EU Agrees To Renew Russia Sanctions For Another 6 Months
Brussels:
The EU's 27 leaders on Thursday agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, resolving fears that Kremlin-friendly Hungary would let the measures lapse, officials said.
The decision at a summit in Brussels means that the EU's sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine, including the freezing of more than 200 billion euros in Russian central bank assets, will remain in force until at least early 2026.
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Time of India
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- Time of India
'Double standards': Spain slams EU inaction on Israel deal
AP image In the wake of a damning EU review of Israel's human rights record in Gaza, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez slammed his colleagues for not moving to suspend a trade deal with Israel despite what he called "the catastrophic situation of genocide. " More than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed in the enclave over more than 18 months of Israeli bombardment, according to Hamas-run Gazan authorities. Israel vehemently denies accusations of genocide, maintaining that it is at war with the ruling militant Islamist group Hamas following a massive terror attack on Israeli territory in 2023. In a report distributed to the member states last week based on the findings and allegations of major international bodies, the European External Action Service found "indications" that Israel was breaching its duty to respect to human rights. The document, not public but made available to DW, highlighted possible indiscriminate attacks affecting the civilian population, Israel's blockade on food and medicine plus attacks on medical facilities as potential breaches. "There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations," the report concluded. Arriving at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Sanchez said it was "more than obvious that Israel is violating Article 2 of the EU-Israel agreement." "We have had 18 sanctions packages against Russia for its aggression [in Ukraine], and Europe, with its double standards, is not capable of suspending an association agreement," Sanchez said. Suspension off the cards Spain and Ireland are isolated among the 27 EU states in openly calling for the suspension of the deal in full, a move that would require unanimity and has therefore never been a serious prospect. Greece, Germany, Hungary, Austria, and Bulgaria remain close allies of Israel. Berlin in particular has made its views clear, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz describing the move as "out of the question with the federal [German] government." Doing so would be a major commercial disruption, particularly for Israel, which buys a third of its goods from the EU. The accord, in force since 2000, covers everything from the two sides trading relationship – worth $50 billion each year for goods alone – up to political dialogue, and cooperation on research and technology. Another possibility, requiring only a qualified majority of 15 out of 27, would be the partial suspension of the deal, for example, its provisions on free trade or shutting Israel out of EU research funding programme Horizon. But multiple diplomatic sources told DW that the numbers weren't there either. Top EU diplomat: Goal not to 'punish Israel' Earlier in the week, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas officially presented the document to the member states for a first debate, already making clear there would be no immediate moves. "It is not intended to punish Israel, but to trigger concrete improvements for the people and the lives of people in Gaza," she said on Monday. "If the situation does not improve, then we can also discuss further measures and come back to this in July." On Thursday, EU leaders at the summit only "took note" of the report in their joint statement, making no reference to potential rights breaches, and said ministers should revisit the topic next month. At the same time, the 27 leaders deplored the "dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the unacceptable number of civilian casualties and the levels of starvation." 'No foreign policy topic' more divisive than Israel Spain has also been calling for an EU embargo on the sale of arms to Israel, with Germany one of the country's major suppliers, as well as more sanctions. However, Berlin recently reaffirmed it would keep selling Israel weapons, and without Germany on board, the move wouldn't have much impact. A few other countries, including Belgium, France and Sweden, have supported imposing additional EU sanctions on Israel, but these too require unanimity. Echoing Sanchez, Irish leader Michael Martin said he would tell his colleagues at the summit that "the people of Europe find it incomprehensible that Europe does not seem to be in a position to put pressure on Israel." According to Lisa Musiol of conflict resolution think tank Crisis Group, maximum pressure would entail an arms embargo, large-scale sanctions against members of the government or a full suspension of the association agreement. 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"Even those member states that have traditionally been strong supporters of Israel but had started to be more outspoken or critical, such as Germany or Italy, have changed their tone."
