⊂ EUROPE ⊃
EU avoids blaming Russia for spy attack: The European Union has offered unqualified solidarity to Britain but has fallen short of backing British allegations that Russia and President Vladimir Putin are responsible for the Salisbury nerve agent attack. A statement urged Russia to address the UK’s questions and called for a full disclosure of its development of the military-grade nerve agent Novichok. Britain says Sergei Skripal and his daughter were targeted with Novichok. It accuses Moscow of stockpiling the toxin and investigating how to use it in assassinations. Inspectors from the world’s chemical weapons watchdog on Monday began examining the poison. The identification of Novichok as the weapon has become the central pillar of Britain’s case for Russia’s culpability. Each has expelled 23 of the other’s diplomats as their relations have sunk to a post-Cold War low.
thetimes.co.uk, bbc.com, uk.reuters.com
UK reaches Brexit transition deal with EU: British and EU negotiators on Monday agreed on the terms of a 21-month transition period to keep Britain inside Europe’s economic structures and to avoid an economically damaging “cliff edge” when the country formally departs the bloc next March. The transition accord was announced on Monday at a news conference in Brussels by David Davis, Britain’s main negotiator, and his European Union counterpart, Michel Barnier, who described it as a decisive step toward an orderly withdrawal, or Brexit. The deal, however, depends on a broader agreement on Britain’s withdrawal, which is to be finalised this year but is by no means certain. One of the main sticking points in those talks has been the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland, which will remain in the EU.
nytimes.com
EU to investigate German grid cross-border power capacity curbs: EU antitrust authorities are investigating whether limits placed by German grid operator TenneT on cross-border electricity transfers with Denmark breaches EU antitrust rules and puts foreign providers at an unfair disadvantage. The EU Commission announced on Monday that it has opened a formal investigation into German transmission system operator TenneT, a subsidiary of the Dutch government-owned operator of electrical grids. The EU executive said the investigation into TenneT was part of an ongoing effort to address the systematic limitation of cross border capacity on electricity interconnectors across the EU.
euractiv.com, reuters.com
Muted Western reaction to Putin victory: Sunday’s landslide election that handed victory to Russian President Vladimir Putin was overly controlled and lacked genuine competition, international election monitors said Monday. Putin’s critics have slammed the election as unfair, citing the Kremlin’s tight control over the media, quelling of the opposition and restrictions on some election monitors to ensure a free vote. Spokesman Steffen Seibert said that German Chancellor Angela Merkel would send Putin a congratulatory telegram that would address the challenges faced in German-Russian relations. In his official well wishes, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote that Germany and Russia were „disturbingly far removed“ from a lasting cooperative peaceful order in Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin by telephone, wishing Russia and its people success with the modernisation of the country on the political, democratic, economic and social fronts.
cnn.com, bbc.com, dw.com, cnbc.com
EU sanctions Syrian officials over chemical weapons: The Council has added four persons to the list of those targeted by EU restrictive measures against the Syrian regime. The EU added these persons for their role in the development and use of chemical weapons against the civilian population, in line with the EU’s policy to fight the proliferation and use of chemical weapons. They include a high-ranking military official and three scientists working at the Scientific Studies and Research Centre, the government entity responsible for developing and producing non-conventional weapons, including chemical weapons, and the missiles to deliver them. This entity is under EU restrictive measures since 1 December 2011.
consilium.europa.eu
Brussels: EU states are considering new sanctions against Iran n-tv.de
Report: ECB debate shifting to interest rate path from QE reuters.com
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„We’re not at the end of the road.“
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that one the biggest Brexit sticking points, the Irish border, remains unsolved.
cnbc.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Ukraine calls for sanctions against former German chancellor: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has called for sanctions against former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder over his pro-Russia lobbying. Germany’s government has rejected the idea. Schröder was close to Russian President Vladimir Putin as chancellor and became involved with a Russian-German gas pipeline project shortly after leaving office in 2005. Last year he was named chairman of Russian state oil giant Rosneft, drawing criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel. Klimkin is in Brussels for consultations with EU foreign ministers as part of „Ukraine + Group of Friends of Ukraine in the EU“ format.
politico.eu, dw.com, washingtonpost.com
Founder of German far-right group Pegida denied entry to UK: The founder of the German far-right group Pegida has been denied entry to the UK and deported, officials have confirmed. Lutz Bachmann, who was once pictured styled as Hitler, is the fourth foreign figure in the extreme right wing to be turned away at the UK border in the space of a fortnight. The Home Office said it had stopped the chair of the anti-Islam, anti-immigration group at Stansted airport on Saturday and deported him the next day, adding that his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good”.
theguardian.com
Italy seizes ship that picked up migrants in Mediterranean: Italian authorities seized a charity’s ship on suspicion it had helped illegal immigration by picking up migrants in the Mediterranean instead of letting Libya’s coastguard take them back to North Africa, the aid group said. The Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms picked up 218 migrants who were in unsafe rubber boats in international waters off Libya’s coast on Thursday, then took them to Sicily, the Italian coastguard said. The charity ignored a message from the Libyan coastguard claiming responsibility for taking in migrants in that stretch of sea, the Italian coastguard added in a statement.
reuters.com
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Belgrade and Washington have differing views on Kosovo army: The visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchel to Belgrade made it clear yet again that the issue of Kosovo remains a thorn in Serbia’s side and the biggest obstacle to its hopes of joining the EU in 2025. Mitchell said he believed Kosovo is entitled to its own professional security forces, which he said do not pose a threat to Serbia, while the Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic pointed out that there is no official document giving Kosovo the right to form its armed forces. Kosovo, Serbia’s former southern province, declared independence 10 years ago and now wants to form its own army.
euractiv.com
Belgium: Right-wing party fends off racism accusations politico.eu
Hungary: Amnesty: 500 asylum seekers illegally detained in two camps faz.net
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: Bitkom sucht Referent europäische Digitalpolitik (w/m) *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Innovation Project Manager *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Project Assistant for EU Funded Projects *** PwC seeks Public Affairs Senior Manager Belgium *** Johnson & Johnson seeks Policy Assistant, Government Affairs & Policy EMEA *** Public Policy Manager, Connectivity *** Ryanair offers Public Affairs internship
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Cynthia Nixon enters race for New York governor: American actress and liberal activist Cynthia Nixon, one of the stars of the hit television series “Sex and the City,” announced on Monday she would run for governor of New York, challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. Her campaign sets up a battle for the Sept. 13 primary between a celebrity on the left of the Democratic Party and a moderate governor who is often mentioned as a possible presidential hopeful in 2020.
reuters.com