting “could lend itself to much confusion at this moment.” The pope has pleaded for peace and paid condolences to civilians in Ukraine. [Reuters].
The summit was set to take place in Jerusalem during the pope's trip to the Middle East.
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Austrian Chancellor holds tough talks with Putin on Ukraine
Austria’s chancellor Karl Nehammer had an “open and tough” talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 11 about possible war crimes committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha and about efforts to create humanitarian corridors for civilians.
Nehammer warned Putin that sanctions may be tightened as long as the war continues. Putin did not admit the damage of sanctions, refused to refer to the conflict as a war, and claimed that gruesome scenes in Bucha were fake. [Reuters] [FinancialTimes][TheNationalNews] [Euronews] [TimesOfIsrael] [DeutscheWelle]
According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Putin and Nehammer talked about gas supply issues. [FinancialTimes] [Reuters][TheNationalNews] [DeutscheWelle]
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Washington says EastMed pipeline not economically feasible
A senior American diplomat has reiterated the US government’s opposition to the proposed EastMed pipeline, an underwater project for transporting natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to European markets. [Kathimerini] [Europe Monthly Feb 2022]
Victoria Nuland, US Undersecretary of State, argued that EastMed is “not economically viable” because of its high price and long construction period of about a decade. She emphasised the importance of shifting to green energy in the longer term while searching for near-term hydrocarbon sources to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian gas. [Bloomberg] [The Times of Israel]
Nuland’s criticism of the USD 6 billion EastMed project came after a meeting with Israel’s foreign minister and the top Greek and Cypriot diplomats on April 5, following which she declared US support for the 3+1 cooperation mechanism, which brings together Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the US. Nuland also called for Turkey to be included in cooperation talks. [The Times of Israel] [Kathimerini]
Instead of backing plans for the EastMed pipeline, Nuland reaffirmed US support for transferring liquefied natural gas and using a regional electric cable connecting Cyprus and Israel with Europe. [Kathimerini] [The Times of Israel]
Despite US opposition to the EastMed pipeline, Israel, Cyprus, and Greece have not officially abandoned the project. The parties are expected to announce their final decision this year.
In parallel with the EastMed project, Greece, Cyprus and Israel are in talks about expanding their energy cooperation. The foreign ministers of the countries met in Athens on April 5 to discuss the Euroasia Interconnector, an underwater power cable. The link is projected to be finished by 2024. [Reuters] [TheNationalHerald]
Meanwhile, the EU’s recent push to diversify its energy suppliers has prompted a renewal of talks about a separate Israel-Turkey subsea pipeline, an idea that was on hold for many years due to tensions between the two countries. That proposed pipeline would transport natural gas from Israel's offshore Leviathan field to Turkey and southern European states. [Reuters]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 25 expressed his willingness to cooperate with Israel on gas, calling this “one of the most important steps” to normalise bilateral ties. [The Straits Times]
However, geopolitics could get in the way of any pipeline between Israel and Turkey, as it would have to cross the territorial waters of either Cyprus or Syria. Ankara does not recognize Cyprus and has no diplomatic relations with Syria. [Reuters 1] [Reuters 2]
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Latvian-Dutch wind energy business forum to boost development of wind energy sector
In cooperation with the Dutch Embassy in Latvia and the Latvian Wind Energy Association, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) organised a wind energy business forum on April 12 to discuss the prospects of wind energy. [LSM.lv]
According to the Director of the LIAA Kaspars Rozkalns, the Netherlands are equipped with sufficient capacities, given their worldwide expertise, and drive technological innovations to contribute to Latvia’s energy diversification. [LSM.lv]
The Dutch ambassador to Latvia Claudia Magdalena Njoo Pieterse underlined that offshore wind will become the Netherlands’ most important energy resource, aiming at 21GW of capacity. Recognising the notable interest not only from Latvia, but also from Lithuania and Estonia, she added that Dutch companies are also interested in expanding their business networks to the Baltics. [LSM.lv]
Rozkalns emphasised that Latvia has embraced new energy alternatives, seeking to abandon fossil fuels by 2050, with wind energy identified as one of the potential replacements. [LSM.lv]
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EU activates rule-of-law mechanism against Hungary, in first such move
The European Union on April 27 activated a rule-of-law mechanism for the first time that could allow it to withhold funds from Hungary. [Politico] [DW] [Euronews]
The so-called conditionality mechanism – which links payouts of money by the EU to the maintenance of rule-of-law standards in its member states – was approved by the Court of Justice of the European Union in February after being unsuccessfully challenged by Hungary and Poland. Both countries have faced accusations from Brussels of democratic backsliding in recent years. [Europe Monthly March 2022] [Euronews]
EU officials said that any withheld funds would need to be proportionate to the impact of Hungary’s actions on the bloc’s budget. The EU top court’s February ruling had clarified that the conditionality mechanism was put in place to protect the budget. [Euronews] [Europe Monthly March 2022]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has been accused of influencing the country’s courts and media and of misusing EU funds. [DW] [Politico]
The European Commission said that there are indications of “breaches of the principles of the rule of law” in Hungary, citing “systemic irregularities, deficiencies and weaknesses in public procurement procedures,” as well as an “unusually high percentage of contracts” awarded to specific companies. [Politico]
It is because of this alleged misuse of EU funds in Budapest that Hungary is being targeted by the European Commission and Poland is not, according to officials. [Politico] The Commission also accused Hungarian authorities of being unable or unwilling to prevent breaches of law. [Politico]
Budapest now has two months to submit a response to Brussels’ move. [DW] [Euronews]
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ECHR says assisted suicide conviction did not breach right to free expression
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on April 14 that a decision by the Danish Supreme Court to uphold the conviction of a doctor for helping patients to commit suicide did not violate his right to freedom of expression, as he claimed.
The doctor, Svend Lings, is the founder of Physicians in Favour of Euthanasia. The organisation campaigns for the legalisation of assisted suicide, which is not permissible under Danish law. Lings legally published a comprehensive guide on medicines and methods of committing suicide. In 2018, he was convicted for assisting two suicides and one attempted suicide, a ruling that was upheld by the Danish Supreme Court in 2019. Lings took his case to the ECHR, claiming that his conviction violated his right to inform patients about how to take their own lives.
However, the ECHR ruled that his conviction did not breach Lings’s right to freedom of expression. The court noted that the conviction was not based on Lings’s informational guide, but on advice that he gave to his patients in the three cases as well as the drugs he prescribed, knowing they would be used to commit suicide.
The court also emphasized that there is no right to assisted suicide under the European Convention on Human Rights, and countries that have signed up to the convention have wide discretion on legislation regarding the issue. [ECHR] [UK Human Rights Blog] [Courthouse News Service]
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European Parliament launches inquiry into spyware
A European Parliament committee has started probing the use of spyware like Pegasus in EU countries, amid claims that such tools have been used to eavesdrop on politicians, senior European Commission officials, politicians, journalists and members of civil society organisations.
The governments of Poland, Hungary, and recently also Spain, have been accused of misusing Pegasus or equivalent software.
Meanwhile, top figures in the Spanish government have themselves been targeted with Pegasus, a senior official said on May 2. The spyware was detected in the mobile phones of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Defence Minister Margarita Robles, according to government minister for the presidency, Felix Bolanos. He did not reveal whether the people suspected of the hack were from Spain or from outside. [Reuters]
The European Parliament’s investigating committee will collect information about the use of Pegasus and other similar espionage software over the next year in an effort to recommend future regulations.
“We have seen many cases where innocent people such as journalists and lawyers have been targeted by spyware, and this is a huge problem for democracy and the rule of law,” Jeroen Lenaers, the committee chairman, said on April 19. [European Parliament]
Pegasus is produced by Israeli company NSO Group Technologies and is able to turn devices running on iOS or Android into remote surveillance instruments. The software is intended to be used on criminals and terrorists and is sold to governments only.
In a statement on April 18, CitizenLab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, said at least 65 people connected with the Catalan independence movement were spied on. The targets were mainly attacked with Pegasus, according to CitizenLab, though it also reported four cases of attacks with software provided by Candiru, another Israeli spyware company. [Euronews] [CitizenLab]
CitizenLab also suspects that British government IT systems were infected with Pegasus. [BBC]. The Canadian laboratory said that suspected spyware was discovered in 2020 and 2021. The BBC reported that one incident was linked to operators in the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the Reuters news agency reported that European Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and at least four other commission staffers were targeted by spy software last year. Reuters said at the time it was unable to determine who used the spyware. It did not name Pegasus as the software used.
The European Commission, while condemning the misuse of spyware, said on April 19 that it would not investigate member states suspected of using such tools. A commission spokesperson told reporters: “This is really something for the national authorities.” [euobserver].
(jk/pk)
EU greenlights regulation of social media giants
The Digital Services Act (DSA), which will put in place far-reaching regulation on online service providers and social media, is set to become law after 16 hours of negotiation between EU lawmakers and member states on April 23.
The DSA will force social media giants like Facebook and Twitter to take action against illegal content on their platforms, or face large fines. [Silicon Republic] [New York Times] It is specifically targeted at what the EU defines as “very large platforms”, meaning those with more than 45 million monthly users, including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Amazon.
The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, said that the DSA represented “the first time in 20 years that Europe has tackled the regulation of the digital and information space”. The DSA gives the EU the power to impose fines of up to 6 percent of a company’s global turnover. [Politico Europe] [RTÉ]
The European Parliament gave its approval to the draft text of the DSA in February after the introduction of a number of amendments, including one to ban targeted advertising based on users’ political and religious beliefs and sexual orientation. [Europe Monthly March 2022] [Europe Monthly December 2021]
Speaking to Politico Europe, EU officials said they were worried that enforcing the DSA would be the real challenge and that more funding would be needed to attract “high-skilled specialists” to the new enforcement regime.
The DSA must now be formally approved by the European Parliament and the European Council. With an agreement already in place, this step is a formality.
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Luxembourg, Netherlands and Spain advance ideas to reform EU fiscal rules
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain have proposed a guide to fiscal reforms currently being prepared by EU institutions.
The finance ministers of the three countries called on April 4 for the EU's rules to change to strengthen fiscal sustainability in a more effective and efficient manner, while allowing for public investments needed for green and digital transitions. The paper called for country-specific fiscal plans and the introduction of a simple expenditure rule. [Euractiv] [PoliticoEU]
The alliance between the Netherlands and Spain is unusual since the two countries are usually on the opposite sides of the debate about fiscal rules. Both referred to the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine to emphasise the importance of unity instead of having “divisive debates.” [Euractiv]
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Europe, US forge partnerships to develop quantum technology
Europe and the US are pushing to develop quantum technology through cooperation as they race to stay ahead of China in this emerging field that could reshape research, business and security.
The US and Sweden signed on April 12 an agreement for cooperation in quantum information science and technology (QIST). The agreement will enable opportunities to build a trusted global market and supply chain for QIST R&D, and support economic growth, by engaging stakeholders including industry consortia, research leaders, policy makers, and business security stakeholders to grow the future QIST marketplace. [StateDepartment]
The US and Finland signed on April 5 a joint statement on cooperation with QIST. [Quantum]
Monica P. Medina, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, said QIST represents a pathway to a more sustainable future, but these solutions will take time. Mikko Hautala, Ambassador of Finland to the United States said quantum technology has the potential to shape the global economy and even global politics.[Quantum]
Europe is also developing QIST. IQM, the Pan-European leader in quantum computers based in Munich, Germany, started in April a new research cooperation on quantum technologies with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar-Ilan University. [Hpcwire]
Quantum will create immense opportunities for technological change in ways that reshape research, business, and security, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said. While many applications of quantum are in the early stages of development, advancing global collaboration on research and capabilities should be a priority for the U.S. and its allies. [CSIS]
(lk/gc)
Major demonstrations in Armenia against government over Karabakh concessions
Thousands of opposition supporters protested in the Armenian capital Yerevan against the government in early May to prevent concessions to the country’s arch-enemy Azerbaijan over the Karabakh region. Protestors accused Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of plans to give away Karabakh in its entirety to Azerbaijan.
The leader of the parliamentary opposition has demanded the ouster of the government “in the nearest future” by means of a nationwide “large-scale campaign of civil disobedience”, a threat the country’s National Security Service appears to be taking seriously.
The mountainous Karabakh region is the subject of long-standing territorial disputes that led Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage in a war in the 1990s and again, more recently, in 2020.
When a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement ended the recent war, in which more than 6,500 people died, Armenia had to accept ceding large areas of the region to Azerbaijan. [Al Jazeera]
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, following the lead of its supporter Turkey, allegedly closed its airspace to Russian military aircraft to disrupt the transportation of military cargo between Russia and Armenia, which is now using a route over Iran and the Caspian Sea. [news am]
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Moldova: Sandu welcomes Latvian President during his visit to Moldova
Moldovan President Maia Sandu met with her Latvian counterpart Egils Levits on April 6 during his state visit to Moldova. They discussed the regional security issues pertaining to the war in Ukraine and the refugee influx, Moldova’s political reforms and application for EU membership, as well as the prospects of deepening bilateral cooperation. [interfax] [moldpres]
The Latvian Minister of the Interior Marija Golubeva and Guard Chief of the State Border Gen. Guntis Pujats accompanied President Levits and met with their Moldovan colleagues. [interfax]
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Joint international police action against Irish criminal group
The Irish police initiated a joint international action against the Kinahan cartel, whose members are currently avoiding prosecution after being sanctioned by the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On April 11, the US Department of Treasury announced that American, British, and Irish law enforcement had launched a major joint action against the Kinahan organised crime group, the most powerful cartel in Ireland. The US has released information on seven members. It has also imposed sanctions on them to hinder their illegal activities. [The Irish Times] [BBC] [RTÉ] [The Irish Times]
A week after the US announcements, the UAE joined the US in sanctioning the Dubai-based cartel leaders. The UAE does not have an extradition agreement with Ireland, but it is suspected that the Kinahans might try to flee to Asia to avoid prosecution. [BBC] [RTÉ] [The Irish Times] [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
The Treasury Department originally published detailed information on the three cartel leaders, Christopher Kinahan and his sons Daniel and Christopher, as well as four of their associates. These included their addresses and the numbers of their passports, both real and fake ones. It also named three companies that the cartel has an interest in. [The Irish Times] [BBC] [RTÉ]
Due to the sanctions, no US-based company is allowed to conduct transactions with the seven individuals or their three associated companies. Additionally, there is a USD 5 million reward for information that leads to the conviction of any of the three Kinahans. [The Irish Times] [BBC] [RTÉ] [RTÉ]
Following the steps of American, British, and Irish law enforcement, the UAE imposed their own sanctions on the cartel leaders that are currently residing in Dubai. They are now locked out of the country’s banking system. Their affiliated companies have been frozen. [RTÉ] [The Irish Times] [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
The extradition of the cartel members by the UAE is not unlikely, despite the lack of a formal agreement. In a similar case, the UAE extradited a close affiliate of the Kinahans to Italy in March of this year. Irish sources suspect that the Kinahans would try to flee to the Far East to escape western law enforcement agencies. [The Irish Times] [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
Preceding the international action, the Irish police investigated multiple murders related to a gang feud between the Kinahans and a rival group. It reached out to foreign law enforcement to specifically target the whole cartel which operates internationally. [RTÉ]
The Kinahan organised crime group emerged in the late 1990s and is now the most powerful crime group in Ireland. It is a major trafficker of drugs and firearms. Its involvement in money laundering is significant even to the licit economy. The cartel is estimated to have generated over EUR 1 billion so far. [The Irish Times] [BBC]
The father is believed to oversee the cartel’s properties while his sons are managing drug trafficking. The group imports drugs from South America to Europe. It has recently tried to expand its illegal business to the UK, but members of the group were jailed. [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
Daniel Kinahan is also known for his involvement in professional boxing. He refutes all the allegations. [BBC] [BBC]
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UN backs move for countries to justify veto use
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify decisions to use their veto powers, in a move taken after Russia scuppered a bid to condemn its war on Ukraine.
The text of the resolution is not binding, however, and will not force a nation that has wielded a veto to explain itself to the General Assembly. [Al Jazeera]
At the end of February, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution that aimed to condemn Moscow’s “aggression” against Ukraine while demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from that country. [Foreign Policy] The draft was submitted by the United States and Albania. China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained from voting. [United Nations]
A group of smaller nations then started a drive to weaken the veto power held by the permanent members of the Security Council: Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain. [Foreign Policy]
The resolution adopted in April provides for the General Assembly to be convened within ten working days after a veto “to hold a debate on the situation as to which the veto was cast.” [Al Jazeera]
A push for reform of the UN Security Council, which is tasked with ensuring international peace, is not new but was given fresh impetus by Russia's onslaught against Ukraine. The latest proposal was co-sponsored by Liechtenstein, whose ambassador to the United Nations, Christian Wenaweser, insisted it was “not directed against Russia.” [France 24/AFP]
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Russia, China tighten relations amid war in Ukraine
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng has said that Beijing will keep strengthening its strategic ties with Moscow, illustrating the solid relations between the countries despite Russia’s onslaught against Ukraine and condemnation by the West of reported war crimes. [Bloomberg]
Since the war in Ukraine started, Beijing has refrained from sanctioning Russia, and has criticised Western punitive measures. China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, refused to blame Russia for the reported killings of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, despite international outrage over the deaths. [AiR No.15, April/2022, 2] [AiR No.16, April/2022, 3] [The Hill]
During an April 19 meeting in Beijing with Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Ivanovich Denisov, Le called for deepening ties in a range of fields and said that “no matter how the international landscape may change, China will continue to strengthen its strategic coordination with Russia for win-win cooperation, jointly safeguarding the common interests of both countries.”
Denisov said that Russia planned to continue its partnership with Beijing and added that Russia “always regards developing relations with China as its diplomatic priority.” [Bloomberg]
China’s state-owned refiners are continuing their existing Russian oil contracts but are shying away from new ones as they fear being seen as openly supporting Moscow. Some companies are reportedly being told to prioritise compliance and risk control over profit.
Trade between Russia and China grew by about 12 percent in March, after expanding more than 25 percent in February, indicating Chinese wariness of violating Western sanctions on Russia. [AiR No.16, April/2022, 3] [AiR No.15, April/2022, 2]
(ar/pk)
China’s UnionPay decides not to expand in Russia
Chinese credit card giant UnionPay has decided not to further expand its presence in Russia in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The Chinese company has become the latest to suspend negotiations in Russia, including with large lenders like Alfa Bank, VTB Bank and Otkrytie.
