European Affairs

01/01/2025

Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day, marking the end of decades of Moscow's dominance over Europe's energy markets. The gas had kept flowing despite nearly three years of war, but Russia's gas firm Gazprom said it had stopped at 0500 GMT after Ukraine refused to renew a transit agreement. The widely expected stoppage will not impact prices for consumers in the European Union - unlike in 2022, when falling supplies from Russia sent prices to record highs, worsened a cost-of-living crisis and hit the bloc's competitiveness.

Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day, marking the end of decades of Moscow's dominance over Europe's energy markets.

01/01/2025

Hungary is set to permanently lose access to just over €1bn in EU funds on January 1, as disputes between Budapest and Brussels hamper the country’s capacity to drag itself out of recession — and undermine Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s bid for re-election in 2026.

Rift with Brussels has led to Budapest having €19bn worth of support frozen

01/01/2025

In 2024, more Ukrainians were freed from Russian captivity than in the previous year, according to data published by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs).

Over the past year, Ukraine conducted 11 prisoner exchanges and secured the return of 356 more people than in 2023.

01/01/2025

Russia on Wednesday shut down its oldest gas route to Europe, which runs through Ukraine, after a transit deal expired in the early hours of January 1, 2025, without an accord extension. Moscow's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine accelerated Europe's efforts to end its dependence on Russian gas, an endeavor hailed by Kyiv.

Russia on Wednesday shut down its oldest gas route to Europe, which runs through Ukraine, after a transit deal expired in the early hours of January 1, 2025, without an accord extension. Moscow's 2022…

16/11/2024

Russian gas giant Gazprom opens new tab continued to pump steady volumes of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday, but supplies to Austrian energy company opens new tab were halted hours after Vienna said Russia had given notice it would cut off flows. Russia, which before the Ukraine war was the biggest single supplier of natural gas to Europe, has lost almost all of its European customers as the EU tried to reduce its dependence and the Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany was blown up in 2022. (...)

Austria's biggest energy supplier is trying to recover damages awarded during arbitration from Gazprom by essentially stopping some payment for gas supplied via Ukraine.

07/02/2024

Russia launched missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during Wednesday morning's rush hour, killing three people, injuring at least a dozen more and setting blazes across the capital, Ukrainian officials said. (...) European Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who is in Kyiv on a two-day visit to underline the EU’s support for Ukraine, posted a picture on X social media platform from a shelter. “Starting my morning in the shelter as air alarms are sounding across Kyiv,” he said. (...)

Russia launched missile strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during Wednesday morning's rush hour, killing three people, injuring at least a dozen more and setting blazes across the capital, Ukrainian…

07/02/2024

Seven key takeaways from the US Senate’s border security and Ukraine bill. The Senate will vote on the bill after months of discussing aid to allies and changes to border policy – here’s what to know.

The Senate will vote on the bill after months of discussing aid to allies and changes to border policy – here’s what to know

29/07/2023

Saudi Arabia to Host Ukraine Peace Talks as Part of Western Effort to Woo Global South. Washington and Europe are hoping the talks, which exclude Russia, can lead to international backing for peace terms favoring Ukraine.

Washington and Europe are hoping the talks, which exclude Russia, can lead to international backing for peace terms favoring Ukraine.

17/07/2023

Opinion | George Monastiriakos: The only way to save Russia is to dismantle it. (...) To be clear: The Russian Federation is the third iteration of the Russian Empire. Spanning 11 time zones and comprising hundreds of ethnically, linguistically, religiously, and culturally distinct societies ruled by, from, and for the benefit of a small circle of kleptocrats primarily based in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, the Russian state has been unviable for centuries. Like empires of old, the only way to save Russia from itself is to dismantle it. (...) Nevertheless, constructivists celebrated the “end of history.” Realists were preoccupied with rogue states or terrorist groups obtaining nuclear weapons from Soviet stockpiles. Liberals promoted normalization with Moscow. Prosperity and development would democratize Russia. Economic interdependence with Europe would pave the path for Russia to join NATO and the European Union. International relations would evolve from competition between great powers to security challenges posed by non-state actors. (...) Read more:

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia, the world’s last remaining empire, a great power, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, its smaller neighbor and former colony, to overthrow its democratically elected government, annex its sovereign...

24/06/2023

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, several packages of unprecedented sanctions were imposed on Russia, including the freezing of nearly half of the Russian central bank’s foreign exchange reserves and the exclusion of a number of Russian banks from SWIFT, the dominant financial messaging system used to facilitate cross-border payments. Several observers noted that these sanctions may have far-reaching consequences for the role of the currencies of the sanctioning countries – including the US dollar and the euro – in the international monetary and financial system. According to these observers, countries that are not fully aligned geopolitically with the United States might reduce their exposures to the currencies of sanctioning countries going forward. However, other observers have been more cautious and pointed to challenges involved in diversifying from the major international currencies. This special feature sheds light on this debate by reviewing the available evidence on the effects of geopolitical fragmentation risks on the use of international currencies. It shows that evidence of potential fragmentation in the international monetary system since Russia’s invasion has so far been mainly restricted to announcements and specific cases rather than pointing to broader trends. Anecdotal evidence, including official statements, points to intentions of some countries to develop the use of alternatives to major traditional currencies, such as the Chinese renminbi, the Russian rouble or the Indian rupee for invoicing international trade. There is also evidence that Russia has been using the Chinese renminbi to a significantly greater extent for international invoicing and cross-border payments in the past few months. However, the available data do not show substantial changes in the use of international currencies as yet. One exception is evidence of increased accumulation of gold as an alternative reserve asset, possibly driven by countries geopolitically closer to China and Russia.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the European Union countries which have adopted the euro. Our main task is to maintain price stability in the euro area and so preserve the purchasing power of the single currency.

20/06/2023

Russia-imposed police in Ukraine's Moscow-annexed Crimea have detained two Crimean Tatar brothers -- Dzhafer and Alim Alyustayev, for unspecified reasons after searching their homes on June 20.