Ukraine shapes debate at Munich Security Conference: The Ukraine crisis and the nuclear negotiations with Iran were the big issues at the Security Conference in Munich. German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her belief that sending weapons to Ukraine would not lead to progress in achieving peace. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, the US will be sending economic help and other assistance to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian-backed rebels. Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the US must provide defensive arms to Ukraine. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke with Kerry and warned against tougher sanctions.
euronews.com, dw.de, cnbc.com, usatoday.com
Ukraine summit on Wednesday: The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine plan four-way talks in Minsk this week in an effort to broker peace in the Ukraine. The proposed meeting Wednesday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk emerged from a phone call between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. While Poroshenko raised the possibility that the summit could provide a breakthrough, Putin insisted that the four-way meeting would only happen if they agree on key points beforehand.
npr.org, bbc.com, yahoonews.com
Tsipras won’t deviate from his course: The Greek Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced his anti-austerity government program in a defiant address that prioritized the jobless and destitute over international creditors who have lent the country billions. Greece cannot service its huge debt and will seek a bridge loan rather than an extension of its bailout, Tsipras said. Tsipras laid out plans to dismantle Greece’s austerity program and, showing little intent to heed warnings from the EU to stick to bail out commitments, Tsipras said he intended to fully respect campaign pledges. The chief executive and chairman of National Bank of Greece plan to step down from their roles in the next few days as a consequence of Tsipras taking office.
theguardian.com, bbc.com, reuters.com
Maros Sefcovic calls for realignment of energy policies: European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic has called for a realignment of the European energy policies. The national subsidy programs had created new hurdles and distorted trade, Sefcovic said. A European approach would be more durable, better, cheaper and more reliable than any national approach could ever be, especially in order to integrate renewable energies.
reuters.com
US wants to screen travelers from Europe: Fears of jihadists with European passports are prompting American efforts to tighten the security of a program that allows millions of foreigners, mostly from Europe, to travel to the US without visas. The visa waiver program, begun in the mid-1980s to spur tourism and business travel, includes 38 countries. Citizens from those nations can enter the United States and remain for as long as 90 days, bypassing the in-person interview at a U.S. consulate abroad traditionally required for a visa, but the travelers are still screened in a variety of ways. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said his department is reviewing security measures to screen travelers from the EU.
latimes.com, washingtonpost.com
EU Trade Commissioner Malmstrom wants to complete TTIP by 2016: European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has called the eighth round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the USA a milestone. Malmstrom is optimistic and expects to TTIP to be completed before the next American presidential election in 2016. Three further rounds of negotiation will be held this summer. Malmstrom appeals to the governments of the member state to raise their level of commitment.
euobserver.com, euractiv.com
Anti-IS coalition Allies retake territory in Iraq and Syria yahoonews.com
Surplus International Trade in Services in EU increased in 2013 europa.eu
„We will never forgive.“
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced in his government declaration that he plans to have the financial police pursue all acts of corruption by the old political elite.
welt.de„I think I am the spokesman of non-liberal people. The thought that democracy can only be liberal excludes non-liberal people from the platform of democracy. That is unfair.“
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban considers himself to be democratic but not liberal.
faz.net
British referendum no earlier than 2017: Britain will not get a say on leaving the European Union until 2017, after Downing Street rejected claims a referendum could be held next year. Prime Minister David Cameron had said the vote could not be brought forward because he needed time to renegotiate a better deal for the UK. However, Scottish and Welsh nationalists are demanding a veto on Britain leaving the EU, insisting every nation in the UK require a majority in favour of exit. Cameron had insisted the vote would happen by the end of 2017 if he remains prime minister.
financialtimes.com, dailymail.co.uk
Renzi adds new members to his party: The right-wing conservative party Forza Italia under former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced that a pact with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi for the implementation of political reforms had been broken. Renzi is now striving for an extension of his coalition. Six senators of the party Scelta Civica of former Prime Minister Mario Monti have now joined Renzi’s Democratic Party, allowing Renzi to increase his majority in Parliament.
derstandard.at, reuters.com
Trial of jihadists postponed: The first hearing of a trial into an attack on Turkish security forces by alleged members of the IS terroris militia in Turkey will be postponed and held in another location due to security concerns. The three suspected IS attackers, Cendrim Ramadani, Benyamin Xu and Muhammad Zakiri, were arrested and put in an Ankara jail following an attack on a checkpoint. Two security force members and one civilian were killed when the suspected IS jihadists opened fire. Government opponents sense an attempt of the authorities to cover up connections between the Turkish security agencies and the IS extremists.
tagesspiegel.de
Gazprom blocks Western gas deliveries to Ukraine: The Russian gas company Gazprom is hindering the supply of Western European natural gas to the Ukraine. At a junction of the gas pipeline at the Slovakian-Ukrainian border, Gazprom is blocking the flow of gas coming from the West, with reference to an arragement reached with the Slovakian government in 1999. Without this blockade, Ukraine would be independent of Russian gas.
euractiv.com, spiegel.de
Germans fear war: Many Germans are concerned that the Ukraine crisis could expand into a bigger war. According to an Emnid survey, almost half of all German citizens worry about this possibility. About 81 percent reject NATO arms supplies for the Ukraine. Given the escalation of the crisis, the German Armed Forces Association is calling for better equipment for the German military in case of an emergency.
sueddeutsche.de
Referendum on homosexuality fails in Slovakia: A Slovakian referendum intended to strengthen a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Slovakia has failed due to low voter turnout. According to the national statistics office, only 21.4 percent of those eligible voted, well short of the 50 percent required for the ballot to be valid. The homophobic, church-backed „Alliance for the Family“ had organized Saturday’s referendum. The vote would have only had a symbolic effect, since it would have legally prohibited already non-existent rights for homosexuals.
theguardian.com, bbc.com, dw.de
France Parisians commemorate victims of Charlie Hebdo killings one month after attack euronews.com
Great Britain Queen Elizabeth marks 63 years as monarch euronews.com
Up to 100,000 European citizens are fighting for the terrorist militia IS in Iraq and Syria according to estimations of the Spanish police, far more than previously assumed.
derstandard.at
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Red light in Rome: Italy’s capital is set to get its first red light district. Prostitution is already legal in Italy, now city officials in the district of Esposizione Universale di Roma want to designate certain streets for prostitutes, starting experimentally in April. The aim is to pinpoint places, such as parks frequented by children and families, where prostitution won’t be allowed, and by designating some streets where it will. Brothels have been illegal in Italy up until now. The Catholic church protested against the plans.
nbcnews.com, cbsnews.com