Although Moscow and Beijing have proclaimed a “no-limits” friendship, Chinese payment services are wary of cooperating with Russia, reportedly fearing sanctions by the West. [Business Standard]
Western payment companies such as Visa and MasterCard have pulled out of the Russian market. With no alternative left, Russian banks started issuing payment cards with UnionPay and Mir, Russia’s own credit card system. The number of UnionPay cards issued in Russia quickly rose tenfold.
UnionPay is a Chinese state-led financial services network, created in 2002 as a coalition of banking operators. By the end of 2021, it ranked first in terms of the number of cards in circulation worldwide, with 32 percent of global purchases via credit cards in 2020 carried out through UnionPay. As of March 2021, over 55 million merchants across the world accepted its cards. [DW in German] [Reuters]
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Ukraine receives support from East Asian countries
East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea continue to show their support for Ukraine with monetary aid. In addition, Japan’s defence ministry has announced, in response to Kiev’s request, that it will be sending drones and NBC masks and NBC suits, which are designed to protect against contamination by radioactive, biological or chemical substances. This decision came after reports of a possible Russian chemical weapons attack on the city of Mariupol. [Japan Times]
Tokyo has previously provided Ukraine with bullet-proof vests and other supplies like helmets, winter clothing and food items, and has increased Japan’s loans to Ukraine from EUR 92.5 million to EUR 278 million, stating that “propping up Ukraine’s economy” is an urgent task. [Japan Times][Japan Times]
Japan’s government on April 12 decided to approve additional sanctions on Russia, including freezing the assets of nearly 400 Russian individuals and 28 more Russian organisations. Among those targeted are two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife, organisations related to military business, and Sberbank and Alfa Bank – two of the biggest finance institutions in Russia.
Japanese individuals and companies are prohibited from making new investments in Russia, while the import of some Russian goods like vodka is banned. [AiR No.15, April/2022, 2] Japan has also removed Russia’s “most favoured nation” status and raised duties on imports from Russia, except for liquefied gas and coal.
Taiwan, in support of Ukraine, has banned the export of nearly 60 strategic hi-tech goods which can be used for civil and military purposes, has exited the Russian market, and cut off Moscow’s access to Elbrus chips – widely used by the Russian military and intelligence. Taiwan’s economy ministry has urged businesses to “follow the export control laws and avoid exporting products that can be used for weapons proliferation to Russia without approval”. [AiR No.15, April/2022, 2] [ Focus Taiwan]
South Korea, meanwhile, will provide EUR 37 million for Ukraine and will consider an additional support package. The Korean National Red Cross has sent its third tranche of humanitarian aid. [see AiR No.15, April/2022, 2] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had asked South Korea for military aid, but Seoul’s Defence Minister Suh Wook said that any support in terms of lethal weapons would be limited because of South Korea’s security situation and the potential impact on the Asian country’s military readiness. [Reuters]
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United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary Truss pushes India to condemn Russian invasion of Ukraine
British Foreign Secretary of State Liz Truss has pushed for India to do more to stop the war in Ukraine by expressing the need for democracies to work closely in ensuring global peace and security. She made her comments during a visit to India on March 31, the same day that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in India. [Gov.UK][Guardian]
India has been criticised for not condemning the Russian war in Ukraine and for its close ties to Russia in the defence sector. The Indian army is dependent on Russian military equipment, which may provide Russia leverage in terms of getting New Delhi to pay for oil in roubles. This would weaken Western sanctions against Russia. [Independent]
Russia is India’s biggest weapon supplier, with 60 to 70 percent of the latter’s conventional arsenal being of Russian or Soviet origin. In addition, India’s reliance on Russian energy, although small, continues to grow. Russia has entered India’s nuclear power sector, while India has invested in Russian oil and gas fields, and its export of commodities to Russia is growing. [The Diplomat] [AiR No.16, April/2022, 3]
Following the second round of talks about a free trade agreement between the UK and India, Truss discussed defence-related ties, focusing on cybersecurity and maritime cooperation. A new joint cyber security program aims to protect their online infrastructure, while the UK will join India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. [Gov.UK][Europe Monthly, April 2022]
Foreign Secretary Truss confirmed GBP 70 million of British International Investment funding to support the development of renewable energy use in India. A new platform should further allow British investors better access to the Indian market. [Gov.UK]
Meanwhile, on April 22 the United Kingdom and India signed a new defence cooperation agreement. London is hoping that by expanding relations with Western countries, New Delhi will become less dependent on Russia-made weapons and can, with British support, manufacture its own weapons.
For this agreement, an India-specific open general export licence is needed, which Britain does not currently possess. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
(pr/ar/gc)
Southernmost Kuril Islands ‘illegally occupied’ by Russia, says Japan
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signalled a shift in Tokyo’s stance on the country’s long-standing dispute with Russia over the four southernmost Kuril Islands. In its 2022 Diplomatic Bluebook, Japan said that the islands are an “inherent” part of the country and are “illegally occupied” by Russia.
The islands, which are claimed by Tokyo, were seized by the Soviet Union after the Japanese empire’s surrender in 1945, and are located northeast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost region. [Asia Times]
As tensions in the region grow, Japan and the United States will this autumn be holding a joint military drill in the Hokkaido region. This will be the largest in a series of around 10 joint exercises between the two countries since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started in February. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
(ar/pk)
German chancellor visits Japan on first trip to Asia
In his first trip to Asia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on April 28 visited Tokyo rather than top trading partner China. He met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and said his trip was “a clear political signal” that Germany and the EU would intensify their engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. [Japan Times]
The two leaders discussed efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian energy imports, at the same time condemned the war in Ukraine and China’s stance on the issue. Both countries agreed to create an intergovernmental panel to further strengthen their security relations.
The timing of Scholz’ trip was criticised by the German opposition, which asked why he was travelling to Asia amid an ongoing war in Europe. As Scholz was visiting Japan, the German parliament passed a motion supporting Ukraine, calling for measures including the delivery of heavy weapons such as tanks, and a clause urging Scholz’s government to threaten China with punitive measures if the latter decides to actively support Moscow by undermining Western sanctions or supplying Russia with weapons. [Tagesschau] [Welt] [Merkur]
(ar/pk)
Sweden, South Korea deepen industry cooperation
The Swedish and South Korean industry vice ministers met on April 20 at a session of a joint Industry Cooperation Committee to discuss ways to deepen their cooperation on zero-emission goals, green industries, semiconductors, batteries, and a transition to digital industries. Trade between the two countries grew 26 percent in 2021, reaching EUR 3.5 billion. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
(ar)
Estonia’s e-Governance Academy to assist Mongolia with developing digital infrastructure
Estonia’s e-Governance Academy and the Mongolian ministry of digital development and communications signed a memorandum of understanding on April 8, supporting the digital transformation in Mongolia for which the e-Estonia model functions as a blueprint. [Estonian World] [Emerging Europe].
While coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolia launched the e-Mongolia app, enabling its citizens to apply for certificates and request public services. In order to refine the design and functionality of the app, Estonia provided its expertise in further enhancing the approaches to digital skills, digital identity and digital signature development. [ERR]
(mo/gc)
Belarus, Chinese Guangdong Province to seek closer partnership
The Consulate General of Belarus to China in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province organised an event on April 12 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between Belarus and China with representatives from various cities in Guangdong, entrepreneurs and scientists attending the event. [belta.by]
The Belarusian Consul Andrey Popov met with Luo Jun, deputy director of the department of foreign relations of the People’s Government of Guangdong, to discuss ways to increase cooperation. This should involve partnership agreements, the expansion of Chinese participation in developing the “Great Stone” industrial park in Minsk, and increasing ties in the fields of science, technology, education, culture, sports and tourism. [belta.by]
(mo/gc)
United Kingdom, Indonesia sign agreement covering trade and security
The United Kingdom and Indonesia concluded a new agreement to strengthen trade, security, environmental, and international law ties. The UK-Indonesia Partnership Roadmap was signed by British Foreign Secretary of State Liz Truss on April 19. [Gov.UK]
Key objectives of the agreement include the support for a free Indo-Pacific region, and a green energy transition. [Gov.UK][Gov.India]
(pr/gc)
Malaysia considers tech supplies for Russia
Malaysia’s ambassador to Russia, Bala Chandran, has said that his country is open to considering supplying electronics and semiconductors to Moscow if the latter asks for them.
Chandran said that the Malaysian economy is driven by the market and that any request from Russia for products would be taken into account. Malaysia is the third largest semiconductor exporter in the world, selling EUR 8.2 billion worth of such products a year. [seeAiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
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EU, India establish Trade and Technology Council
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks in New Delhi on April 25 and agreed to establish an EU-India Trade and Technology Council while pledging to strengthen their strategic partnership.
The council, composed of working groups led or co-led by relevant departments, services or agencies, will allow the two parties to address challenges in trade, trusted technology and security while deepening cooperation in these fields. [Business Standard]
In a joint statement, the parties said that current rapid changes in the geopolitical environment underline the need for joint in-depth strategic engagement. [European Commission]
The Trade and Technology Council is the first that India is entering with any of its partners, and the second for the European Union following one it set up with the United States in 2021. [European Commission]
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Belarus: Lukashenko wants to deepen economic cooperation with Pakistan
At a meeting with the Pakistani ambassador to Belarus Sajjad Haider Khan held on April 8, President Lukashenko said that Belarus would be prepared to engage in a joint venture in Pakistan as he tries to deepen economic cooperation due to good relations with the Pakistani government. [belta.by]
Khan emphasised that Pakistan treats Belarus as its “friend and ally in this region’’ and he underlined Belarus’s expertise in agriculture and industry as key sectors for bilateral relations. [belta.by]
The trade volume between Belarus and Pakistan was estimated at USD 92.6 million, a 77 percent increase in comparison to 2020. The most important Belarusian exports to Pakistan are tractors, potash fertiliser, synthetic fibres, dairy products, and diesel engines. [belta.by]
(mo/gc)
US-Bangladesh increase diplomatic cooperation
The United States and Bangladesh held talks to improve bilateral ties in security, human rights and democracy, and economics. US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Peter Haas, said on April 24 that the relationship between the two countries was a turning point, adding that the United States is ready to move as fast as Bangladesh wants to expand and deepen ties. [U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh]
(ar/gc)
Denmark, Bangladesh to strengthen partnership on green transition
Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Flemming Moller Mortensen and his Bangladeshi counterpart Abul Kalam Abdul Momen will increase assistance as Dhaka transitions to a greener economy. The two ministers signed the “Sustainable and Green Framework Engagement” document on April 26 during a visit of Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark to Bangladesh, marking 50 years of bilateral relations.
Denmark will provide knowledge and technology towards attaining a sustainable and greener future for Bangladesh. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
The European Union (EU) and Bangladesh are also in ongoing talks to help Dhaka qualify for the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) plus scheme. The GSP is the EU’s special incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance, and removes import duties from products coming into the EU market from developing countries to alleviate poverty and create jobs.
The admission is based on the partner’s commitment to international values and principles, reflected by the implementation of 27 international conventions. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
(ar/gc)
Norway-Bangladesh to strengthen economic relations
During a meeting in Bangladesh on April 26, marking the 50th anniversary of Norwegian-Bangladeshi relations, Norwegian Foreign Minister Annekin Huitfeldt and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Kalam Abdul Momen expressed their countries’ interest in strengthening economic partnership through trade, investment, particularly in offshore renewable energy, and maritime sector cooperation. [see AiR No.17, April/2022, 4]
(ar/gc)
Saudi Arabia maintains distance from US administration amid Ukraine crisis
Once considered a key ally of the United States, Saudi Arabia has maintained its distance from the Biden administration as Washington seeks support in raising energy production and isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February.
Saudi Arabia led an OPEC+ decision in April to stop using oil data from the IEA, the West's energy watchdog, due to concerns about US influence on the figures. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman resisted the US administration’s demands to abandon the OPEC+ mechanism designed by Saudi Arabia and Russia to put a lid on oil output. [Reuters][Atlantic Council]
The crown prince reportedly snubbed a call from President Joe Biden, but spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin in early March and Chinese President Xi Jinping in April, a clear sign that Riyadh was not going to be pressured to change its energy policy to help reduce gasoline prices. During his call with Xi, Prince Mohammed conveyed his willingness to sign an agreement to “synergize Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 with the Belt and Road Initiative.” [Atlantic Council]
Saudi Arabia has increasingly grown frustrated with the Biden administration over Washington’s unwillingness to do more to counter missile attacks on the kingdom from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Riyadh is also wary of the administration’s attempts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, its main regional revival, and frustrated with US condemnation after the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in 2018. [Bloomberg]
The Wall Street Journal reported on April 19 that the 36-year-old crown prince shouted at Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, when he visited Saudi Arabia last September after he raised the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Khashoggi. He reportedly said that he never wanted to discuss the matter again and that the US could forget about its request to boost oil production, he told Sullivan. [Wall Street Journal]
In an unusual departure from Saudi politics, the kingdom mocked Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in a parody video that went viral on Twitter with more than 2.2 million views. The short clip aired on a Saudi Arabian channel named MBC TV poked fun at Biden and Harris about their way of speaking. [IndiaToday]
In the video, the actors mock Biden’s faux pas while speaking at public events. The clip also pokes fun at Harris for taking over proceedings and assisting the president during his speeches. [IndiaToday]
The US and Saudi Arabia have been close partners since the end of World War II, a relationship that was strengthened during the Trump administration due to mutual interest around energy supplies, the isolation of Iran - a rival of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, and military defence contracts. The US provides security and defence support to the country that goes beyond weapons sales. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
After The Wall Street Journal reported that bilateral ties had hit an historical low, Saudi Arabia denied that relations were under strain. “Over the course of the last 77 years of Saudi-US relations, there have been many disagreements,” the Saudi embassy said. “But that has never stopped the two countries from finding a way to work together.” [Bloomberg]
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also reiterated the importance of US-Saudi bilateral ties during a virtual meeting with her Saudi counterpart. Yellen met with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan and welcomed the continued partnership between the two countries in combating terrorist financing in the region, according to a readout of the meeting. [Al-Arabiya]
“The Secretary and Minister Al-Jadaan discussed the global economy, including the impact from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the region, as well as energy markets and food security,” the Treasury Department said.
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European Parliament condemns education ban for women in Afghanistan
The European Parliament on April 7 adopted a resolution condemning the Taliban’s “persistent focus on erasing women and girls from public life” in Afghanistan. MEPs said the Islamist organisation, which seized power on August 15, 2021, was denying women and girls fundamental rights, including those to education, work, movement and healthcare. [European Parliament]
The humanitarian and human rights situation in Afghanistan has worsened since the Taliban seized power on August 15, 2021, according to the European Union.
After the latest rulings by the country’s de facto government, women will be banned from flying domestically and abroad without the company of a man, and will only be allowed to visit public parks dressed in a hijab three days a week. [Tagesschau] [Deutsche Welle]
In its resolution, the European Parliament said that access to education for girls and women must constitute “an essential condition for any further commitment with the de facto Afghan authorities.”
By limiting girls’ opportunities for education and tightening restrictions on women, the Taliban are going against key conditions imposed by Western donors for much-needed economic aid. [Deutsche Welle]
Citing previous commitments by the Taliban to ensure access to schooling for all citizens, members of the European Parliament said they wanted to honour the bravery of Afghan girls and women who protest against restrictions, adding that both the European Union and its member states must increase their support for women’s rights activists in Afghanistan. [European Parliament]
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Moldova: Government wants to increase exports of agricultural products to Iran
The Moldovan President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergiu Harea met with the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Moldova Manuchekhr Moradi on April 8 to discuss the prospects of economic cooperation. They defined categories, according to which Moldovan agricultural products can be exported to Iran. [moldpres]
During the meeting, Harea underlined the positive prospects of bilateral economic cooperation, stressing that the economic potential between both states is “limitless.’’ The Iranian ambassador added that the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mining of Qazvan, Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in exploring new market opportunities with Moldovan counterparts. [moldpres]
Previously, Moldova already signed a Memorandum of Understanding on January 30, 2018 with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Agriculture of Isfahan to increase the trade relations between both states. [moldpres]
(mo/gc)
Sweden allocates millions to support development of Iraq
The Swedish government has released a strategy for “development cooperation” with Iraq from 2022 to 2026 that provides the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) with EUR 116 million and the Swedish government agency for peace, security and development (FBA) with EUR 4.35 million. [government.se]
The tasks of SIDA and the FBA include monitoring and providing information used for decision making and to ensure transparency as well as evaluating to what extent development activities in Iraq have made a difference. [Government Offices of Sweden]
In a report, the Swedish government said Iraq was in a post-conflict phase with a “residual risk for newly emerging conflicts.” According to the government’s new strategy, the root causes of conflict need to be addressed to build sustainable peace.
In providing development support, Sweden’s objectives under its strategy include fostering peaceful and inclusive societies; human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality; and the environment and sustainable development. [Government Offices of Sweden]
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Frontex chief quits after claims of human right violations
The chief of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, also known as Frontex, has resigned [Frontex].
The agency and Fabrice Leggeri as its head were accused of employing illegal pushbacks. Pushbacks is a phrase used to describe a situation in which people who try to cross the European Union’s border are forcefully hindered from doing so, denying them a right to claim asylum. According to Leggeri, Frontex never used such methods. [DW]
In the last week of April, a report by several European media organisations accused Frontex of being involved in 22 pushbacks in the Aegean Sea between March 2020 and September 2021, affecting at least 957 asylum-seekers. According to the report, the agency labelled the pushbacks as “prevention of departure.” [EuroNews].
Frontex has been under investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, for over a year, and its final report is expected soon. [Politico] [Erik Marquardt, MEP / European Parliament].
