
Slovakia to stop blocking new EU sanctions on Russia – DW – 07/18/2025
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Thursday that his country will end its blockade of a new EU sanctions package against Russia.
Slovakia had been holding up the 18th EU sanctions package against Russia over concerns regarding a separate EU plan to stop gas imports from Russia beginning in 2028.
Any new sanctions package requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.
"At this point, it would be counterproductive to continue blocking the 18th sanctions package tomorrow," Fico said in a video posted on Facebook. He said Slovakia received guarantees from the EU pertaining to gas prices and supply.
EU ambassadors are expected to meet on Friday to finally greenlight the package. Previous attempts to pass the new sanctions failed during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels earlier this week.

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8 hours ago
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Trump tariffs: Where do we stand as deadline expires – DW – 07/31/2025
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DW
9 hours ago
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Ukraine: Bill restores independence of anti-graft bodies – DW – 07/31/2025
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After overnight Russian drone and missile strikes across Ukraine left at least seven people dead and over 80 injured, a furious Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the confiscation of frozen Russian financial assets and even regime change in Moscow. In response, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted an electronics plant in western Russia. Meanwhile, on the frontline, Russian forces have claimed to have captured the embattled town of Chasiv Yar — denounced as a "lie" by Kyiv.


DW
10 hours ago
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US-EU trade deal could lock bloc into fossil fuel dependency – DW – 07/30/2025
Critics say Europe's $750 billion energy deal with the US could risk the bloc's climate goals and energy security if it goes ahead. Environmental groups have criticized a new trade deal that could see Europe spending more than $750 billion (€700 billion) on mostly fossil fuel imports from the United States over the next three years, warning it could undermine the bloc's climate targets. "This risks locking Europe into decades of fossil fuel dependence, volatile energy bills, and accelerating the wildfires and flooding already wreaking havoc across the continent," said Andreas Sieber, associate director of policy and campaigns at climate group in a statement. As part of an agreement that US President Donald Trump dubbed the "biggest deal ever," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said US energy would replace Russian oil and gas, "which we do not want anymore." Instead, Europe would purchase "more affordable and better" liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, said von der Leyen. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The deal, which helped avert a trade war, includes a 15% tariff on key EU exports to the US such as cars. But critics say it represents an "about-turn" in Europe's climate policy. "The new US-EU trade deal is a dramatic U-turn on the European Commission's and President von der Leyen's priorities from a couple of years ago," said Esther Bollendorff, senior gas policy coordinator at climate group CAN Europe. "Namely, building a future-proof European Green Deal based on climate ambition and rapid renewables build-out." The Commission, under von der Leyen, unveiled the Green Deal to ramp up Europe's ambitions on fighting climate change at the end of 2019. Europe is the fastest-warming region globally, say scientists. The continent saw its hottest year on record in 2024. Just weeks ago, the Commission presented proposals for a 90% bloc-wide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 compared with 1990 levels. The mid-term target aims to help the EU reach its wider 2050 goal of carbon neutrality, with measures including improving energy efficiency, electrifying the transport sector and boosting green energy. In the next five years, the bloc aims to have 42.5% of its energy come from renewable sources. The US-EU trade deal "flies in the face" of these commitments, said Luke Haywood, head of climate and energy at the European Environmental Bureau, a network of environmental organizations. "Tripling US energy imports in just three years isn't only physically implausible, it would derail the EU's mid-term decarbonization targets," he added in a statement. Burning oil and gas emits greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet, fueling more extreme weather. Swapping pipeline gas for US LNG would further increase Europe's emissions, said Chris Aylett, a research fellow at the Environment and Society Center of UK-based independent policy institute Chatham House. That's because LNG production and transport emits more methane — a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO2, though it doesn't stay as long in the atmosphere. Still, there is skepticism about whether Europe can live up to its new pledge on US energy spending, with Aylett saying it would be "very difficult." In 2024, the EU imported around €60 billion worth of oil and gas from the US. Another €24 billion came from Russia. Taken together, that's a "long way away" from the €216 billion the EU promised to spend each year, Aylett told DW. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The European Commission also cannot force member states or companies to buy US energy, said Aylett. "It's an aspiration really. The EU has the means that it could encourage it [...] but it's all voluntary, so the Commission itself wouldn't be making the purchases," he added. "In some ways the promise has been made that the Commission itself doesn't really have any ability to deliver." Swapping dependence on Russian energy with reliance on the US could be "catastrophic" for energy security too, warned Aylett. "It would be breaking the very first rule, which is that you don't just rely on one supplier," he told DW, adding that it would make the bloc "extremely vulnerable."