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Top EU officials on Wednesday urged member states to be ambitious in helping Ukraine rebuild after the war, including through possible joint borrowing to cover the massive costs. With the war still raging, the extent of Ukraine’s reconstruction needs is not known, but the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, believes the damage already done is already in the hundreds of billions of euros (dollars). To help pay for this, officials are floating a repeat of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund, the 800 billion euros ($840 billion) in fiscal stimulus that is being financed by common debt among the EU’s 27 member states. The fund, officially known as Next Generation EU, overcame deep reticence by so-called “frugal” member states such as the Netherlands and Denmark to come into being. “There is a time, sooner or later, when we will have to look at funding on a European scale as we did for Covid,” said Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, at a news conference in … [Read more...] about EU Floats Idea of Massive Aid to Rebuild Ukraine

EU countries and lawmakers agreed on Friday to tougher cybersecurity rules for large energy, transport and financial firms, digital providers and medical device makers amid concerns about cyber attacks by state actors and other malicious players. The European Commission two years ago proposed rules on the cybersecurity of network and information systems called NIS 2 Directive, in effect expanding the scope of the current rule known as NIS Directive. The new rules cover all medium and large companies in essential sectors – energy, transport, banking, financial market infrastructure, health, vaccines and medical devices, drinking water, waste water, digital infrastructure, public administration and space. All medium and large firms in postal and courier services, waste management, chemicals, food manufacturing, medical devices, computers and electronics, machinery equipment, motor vehicles, and digital providers such as online market places, online search engines, and social … [Read more...] about EU Governments, Lawmakers Agree on Tougher Cybersecurity Rules for Key Sectors

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm moved Wednesday to jump-start plans for the 27-nation bloc to abandon Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, proposing a nearly 300 billion-euro ($315 billion) package that includes more efficient use of fuels and faster rollout of renewable power. The European Commission’s investment initiative is meant to help the 27 EU countries start weaning themselves off Russian fossil fuels this year. The goal is to deprive Russia, the EU’s main supplier of oil, natural gas and coal, of tens of billions in revenue and strengthen EU climate policies. “We are taking our ambition to yet another level to make sure that we become independent from Russian fossil fuels as quickly as possible,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels when announcing the package, dubbed REPowerEU. With no end in sight to Russia’s war in Ukraine and European energy security shaken, the EU is rushing to align its geopolitical … [Read more...] about EU rushes out $300 billion roadmap to ditch Russian energy

Alphabet unit Google has signed deals to pay more than 300 publishers in Germany, France and four other EU countries for their news and will roll out a tool to make it easier for others to sign up too, the company told Reuters. The move to be announced publicly later on Wednesday followed the adoption of landmark EU copyright rules three years ago that require Google and other online platforms to pay musicians, performers, authors, news publishers and journalists for using their work. News publishers, among Google ‘s fiercest critics, have long urged governments to ensure online platforms pay fair remuneration for their content. Australia last year made such payments mandatory while Canada introduced similar legislation last month. ALSO READ: End Of An Era: The Apple iPod Is Dead “So far, we have agreements which cover more than 300 national, local and specialist news publications in Germany, Hungary, France, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland, with many more … [Read more...] about Google Paying More Than 300 EU Publishers for News, More to Come

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war and all the ruckus about Russian energy imports, the West is emerging as a champion in doublespeak. Even as it wished for India to not buy Russian oil at a discount, the West has vacillated on the issue of buying Russian energy itself, leading to an increase in imports. The European Union is in a particularly hypocritical position, divided by Russia’s ‘blackmailing’ tactics. Not only is it far from weaning off Russian energy imports, but the EU is also on its way to complying with Russia’s ruble payment condition. If media headlines are anything to go by, if at one moment the EU is imposing sanctions on Russian gas imports so as to not bankroll Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in the next moment, it is scrambling to circumvent the same sanctions and bankroll Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Indeed, the bloc is divided over how far its boycott of Russian gas can go and Putin’s “pay in ruble” curveball did the rest of the damage. But after hoodwinking EU countries … [Read more...] about Putin is Winning the Energy War as Europe’s Paradoxical Drama on Russian Gas Imports Rages on

