Ukraine launches offensive: The Ukrainian military has launched an offensive against separatists near Mariupol. Government forces broke through rebel positions, with Ukraine blaming the separatists for shelling its command post. Rockets fired by insurgents hit the military headquarters and a nearby residential area in the city of Kramatorsk, killing 15 people. U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his support for the peace talks in a phone call with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, adding that Russia should live up to commitments it made last year toward resolving the crisis. Russia said it would interpret any U.S. provision of arms to Ukraine as a serious threat.
bloomberg.com, wallstreetjournal.com, reuters.com
Germany deflates hopes for Greek debt deal: According to a report, Greece should ask the EU Commission for a six-month period during which it will discuss and agree with lenders all pending issues and a post-bail-out plan. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that Greece would have to fulfill all commitments to its international creditors if it wants to continue enlisting European help for its debt problem, denying reports that Athens and the Commission were nearing a deal under which Greece would be given more time to come to an agreement with its creditors.
dw.de, abcnews.com, theguardian.com
British prisoners have right to vote: The UK has violated the human rights of more than 1,000 prisoners by denying them the vote, according to a ruling by Strasbourg judges of the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled there had been a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to a free election. However, the court rejected the applicants’ claims for compensation and legal costs.
bbc.com, financialtimes.com
Merkel and Harper defend CETA: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have defended the controversial free trade agreement CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement). In view of recent sluggish economic growth, the agreement would be a good opportunity for the European economy. The agreement between Canada and the EU is contentious since critics fear too much freedom for citizens and too little consumer protection. Criticism is also levelled at the fact that the CETA negotiations had been kept secret for years.
dw.de
Labor markets in Southern Europe more flexible: Greece and other European crisis countries have made large-scale cuts to social security benefits and workers rights, in order to save their way out of the crisis. According to a study by the Institute of the German Economy, these reforms have already shown results. The governments had changed their labor and product markets more comprehensively than previously assumed. The labor markets in those countries are now more flexible than in Germany.
n-tv.de
Turkey censors Twitter the most: Twitter has said in a transparency report that Turkey filed the most requests for removal of content from its site in the second half of 2014. With 477 requests out of a total of 796, the Turkish courts and other authorities were the top in terms of meddling with Twitter user accounts last year. Russia and Germany followed, with 91 and 43 requests respectively.
euobserver.com, dw.de
Data Quality of statistics for EU policymakers to be improved europa.eu
Tax abuse EU Council adopts anti-abuse clause on corporate tax avoidance europa.eu
„Plan B is to get funding from another source. It could be the United States at best, it could be Russia, it could be China or other countries.“
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos says that if Greece fails to get a new debt agreement with the euro zone, it could always look elsewhere for help.
reuters.com„We must be prepared to leave Europe. That is the lesson that needs to be drawn from the past.“
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, advises Jewish Europeans to prepare for anything given the rising antisemitism in Europe.
derstandard.at
Tsipras’ government expected to pass vote of confidence: Two weeks after his election victory, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will submit to a vote of confidence in the parliament in Athens. The two-party coalition government, which includes junior coalition partner right wing Independent Greeks, is expected to pass the vote. The coalition has a comfortable majority of 162 members in parliament with 300 seats. Athens’ anti-corruption minister Panagiotis Nikoloudis wants to track down and tax assets that had been hidden from the Greek Treasury, in order to quickly gain 2.5 billion euros. Investigations have led to hundreds of domestic and foreign accounts that hold taxable assets worth 6.4 billion euros.
wallstreetjournal.com, reuters.com
Spain partially privatizes airport operator Aena: The partial privatization of the world’s biggest airport operator Aena promises to be a success for the Spanish government. Because of the strong demand from investors, shares have been priced at 58 euros each. Bankers have valued Aena at 8.7 billion euros ahead of its flotation on the stock market. The sale of 49 percent of the company is expected to make some four billion euros for Spain. 51 percent of the company will remain in public hands. Aena runs more than 40 airports in Spain, and has interests in others including in Britain, Mexico and Colombia. The biggest privatization in Spain since 1997 is seen as a test of investors’ trust in the recovery of the Spanish economy.
reuters.com, nytimes.com, europeonline-magazine.eu
Russia builds nuclear plant in Egypt: Russia and Egypt plan to jointly build Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, as well as boost trade relations and investments. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi deepened their bilateral relationship during Putin’s visit in Cairo. The strengthening of economic and military ties is in part to show that the countries have other options available than working with the West. Officials signed a memorandum of understanding to build a nuclear power plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast.
bbc.com, reuters.com, abcnews.com
Citizens’ initiative demands release of Ukrainian pilot: A citizens’ initiative in Russia is demanding the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko. Savchenko, who has been on hunger strike in a Moscow prison for almost 60 days, is accused of aiding the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. She denies the accusations. A Moscow court on Tuesday prolonged the pre-trial detention until May 13. On Monday, EU foreign ministers called for Savchenko‘s release, saying that she was illegally abducted by Russia.
europeonline-magazine.eu
France’s economy grows more than expected: The French economy apparently recovered at the end of last year. The manufacturing industry produced 1.5 percent more in December than it did in the previous month, economists had only expected 0.4 percent. Next to Greece and Italy, France is considered one of the euro zone’s „problem children“. The French economy is suffering from high unemployment. Moreover, critics accuse the government in Paris of a lack of enthusiasm in implementing reforms.
marketwatch.com, n-tv.de
Attacks against refugee housing in Germany on the rise: The number of racially motivated assaults on refugee housing in Germany rose from 58 incidents in 2013 to 150 in 2014. In the last quarter of 2014, which is also when the marches of the anti-Islamization movement PEGIDA began, there were 67 such attacks – more than in 2012 and 2013 put together. The assaults include arson, the use of explosives or hate graffiti on buildings as well as violence against the refugees living in shelters. Due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East the number of refugees coming to Germany has risen dramatically.
dw.de
Russia Russian economy suffers most from oil price fall telegraph.co.uk
France Strauss-Kahn considers himself not guilty nytimes.com
Romania Thousands of Romanians suffer under Swiss franc loans euronews.com
With a share in GDP of 35 percent, Austria is Europe’s most liable country. Ireland is ranked second with 24.1 percent.
derstandard.at
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politjobs.de, politjobs.de/submit (Inserat schalten)
Picasso in garage: In front of a French Court, former electrician Pierre Le Guennec has to explain the origins of 271 Picasso works found in his garage. Le Guennec and his wife claim that Pablo Picasso gave them the 180 lithographs, collages and paintings and 91 drawings around 1970 when Le Guennec began working as a general handyman at Picasso’s estate. Heirs of Picasso and a state prosecutor describe the couple’s account as ridiculous. They argue that Picasso had a habit of autographing works that he gave away, and had never given away such a massive trove, with an estimated worth of up to 100 million euros.
huffingtonpost.com, yahoonews.com