The rest of the package focuses mostly on sanctioning companies and vessels involved in circumventing existing EU penalties on Russia. A draft list seen by POLITICO shows plans to more than double the number of oil and gas tankers on its blacklist, bringing the total to 75. Yet talks fell apart, two of the diplomats said, after … Read more
Juhansone, a former Latvian ambassador, who is currently the top EU official at the Commission, is a close ally of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her chief of staff Bjoern Seibert. Should Juhansone clinch the top job at the EEAS it could be seen as a power grab by von der Leyen, who … Read more
“Most redundant services should be restored, and will hopefully not be affected further,” the company said. Finnish authorities are currently investigating the incident together with the network company, Transport and Communications Minister Lulu Ranne said on Tuesday. “We take the situation seriously,” she added. This latest disruption comes two weeks after an incident involving two … Read more
Denmark’s navy said it was shadowing the ship, which is currently anchored in international waters between Denmark and Sweden. “From the Swedish side, we have had contact with the ship and China and stated that we want the ship to move towards Swedish waters,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Tuesday, while stressing that he was … Read more
This marks the second time in a year that Baltic Sea infrastructure — which includes communications cables and energy pipelines such as Nord Stream — has been damaged, raising concerns over security and sabotage. Another telecom cable in the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland Island was damaged Sunday morning, telecom company Telia Lietuva, … Read more
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans meetings with leaders from the EU, the U.K. and NATO to discuss the situation in Ukraine after Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States. Tusk said that he would host meetings in Warsaw with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Mark Rutte, while a meeting with British … Read more
Prior to Lithuania’s run-off election on Sunday, Blinkevičiūtė had confirmed she was ready to lead the country’s next government. After the election results came in, however — and again on Monday — she avoided answering the question of whether she still wanted to lead the country. Blinkevičiūtė on Wednesday finally suggested Gintautas Paluckas, a former leader … Read more
Local media reported that health problems could be behind the party leader’s decision. Although it there were question marks from the beginning of the Lithuanian election campaign of whether she would take on the role, Blinkevičiūtė confirmed in the run-up Sunday’s run-off election that she would become the prime minister. However, after the results of … Read more
Landsbergis, who has been Lithuania’s foreign minister since December 2020, has vocally supported Ukraine’s resistance against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion. Lithuania’s opposition Social Democratic Party (LSDP) won parliamentary elections Sunday, pushing out Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and her incumbent Homeland Union — Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS-LKD). The center-left LSDP secured a decisive 52-seat … Read more
The German Air Force said separately on Saturday that it had identified five Russian jets flying over the Baltic Sea and had deployed Eurofighters to escort them. This is far from the first time Russian aircraft have wandered toward EU and NATO airspace. Earlier this month, Latvia’s defense ministry said a Russian drone crashed in the Rēzekne … Read more