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United Kingdom, Rwanda agree on controversial migration partnership
The United Kingdom and Rwanda signed a Migration and Economic Development Partnership on April 14, allowing the UK to send asylum seekers to Rwanda while their application is processed. In exchange, Rwanda will receive GBP 120 million of British investment in economic development. [Gov.UK]
Home Secretary Priti Patel said any person who enters the UK illegally will be considered for resettlement in Rwanda, though the government is “not going to divulge specific criteria for a number of reasons.’’ The deal aims to disrupt human smuggling by preventing refugees from crossing the channel that separates the British island from mainland Europe. [Gov.UK] [CNN]
International human rights groups criticised the scheme. The United Nations Refugee Agency said that refugees “should not be traded like commodities’’ and Amnesty International UK raised concerns about Rwanda’s “dismal human rights record.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson expects legal proceedings about the partnership but believes in the deal’s compliance with international law. [CNN][Times]
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Italy signs gas deals with Algeria, Egypt, Congo and Angola
Rome has struck four gas supply agreements within a few weeks under plans to cut Italy’s gas dependency on Russia by 50 percent by 2023.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on April 11 announced a key deal which is expected to increase gas imports from Algeria to 31.6 billion cubic metres from the current 22.6 billion cubic metres a year by 2024. [AlJazeera]
The agreement was signed by the dominant energy players in Italy and Algeria, Eni and Sonatrach, and is expected to be the start of broader bilateral cooperation in the energy sector that could see Italian companies participating in the construction of photovoltaic solar power plants as part of the Algerian “Solar 1000 Mw” mega-project. This aims to achieve a photovoltaic production capacity of 15,000 megawatts by 2035. [IlPost] [AgenziaNova]
Draghi said Italy had rapidly developed an alternative energy-supply policy as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine. At the moment, Italy imports about 40 percent of its gas needs from Russia - about 29 billion cubic metres per year. [Corriere della Sera][Rai]
On April 15, Italy’s Eni signed another important supply deal, this time with the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), in order to maximise gas production and the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from North Africa to Europe. [MiddleEastMonitor]
Meanwhile, on April 20 and 21, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio announced agreements with Angola and Congo to increase gas supplies by 3 billion cubic metres by 2023. [IlPost] [Rai] Rome is also negotiating other energy supply agreements with Azerbaijan, Qatar, Mozambique and Libya. [Ansa]
The Italian efforts are causing geopolitical ripples in the Mediterranean region. Rome’s agreement with Algeria has caused concern in Spain, which imports 39 percent of its gas from the North African country. Madrid has spent months negotiating new prices for Algerian gas supplies. [IlSole24Ore]
The Spanish government has recently been criticised by the Algerian authorities for its support of Morocco’s proposal that neighbouring Western Sahara should operate autonomously under Moroccan rule. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
The Spanish minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, has declared she is confident that any increase in the prices of Algerian gas will be modest, and that Algeria will comply with its commitments on energy supplies to Spain. [ElEspanol]
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Russia asks Brazil for support to counteract Western sanctions
Russia has asked Brazil to intervene at the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the G20 to counteract crippling sanctions imposed by the West since the invasion of Ukraine [Reuters][USNews].
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov wrote a letter to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes asking for Brazil’s support to prevent political accusations and discrimination in international financial institutions and multilateral forums. The letter was conveyed to Guedes by Russia’s ambassador in Brasilia on April 13 [Reuters][USNews].
Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has remained neutral over the war and has not condemned the attack despite the criticism of the US [EurActiv].
Reacting to the letter, the Brazilian Economy Ministry’s secretary of international economic affairs, Erivaldo Gomes said that his country is open to dialogue and would like Russia to keep taking part in discussions at multilateral organisations [EurActiv].
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Argentine mayor, EU officials discuss human rights, climate change
The mayor of Argentina’s capital met with members of European parliaments in Buenos Aires on April 12 to discuss bilateral relations, the defence of human rights in Latin America and climate change [BATimes][Cronista].
Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez called for the ratification and strengthening of a free-trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991. The mayor wrote on Twitter that links between Argentina and the EU are fundamental to face common challenges and achieve more just, inclusive and sustainable societies. [BATimes][Perfil]
The European delegation expressed their concern about the humanitarian effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rodriguez emphasised the need for strong condemnation by all countries, adding that Buenos Aires City provides humanitarian help to those affected by the war. [BATimes][Perfil].
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Constitutional Law and Politics in Western Europe
Belgium: Political party debates reform for law regulating euthanasia
The Belgian Christian Democratic party (CD&V) will debate whether euthanasia should be allowed for people suffering from dementia, after a proposal on the issue was annoucned by the Flemish liberals to address the law’s shortcomings.
The Flemish liberals argue that patients should be allowed to sign a directive in advance to request euthanasia in case they become mentally incapacitated. The CD&V, the most conservative party in the government coalition, has demanded the right to veto euthanasia for people suffering with dementia in ethical cases. [BrusselsTimes]
The current law allows euthanasia if a person is fully aware and able to request it, while people with dementia have less time to make the decision. Belgium was one of the first European countries to legalize euthanasia in 2002, alongside with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. [BrusselsTimes]
The De Croo government supports the extension of the right to euthanasia, but the Christian Democratic party, a conservative coalition, demanded the right of veto in ethical cases. They propose that the government appoints a scientific committee to advise on how to improve legislation.
The law on abortion and euthanasia needs unanimity to be adjusted, but the Flemish Liberals believe that the barrier can be overcome. They suggest that patients should be allowed to sign a directive beforehand to request euthanasia in case they become mentally incapacitated.
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Belgium: Federal parliament moves to modernise country’s civil code
Belgium’s Federal Parliament approved two bills to establish a new first book of the Civil Code, which would contain a series of general provisions and modernise the law of obligations that governs contractual and extra-contractual relations between people.
The texts integrate a series of provisions into the Code that previously only existed in legal doctrine or case law, such as pre-contractual liability, temporary force majeure or complicity in a breach of contract, Belga News Agency reported. Federal MP and former Justice Minister Koen Geens, who presented the two new bills, said that the bills concern how people treat each other. [BrusselsTimes]
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Belgium: Undocumented migrants occupy housing complex in Brussels
Around 70 undocumented workers occupied a social housing complex in Brussels as they advocated for a new migratory policy to address their poor treatment and lack of housing. They said that the temporary accommodation would serve as a first point of rescue for undocumented people “locked in the shrouds of structural indignity.’’
The protestors want the government to develop a regulatory framework by 2024 for thousands of undocumented workers as they seek to improve their living conditions in the country. They want municipal authorities to make their housing official so that they can live a dignified life.[BrusselsTimes]
Belgian Secretary of State for Migration Sammy Mahdi previously established a “neutral zone” for the protestors to receive information on their cases and migration status, but this has now been closed. In 2021, activists went on hunger strikes in the Beguinage church in central Brussels to protest Belgium’s migration policy. [BrusselsTimes]
According to statistics from the European Migration Network, there were 11,495 individuals illegally present in the country in 2020.
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Belgium: Environmental groups protest against Russian fuel ships in Belgian ports
Promote Ukraine, an advocacy group, and Rise for Climate, an environmental charity, held a protest in the Port of Antwerp to call for a complete oil embargo on Russia and the end of transit of Russian ships through European ports. They said that the profits made from oil sales will finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. [BrusselsTimes]
Oksana Bulda, a volunteer from Promote Ukraine, said that if there is not a full embargo on trade with Russia, Moscow will “always find loopholes.’’ Rise for Climate has attempted to block Russian fuel shipments in the Port of Antwerp.
Since the start of the war, 55 oil and gas tankers from Russia have transited through Antwerp and Zeebrugge with 3.5 million cubic metres of fossil fuels onboard.
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France: Macron wins bitter-sweet presidential election amid shifting political landscape
France’s incumbent president, 44-year-old Emmanuel Macron, secured on April 24 a second term by defeating far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with 58.5 percent of votes compared to 41.5 percent for his rival, in an election that underscored the political divide in the country.
Macron was the first president to win a second term in 20 years, following in the footsteps of Jacques Chirac who won a second mandate in the 2002 run-off against far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, in an election that shook France’s political landscape. [The Guardian]
In his victory speech at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars, Macron thanked his supporters but also acknowledged those who had voted “by default” to prevent a far-right win. “I’m not the president of one camp anymore,’’ he told a cheering crowd. “No-one will be left by the side of the road.’’ [Le Monde]
In a result that saw Macron win by a comfortable margin, France remains a deeply polarised country. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party scored the highest number of votes in the history of the French far right, prompting its leader to label its share of votes a “victory in itself.’’
The abstention rate, which was just more than 28 percent, was the highest in any second round of elections since 1969, reflecting France’s political climate of uncertainty and disenchantment. [The Guardian]
Macron’s victory was greeted with a sigh of relief by European leaders who rushed to congratulate him. A fierce EU advocate, Macron pledged for a stronger, independent Europe, in contrast to Le Pen who has often professed her hatred of Brussels and promised to radically alter the European bloc. [Politico]
For France’s newly elected president, the focus has shifted to the legislative elections in June which are also spread over two rounds. If Mr. Macron fails to secure a majority of votes in parliament, he will struggle to push forward his political agenda which includes pro-business reforms and the unpopular plan to raise the retirement age. [Reuters]
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France: Macron wins presidential bid despite ‘McKinsey Affair’
Critics of Emmanuel Macron accused the French president of cronyism after it was revealed that his administration hired international consultancy firms, including US.-based McKinsey & Co, to advise the government on its Covid-19 vaccine rollout and other policies. [Euronews]
Dubbed “The McKinsey Affair,” the controversy disrupted Macron’s presidential bid, though he ultimately won against his far-right opponent Marine Le Pen. Ahead of the election, critics said it fed into the narrative of Macron being a “president of the rich.” Le Pen said the president appears to be a head of state who has no “confidence in the state or the civil servants who work for it.”
The McKinsey Affair had become a rallying cry for Macron’s critics and had dogged him at campaign stops ahead of the first round of elections. But despite attacks from the radical left and the far-right, Macron maintained a comfortable lead in polls over his rivals. [AP News]
A former employee of Rothschild Bank, Mr. Macron downplayed the controversy, arguing that there was nothing unusual about using external advisors and that his government has fought to limit tax optimisation techniques for years. With 5.1 percent inflation and rising costs of living, the use of taxpayer’s money to pay private consultancy firms has angered many French voters. [France24] [Financial Times]
Although the use of consultancy firms by governments in other countries is common, the practice is frowned upon in France which already has a large public sector staffed with highly trained civil servants. A Senate inquiry launched in March revealed that French ministries more than doubled their spending on private consultancy firms from EUR 379 million in 2018 to EUR 894 million in 2021. [France24]
A preliminary investigation into fiscal fraud allegations made against McKinsey & Co has been opened following a damning Senate report published on March 16 that alleged the company used various tax optimisation schemes to avoid paying corporate tax in France since at least 2011. The company has denied any wrongdoing. [Financial Times]
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EU watchdog investigates France’s far-right leader Le Pen for misusing EU funds for party purposes
The EU anti-fraud agency, OLAF, is investigating France’s far right leader Marine Le Pen and other members of her party for allegedly diverting almost EUR 137,000 of EU funds during her time as a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2017. [Euronews]
Le Pen dismissed the allegation as “foul play by the European Union a few days before the second round of elections” in which she lost to President Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen has been a staunch critic of the EU and has previously called for a referendum on France’s membership of the bloc. [France24] [Euronews]
The far-right leader has been investigated in relation to the party’s misuse of EU funds. In 2018, she was placed under formal investigation for using aides on the EU payroll for her party’s political activities. The case is still ongoing. [France24] [Financial Times]
The OLAF has accused Le Pen, her firebrand father Jean-Marie and other members of the far-right party National Rally - formerly called the National Front - of misappropriating a total of over EUR 617,000 since 2010. They are not accused of personally profiting but of misusing funds for party purposes and for the benefit of companies with close ties to the party. [The Guardian] [Euronews]
OLAF alleged that the reputation of the European Union’s institutions had been “imperilled” by the “inappropriate behaviour” of members of National Rally. Paris prosecutors have said that they are still in the process of analysing the claims. [France24] [Financial Times]
France’s investigative website Mediapart published the section of OLAF’s new 116-report.
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France: Military spy chief loses job over Russian intelligence failure
France’s military spy chief Eric Vidaud was removed on March 31 from his position after the country failed to predict Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a decision that sparked controversy in the French intelligence community.
General Vidaud, who was appointed head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) last summer, was accused of providing “inadequate briefings” while lacking expertise on “key issues” about war, Le Monde reported, citing a military source. Experts claimed that he was used as a scapegoat and that his removal had more to do with structural changes within the organisation than his failure to predict the invasion. [LeMonde]
Vidaud’s supporters quickly defended him, arguing that his role was to assess military capabilities, not military intentions by foreign governments. Former DRM chief Christophe Gomart blamed the Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), France’s main foreign intelligence agency, for missing Putin’s objective of seizing large parts of Ukraine with military force. [Politico]
The chief of staff of the French army, Thierry Burkhard, told Le Monde that there had been huge disparities between the French and US intelligence communities over Putin’s intentions. The United States said the Russians were going to attack, “and they were right,” he said.
French intelligence services believed that the invasion of Ukraine would be too costly for Russia and that it would resort to other measures to topple its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, he went on to say. [Euronews]
General Jacques Langlade de Montegros was appointed as the new head of the DRM on April 13.
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France: Zemmour’s far-right party under criminal investigation over Jewish community texts
Two Jewish associations in France made an official complaint against former far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour for the illicit use of data to target members of France’s Jewish community on the last day of the campaign. [Le Monde]
Lawyers representing the associations, The Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) and the anti-Semitism and human rights watchdog J’Accuse, have said that the purchase of a database that specifically designated those people as “Jewish” broke the law on data use. Such practice is akin to political canvassing based on religion and can result in prison time of up to five years and a fine of EUR 20 million.[BMFTV]
The text message, addressed explicitly to “French people of the Jewish faith” read: “Will we be able to live in peace for much longer in France? Your children are counting on you.” A link to Zemmour’s campaign page shared content discussing the problems of anti-Semitism in France. Zemmour, a firebrand who has been convicted for racist hate speech and is also of Jewish heritage, describes himself as the only leader to “denounce the expansion of Islam which is destroying our country.” [Le Monde]
France’s data privacy watchdog, the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL), has contacted Zemmour’s team over the text messages. BFMTV
A criminal investigation will determine the legality of the text messages. Zemmour’s campaign denied any wrongdoing and argued that the data they purchased from a marketing firm had been mined from publicly available data.[The Times of Israel][Rfi]
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France: Supporters of murdered Corsican nationalist Colonna clash with police
Thousands of Yvan Colonna's supporters clashed with police on April 3 in Corsica, threatening to delay talks between the island’s political leaders and the French government about greater autonomy.
Colonna was a Corsican Nationalist who killed the prefect of Corsica in 1998 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2012. A Muslim extremist assassinated him in Arles jail on March 2 for allegedly criticising the prophet.
Colonna’s family is suing the French state, who they accuse of being responsible for his death. The family argues that the government did not provide Colonna with enough protection. [Le Monde]
His murder sparked protests in Corsica in March with more then 7,000 people, including nationalists and pro-autonomy demonstrators. More than 100 young people clashed with police in the Corsican city of Ajaccio. [Franceinfo] [France24]
Local authorities lowered flags in tribute to Colonna, a move that was condemned by French President Emmanuel Macron as “an error and inappropriate.’’ French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has proposed talks to potentially grant the island more autonomy, although no date has been set for these talks. [France24]
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France: Climate change activists block central Paris square
Climate activists forced on April 16 the closure of a central Paris square in protest of the presidential candidates' environmental policies. Protesters in Paris's 9th district chanted slogan such as "their inaction leads to our rebellion" and laid on the ground to demonstrate against the candidates.
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the far-right challenger, had put forth very different proposals for the renewable energy sector, despite the fact that the cost of living is the most important election issue. [Reuters]
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Germany: Government to give over EUR 100 billion aid to firms hurt by war
The German government agreed on a financial aid package, including loan guarantees worth over EUR 100 billion, for firms hurt by the Ukraine war. [AP] [Bloomberg]
The loan package, made available through the KfW state development bank, will offer EUR 100 billion with guarantees to energy firms or other companies dealing with oil and gas that are hit by rising energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia. [FAZ] [Reuters]
Additional low-interest and liability-free loans of EUR 7 billion will be available for companies of all sizes to help with liquidity issues, as some companies or sectors might not “survive this period” without help, said Robert Habeck, minister for economic affairs and climate action. [Bloomberg] [FAZ]
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Germany: Government to invest in civil protection
Germany plans to invest in its civil protection to be better prepared for any eventual crisis following the Russian war in Ukraine, according to interior minister Nancy Faeser. [Zeit] [Reuters]
The plans include a stop to dismantling existing shelters and upgrading the shelter system. There are currently 599 public shelters in Germany and the government is assessing if more facilities can be turned into shelters, Faeser said. [ZDF] [Reuters]
Additionally, a crisis stock of medical equipment will be built and a budget of EUR 88 million for installation of new sirens has been made available for the federal states. [Zeit]
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Germany: Opposition party files constitutional complaint to halt allocation of EUR 60b to climate fund
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a major German opposition party, filed a constitutional complaint with Germany’s federal constitutional court to halt the allocation of EUR 60 billion of unused Covid-19 credit to the country’s climate fund. [Tagesschau] [Spiegel]
The allocation of funds from pandemic relief to the climate fund would be a workaround to Germany’s debt brake and therefore unconstitutional, CDU party chief Friedrich Merz said. [Süddeutsche]
The complaint with the federal constitutional court is solely against the budgetary measure and not against “sufficient funds for climate protection”, Merz said. Funds for climate protection should be mobilised from the regular budget. [Süddeutsche] [Spiegel]
The German Bundestag voted in favour of relocating the funds on 27 January, after auditors had questioned the constitutionality of the plan in a prior hearing on 10 January. The CDU had announced their decision to file a constitutional complaint immediately after the vote in January. [EiR Monthly February 2022]
The CDU hopes to get a decision from the federal constitutional court within the year. [Süddeutsche]
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Germany: Ministry releases nearly EUR 3 billion for floating LNG terminals
The German finance ministry released nearly EUR 3 billion on 15 April to rent four floating LNG terminals in the coming decade as the country tries to accelerate efforts to reduce its dependency on Russian gas imports after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. [DW] [Tagesschau]
The finance ministry has already released the funds without waiting for the consent of the German parliament. The decision was “highly urgent’’ and “mandatory,’’ the ministry said in a letter to the president of the Bundestag, Baerbel Bas. [DW] [Spiegel]
The first floating terminals could start delivering gas as early as the coming winter, depending on how quickly the necessary land-based infrastructure can be prepared, the government said. It is currently assessing locations for the terminals. [Tagesschau] [DW]
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, depends on Russia for over half of its gas usage. By the end of the first quarter of 2022 Russian gas imports were reduced to 40 percent, according to the economy ministry. The German government wants to be able to do without Russian energy imports by mid-2024. [EURACTIV] [DW]
Environmental organisations have criticised the investment.
