Slovakia
Slovakia’s Fico meets Ukraine’s Zelenskiy and delivers a message from Putin, opening indirect talks between the two presidents
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Uzhgorod, close to the Slovak-Ukrainian border, on September 5 and delivered a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin in what could be an indirect approach.
KYIV BLOG: Brexit on steroids
The coalition of the willing Paris summit on September 4 ended in disaster. The European team has been working really hard for several weeks to thrash out a plan to save Ukraine and came together in Paris.
Trump chews coalition of the willing leaders out over Russian oil imports
US President Donald Trump got into another shouting match over the Ukraine conflict, this time with Europe’s top leaders of the coalition of the willing, in a phone call following the end of the Paris summit on September 4.
The coalition of the willing meet in Paris to try and stop the war in Ukraine
President Zelenskiy travelled to Denmark and France on September 3 to meet with leaders from 35 countries that make up the coalition of the willing (COW) and discuss the need for strong measures to pressure Russia to negotiate an end to the war.
LONG READ: Europeans face recession, financial crises, as they struggle to boost defence spending
US President Donald Trump has dropped the burden of supplying and supporting Ukraine’s battle against Russia firmly in Europe’s lap. But cash-strapped and with the UK and France on the verge of crisis, they are going to struggle to manage.
Nato’s Zeitenwende to reach 2% spending goal – Statista
New data released last week by Nato exemplifies how profoundly the realities of foreign relations have changed over the course of the past three years, Statista reports.
Putin has no objection to Ukraine joining the EU
Debunking a widely held assumption, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a visit to China to attend the SCO summit that Russia has “no objection” to Ukraine joining the EU on September 2.
Slovakia's PM Fico says he wants standard relations with Russia following his meeting with Putin
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wants standard relations with Russia following his meeting with Russian Vladimir Putin in Beijing. Fico stated he spent nearly an hour in private talks with Putin.
Future 500 Forum to tackle Europe’s chronic scale-up gap
As Europe lags Asia and the US on competitiveness, a new initiative aims to give Central and Southeast Europe’s most promising companies a shot at becoming global champions, co-founder Stjepan Orešković tells bne IntelliNews.
BRICS leaders gather in China to coordinate anti-Trump alliance
The EU’s 27 foreign ministers will debate seizing Russia’s frozen $200bn at an informal gathering in Copenhagen, as the leading BRICS nations gathered in Beijing to form a common strategy to deal with US trade aggression on August 30.
EU foreign ministers meet to discuss Russia problem
European foreign ministers gathered in Copenhagen to discuss a number of issues with holding Russia to account for the war with Ukraine at the top of the agenda.
Economic sentiment improves across Central and Eastern Europe despite new US tariffs
Economic sentiment in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rose in August, indicating a potential acceleration in regional GDP growth to around 2.5% y/y, according to a note published by Nicholas Farr, emerging Europe economist at Capital Economics.
EU commits to huge increase in energy imports from US - Statista
One of the key components of the trade deal that the European Union and the US agreed upon on July 27 is the EU’s commitment to massively ramp up energy imports from the United States, Statista reports.
US EPA’s controversial Climate Crisis report is full of lies and mistakes
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a controversial report in July claiming the effects of the Climate Crisis were overblown. A fact check by Carbon Brief found it is full of lies and errors.
War of words escalates between Budapest Brussels and Kyiv following the latest Druzhba oil pipeline attacks
US President Donald Trump is very angry with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the attacks on Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline that lead to an exchange of irate letters over the weekend.
Russian oil deliveries to Hungary off again after third attack on Druzhba pipeline as Ukraine ups attacks on Russian oil assets
Russian crude deliveries to Slovakia and Hungary were suspended on August 21 after a third attack on the Druzhba pipeline system in less than two weeks, officials confirmed. Flows are expected to remain offline for at least five days.
Mapping global drought risk - Statista
By 2050, more than 1.6bn people, including almost 20% of the African population, will be exposed to severe and extreme droughts, if a pessimistic scenario plays out, according to a report by INFORM Climate Change.
Forest carbon credits are facing a reckoning over albedo risks
Planting trees should reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere right? Well, its not so easy as that. Trees also provide shade and prevent sunlight from reaching the ground that could reflect it back into space, cooling the plant.
EU faces worst wildfire season on record as over 1mn hectares burn
The European Union is enduring its most severe wildfire season since records began, with more than 1.01mn hectares of land scorched so far this year,
Peace turns on possible new Western security deals for Ukraine
Mixed results for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy following the historic meeting with US President Donald Trump and seven European leaders on August 18 in the White House.