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Four European Union countries plan to build North Sea wind farms capable of producing at least 150 gigawatts of energy by 2050 to help cut carbon emissions that cause climate change, Danish media reported Wednesday. Under the plan, wind turbines would be raised off the coasts of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, daily Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten said. The project would mean a tenfold increase in the EU's current offshore wind capacity. “The North Sea can do a lot," Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen told the newspaper, adding the close cooperation between the four EU nations "must start now.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo are scheduled to attend a North Sea Summit on Wednesday in Esbjerg, 260 … [Read more...] about Reports: 4 European nations to build North Sea wind farms

Fox News' Tucker Carlson is set to speak in a video address this week at CPAC Hungary 2022 (Conservative Political Action Conference) alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. CPAC Hungary 2022, the first such conference to be held in Europe, will be hosted by the Center for Fundamental Rights and the American Conservative Union (ACU) on May 19 and 20 in Budapest. As the war between Ukraine and Russia rages on and Finland and Sweden have submitted their NATO applications, it is expected that speakers will reflect on the future of Europe and NATO as well as on conservative issues. Orbán, who is a long-time supporter of Putin and did choose to side with other EU countries in imposing some sanctions on Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine, is to be the keynote speaker at the event. "We know that we are facing serious challenges. CPAC Hungary is looking for the answer to how we can protect Western civilization, true Western values, how we can resist the attacks of … [Read more...] about Tucker Carlson, fierce NATO critic, to speak at ‘CPAC Hungary’ with Orbán

Pakistani billionaire Mohammad Zahoor has given Ukraine fighter jets to aid in their battle as Russia's invasion of the country continues, according to his wife. Zahoor's wife, the Ukrainian singer Kamaliya Zahoor (known professionally as simply Kamaliya), said that her husband and other wealthy friends had been quietly helping Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Ukraine's TSN reported on Wednesday. "[Mohammad] gave me the green light to tell this. Because they hid these [actions]. They gave two fighter jets to Ukraine and help Ukraine," she said during the program Morning with Ukraine . It is not clear when Kamaliya made these comments. Since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in late February, Zahoor, who used to live in Ukraine and was the former owner of the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post , has been pushing to ensure the safe evacuation of Ukrainian citizens, according to a Khaleej Times report. The report said that the Karachi-born billionaire had been attempting … [Read more...] about Pakistani billionaire buys fighter jets for Ukraine, his famous wife says

The statement issued by Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was nothing short of an intimation, nay confirmation, of the apocalyptic economic crisis that the island nation confronts. The numbers thrown by Mr Wickremesinghe are self-explanatory of the mess that he will need to clean up to put Sri Lanka back on track. Government revenues cover only 40 per cent of the expenditure being incurred. The fiscal deficit is around 13 per cent of GDP. The foreign exchange reserves are virtually non-existent. According to Wickremesinghe, “It is a challenge for the treasury to find USD 1 million.” Petrol stocks are down to just one day. Sri Lanka is looking at power cuts of around 15 hours a day because a quarter of the electricity is produced from oil which the government has no money to buy. There are huge shortages of medicines. Shortages of virtually every other commodity, including food, are inescapable. With the government being “compelled to print money” to pay … [Read more...] about India Must Lead Quad Effort to Pull Out Sri Lanka from Clutches of China’s Debt Trap Diplomacy

By The Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey — A pro-government Turkish newspaper says Turkey has drawn up a list of 10 demands it will reportedly ask Sweden and Finland to meet before it can approve their NATO membership. The list published by Sabah newspaper on Wednesday calls on the two countries to stop any financial support to groups linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as well as to Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara views as extensions of the banned group. There are also demands that these countries halt contacts with members of the Syrian Kurdish group. Sabah said Turkey furthermore wants the two countries to “expedite” extradition proceedings for suspects wanted by Turkey on terror charges. The list also includes a demand that Sweden clamps down on what Sabah called a “disinformation” campaign against Turkey led by followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara claims was behind a coup attempt in 2016. Many followers of the Gulen movement have fled to Sweden. … [Read more...] about Live updates | Report: Turkey lists Sweden, Finland demands