Constantin Zerger, member of the environmental group “Deutsche Umwelthilfe”, said the government had not proven that the floating terminals were necessary and that they were a “fossil trap”. It is not clear how this investment is consistent with the government’s climate goals, he continued. [Tagesschau]
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Germany: Federal prosecutor conducts nationwide raids against neo-Nazi groups
German federal prosecutors arrested four neo-Nazi suspects during sweeping raids across the country in an operation that a senior domestic intelligence official called “an important blow’’ against right-wing extremists.
The four individuals detained on April 6 were suspected members of Knockout 51, a far-right extremist group declared a criminal organisation by the attorney general in the wake of the investigation. The group is suspected to have set up a militant organisation in their neighbourhood in Eisenach, trying to establish a “Nazi-hood”. [DW]
The operations also focused on the suspected terror organisation Atomwaffen Division and Combat 18, which were declared illegal in 2020 because of their openly right-wing extremist and xenophobic positions and their actions against the free and democratic order, according to the authorities. [Süddeutsche]
The police conducted 61 raids, including 50 at the suspects’ homes in eleven federal states. Other alleged members of the other groups were not arrested and analysis of all collected evidence will be important, authorities said. [Tagesschau]
The president of German domestic intelligence services, Thomas Haldenwang, called the raids an “important blow” against violent right-wing extremists and said that measures against them were working. [Süddeutsche] [FAZ]
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Germany: Federal regulator takes over Gazprom Germania to ensure energy security
Germany’s energy regulator took control of Gazprom Germania, a unit of the Russian gas producer Gazprom, and may nationalise the entity to protect the country’s energy supplies and infrastructure from Moscow. [EnergyLiveNews]
The Federal Network Agency (FNA) will control Gazprom Germania until September 30 and will hold all voting rights in the company and be able to remove executives, hire new staff and ask management how to proceed.
The head of FNA, Klaus Müller, said the goal will be to run Gazprom Germania in the interests of Germany and Europe. [Bloomberg] [Reuters] [ZDF]
Gazprom terminated its participation in its subsidiary on April 1 without seeking German government approval, which is a violation of the German foreign trade law, and without disclosing the company’s new ownership, the Economy Ministry said. FNA seized the Gazprom unit after this. [Reuters] [Spiegel][Bloomberg] [Süddeutsche] [ZDF]
Minister of economic affairs and climate action, Robert Habeck, said it was “mandatory” to place Gazprom Germania under the trusteeship of the FNA to protect the country’s infrastructure from being “subject to arbitrary decisions’’ by the Kremlin. [Reuters] [Spiegel] [ZDF]
Germany may also nationalise the unit of Russia’s Rosneft operating in the country. [EnergyLiveNews]
Russian President Vladmirr Putin said on April 5 that he would retaliate against Germany for taking over the Gazprom unit, warning that nationalising Russian companies was “a double-edged sword.’’ He mentioned blocking food exports as a potential counter action. [EURACTIV]
Gazprom Germania operates Germany’s biggest gas storage facility and trades and transports gas around the country
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Germany: Minister declares ‘early warning’ on gas supply
Germany initiated the first of three phases of an emergency energy plan in response to Russia’s demand that Europe’s largest economy should pay for natural gas in roubles in response to Western sanctions over Moscow’s war against Ukraine. [Bloomberg] [DW] [Tagesschau]
Robert Habeck, German Economy and Climate Minister declared the early warning level of the national emergency plan for gas supplies on March 30. The early warning level is the first of three stages in the emergency plan that would help with the deterioration of gas supplies.
Although there were no supply problems at the end of last month, Habeck said Germany must take precautionary measures in case Russia takes escalatory measures. Germany relies on Russia for over half of its natural gas demand. [Zeit] [DW] [Bloomberg]
A task force has been set up to meet daily to evaluate the country’s energy supplies. The early warning phase is followed by the alarm and emergency stages. Habeck said the situation would have to worsen significantly before Germany reaches those stages. [Tagesschau] [EURACTIV] [Politico Europe]
Habeck also urged businesses and consumers to try and reduce their gas consumption as much as possible, saying that every saved kilowatt hour can help. The head of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Muller, also asked industry and consumers via Twitter to “play their part’’ and stressed the need to “prepare for all scenarios.’’ [DW] [Bloomberg]
German industries reacted positively to the enactment of the early warning stage. Kerstin Andreae, head of the umbrella association for the energy and water industry, BDEW, said that all parties involved need to have a clear road map of their rights and duties in the case of a supply stop of Russian gas. [Zeit] [DW]
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Germany: Government council cuts economic growth forecast by more than half as inflation soars
The German government's council of independent economic advisers lowered its economic growth forecast by more than half as the economic fallout following the Russian war in Ukraine batters the country’s economy.
Europe’s largest economy is now expected to grow by 1.8 percent in 2022 compared to a previous forecast of 4.6 percent, according to the German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE). It expects inflation to rise to 6.1 percent this year, the highest pace since reunification in 1990, before declining to 3.4 percent in 2023.[Politico Europe] [GCEE] [DW]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has derailed the country’s post-Covid-19 economic recovery as the prices of commodities, like natural gas, fertilisers, minerals and foods, touch record highs. The war has exacerbated the disruption of supply chains, which were already tight due to lockdowns from the coronavirus pandemic, GCEE member Achim Truger said. [GCEE]
Additional Western sanctions on Russia could put significant strain on the German and European economies if they include energy supplies, the GCEE said. A suspension of these supplies could push the German economy into a recession, GCEE member Monika Schnitzer said. [GCEE] [Politico Europe]
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Germany: Police investigate displays of support for Russian invasion of Ukraine
The German police opened investigations into more than 140 cases of public displays of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a survey of the federal interior and justice ministries published by news network RND on April 18. [ZDF] [DW]
Many of the investigations focus on the use of the “Z” symbol, which the Russian military has painted on its vehicles, at protests. Displaying the “Z” in the context of the Russian war will be regarded as a display of support or endorsement of the unlawful invasion and is punishable under German criminal law, authorities say. [Spiegel] [DW] [FAZ]
Organisers of pro-Russian protests have said they were not endorsing the war but protesting against discrimination of Russian speakers in Germany. [DW]
Criminalising the use of the “Z” symbol in context of the Russian war is not an infringement of the freedom of speech, Bavarian Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich said. “Freedom of speech ends where a criminal offence begins”, he said, adding that the condoning of crimes against international law will not be accepted. [DW] [FAZ]
Germany, European Union, protests, freedom of expression/media.
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Germany: Hundreds of pro-Russians protests against discrimination
Hundreds of people gathered for pro-Russian protests against discrimination in Frankfurt and Hannover on April 10 while thousands joined for pro-Ukrainian counter demonstrations. [ZDF] [Reuters]
People had the right to assemble but propaganda or endorsement of the Russian war in Ukraine would not be tolerated, authorities said ahead of the demonstrations. In Frankfurt, the police reprimanded some protestors for chanting Russian war propaganda. [Reuters]
The organisers said the goal was not to endorse the war but to protest against discrimination of Russian speakers in Germany, which had increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Authorities registered 383 anti-Russian and 181 anti-Ukrainian crimes since the beginning of the invasion in February. [Euronews] [DW]
Around 1.2 million people of Russian descent and 325,000 people of Ukrainian descent live in Germany. [DW]
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Germany: Top court declares Bavarian surveillance law partially violates basic law
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled that several regulations of the Bavarian Constitution Protection Act violate the country’s basic law. The law partially violates the general right of personality, the privacy of telecommunications and the inviolability of the home, the court said. [Xinhua]
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said he would discuss the ruling with his counterpart in the federal and state governments. After the talks, he would submit proposals to change the act. [Xinhua]
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Ireland: PM popularity increases after rejecting nurses’ demands to reintroduce mask mandate
Ireland’s prime minister has seen an increased satisfaction rating despite refusing new demands by health organisations to reintroduce a mask mandate to ease pressure at overcrowded hospitals, a decision that is having little impact on the government’s popularity.
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin’s satisfaction rating jumped in a mid-April opinion poll by eight points to 51 percent, putting him above other party leaders. The opinion poll showed stable government satisfaction at 43 percent. [The Irish Times]
Martin rejected the demand on March 28 by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine. He said he did not consider such measures effective against the transmission of the BA 2 Covid variant, which seems to be less damaging to health than earlier variants. [RTÉ] [BBC] [The Irish Times] [BBC]
The two larger coalition parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, have gained ground against the main opposition party, Sinn Fein. [The Irish Times]
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Irish PM: Putin intentionally creating refugee and food crisis
Ireland’s Prime Minister accused Russia of deliberately creating a refugee and food crisis in Ukraine in order to put pressure on Europe.
Prime Minister Micheal Martin met his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal on April 20 to talk about the war in Ukraine at Shannon Airport in Ireland. After the meeting, Martin said that Russia was trying “to bomb people out of Ukraine, to create so much terror that people will flee.” [Irish government]
He also accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of deliberately “causing huge international instability around energy and around food,” for example by targeting Ukrainian grain silos. [Politico]
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Ireland: Foreign Minister says Dublin supports complete ban on Russian energy supplies
Ireland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that Dublin would support a complete ban on Russian coal, oil and gas, while acknowledging that this step would be complicated for some other EU partners.
Ireland favours a “maximalist approach’’ to sanctions on Russia and Dublin supports a ban on Russian oil in the EU commission’s sanctions package. [RTE] [RTE] [The Irish Times]
President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Ireland to engage its European partners to put more severe sanctions against Russia during his speech on April 6 at a joint sitting of the country’s parliament. He was greeted by ovations by almost all parliamentarians gathered in the Dail chamber, though members of the People Before Profit party refused to applaud. [DailyMail]
Zelensky dialled back comments made in March that Ireland had “almost’’ stood with his country in the wake of Russia's invasion. Following Zelenksy’s speech, Prime Minister Micheál Martin assured Ukraine political and moral support while adhering to his country’s military neutrality. [BBC] [RTE]
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Ireland: Rising cost of living puts pressure on government
Irish voters and interest groups want the government to take further action against rising costs of living. A poll conducted by the Irish Times in mid-April showed that a majority of Irish voters are affected by rising costs of living and seek more action from the government. [The Irish Times]
In response to the current inflation, the advocacy group Social Justice Ireland demanded an increase of EUR 27 per week in social welfare services and pensions. It criticises the government’s actions as not sufficient. [The Irish Times]
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Ireland: Government introduces new investigation techniques
Ireland introduced new investigation techniques that allow the police to retain mobile phone data after previous practices had been ruled unlawful by the EU.
The Irish police are now allowed to perform so-called “quick freeze” techniques to indiscriminately capture data for use as evidence. This means it may ask mobile phone operators to freeze the data of a public event or between different phone masts and search them. [The Irish Times]
A similar technique was practised before but was ruled to be incompatible with EU law. On April 5, the European Court of Justice decided that the methods that led to the conviction of Graham Dwyer were unlawful. Dwyer murdered a woman in 2012 and was convicted using retained mobile phone data. He then appealed to the European Court of Justice to have his conviction overturned. [The Irish Times] [The Irish Times] [RTE]
Before the court’s decision, mobile phone operators used to retain data for two years and the Irish police were able to access them. EU law does not allow a general and indiscriminate detention of mobile phone data, not even in serious cases. [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
The court specifically pointed out that targeted retention of data, as in the case of quick freeze techniques, would not be illegal. [The Irish Times] [RTÉ]
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Netherlands: Dutch government will pay Shell, Exxon USD 8.28b for filling Norg gas storage.
The Dutch government will compensate a joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobile about USD 8.3 billion for filling the Norg gas facility during the past three years. [Reuters]
The Ministry of Economic Affairs declared that the exact amount will be determined by September 30. During the past three years, the joint venture had purchased 8.8 billion cubic metres of gas on the open market. [Reuters]
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United Kingdom: Government raises minimum wage as inflation climbs to 30-year high
The British government raised the country’s minimum wage as inflation accelerated in the country to their highest level in three decades, which has weighed on household spending.
The British National Minimum and Living Wage was increased on April 1 by around GBP 1,000 per year for full time workers, marking the largest increase since the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016. The decision will affect approximately 2.5 million workers older than 23 years of age. [Gov.UK]
British consumer price inflation leapt to its highest level in three decades in March. The increase intensified pressure on embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Finance Minister Rishi Sunak to ease the cost-of-living squeeze. The government is acting “wherever we can to mitigate rising costs,’’ Business Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng said. [Gov.UK] [Business Standard]
The government took other steps to ease the burden on families and workers due to rising prices. The measures include a GBP 150 rebate in Council Tax for around 80 percent of the households and a GBP 200 reduction in energy bills for all households. [Gov.UK]
Critics argued that the measures were unlikely to have a noticeable impact since the cost of living was accelerating faster than increases in wages. [Times][iNews]
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United Kingdom: Government has made no decision on Chinese takeover of UK’s largest microchip maker
The British government has made no decision on whether the Chinese-owned Dutch firm Nexperia can takeover the UK's largest microchip maker, Newport Wafer Fab, despite reports that the deal had been approved by the government. [BBC][Politico]
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised National Security Advisor Stephen Lovegrove in July to investigate whether the deal would pose a risk to the UK’s national security and require the government to intervene. Lovegrove could not find sufficient reason to justify a reversal of the deal. [Times][Telegraph]
British Business Secretary of State Kwasi Kwarteng was asked to investigate the deal by cabinet officials and members of parliament. Kwarteng could do so under the National Security and Investment Act, which came into force in January. Under the act, he also has the power to intervene and block the deal. [Telegraph]
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United Kingdom: Britain wants to become ‘Saudi Arabia of wind’ as part of new energy security strategy
The United Kingdom published on April 7 its new energy security strategy as the government aims for a flow of energy that is affordable, clean, secure and produced domestically. [Gov.UK]
The plan’s long-term ambition is to address the country’s “underlying vulnerability’’ to international oil and gas prices by reducing its dependence on imports, a concern that increased significantly in London after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove commodity prices to record highs. The government plans to source more energy from the North Sea, which is the cleanest and most secure way to supply gas to heat homes in the UK. [Gov.UK]
To reduce the country’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, it must fully utilise the North Sea reserve, use the empty caverns for CO2 storage, bring hydrogen to use as an alternative to natural gas and use offshore expertise to support its offshore wind sector. [Gov.UK]
Accelerating the country’s transition away from oil and gas depends critically on how quickly it can roll out new renewables, though the goal of net zero emissions should be a “smooth transition, not an immediate extinction, for oil and gas.’’ Around half of British demand for gas is met through domestic supplies.
The government also wants to supply 25 percent of the UK’s electricity demand with nuclear power, or about 24GW by 2050. To do this, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to build a new generation of mini nuclear reactors. The so-called small modular reactors (SMRs) are faster and cheaper to build. According to experts, at least six large reactors and 20 SMRs are required to meet the UK’s energy needs and the net zero target. [Times][Times]
Besides nuclear power, the new energy security strategy focuses on wind as an energy source. “We will be the Saudi Arabia of wind power, with the ambition that by 2030 over half our renewable generation capacity will be wind,’’ the government said.
Johnson held a meeting with industry leaders from the wind sector on March 31, following a similar meeting with the nuclear sector earlier that month. Attendees discussed matters related to both on- and offshore wind. [Gov.UK]Europe Monthly April 2022]
The new energy security strategy empowers local communities in England to determine onshore wind energy policies, an option that hopefully resolves the dispute among ministers and the split in parliament over onshore wind farms. The UK has over 14GW of onshore wind, with a strong pipeline of future projects in Scotland. [Gov.UK][Guardian]
British ministers also launched a new study to examine safety concerns about fracking. A moratorium was placed on the process in 2019 with the Conservative Party promising to not support the technique until safety concerns are eradicated. [Guardian]
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United Kingdom: Government cancels ‘Safe To Be Me’ event after organisations protest LGBT+ legislation
More than a hundred organisations have cancelled their participation in the “Safe To Be Me” event, a government-led LGBT+ conference planned to be held in June, after the British government proposed legislation to ban conversion therapy, a process that changes a person’s sexual or gender identity, for non-transgender people.
The decision to ban conversion therapy for gay or bisexual people in England and Wales, though not for transgender people, prompted charities to pull out of the event. LGBT+ organisations and charities had signed an open letter written by campaign group Stonewall, saying they would not lend their support for the event unless Prime Minister Boris Johnson included transgender people in the ban. [BBC][Reuters]
The three-day event in June was cancelled after the negative backlash.
Proponents of the legislation have pointed to the complexity of the issue and possible unintended consequences as reasons to exclude gender identity therapy from the ban. Including this type of conversion therapy could limit the options for parents and doctors to support children struggling with their gender identity since any action could be interpreted as an attempt to change the child’s identity.
Instead, ministers expressed their desire to explore non-legislative options to stop conversion therapy addressing gender identity issues. [BBC][Guardian]
PM Johnson has been criticized for breaking his promise to outlaw all types of conversion therapy. Around 50 Conservative MPs are expected to vote for putting gender conversion therapy back in the legislation.
The government’s first LGBT+ business champion, Iain Anderson, quit in response to the legislative proposal, stating that “trust and belief in the Government’s overall commitment to LGBT+ rights has been damaged.” [Guardian][Twitter]
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United Kingdom: PM Johnson faces formal investigation for misleading the parliament
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a formal investigation by the parliament over claims of misleading the House of Commons about his participation in parties at his residence 10 Downing Street during the lockdown.
The parliament’s decision to approve the investigation comes after the police fined at least 50 officials for breaking lockdown rules, including Johnson and other members of the cabinet. [BBC]
Despite being brought up by the opposing Labour party, the motion passed the vote due to support among Conservative MPs. The prime minister offered an apology two days prior to the vote, stating that he was not aware of breaking any rules but acknowledged it was a mistake to attend the gatherings. [Times]
The formal investigation by the parliament’s responsible Privileges Committee will start once the police and the government’s internal investigator Sue Gray conclude their respective inquiries. Although the Committee cannot force PM Johnson to step down, misleading the parliament is a resigning matter according to the ministerial code. [BBC][Guardian]
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Constitutional Law and Politics in Northern Europe
Denmark aims to end reliance on Russian gas
Denmark has announced plans to end its reliance on Russian natural gas by 2030 as part of a broad green energy package that aims to usher in new climate-friendly alternatives. [dr.dk]
Included in the initiative are plans to temporarily increase North Sea gas extraction to fulfil Danish demand in the short term, despite previous government commitments to eliminate North Sea gas and oil production by 2050. The government still expects the 2050 goal to be reached.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters: “Until the production of green gas is sufficient to cover the need for gas, it is our clear conviction that it is better to get gas from the North Sea than to buy it from Putin.”
Frederiksen said that biogas alternatives would be developed as part of the new initiative, emphasising the importance of green energy. “When we become greener, we weaken Putin. And when we become greener, we slow down the climate change that is destroying our planet,” she added. [Euractiv]
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Finland invests millions to cut dependence on Russian energy
Finland is investing up to EUR 850 million to cut its dependence on Russian energy supplies. [nrk] Oil imports make up 22 percent of Finland's total energy consumption, coal imports 7 percent and gas imports 5 percent. The Finnish government is aiming to reduce these numbers further. [Reuters]
A total of 14 percent of Finland’s energy demand is expected to be met with the connection of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor to the power grid. [Europe Monthly April 2022] With the reactor, the authorities want to reduce Finland’s energy dependence on Russia as well as on Sweden and Norway, while simultaneously lowering power prices and achieving carbon neutrality goals.
Partnering with Estonia, Finland plans to rent a floating LNG terminal to further boost independence from Russian piped gas. [valtioneuvosto]
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Finland: Olympic Committee probes harassment claims
The Finnish Olympic Committee is investigating several cases of alleged harassment of officials and athletes. Mika Lehtimaki, the head of the Finnish Olympic Committee Top Sports Unit, resigned on March 28 after receiving a warning over inappropriate behaviour to female colleagues. [Helsingin Sanomat] [yle]
Separately, Anni Vuohijoen, a former member of the Olympic Committee and a weightlifter, allegedly displayed unprofessional behaviour towards a member of the national male hockey team. [Helsingin Sanomat]. Meanwhile, another member of the Olympic Committee has been accused of verbally harassing a female expert at a preparation camp for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. [Aamulehti]
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Norway: Activists try to stop Russian oil tanker docking
Environmental activists on April 25 attempted to prevent a Russian oil tanker from docking in Norway, using rubber boats to get to the ship, then chaining themselves to the anchor. Twenty people were arrested by police. [nrk]
The tanker Ust Luga had sailed from Russia with a supply of Russian jet fuel worth EUR 110 million. Activists from the Greenpeace organisation protested against the delivery in the southern Norwegian port of Slagentangen, 85 kilometres from Oslo.[nrk] [CNN]
The tanker successfully delivered its fuel. A spokesperson of Exxon, the company operating the port, said that the shipment was fulfilling a contract struck between Russia and Norway before Ukraine was invaded. [CNN]
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Norway apologises to LGBTQIA+ people, 50 years after ban scrapped
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has apologised on behalf of his country for its criminalisation and prosecution of the LGBTQIA+ community in the past.
He was speaking on April 14 as Norway marked 50 years since it scrapped a ban that had prohibited homosexuality. Five years later, in 1977, homosexuality was removed as a psychiatric diagnosis. [nrk]
Rights activists welcomed Store’s apology but said that there was still work to be done, and called for a ban on so-called conversion therapy, a practice of trying to change the sexual orientation of a homosexual individual. [The Local] [Aftenposten]
According to a report published in 2020, homosexuality was prohibited in 69 countries across the world. [The Local]
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Norway: Many climate goals unlikely to be reached, says OECD
Norway is ahead of the game in a range of areas when it comes to protecting the environment, but many green goals that have been set by the government are not likely to be reached, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a review published on April 22.
By 2030 Norway wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 55 percent compared to levels in 1990. But by last year such emissions had been cut only by 20 percent, the OECD said. [nrk] Norway is one of the largest energy exporters in the world and so contributes indirectly to the emission of greenhouse gases in other countries. [OECD]
The report also says Norway’s number of endangered species is increasing due to factors including the use of land for roads and buildings. The report added that there are not enough incentives for farmers to develop climate-smart agriculture to limit environmental pollution.
The population of Norway has one of the highest material consumption rates as well as a high material footprint per capita.
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Sweden: Riots erupt after planned Quran burning
Riots erupted in a string of Swedish cities after anti-Muslim politician Rasmus Paludan, the leader of the far right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), called for the Quran to be burned at demonstrations during the Easter weekend. Officials in a number of Muslim countries spoke out against what they said was intolerance against Islam.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson condemned the violence, which saw counter-protesters attacking police ahead of the rallies planned by right-wingers.
Rioting broke out in cities including Norrkoping, Orebro, Malmo, Stockholm and Landskrona. In Norrkoping, three people were reportedly hurt by ricochets as police fired warning shots. The injured were treated in hospital. More than 40 people were arrested, while 26 police officers and 14 members of the public were injured. A number of vehicles were damaged or destroyed. [Aljazeera,BBC News, CTV News, Reuters]
Clashes were reported in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby after Paludan set fire to a copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, on Friday, April 15. [Aljazeera]
National police chief Anders Thornberg told a press conference following the Easter weekend riots that police officers had been targeted. Asking for more resources for the police, Thornberg said: “There are too few of us. We have grown, but we have not grown at the same pace as the problems at the heart of society.” [The Local]
Paludan, a lawyer who often posts on YouTube, has a criminal conviction in Denmark in 2019 for inciting racial hatred. He has gained popularity in that country through his anti-Muslim demonstrations held primarily in areas with sizeable ethnic minority communities. A core feature of his demonstrations was the desecration and burning of the Quran.
Paludan has both Swedish and Danish nationality and aims to stand in Swedish parliamentary elections in September, but needs to reach a threshold of four percent of votes to enter parliament. [The Local]
Officials in a number of Muslim countries condemned the move that triggered the protests. Iraq’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Swedish charge d’affaires in Baghdad. It warned of “serious repercussions” for relations between Sweden and Muslims. The United Arab Emirates’ adviser to the president spoke out against “hatred” and “intolerance” against Islam. [The Local] [The Guardian] [Aljazeera]
In Norway, meanwhile, the anti-Islamic organisation “Stop the Islamization of Norway” on April 22 held a demonstration in Sandefjord, some 90 kilometres south of Oslo, during which the Quran was burned. After 300 to 400 counter-protestors showed up, the police intervened and ended the demonstration. There were no reports of participants or police officers being injured. [nrk] [The Local]
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Sweden: Liberal Party leader resigns over controversial comment
The leader of the Swedish opposition Liberal Party resigned on April 8 after criticism of comments in a YouTube video in which she appeared to say she would escape to Norway if Sweden was attacked in a war.
The video showed Nyamko Sabuni discussing the security situation amid the conflict in Ukraine with the leader of the opposition Moderate Party, UIf Kristersson. In the video, which has since been taken off YouTube, Sabuni talked about the advantages of living in the countryside and said: “If it gets any worse, then we’ll drive over to Norway.” [The Local]
In an interview with Dagens Nyheter newspaper, Sabuni said her comments were part of a light-hearted conversation. [Dagens Nyheter] [The Local] Sabuni took over as the leader of the Liberal Party in June 2019 and pulled it back into the right-wing opposition after breaking off a deal under which her grouping offered backing to a Social Democrat prime minister.
Poll figures from early April cited by Politico showed the Liberal Party was backed by around two percent of voters. In Sweden, four percent is the threshold needed to enter parliament. Sabuni has been succeeded by deputy party leader Johan Pehrson. [The Local] [Politico] [Liberalerna]
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Sweden: UN rapporteur criticises permission for mine on Sami land
A UN special rapporteur has criticised Sweden’s decision to grant permission for an iron-ore mine on indigenous Sami land. [Dagens Nyheter] Opponents of the facility in the northern Kallak region have warned that it will harm the environment, violate human rights and endanger the traditional reindeer herding practices of the Sami people. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
In an interview with the Dagens Nyheter newspaper on April 23, Francisco Cali Tzay, a UN special rapporteur on indigenous rights, called the March decision to give the mine the go-ahead a “disappointment.” The newspaper said the Swedish government did not take into account the country’s international commitments to the UN and the Council of Europe. [Dagens Nyheter]
British mining company Beowulf had been seeking a licence for the mining project for years. The indigenous Sami people, who have been living in the region for centuries, have long opposed the mining plans.
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Constitutional Law and Politics in Central Europe
Croatia: PM announces boycott of president
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his Cabinet have announced they will boycott President Zoran Milanovic after the latter accused the governing HDZ Christian Democratic party of being connected with the former Yugoslav secret services.
Plenkovic, the head of the HDZ, announced that government ministers will not travel or organise meetings with the president any more. Plenkovic also accused Milanovic of having “pro-Russian views.” [Euractiv]
Milanovic was prime minister from 2011 to 2016 and the head of the SDP Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2016.
The row comes after a controversy over a request by generals for a presidential pardon for two former intelligence officers who had worked for communist-era Yugoslavia. [Hina] The HDZ said that the initiative for the pardon was started by Milanovic. He rejected the claim. [Hina]
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Czech Republic: President criticised for pardoning ex-official
Czech President Milos Zeman has been criticised for pardoning a former official in what critics say was an abuse of his powers and of the country’s judicial system. Amid anger at Zeman’s move, a number of government ministers have called for the budget of the president’s office to be cut. [Radio Prague International]
A spokesperson for the president defended Zeman’s decision, claiming that the former official, Milos Balak, was convicted for political reasons. [Radio Prague International] [Spiegel]
Balak was the head of the Forestry Administration of the presidential Lany castle. He was sentenced to three years in prison for irregularities concerning a public tender for slope drainage worth around EUR 8 million. [Spiegel]. Balak faces another charge over the mining of stone at the Lany site, local media reported. [Radio Prague International]
The president of the Czech Republic has the right to issue pardons under article 62 of the country’s constitution, but this is not often used. [Spiegel] Before he was elected in 2013, Zeman said that he would exercise this power only rarely. He also promised that he would leave requests for clemency for the ministry of justice to deal with. Meanwhile, the ministry of justice was not involved in pardoning Balak. [Radio Prague International]
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Hungary: Right-wing PM Orban wins fourth consecutive term in power
Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party won their fourth consecutive victory in parliamentary elections on April 3, beating an alliance of opposition parties hoping to oust a leader whose brand of “illiberal democracy” and close ties with Russia trouble many in the West.
Fidesz stormed to victory with its largest ever share of the vote and another two-thirds majority in parliament, while the opposition candidate for prime minister, Peter Marki-Zay, failed to win even in his local constituency. [Telex] [Magyar Nemzet] [Hungary Today]
Some analysts fear that with his victory Orban, who has repeatedly clashed with the European Union amid accusations that he has undermined the rule of law and media freedom, will be emboldened in undermining core EU values while at the same time weakening NATO. [The Telegraph]
One EU official was cited by Reuters as saying: “Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, it’s a tragedy. Looks like the end of whatever dreams one might have had of democracy in Hungary.”
Hungary, which is a member of both the Western military alliance and the European Union, has refused to allow weapons to be supplied through its territory to Ukraine, and has spoken out against stepped-up EU sanctions on Russia.
Critics have said that Orban had a significant advantage in the Hungarian election because of government domination of the media.
The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE), which supervised the vote, said the ballot was “well-run and offered distinct alternatives” but undermined by the absence of a level playing field.
“The process was marred by the pervasive overlapping of government and ruling coalition messaging that blurred the line between state and party, as well as by media bias and opaque campaign funding,” the OSCE said.
Meanwhile, Fidesz touted its win as a victory for Christian democracy, conservative civic thinking and patriotic politics over “the left at home, the international left all around, the Brussels bureaucrats” and the “international mainstream media, and in the end, even the Ukrainian president.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the election accused Orban of being the “virtually the only one in Europe to openly support Mr Putin” over the war in Ukraine. [Euronews].
The European Union on April 27 for the first time triggered a rule-of-law mechanism that could allow it to withhold funds from Hungary [see story earlier in this issue of the Europe Monthly]. [Euronews] [Politico] [Guardian] [Telex]
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Hungary accused by Ukrainian official of helping Putin
A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman has accused Hungary of helping Russia to “commit new atrocities against Ukrainians” by being reluctant to recognise Moscow’s “undeniable responsibility for the Russian army's atrocities” in Ukrainian cities. [МЗС] [Euronews] [Mandiner]
The accusation, made in a statement on April 7, came after Hungary indicated it was willing to pay for Russian energy supplies in roubles. Moscow’s demand for payments in the Russian currency is strongly opposed by much of Europe. [HVG] [Bloomberg] [Hungary Today]
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party, which won a fourth consecutive term in power - and its fifth in total - in April 3 parliamentary elections, opposes the extension of EU sanctions against Russia to the energy industry, as this would threaten one of its most popular policies: keeping residential energy prices down. “We will not allow the costs of war to be paid for by Hungarian families,” Orban said on March 8. [Magyarország Kormánya] [Magyar Nemzet] [Telex]
Orban has long been criticised for his friendliness to Russia, on which Hungary is largely dependent for cheap energy.
Meanwhile, relations between Hungary and Ukraine were tense even before the war, largely because of the 130,000 Hungarians living near the Hungarian border in Ukraine.
According to Budapest, in the last couple of years Kiev has made it increasingly difficult for them to enjoy minority rights, such as the right to use their mother tongue. A language law adopted in 2019 will gradually restrict minority language use to private conversations and church services in Ukraine by 2030. [Guardian] [Magyar Nemzet] [Mandiner] [HVG] Kiev fears that the Hungarian minority threatens the territorial integrity of Ukraine. [Telex]
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Hungary: Probe after Russians allegedly hacked foreign ministry IT system
An official probe has been launched in Hungary after an investigative article claimed that Russian hackers broke into IT systems used by the foreign ministry in Budapest and accessed sensitive data. [Parliament.hu ] [Telex] [Hungary Today] [Direkt36]
According to Direkt36, the website which published the article on March 29, the Hungarian government knew about the attack, but failed to stop it, and did not publicly protest to Moscow. The site based its claims on anonymous sources and internal foreign ministry documents.
The article was published five days before parliamentary elections which were won by the ruling party. Hungary’s relations with Russia were one of the main campaign issues.
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Slovakia: Ex-PM Fico charged with heading ‘criminal organisation’
Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the head of the populist centre-left Smer opposition party, was charged with organised crime offences by the National Criminal Agency on April 20. He faces up to 12 years behind bars if convicted, according to news website Politico.
Fico is alleged to have been the “head of a criminal organisation.” The charges against him cover the period from 2012 to 2018, coinciding with his second term as premier. According to Fico’s lawyer, the charges include accusations of using classified tax files to wage smear campaigns against political rivals, including former President Andrej Kiska.
Also charged are former Interior Minister Robert Kaliniak, former chief of police Tibor Gaspar and Slovak oligarch Nobert Bodor.
The office of the Slovak special prosecutor said: “All four people have been charged with a repeated crime of endangering trade, banking, postal, telecommunications and tax secrets.” [Aktuality]
Fico has not been arrested because, as an MP, parliamentary permission is required for such a move. A number of deputies have called for him to be stripped of his immunity. [Pravda]
According to news website Pravda, Fico described the charges against him as “fabricated bullshit”, adding: “In the accusation, they literally made up a story about how I allegedly formed a criminal group.” [Webnoviny]
Fico was forced to resign as prime minister amid mass protests after the killing of journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018. Kuciak had been investigating corruption in the Slovak government at the time of his murder, which was linked to organised crime. [Europe Monthly November 2021]
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Slovakia: Interior minister survives no-confidence bid, apologises for handling of refugee crisis
Slovakia’s interior minister, Roman Mikulec, has survived an attempt to remove him from office through a vote of no confidence initiated by opposition centre-left populist party Smer, which claims he has been unable to deal with a refugee crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The move to remove Mikulec failed after only 51 of the required 76 votes were achieved in the 150-seat parliament. He later apologised to MPs that things had not “worked perfectly,” and pledged an effort to improve. [Pravda] However, the head of the interior ministry’s crisis management team, Marian Dritomsky, announced his resignation, saying he felt responsible for failing to build a resilient crisis management system, according to news website Aktuality.
Smer alleged that Mikulec had appointed a private company to handle refugees at the Slovak border without transparent contracts. The deals, estimated to be worth up to EUR 2.5 million, were described by the opposition as “dubious.” [Pravda] [Dennik] [Aktuality] [Euractiv]
Mikulec said the state had been pushed to its limits, and that the decision to outsource refugee management was due to private companies having “extensive experience in managing a huge number of people.” He also cited “time pressure in an emergency situation” as a reason for the decision to outsource the work.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 56,000 people who have crossed the Slovak border have received temporary refuge.
Meanwhile, Slovaks are worried about Ukrainians being a cheaper alternative to domestic labour, with some blaming refugees for putting their jobs at risk. Representatives of domestic employers have called these fears “irrational” and have warned against “unnecessarily arousing passions against people fleeing the war.” [Dennik]
The Slovak Ministry of Labour, Social and Family Affairs has said it wants to integrate Ukrainian refugees into the labour market “as quickly as possible”. The Slovak Confederation of Trade Unions called the refugee crisis a “great opportunity” for some employment sectors, while adding that it may put pressure on certain parts of the Slovak labour market. [Aktuality]
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Slovakia: Far-right leader to lose MP mandate over neo-Nazi symbolism
Far-right leader Marian Kotleba is set to lose his mandate as an MP after Slovakia’s supreme court gave him a six-month suspended sentence and 18 months of probation for using neo-Nazi symbolism.
The punishment was lighter than an original sentence of four-and-a-half years handed to him by a special criminal court in 2020 – a sentence against which Kotleba then appealed.
But Kotleba, the leader of the People’s Party Our Slovakia (L’SNS), will not be able to stand in elections during his probation as, under the Slovak constitution, MPs who are convicted of “intentional” criminal offences automatically lose their right to run.Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2024, and Kotleba may fail to meet the deadline to stand. [Slovak Spectator]
Kotleba was convicted after he presented families with cheques for EUR 1,488. Experts told the court that the numbers 14 and 88 are codes used by neo-Nazis internationally. The date of the offence, on March 14, 2017, coincided with the foundation of a Nazi puppet Slovak state during World War II. [TASR] [Euractiv]
Kotleba is considered the figurehead of the far-right in Slovakia. A 2019 attempt in the supreme court to dissolve his party by the then-prosecutor general on the basis that it had “fascist tendencies” failed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Slovak Spectatornewspaper.
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Slovak leaders commit to integrating Roma into broader society
International Roma Day on April 8 saw Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger and President Zuzana Caputova announce that the government would commit to fighting discrimination and to integrating the Roma ethnic minority into society, recognising their “untapped potential.”
Caputova met several Roma students at the presidential palace in Bratislava to mark the day. She described the problems that Roma children face as a “vicious circle of exclusion, generational poverty and [much]… prejudice.” The president said she hoped that a Roma becoming a doctor or lawyer would not remain a “rare phenomenon” in Slovakia. Pravda
Heger said Roma people needed to be integrated into the broader community. However, the prime minister admitted that the government was slow to implement integration programmes.
The vice-chairman of Slovakia’s parliamentary human rights committee, Peter Pollak, announced plans for a law that would support pre-primary education for children under the age of three from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Roma ethnic minority in Slovakia numbers some 67,000 people, or 1.23 percent of the population, according to recent data from the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic. A Pew research poll from 2019 found that only 21 percent of Slovaks asked held a favourable view of Roma, while 76 percent had an unfavourable view.
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Slovenia: Right-wing PM Jansa swept away by newcomer in elections
Slovenians voted populist long-time Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) out of power in parliamentary elections on April 24. Robert Golob, a former energy company executive, has swept his newly formed green-leaning Freedom Movement party into what is expected to be a centre-left coalition government.
Jansa has been accused of eroding democratic standards while Golob promised to restore the rule of law. His Freedom Movement campaigned on a platform of bringing new leadership to the country as well as fresh green ideas, an open society and a modernised welfare state. [Europe Monthly March 2022]
The Freedom Movement performed better than expected by some polls, gaining 34.3 percent of the vote, translating into 41 seats in the 90-seat Slovenian parliament. News website Euractiv called this the best score obtained by any single political party in Slovenia to date. Jansa’s SDS party scored 23.5 percent of the vote, down 1.5 percentage points from the last parliamentary elections in 2018.
Despite achieving worse results than four years ago, the SDS gained two more parliamentary seats, bringing the total for Jansa to 27 seats. According to the Slovenian voting commission, turnout was historically high at 69.7 percent. [Reuters]
Golob has said he wants to form a coalition government with the left-wing Social Democrat (SD) and Levica parties. Levica has announced it will not rule out joining a coalition with the Freedom Movement.
The SD and Levica parties received only seven and five seats respectively. The latter only barely overcame the 4 percent threshold needed to make it into parliament, winning 4.4 percent of the vote.
The only other party to surpass that threshold was Matej Tonin’s centre-right NSi party, a coalition ally of the SDS. Tonin’s party gained one extra parliamentary seat, bringing the NSi to eight seats, its best result since 2004.
Jansa congratulated Golob on his victory, but played down his own loss, saying that his SDS party had now grown stronger in parliament.
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Slovenia: PM had conflict of interest, says anti-corruption probe
A decision by Janez Jansa, who was ousted as Slovenia’s prime minister in April elections, to vote in his lawyer as a non-executive director at the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) was a conflict of interest, an anti-corruption commission has said.
Lawyer Franci Matoz, who has represented both Jansa and his SDS party, was appointed to the company’s board of directors in July 2021.
The anti-corruption commission, which began its investigation in August 2021, said that preventing conflicts of interest was vital and “one of the key pillars of the rule of law, trust in democratic institutions and transparency, equality and objectivity in public affairs and public funds.” [Vecer] [Delo]
Sebastijan Peterka of Transparency International Slovenia called for steps to prevent conflicts of interests in key institutions. Jansa refused to comment on social media, instead criticising the anti-corruption commission for allegedly failing to investigate other cases. [Euractiv]
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Slovenia ups defence spending
The Slovenian defence ministry has announced plans to increase annual military expenditures by around EUR 72 million a year, in what it called a restructuring and modernisation of the capabilities of the country’s armed forces.
Yearly defence spending increases over the next four years will see the defence budget reach EUR 983 million in 2026, almost double the defence expenditure in 2020, which was at 1.1 percent of the gross domestic product of Slovenia. [Worldbank]
By 2026, the country’s defence spending is expected to reach 1.53 percent of its GDP. This will still be short of the 2 percent of GDP defence spending recommended by NATO to its members. However, the ministry said that the increase will bolster links between Slovenia and NATO military planning, according to news website Euractiv.
Slovenia has historically been one of the lowest defence spenders in NATO, ranking 25th in terms of efforts to have 2 percent of GDP allocated for defence, according to NATO figures. [Euractiv]
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Outrage as Slovenian embassy in Kiev removes flag due to Russian resemblance
The Association of War Veterans of Slovenia (ZVVS) has voiced outrage over a decision by the charge d’affaires at Slovenia’s embassy in Kiev to remove his country’s flag at the request of Ukrainian security services.
According to Slovenian news website Vecer, this was due to the resemblance of the Slovenian flag to the Russian one, and the possibility of encouraging “unwanted incidents.”
The association of war veterans said the move amounted to “denying one’s own statehood”. The president of the association, Ladislav Lipic, said in a statement: “The embassy is an extraterritorial territory, the territory of Slovenia and the removal of the flag means a denial of one's own statehood. The flag is sacred, protected by the constitution and the law on the flag, coat of arms and anthem and international law.”[Vecer]
The Slovenian flag consists of the same red, blue, and white tricolour as the Russian flag, with the only difference being the Slovene coat of arms displayed in the top left corner of the Slovenian flag.
The Slovenian embassy in Kiev reopened after a visit by Prime Minister Janez Jansa to the Ukrainian capital in mid-March. The reopening has been praised by some as a symbol of unity with Ukraine but described by Jansa’s opponents as an “act of folly,” due to the ongoing war. [Vecer] [Euractiv]
At the beginning of March, the Slovenian consulate in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was destroyed by a Russian missile strike. No consulate staff were present at the time. [Euractiv]
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Constitutional Law and Politics in Southern Europe
Italy may temporarily nationalise Lukoil-owned refinery in Sicily: report
Italy could temporarily nationalise a refinery in Sicily that is owned by Lukoil if sanctions are imposed on Russian oil, the Reuters news agency has cited government sources as saying.
Industry Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti announced on April 28 that such a decision was not on the agenda but added there was “concern about the social implications for the area.” [Reuters]
The ISAB refinery in Sicily provides 22 percent of total refining capacity in Italy and employs some 1,000 workers. The plant is owned by Swiss company Litasco SA, which in turn is controlled by Russian firm Lukoil.
ISAB has hit problems because it is not able to get credit from international banks and, at the moment, is forced to import nearly all the crude oil it refines from Russia.
Italian law allows the government to directly intervene in such situations with a legal tool called “Golden Power”, which protects national strategic assets such as energy, transport and communications. [IlCorrieredellaSera]
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Italy: Constitutional court rules newborn children should have surnames of both parents
The Italian Constitutional Court ruled on April 27 that newborn children should automatically receive the surnames of both their parents, and not just the name of their father, as has been the case until now. However, couples will be allowed to decide by mutual agreement to assign a child the surname of only one of the parents.
Domenico Pittella, a lawyer for a couple who brought the case to court, was cited by The Washington Post as saying that this was a “landmark judgement” in Italy, and added that giving newborn children the surname of the father only was a system “imposed by an outdated model of the patriarchal family.” [WashingtonPost]
Italian deputies have been working on a bill to regulate the issue but parliamentary debate of the topic has been postponed several times. Several lawmakers have welcomed the Constitutional Court decision and advocated an acceleration of the parliamentary process. [LaRepubblica]
A double surname is the norm in Spain, while in Portugal it is possible to assign a child up to four surnames. [Open]
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Malta rejects EU demand to stop selling citizenship
Malta has rejected the EU’s calls to stop its “golden passport” scheme which grants citizenship to rich non-EU-citizens in return for substantial investments and payments.
The Maltese government said the European Union does not have a right to make such demands since awarding citizenship is part of the national competencies of member states. [Reuters] [In Cyprus] [Brussels Morning] The European Commission in an official statement on April 6 had urged Malta to stop such practices, which it considers a violation of the bloc’s laws.
The commission, the EU’s executive, said: “Investor citizenship schemes undermine the essence of EU citizenship and have implications for the Union as a whole.” Brussels gave Malta two months to end the system, threatening court action if it continued. [Reuters]
On March 2, the Mediterranean nation suspended selling “golden passports” to Russian and Belarusian nationals amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Malta still processes applications from other affluent foreigners. [Euronews] [Reuters]
Malta first launched its “investor citizenship” scheme in 2014, allowing foreign nationals to obtain citizenship in exchange for an investment of EUR 1 million. According to documents leaked last year, the country raised EUR 432 million in 2018 by selling passports. After the leak, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said: “European values are not for sale.” [DW]
Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Arbela has repeatedly advocated the “golden passport” system as an important source of revenue to support businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic. [In Cyprus]
Until recently, selling citizenship to foreigners was also practised by Cyprus and Bulgaria. [Europe Monthly April 2022] However, after continuous EU pressure, both countries abolished such schemes. [DW]
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Malta: European Parliament chief urges alternatives to low-tax system
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has called for Malta to participate in discussions about a global minimum corporate tax rate, calling the Mediterranean nation’s favourable tax regime for international companies a short-term solution to attract foreign direct investment. [Malta Today]
Malta levies the lowest taxes in the EU on profits earned by foreign firms. Under the current system, local and international companies have to pay 35 percent tax on profit. However, foreign-owned corporations are entitled to a refund of six-sevenths of the tax. This means that the tax rate for foreign companies is only 5 percent. [Times of Malta]
The small Mediterranean state has been repeatedly criticised by EU countries for allowing international firms to avoid taxes. Malta was even dubbed the “Panama of Europe” after revelations that foreign-owned companies escaped paying EUR 14 billion in taxes between 2012 and 2015. [Malta Today]
On April 29, Maltese Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that the country would transition to a new corporate tax regime by 2025. The exact details and the impact of the new legislation on existing corporate tax rates have not yet been revealed. [Times of Malta]
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Portugal to speed up switch to renewables in wake of Ukraine war
Portugal aims to increase the share of renewables in its electricity production to 80 percent by 2026, four years earlier than previously planned, its new government announced on April 1.
As part of a global shift away from carbon-emitting fossil fuels, countries including Portugal are betting on renewable energies such as wind and solar, a transition that is being accelerated in Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine. [Lagos Metropolitan]
“Portugal has already taken very significant measures in the energy transition, but the evolution and duration of the war in Ukraine must necessarily imply new measures,” Cabinet Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva told a news conference. [Reuters]
The government is also set to cut red tape so that some solar power plants can be developed faster. Environmental impact assessments for projects with a capacity of under 50MW will no longer be required, according to the country’s secretary of state for energy, Joao Galamba. Renewable energy sources currently account for 58 percent of electricity produced in Portugal. [The Portugal News] [PV Tech]
Meanwhile, the government will subsidise gas-intensive companies to cover 30 percent of their cost increases caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. Companies whose bills have doubled compared to the previous year can apply for a non-refundable grant. [Reuters] [O Ribatejo]
The payouts, announced on April 11, will see the government initially providing EUR 160 million. The maximum grant that each company can receive is, however, limited to EUR 400,000. [Reuters] [O Ribatejo]
The Portuguese on 30 January voted the centre-left Socialist Party into power, giving it the clout to resolve political and financial uncertainty amid a stalled economy. [Europe Monthly February 2022]
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Portugal fast-tracks British holidaymakers, ignoring Brexit rules
Portugal has become the first country to disregard Brexit regulations by fast-tracking British tourists at its airports in order to prevent long waiting times. [The Telegraph] [Euronews]
Under Brexit rules introduced after February 2020, Britons should be treated as visitors from outside the EU area. This means their passports should be checked manually rather than electronically, which is time-consuming. [Euronews]
The UK is one of Portugal's most important overseas markets in terms of tourism. With the establishment of new e-gates, the Portuguese government is trying to provide British holidaymakers with a hassle-free travel experience. [The Telegraph]
New e-gates have been installed at airports in Lisbon, Faro, Porto, and at Funchal in Madeira. [The Telegraph] [Euronews]
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Spain: Gov’t allows rationing in supermarkets
Supermarkets in Spain have been allowed by the government to introduce rationing of some products to prevent an exacerbation of shortages caused by a truck drivers’ strike over soaring diesel prices. The government move is designed to prevent people hoarding essential goods such as milk and fruit.
Even though the truck drivers’ strike has finished, the economic situation is still a worry for many. Inflation has rocketed to its highest level since 1985, rising to 9.8 percent in March from 7.6 percent in February, amid a rise in the costs of electricity and fuel due to the war in Ukraine. [ElEconomista] [ElPaís]
The International Monetary Fund has said the war in Ukraine may cause further disruptions to supply chains. [ElPaís]
According to the Bank of Spain, the war in Ukraine is expected to shave 0.9 percentage points off domestic economic growth in 2022, with Spanish GDP now expected to expand 4.5 percent this year. [ElEconomista]
The Spanish government has recently unveiled plans to offer EUR 16 billion in direct aid and loans for families and companies hit by the impact of the conflict. [France24]
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Spain: King’s spending will be overseen by authorities
The Spanish government on April 26 approved a decree that forces the royal house to publish on its official website all its outgoings and presents in order to improve its transparency.
The decision, previously arranged with the crown, was officialised hours after King Felipe VI, who has tried to restore the prestige of the Spanish monarchy after a series of scandals, publicly and voluntarily revealed that his personal assets were worth EUR 2.6 million.
The decree does not oblige the king to declare his assets, but permits the crown’s accounts to be overseen by the Court of Auditors, which monitors all public bodies. [Reuters] [Público] [ElPeriodico]
Felipe VI ascended the throne in 2014 when his father, Juan Carlos, abdicated in his favour following scandals over his finances and personal relations. Since then, Felipe has tried to clean up the crown’s image. In 2020 he renounced any future personal inheritance he might receive from his father. [TheGuardian]
Former King Juan Carlos recently floated the idea of returning to Spain after the termination of a financial probe which led to his self-imposed exile to Abu Dhabi in 2020. [Europe Monthly April 2022]
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Constitutional Law and Politics in Eastern Europe
Belarus: Military service members are reluctant to go to war with Ukraine
Belarusian military personnel have refused to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine despite the country’s close political ties to Moscow. [Ukrinform]
The Belarusian army is demoralised and insufficiently equipped for any long-term military engagement across the border, even with Russian support. Belarusian opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said that there is “huge opposition to war” even in the military. [FPRI][DW]
While morale is low in the country’s army, Belarusian volunteers have joined Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russia.
Hundreds of Belarusian dissidents have joined the Kastus Kalinouski battalion, a volunteer unit composed of approximately 200 soldiers that is helping to defend Ukraine as part of the country’s armed forces. Another volunteer unit is the Pohonia Battalion with less than 30 Belarusian volunteers who lived in Polish exile, of which none have professional military experience. [New York Times] [CNN]
The Belarusian volunteers have fought against Russian forces on different fronts, including in Kiev and Mariupol. [VOA] [Balkan Insight]
A volunteer was reported saying that if Ukraine fell, the implications for Belarus would be far-reaching with any prospects of a democratic future fading. He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Aleksandr Lukashenko were the common enemy. Another volunteer emphasised that without an independent Ukraine, there would be no independent Belarus. [Atlantic Council] [New York Times][Focus]
According to Franak Viacorka, a political advisor of Tsikhanouskaya, volunteers felt that if Putin thought that Ukraine did not have a right to be a sovereign state, nor would Belarus in the Russian president’s thinking. [Focus]
Lukashenko had allowed Russia to use Belarus as a staging ground before the invasion. Russian forces have poured across the 674-mile long Belarusian border with Ukraine in an attempt to take Kiev. [New York Times].
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Belarus: Government responds to sanctions with plan for economic recovery
Deputy Economy Minister Dmitri Yaroshevich announced at a press conference held on April 8 that the Belarusian government would launch a plan for economic recovery in response to the West’s imposition of sanctions. [belta.by]
The plan for economic recovery encompasses the promotion of exports to “friendly’’ countries, logistics, incentives for import substitutes, a reduction of bureaucracy and the resolution of on-going problems in all economic branches. According to Yaroshevich, the needs and demands of the regions, trade associations and entrepreneurs have been taken into consideration, with the Belarusian government seeking to enable their connectivity and sustainability. [belta.by]
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Belarus: Supreme Court designates NEXTA media outlet as terrorist organisation
Upon request of the Prosecutor General Andrei Shvad, the Supreme Court of Belarus designated NEXTA as a terrorist organization, including its structural units NEXTA Live and LUXTA, on April 8. The ruling indicates that any cooperation with NEXTA would result in criminal prosecution in Belarus. [belta.by] [Radio Free Europe]
Shvad underlined that NEXTA would engage in encouraging criminal acts and resistance against the state as well as providing technological advice for handling explosive substances and devices. [belta.by]
NEXTA is a Belarusian news outlet in exile operating from Warsaw, and has 1.4 million subscribers. The prohibition of its activity presents the latest attempt of the Lukashenko administration to restrain independent media. [Radio Free Europe]
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Estonia: Government to increase military spending as concerns increase after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The Estonian ministry of defence approved a EUR 476 million package to increase defence spending after Russia’s war in Ukraine, an increase that raises the Baltic country’s military spending above 2.5 percent of GDP, or more than the 2 percent of the GDP required for NATO membership. [Defensenews].
Most of the budget will be used for the acquisition of short- to mid-range air defence systems, which will be operated in close coordination with the US. [Defensenews].
The commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Lieutenant-General Martin Herem, met with Turkey’s chief of general staff, General Yasar Guler, on April 1 to exchange views on security issues and military cooperation. Herem expressed his interest in Turkey’s defence capabilities, stating that it has “a very strong industry producing all kinds of equipment and armaments Estonia may need.” [Anadolu] [The Baltic Times].
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Estonia: ISS verifies rightwing extremism as potential threat to Estonia’s domestic security
The Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) warned in its annual review of 2021-2022 that right-wing extremist groups have become a new threat to domestic security. ISS Director Arnold Sinisalu raised concerns about their social networks and developments that could lead to attacks on people. [ERR] [ISS]
The ISS further elaborated on the arrival of the “siege” culture in Estonia, which derives from a series of articles published by American right-wing extremist James Mason in the 1980s and proposes the initiation of a “race war” through accelerating the collapse of the society. Of late, these ideas were picked up by the Iron March online forum moderated by the Russian citizen Alisher Mukhitdinov who has been a somewhat of an inspirational figure for many Estonian right-wing extremists. [ERR]
Via social media, right-wing extremists could motivate others to perpetrate attacks, with specifically young and mentally unstable persons being vulnerable to such peer pressures, the ISS finds. [ERR]
In October 2021, the ISS already detained two men with affiliations to Feuerkrieg Division, a far right-wing organization that inter aliathe UK lists as terrorist. [ERR]
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Latvia: Prime Minister says LNG terminal should be built to diversify energy supplies
The Latvian governmental coalition decided on April 11 that an LNG terminal should be built as the Baltic nation moves to diversify its energy supplies.
Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said that the Ministry of Economy would choose potential investors and locations for the construction, which will most likely encompass designated sites in Skulte and Riga. Janis Vitenbergs, Latvia’s minister of economy, said that talks with private investors were ongoing, adding that the LNG terminal could launch operations by 2023. He also said that LNG imports are a long-term project, considering that a return to Russian gas is no longer a valid option for Latvia. [BNN][LSM.lv]
Along with the Klaipeda LNG terminal (Lithuania) and the Paldisku LNG terminal (Estonia) that is under construction and estimated to start its operation by fall 2022, Latvia’s LNG terminal would be the third in the Baltic region.
Latvia’s advantage rests on its ability to secure a full infrastructure cycle of the Incukalns underground gas storage facility, as the Klaipeda and Paldisku terminals are regasification facilities and therefore incur higher costs, while exposing a more limited capacity, according to Vitenbergs. [BNN] [The Baltic Times]
Latvia will closely cooperate with Lithuania, Estonia and Finland to ensure long-term supplies of LNG as a replacement of Russian gas imports. [LSM.lv]
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Moldova: Parliament ratifies agreement on financing with European Investment Bank
The Moldovan parliament announced on April 7 that it had ratified an agreement on financing between the Republic of Moldova and the European Investment Bank for the project “Efficiency in the Republic of Moldova’’ [moldpres]
Pursuant to the agreement, Moldova would receive EUR 30 million, which is to be distributed to hospitals, kindergartens and schools. It also involves the exemption from VAT, excise taxes, customs duties and other fees when importing or acquiring goods, labour and services for the realisation of the aforementioned project. [moldpres]
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Russia: Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor attacked with red paint due to critical journalism on Ukrainian war
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the chief editor of the Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov, was attacked on April 7 with red paint laced with acetone on a train heading from Moscow to the journalist's home town of Samara.
He said that the unknown attacker shouted "Muratov, here's one for our boys," apparently referring to Russian troops in Ukraine. Shortly after the accident, the video of the crime scene appeared on the Telegram channel “Union Z paratroopers.” The creators of the channel accused Novaya Gazeta of spreading disinformation on civilian casualties in Bucha. [VOAnews] [Euronews][Novayagazetaeu] [ipi.media] [NPR.org]
The day after the assault the police detained one of the suspects. A proper investigation has not been initiated. An official interrogation of the victim has not been conducted. [VOAnews] [Euronews] [Novayagazetaeu] [ipi.media] [NPR.org]
According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, the attack happened shortly before the train's departure. The attacker entered the coach compartment, threw an oily mixture of red paint and acetone on Muratov, and then left the train without any hindrance.
Later the same day, Muratov posted on Telegram a selfie from a train toilet showing him doused in red liquid. "They poured oil paint with acetone all over the compartment. Eyes burning badly," he added. [Novayagazetaeu] [TheGuardian] [Reuters]
The post said that “the blood of our Glorious Sons will not be tolerated.” The author of the post also referred to the “Bucha tragedy” as a hoax made up by Ukrainians and accused the journalist of “supporting the lie.’’
However, the Russian mass media regulator Roskomnadzor forced Novaya Gazeta to suspend its online and print activities several days before the massacre. The official reason: the newspaper failed to designate an unnamed non-governmental organisation as a “foreign agent” in one of its materials. [ipi.media] [novayagazetaeu] [theguardian]
In 2021, Dmitry Muratov and a Philippine journalist Maria Ressa received a Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.” The long-term editor of Novaya Gazeta dedicated his award to his colleagues murdered in the line of duty. Last month he announced he will auction off his medal and donate the proceeds to Ukrainian refugees. [dw] [themoscowtimes]
Novaya Gazeta was founded in 1993 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The newspaper became well known for its critical investigative journalism on corruption in Russia and the atrocities of the war in Chechnya .
In March 2022, Novaya Gazeta published reports from Ukrainian cities Kherson and Nikolaev, which described the citizens’ life under occupation, the consequences of war, and crimes committed by Russian troops. Later, the reports were removed from the newspaper’s website at the request of the state censor Roskomnadzor. [theguardian] [generico]
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Russia: Moscow drafts bill to nationalise foreign companies that halt Russian operations
Russia is taking steps to nationalise foreign companies that have halted operations in the country due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February as the government seeks to prevent a further rise in unemployment. [RBC]
A draft bill has been introduced that proposes a mechanism for the introduction of temporary management of Russian property of foreign citizens and companies. More than 750 companies have publicly announced that they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia to some degree beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions. [RBC] [Yale School of Management]
Under the terms of the bill, company executives will have five days to prevent the transition of ownership to Russian shareholders. The company can resume operations in Russia or sell its share to a Russian or foreign person who is not associated with “unfriendly” countries. External management in companies that have left Russia will be introduced if at least a quarter is owned by foreign owners and the company is deemed “essential’’ for the economy. [RBC] [Kommersant]
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that Russia must create new jobs and ensure the free development of its business and industry. Despite the measures taken, about 200,000 people are at risk of losing their jobs in Moscow, according to Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. [Insider] [RBC]
Some foreign companies continue paying their Russian workers without being active on the Russian market, however, it is hard to evaluate how long they will be able to do so. [Insider]
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Russia: World Bank forecasts 11.2 percent contraction in 2022 GDP due to sanctions
The Russian economy is expected to contract deeply this year as the country becomes increasingly isolated due to Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine as the government adjusts its interest rates to prop up the rouble.
The World Bank forecasted in its "War in the Region" economic update that Russia's GDP will contract 11.2 percent by the end of 2022 due to the "unprecedented" uncertainty from the war in Ukraine. Russia’s Finance Ministry has said that about USD 300 billion of its USD 640 billion of gold and foreign exchange reserves were frozen after Western nations imposed severe sanctions.[Yahoo] [RBC][RBC]
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that Russia will need at least six months to adjust its economy to the sanctions, while First Deputy head of the Ministry of Economic Development Ilya Torosov said the Russian economy can recover to 2021 economic indicators within a year. S&P Global Market Intelligence said it will take Russia ten years to restore the economy to the level of 2021. [RBC]
According to Alexei Kudrin, the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber, inflation might reach 20 percent in 2022. Annual inflation at the end of March was 16.7 percent, the Russian statistics agency said. This is the highest inflation rate since 2015. [RBC] [RBC]
The Central Bank of Russia raised the key rate to 20 percent at the end of February in order to prevent higher inflation, but in early April it lowered it to 17 percent. [RBC]
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Russia: Moscow makes overdue international debt payments
Russia made a number of already-overdue international debt payments in dollars despite previously vowing they would only be paid in roubles after the United States banned Moscow from using frozen dollar reserves for payments on foreign debt.
Russia paid USD 564.8 million on a 2022 Eurobond and USD 84.4 million on a 2042 bond in dollars - the currency specified on the bonds, the Russian Finance Ministry said Russia moved the required funds to the London branch of Citibank, one of the so-called paying agents of the bonds whose job is to disburse them to the investors that originally lent the money to Moscow. [Reuters]
Moscow had wanted to use roubles to meet its interest payments on some of its debt, but the Credit Derivatives Determination Committee declared that roubles would not be accepted. [RBC] [Bloomberg]
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the Western sanctions that have frozen the foreign currency accounts of the country’s Central Bank and the Russian government were an effort to force a Russian default. Russia has not had a default of any kind since a financial crash in 1998 and has not seen a major international or 'external' market default since the aftermath of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. [Reuters]
"Statements that Russia cannot fulfil its obligations on the debt are not true. We have the necessary amount of money to cover our obligations," Siluanov said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there were “no grounds for a real default.’’ [RBC]
The US Treasury Department stopped in April allowing the Russian government to make any dollar debt payments at US financial institutions. The US Treasury has blocked Russia's attempt to pay more than USD 600 million due on foreign sovereign bonds, as it tries to ramp up the economic pressure on Moscow. [Insider]
The Treasury Department had been allowing American banks to process the payments so that money would reach US bondholders, despite the tough sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia: Oligarchs are dying under strange circumstances this year
Six Russian oligarchs and promiment businessmen have died under strange circumstances since the start of this year, including two at the end of April who were found dead alongside their family members within 48 hours of each other in alleged murder-suicides.[Fortune] [Newsweek]
Vladislav Avayev and his wife and daughter were found dead on April 18 in their Moscow apartment. Preliminary evidence suggested that the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide. Avayev was the former vice president of Gazprombank, which is Russia’s third largest bank. [Fortune]
Two days later, the body of Sergey Protosenya, a former executive at Novatek - Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer - was found hanged outside the Spanish villa he and his family were renting. His wife and 18-year old daughter were found stabbed to death in their beds. Spanish news outlet El Punt Avui said that investigators had not ruled out that Protosenya and his family were murdered. [Fortune]
In March, billionaire Vasily Melnikov was also found dead in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod alongside his wife and two sons. All three died of stab wounds. In late February, Mikhail Watford was found hanged in the garage of his Surrey, UK, home. [Newsweek][Fortune]
On February 25, just three days before Watford’s death, former Gazprom executive Alexander Tyulyakov, 61, was found hanged in the garage of his apartment building near St. Petersburg. Leonid Shulma, a top executive at Gazpro, was found dead by apparent suicide in January. [Newsweek]
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Ukraine: Security service kills negotiating delegate during arrest for alleged spying for Russia
The Security Service of Ukraine killed a member of the country’s delegation negotiating with Russia during his arrest for allegedly spying for Moscow, according to media reports.
The security services had evidence that Denis Kireev was spying for Russia, including through telephone conversations. Kireev was shot dead during his arrest. Officials in Kiev said Kireev, 45, a spy and former banker, was killed during an operation "defending the nation." [The Sun]
(gc)
Ukraine: Dutch journalist expelled from Ukraine for revealing state secrets
Dutch journalist Robert Dulmers has been banned by authorities in Ukraine until 2032 after being accused of revealing state secrets to Russia by publishing a video of a missile launch. [Euractiv] [nltimes]
Dulmers, who was reporting in Ukraine with government approval, uploaded on April 3 photos and a video to Twitter of a rocket attack on oil deposits near the centre of Odessa. He was then taken to the police station, where they told him that he had to depart the country for revealing state secrets. [Euractiv] [nltimes]
Authorities put him in a choke hold and held a gun to his head, based on Dulmers account. He said he was accused of being a Russian spy and aiding Russian forces, then driven to the Ukrainian-Moldovan border in his car and left there. Shortly after his detention, the municipality of Odessa issued a statement that six missiles had been fired. [Euractiv] [nltimes]
Daniell Gillissen, the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Nederlands Dagblad, where Dulmers published his articles, said that banning the journalist from Ukraine is wrong as he did not know the rules surrounding state secrets, nor did he sign a contract citing the rules about what can be shared by journalists.
(vp/gc)
Constitutional Law and Politics in Southeastern Europe
Albania: Democratic Party leader denies being part of negotiations for new president
The leader of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party, Enkelejd Alibeaj, rejected on April 4 accusations being reported in the local media that he had negotiated with the Socialist Party about the country’s future presidential appointment. [AlbanianDailyNews][EuroNews]
Alibeaj called the news reports “fabrication’’ and denied that a meeting had occurred to discuss the presidential appointment, saying that this type of decision remains within the parliamentary group.[EuroNews][SOT] [AlbanianDailyNews]
The head of the Socialist Party’s parliamentary group Taulant Balla announced that consultations for the new president are underway. [EuroNews]
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Albania: Socialist Party ends four-year terms for chairman of party branches
Socialist Party (SP) decided on April 4 to end the four-year term of the chairmen of the party’s branches as part of its effort to improve and make more effective the management of the party at the local level. Elections from May 1 to June 15 will be held to replace them. [AlbanianDailyNews][Euronews].
The current leaders will continue to exercise their duties until the appointment of the new leaders, the party said in a statement. The party’s presidency and executive secretariat are tasked with enforcing this decision. [Euronews].
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Albania: Democratic Party appeals court decision that legitimises National Assembly’s statute amendments
Albania’s Democratic Party appealed a court ruling that said in March that the National Assembly's statute amendments by former PrimeMinister Sali Berisha were legitimate. [AlbanianDailyNews][Euronews].
Democratic Party interim leader Enkelejd Alibeaj submitted on April 5 the appeal to the Court of Tirana to overturn the decision that certified the approved statute from the National Assembly on December 11. Alibeaj warned that he would fight the court’s ruling from the day it was announced. [AlbanianDailyNews][Euronews].
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Albania: Branches of the Democratic Party vote to elect new chairman
Eighteen branches of the Democratic Party (DP) voted to elect chairman assembled by the Re-establishment Commission, led by Sali Berisha [AlbanianDailyNews].
The Commission for the Organization and Control of Electoral Operations invited all DP members of the pertinent branches to be part of the elections according to the principle of “one member one vote” [AlbanianDailyNews].
The voting process took place on April 17 in Cerrik, Gjirokastra, Vlora, Saranda, Permet, Tepelena, Pogradec, Kukes and some divisions of Tirana. The next day, the elections occurred in six other branches. [AlbanianDailyNews][IMAlbania].
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Albania: Prime Minister Rama threatens socialist MPs with sanctions
Prime Minister Edi Rama threatened on April 19 the MPs of the pink headquarters with penalisations because of their absence from recent sessions of the parliament [AlbanianDailyNews].
According to Rama's warning, MPs who do not participate in the elections or political debates would be sanctioned, starting with the reduction of their salaries. [AlbanianDailyNews].
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Albania: PM says country could decouple from North Macedonia in EU membership bid
Albania could push for EU membership separately from its neighbour, North Macedonia, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on April 7. [AlbanianDailyNews]
Albanian and North Macedonian bids to join the EU had initially completed the requirements but Bulgaria blocked the start of formal talks due to historical, language, and human rights issues with North Macedonia. [Euractiv][Reuters]
Rama expressed that Bulgaria would probably not lift its veto soon and that his country could no longer wait for the neighbours to resolve their disputes. He presented a survey of half a million Albanians in which 67 percent approved of the two countries’ separate offers. [Euractiv][NovaMakedonia][Reuters].
Rama’s announcement raised the question of what Albania’s decoupling from the EU accession package would mean for North Macedonia. [NovaMakedonia].
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Albania: US Treasury Department blacklists six Albanians for criminal connections
The US Treasury Department on April 11 declared as non-grata six Albanian citizens, including two well-known businessmen, Aqif Rakipi and Ylli Ndroqi. [EuroNews][TopChannel].
Brian Nelson, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence of the US, claimed that the individuals mentioned are a threat to political stability and to the democracy and sound governance in the region. [EuroNews] [Lapsi].
The former MP from Elbasan, Rapiki, has long been involved in organised crime, with a damaging and destabilising influence on political processes in Albania, according to the Treasury Department. Ndroqis's media assets were confiscated in recent years due to criminal activities, as the businessman allegedly extorted different national figures in exchange for banning the publication of negative stories. [AlbanianDailyNews][Lapsi]
When asked about this topic during a conference in Berlin on April 12, Prime Minister Edi Rama refused to answer as he considered this situation “stressful.” [AlbanianDailyNews]
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Bulgaria: National Security Agency to investigate investment group for Russian involvement
Bulgaria’s National Security Agency has started an investigation into London-based Gemcorp Capital for its alleged ties to a Russian oligarch with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin. [RadioFreeEurope]
Russian oligarch Albert Avdolyan, who was investigated by the US for money laundering, owns the investment company. Avdolyan is a business partner of Sergey Chemezov, a close friend of Vladimir Putin and part of the sanction lists of the EU and US. The Financial Times confirmed the story, adding that Putin and Chemezov used to live in the same apartment during their time in the KGB in East Germany. [FinancialTimes]
The investigation started after Gemcorp signed a memorandum with the Bulgarian government for USD 1 billion of investments in the country’s energy sector with the US IP3 Corporation. After the government announced the deal in March, the website BIRD published an investigative report on April 1 about Gemcorp. [NEI] [BIRD]
Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that the investigation by the National Security Agency was started to ensure that the “funds are clean.’’ Petkov explained that the government’s decision to sign a memorandum was based on current data. [RadioFreeEurope]
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Bulgaria: Government is divided over Ukrainian military aid
The decision to provide military aid to Ukraine has caused a rift in the Bulgarian government, with the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) warning that it will leave the ruling coalition if the country’s parliament decides to send weapons to Kiev. [Euractiv]
The socialist party BSP supports any type of aid except military assistance like ammunition and lethal weapons, as this would lead to more injuries and deaths. If BSP pulls out of the coalition, the government will lose its parliamentary majority.[Euractiv] [RadioFreeEurope]
Democratic Bulgaria, one of the four ruling coalition parties, supports the provision of military aid as the repercussions of the Ukrainian war will influence the outlook of the international order. The co-leader of Democratic Bulgaria, Hristo Ivanov, proposed carrying out a new vote on military aid on May 4. [Euractiv] [RadioFreeEurope]
Bulgaria’s President, Rumen Radev, is opposed to the decision to supply the country with weapons and ammunition as it would prolong the war. [RadioFreeEurope]
While not directly delivering weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, Bulgaria has been exporting almost three times the value of arms as it did the same time last year. The weapons are delivered to countries which provide Ukraine with military aid. US and Ukrainian media have reported that Bulgarian weapons can be seen in Ukraine. This has led to speculations in the country that Bulgaria is indirectly supplying military aid. [RadioFreeEurope]
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Bulgaria: President urges Chamber of Representatives to vote on buying eight more F-16 fighter jets
Bulgaria’s President encouraged on April 5 the Chamber of Representatives to swiftly decide on buying eight F-16 fighter jets after the sale was approved by the US State Department. The F-16 acquisition, valued at USD 1.7 billion, will be the second by the Bulgarian government. [RadioFreeEurope].
“Anyone who claims that Bulgaria would be able to be on duty with the F-16 immediately after 2025 is lying. No country can be on combat duty with only eight planes.” explained Radev who is a former pilot and Chief of the Bulgarian Air Force. He predicts that if the government concludes the deal in the next few months, Bulgaria can be on combat duty by 2030. [RadioFreeEurope].
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said that the decision by the US does not oblige Bulgaria to purchase the F-16s. [Reuters].
US officials denied claims that the decision was made because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rather it was a result of an ongoing process of the Bulgarian government to update its military arsenal. [Reuters].
In 2019 the state purchased eight other planes which were projected to be delivered in 2023 but the COVID-19 pandemic led to a delay as the manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, faced supply chain disturbances. The American embassy in Sofia said that the new delivery would be in 2025. [RadioFreeEurope].
Currently Bulgaria’s Air Force has 14 Russian MiGs and less than a half of them are operational. In March the Ukrainian government asked states that possess the Russian-made fighter jets to provide them to their country as the Ukrainian pilots were trained to fly them. [RadioFreeEurope] [Reuters]
(ib)
Bulgaria: Mayor of Bulgarian city charged with polluting Lake Varna near Black Sea coast
The mayor of Varna, Ivan Portnih, was charged with polluting Lake Varna near the Black Sea coast after at least three million cubic metres of faecal water entered the lake, endangering the lives of the city’s citizens. [DarikNews]
Portnih was charged by the Varna city prosecutor’s office after a burst pipe repeatedly polluted the lake between 2019 and 2020 without swift government action. The issue was reported in August 2019 but action was taken by the municipality in April 2020.[BalkanInsight]
The mayor of Varna could be sentenced up to five years in prison if found guilty. Portnih has not made a public statement yet.[BalkanInsight]
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Greece: Athens looks for alternative energy sources to lower reliance on Russian gas
Greece plans to limit its reliance on Russian energy by expanding its operations in the coal-fuelled energy sector, constructing a nuclear power plant with Bulgaria and exploring for natural gas deposits within its territory, despite Athen’s transition to greener energy sources. [Reuters] [Bloomberg] [Euractiv]
Greece will increase its production of lignite coal in the next two years, as an alternative energy source. Using coal is a more costly energy source but skyrocketing prices of gas have made it more cost-effective. [Bloomberg]
The nuclear power plant talks between Bulgaria and Greece have advanced from the initial announcement in February 2022 but a liability issue prevents them from going further. The position of Greece needs to be cleared as the power plant will be on Bulgarian territory. Greece will either be a shareholder or a buyer. Currently, both countries are waiting for an assessment and ironing out of internal issues within their governments. [Euractiv]
Greece is also going to increase its natural gas exploration efforts.. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on April 12 that the country plans to conduct test drills by the end of 2023 to explore its natural gas fields and boost its energy independence and security.[Reuters]
The country’s decision to shift energy sources will not intervene with its goal to lower its carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030 and focus on green energy, part of the EU’s plan for tackling climate change, said Mitsotakis. [Reuters]
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Greece: Thousands of Greeks protest against high prices energy, low wages after 24-hour workers’ strike
Thousands of Greek citizens protested against rising utility prices and low wages after workers held a 24-hour strike. [Reuters]
The protesters expressed their discontent with a twenty-four hour strike, organised by public and private sector worker unions. The citizens asked for an increase in salaries and plans to handle commodity inflation. The strike on April 6 led to disruptions in state-run services and public transport. [Reuters] [ABCNews].
As the years go by the crisis is constantly deepening, the burdens remain, “our rights are shrinking,” the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) said, referring to the 2009 Greek financial crisis. [Reuters] [ABCNews].
The economic situation in Greece has deteriorated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The war has caused steep increases in gas and oil prices after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the tourism sector. [Reuters].
Greek consumer inflation went up by 7.2 percent in February, together with the prices of commodities. Last month the GSEE proposed a 13 percent increase in minimum wage to EUR 751. In January the government increased the minimum wage by 2 percent to EUR 663. [Reuters].
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Kosovo: War crime indictments, arrests hindered as prosecution struggles to bring perpetrators to court
The Humanitarian Law Centre Kosovo said in a report on April 4 that there was only one indictment and two arrests in 2021 for war crimes committed during the country’s armed conflict between 1998-1999, as the prosecution struggles to bring alleged perpetrators to trial.
Drita Hajdari, the head of the War Crimes Department at the Kosovo Special Prosecution, said that there are 1,000 war crime cases pending trial. The prosecution has filed indictments in the physical presence of the defendants, but without their presence the department is unable to file them, Hajdari said. [BalkanInsight]
A lack of judicial cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia hinders the investigation of war crimes, the British ambassador to Pristina, Nicholas Abbott, said. The process could be accelerated if this is changed. Serbia does not recognise Kosovo’s independence and does not extradite suspects to Pristina. [BalkanInsight]
The most recent indictment charged an ethnic Albanian, identified only by the initials M.A. with involvement in committing war crimes against civilians in the village of Izbica on March 28, 1999, when Serbian forces killed a total of 147 Kosovo Albanians. He reportedly lives in Serbia. [BalkanInsight]
Kosovo allows for trials in absentia but verdicts are generally unenforceable, Hajdari said. Many of the alleged war criminals are now dead.
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Kosovo: Government says attacks against police on Serbian border ‘act of terrorism’
Kosovo described four attacks with grenades and AK-47 machine guns on police forces on the border with Serbia as an “act of terrorism.”
Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla said the strike was launched because the “police have now turned into an “obstacle” for Serbian-backed organised criminal groups.” The attacks happened after Kosovar police closed routes used for the trafficking of people and goods from Serbia to Kosovo. [BalkanInsight][Reuters]
No one was injured in the attacks.
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Montenegro: Government evacuates four schools after receiving bomb threats
Montenegro was forced to close four schools after receiving bomb threats on April 1 from a person media reported was an alleged pro-Russian nationalist.
Three schools in the capital, Podgorica, and one in the town of Bijelo Polje were evacuated without injuries, Interior Ministry official Zoran Miljanic said. He urged citizens not to panic and said that the Montenegrin police, the Interior Ministry and the prosecutor’s office were doing everything necessary to find the perpetrator. [BalkanInsight]
The media reported that Vladislav Pozdnyakov, the founder of a Russian ultra-nationalist online group, known as “Male State,’’ which is an anti-women, anti-liberal social media group, sent a signed email to the Interior Ministry and Podgorica city hall, demanding a change to the government and the National Security Agency, or “all schools will be blown away.” He denied that he was behind the threats. [DTT]
The daily Pobjeda also reported that Pozdnyakov had told the National Security Agency that a bomb would be activated in the resort of Budva if the media did not report more positively on the Russian invasion on Ukraine. Pozdnyakov then posted on Telegram that he had nothing to do with the false bomb alarms, and that someone was misusing his name.
The interior ministry said that authorities believe that the same person or organisation behind the bomb threat at Budva was behind the school threats. [BalkanInsight]
(bp/gc)
Montenegro: Government fears rise of radical Islamic organisation
Montenegro fears a rise in radical Islamic organisations, especially among young people and Roma, as Salafist groups increase their presence in the country, according to the government’s Threat Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime report.
Although the spread of radical Islamic groups remains low in Montenegro, Islamic Roma organisations from Europe provide them with support in various projects. Montenegro is becoming one such location for Islamic extremist groups to build summer camps, even if those camps do not represent places for planning acts of terrorism. [BalkanInsights]
A network of extremist groups has operated for many years in the Balkans, especially in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo. In the Muslim region of Sangiaccato, which straddles Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia, internal divisions led to radicalization of some groups.
Islam is the second largest religion in Montenegro at 18 percent after Orthodox Christianity at 74 percent. [Studycountry]
(bp/gc)
North Macedonia: Opening of Bulgarian Club named after alleged Nazi sympathiser spurs controversy
The opening of a night club named after Nazi sympthaser, Ivan Mihailov, in the North Macedonia city of Bitola on April 16 spurred controversy with top Bulgarian political figures attending.[BTA]
Mihailov is considered a right-wing hero in Bulgaria, but is considered by Macedonians as a ruthless anti-Macedonian and Nazi collaborator.
Reacting to the cultural event, North Macedonia’s President Stevo Pendarovski commented that this does not contribute to reconciliation between the two countries. Dragi Gjorgiev, co-chair of the joint North Macedonia-Bulgaria Commission for Historical and Educational Affairs, called it a “deliberate provocation” since Mihailov has nothing to do with culture. [BalkanInsight]
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Serbia: Aleksandar Vucic is re-elected by landslide victory
Serbian populist President Aleksander Vucic won the presidential election on April 3 with roughly 60 percent of the vote. [Aljazeera][BalkanInsight][Euronews][TheGuardian]
After his victory, Vucic said that the challenges for Serbia are good relations with neighbouring countries and maintaining good ties with traditional allies, adding that the country will continue its European path. The war in Ukraine was among the main themes throughout Vucic’s campaign, with the Serbian president vowing to remain militarily neutral and to maintain friendly ties with Russia. [Aljazeera][Euronews][France24]
Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party won 43 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections, while the opposition received 13 percent. [Euronews] [BalkanInsight] [Aljazeera]
The opposition and independent observers said that violent incidents and multiple irregularities occurred during the elections, including, suspected vote-buying, pressure on observers, and closure of voting stations before all citizens had voted. [Aljazeera][BalkanInsight][Theguardian]
Vucic has maintained close economic and political ties with Russia and China.
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Serbia: Novi Sad’s Chief of Police arrested on corruption charges
The Chief of Police in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, was arrested on April 5 on corruption charges. [BalkanInsight]
Along with Novi Sad’s Police Chief, Slobodan Malesic, two other police officers and an entrepreneur were arrested. Malesic denied the charges. All four are charged with the crimes of illicit association, influence peddling and abuse of power that they conspired with since mid-2018 [BalkanInsight][N1]
Malesic was accused of being the criminal organiser of the group, who also had influence to prevent relevant investigations. The two officers provided protection to the businessman and his family. [BalkanInsight][N1].
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Serbia: Prominent Serbian drug trafficker arrested in a major European operation
As part of an international operation in Belgrade, police arrested on April 14 one of Europe’s biggest cocaine barons, Darko Saric, who was already tried for smuggling large amounts of drugs. [BalkanInsight][Britic]
According to Serbian media, Saric’s lawyer and twelve police officers were arrested during the operation on alleged charges of criminal association and aggravated murder. [Britic][SundayWorld].
Saric is the suspected organiser of the illegal group that is believed to operate in Serbia, other parts of Europe, and South America [BalkanInsight][SundayWorld].
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Turkey: Government denies responsibility for selling drones to Ukraine
A Turkish official denied on April 8 that the government was responsible for selling drones to Ukrainian forces after Russia complained that Ankara was allowing the sales. The official said a Turkish private sector company was selling the drones to Kiev, not the government. [Reuters]
Ankara’s effort to distance itself from the sale of Turkish-made military Bayraktar TB2 UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) to Ukraine was an effort to maintain good ties with Moscow while facilitating peace talks, according to Aaron Stein, the director of research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. If the Turkish government wanted to stop the sales, it could, Nicholas Heras, the deputy director of the Human Security Unit at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, said. [Forbes]
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Turkey: Public prosecutor opens lawsuit against women's rights group
Istanbul’s Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a lawsuit against a Turkish women’s rights group for “acting against the law and morality” after complaints were made that it was damaging the country’s society under the guise of female rights.
The We Will Stop Femicide (WWSF) announced the lawsuit on April 13 in a statement published on its website. [Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu] [Middle East Eye]
The lawsuit comes a year after the parliament passed a law imposing restrictions on civil society groups.
The Guardian reported that the move against WWSF aims to split conservative women from the feminist campaigners. The former, it said, tend to be more pro-government, while the next general elections are awaited next year. [The Guardian][Daily Sabah]
The group organised large protests against Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in 2021. Turkey ratified this international women rights agreement in 2012, which is called The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. [Stockholm Center For Freedom] [Middle East Eye]
WWSF counted 280 murdered women and 217 suspicious deaths of women last year. [Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu] [Stockholm Center For Freedom] [Al-Monitor][Kadın Cinayetlerini Durduracağız Platformu]
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Turkish Foreign Minister will travel to Washington to hold talks with Blinken
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to Washington in May, the first trip to the US capital since Ankara bought an S-400 missile defence system from Russia three years ago.
Cavusoglu will meet his US counterpart Antony Blinken on May 18. The two will discuss the sale of US-made F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. Turkey wants to buy 40 new F-16s and 80 modernization kits for its existing fleet. [Hürriyet Daily News][Reuters]
After Ankara bought the S-400 missile defence system, the US imposed sanctions including banning Turkey from buying F-35 fighter jets from the US. Turkey manufactured parts for the fighter jet. [Reuters]
Ankara and Washington launched the US-Turkey Strategic Mechanism on April 4 in Ankara. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, with their respective delegations, met in Ankara to review topics of mutual interest, including economic and defence cooperation, counterterrorism, and key areas of shared regional and global interest. [U.S. Department of State]
They reiterated their shared commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The US welcomed Turkey’s efforts to facilitate a just, negotiated diplomatic solution to end the war.[U.S. Department of State]
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Turkey: HDP party’s deputy co-chair says court case is effort to break party up
The deputy co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey said on April 19 that a court case by the country’s top prosecutor, alleging that it supports Kurdish militants, was a politically-motivated effort to break it up.
Umit Dede, who made the comment in a statement of defence to the Turkish Constitutional Court, said that the previous indictment from the Supreme Court of Appeals was rejected by the Constitutional Court. He said the case was an effort to push the party out of democratic politics. [Hürriyet Daily News] [Reuters]
The prosecutor filed a case in March 2021 to ban the party for its alleged support of Kurdish militants. The prosecutor is also seeking a five-year ban on HDPs’s 451 members, a move that would prevent them from participating in the general elections in June 2023. [Hürriyet Daily News] [Reuters]
The next step in the ongoing case is an oral presentation, first made by the prosecutor’s office and then by the HDP. After this the court will deliberate and decide, for which no deadline is set according to the HDP law commission. [Reuters]
The PKK is classified as a terrorist group in Turkey, the US and the EU. [Reuters]
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Turkey: Armed forces attack PKK positions in northern Iraq
Turkey attacked positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq on April 17 with fighter jets, helicopters, drones and commando troops. [Frankfurter Rundschau]
Turkish troops were also airlifted by helicopter or crossed overland into northern Iraq to engage PKK forces in an operation dubbed Nacheile, or Hot Pursuit in English, by the Turkish government. Ankara launched the offensive in the spring because of better weather conditions in Iraq’s northern mountain range, where the PKK maintains bases for cross border attacks. [SRF] [Associated Press]
Kamal Sido, Middle East Contributor from the Gesellschaft fur bedrohte Volker, said the military operation was an effort to distract from internal problems in Turkey. [Frankfurter Rundschau]
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Turkey: Central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged despite high inflation
Turkey’s central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged for the fourth month despite inflation accelerating to a 20-year high. The central bank kept the rate at 14 percent, according to a statement after a monetary policy committee meeting.
Annual inflation hit 61.1 percent in March, deepening the pain for households that were already struggling to purchase basic goods. The Turkish lira lost 44 percent of its value against the US dollar last year. [Bloomberg] [Associated Press] [Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi]
While many Turkish households are struggling to pay for basic goods, the government reduced energy prices and implemented tax cuts. [Associated Press]
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Turkey: Court moves trial of murdered Saudi journalist to Saudi Arabia
A Turkish court has decided to transfer the trial of 26 Saudis accused of murdering Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul to Saudi Arabia, a decision that was criticised by human rights groups as Ankara tries to mend ties with Riyadh.
The Turkish prosecutor in the case recommended transferring the case to Saudi Arabia because the trial in Turkey would be inconclusive. The Turkish justice minister supported the idea, adding the trial would resume in his country if the Turkish court was not satisfied with the outcome of the trial in Saudi Arabia. [Reuters] [Reuters]
Transferring the trial from Turkey to Saudi Arabia would end any possibility of justice for Khashoggi and would reinforce Saudi authorities’ apparent belief that they can get away with murder, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said. “ The Turkish authorities should reverse their decision and not contribute any further to entrenching Saudi impunity by handing over the Khashoggi case to the very people implicated in his murder.’’ [Human Rights Watch]
Erol Onderoglu, the Turkish representative of Reporters Without Borders, said that Turkey is not interested in resolving the case. He pointed to the fact that the court conducting the trial prevented the submission as evidence of a US intelligence report concluding that Crown Prince Mohammed had approved the operation that led to the death of Khashoggi. [International Business Time] [The Washington Post]
Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote critically about Saudi Crown Prince Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in October 2018 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. He had visited the consulate for an appointment to collect documents required to marry his Turkish fiancee. [AP]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accused the Saudi crown prince Mohammed of ordering the killing of Khashoggi, who was a prominent critic of the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. This led to a deterioration in ties between the two countries. Turkey’s accusations led to an unofficial ban of the country’s goods in Saudi Arabia, causing a 90 percent drop of Turkish exports to the Kingdom. [Reuters] [Associated Press][Reuters]
Moving the trial back to Saudi Arabia has helped Ankara repair ties with Riyadh at a time that Turkey faces an economic crisis caused by its collapsing currency and inflation. Erdogan visited Riyadh in April, his first visit since the 2018 killing of Khashoggi drove a wedge between the Sunni Muslim powers. Erdogan said before his departure that he hoped “to launch a new era” in bilateral ties. [TimesofIsrael]
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Turkey: Ankara denies human rights violations after critical US human rights report
Turkey dismissed a report by the US State Department that criticised the country’s human rights record and restrictions on press freedoms. The State Department released on April 12 its annual Human Rights Report. The report criticised the Turkish government for restricting fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech and civil rights. [Human Rights Report 2021] [BBC Türkiye] [Hürriyet][Amerikanin Sesi]
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of arbitrary killings, suspicious deaths of persons in custody, forced disappearances, torture; arbitrary arrest and continued detention of tens of thousands of persons, the State Department said. These include opposition politicians and former members of parliament, lawyers, journalists, human rights activists, and employees of the US Mission, for purported ties to “terrorist” groups or peaceful legitimate speech, it said. [Human Rights Report 2021]
Turkey denied any involvement in human rights violations. The Foreign Ministry highlighted Turkey's efforts to defend and protect these rights by fighting against terrorism. [BBC Türkiye] [Hürriyet] [Amerikanin Sesi]
(go/gc)
Turkey: Turkish philanthropist sentenced to life in prison for financing protests
Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala was sentenced to life in prison on April 25 by a Turkish court for financing protests during the 2013 Gezi Park protests.
Kavala has denied the allegations and will be able to appeal the case. Seven others were sentenced to 18 years in prison for financing protests. [Reuters] [Balkan Insight]
The US said the sentencing was incompatible with human rights, while Germany summoned the Turkish ambassador to demand the immediate release of Kavala. A government spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the ruling was devastating for the civil society and rule of law in Turkey. [Süddeutsche Zeitung] [FAZ]
Turkey summoned the German ambassador to express its concerns over Germany interfering in home relations with Turkey. [ZEIT ONLINE] [Hürriyet Daily News]
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