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First Post
40 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump open to joining Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Turkey if Putin attends, says Erdogan
Even as the United States stands distracted with the Israel-Iran conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that US President Donald Trump is open to joining Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul if Russian leader Vladimir Putin would agree to attend. read more Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets US President Donald Trump during the Nato summit in London, Britain, December 4, 2019. (Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters/File Photo) Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that US President Donald Trump is open to joining Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul. Turkey has hosted two rounds of talks between Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks in Istanbul. The last round of talks was held on June 2, a day after Ukraine carried out a drone attack inside Russia and destroyed nearly a third of the country's long-range bomber and surveillance fleets. Erdogan has said that Trump would be open to join talks in Istanbul if Russian leader Vladimir Putin would be in attendance. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'He (Trump) said, 'if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also come. We will hold the necessary contacts and God willing realise this meeting as soon as possible,' said Erdogan, referring to his meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the Nato Summit. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for Putin's attendance for leader-level talks, the Russian leader has rejected such demands. Erdogan eyes 'window of opportunity' despite challenges Even as the Israel-Iran conflict has distracted the United States and Europe, Erdogan is hopeful that Trump could be convinced to join Ukraine-Russia talks. Turkey is using its mediation between Ukraine and Russia as a way to raise its profile on the international stage. Erdogan has long had close ties with Trump and has been acting as a go-between in the Ukraine war since 2022. Erdogan said that there currently exists a 'window of opportunity' that should not be missed. 'I believe a window of opportunity has opened for a ceasefire and lasting peace. We cannot afford to miss it. We are working to lay the groundwork for a lasting peace process by supporting additional concrete steps between the parties,' said Erdogan. Despite Erdogan's hopeful remarks, expectations of any immediate breakthrough are not high as Russia has rejected all US-backed ceasefire proposals so far that Ukraine has accepted. Russia has also ramped up the conflict in recent weeks with near-daily attacks with hundreds of missiles and drones. Even though Trump has expressed frustration with Putin in recent months, he has not taken any decision to pressure him. He has neither granted new weapons to Ukraine nor ramped up sanctions on Russia. Instead, he has repeatedly trashed Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and granted every wish to Putin and parroted his talking points justifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine of 2022 that began the ongoing war. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Apple loosens App Store grip on outside offers and fee structure after Rs 5007.35 crore EU fine
Apple has eased its App Store rules in the European Union after being fined 500 million (which is around Rs 5,007 crore) by EU antitrust regulators. The company was also ordered to stop blocking developers from directing users to alternative payment systems. The changes, which were announced on Thursday, are Apple's attempt to comply with the EU's stritct Digital Markets Act (DMA) that aims to curb the power of large tech companies and promote fairer competition in digital markets. advertisementAccording to a report by Reuters, Apple said it will now allow developers in the EU to add as many links as they want in their apps, directing users to external websites to complete purchases. Developers who make sales this way will be charged a fee ranging from 5 per cent to 15 per cent, depending on the developer's size and the service used. For those continuing to use Apple's in-app purchase system, the fee will remain at 20 per cent, with small developers paying as low as 13 per cent under Apple's small business move comes as the European Commission warned Apple it had 60 days to comply with the DMA or face daily penalties of up to 5 per cent of its average global daily revenue – roughly 50 million per 'The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store. We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal,' Apple reportedly said in a statement. The company has already paid the 500 million fine imposed earlier this Commission said it will now examine Apple's updated rules to assess whether they fully comply with the DMA. It also invited other market players and developers to share feedback on Apple's new terms. 'As part of this assessment the Commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps,' it said in a not everyone is pleased with Apple's response. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company had sued Apple in 2020 over antitrust issues, criticised the changes in a post on X. He described Apple's move as 'a mockery of fair competition,' claiming that apps using their own payment methods are still 'taxed and commercially crippled' within the App Store. Sweeney also claims that Apple deliberately makes it difficult to use third-party apps by blocking auto-updates, weakening search, and disabling features like customer support and family sharing. He argues that this creates a poor user experience and hurts developers. As a solution, he proposes that all developers should have equal access to App Store features, be free to use any payment system, and only pay for Apple's actual payment services -- not additional fees. In April 2025, a US federal judge delivered a major win for Sweeney's Epic Games in its long-running legal clash with Apple. After nearly five years, the court found that Apple had wilfully violated a 2021 injunction intended to make the App Store more open to competition. The judge said Apple's decision to enforce a 27 per cent fee on external purchases was driven by profit rather than user safety or innovation – the two arguments Apple has often used to defend its commission structure. As a result, the court referred the matter to federal prosecutors for a potential criminal contempt investigation. Apple has said it plans to appeal the has also filed a separate legal challenge against the EU's broader demands to open up its tightly controlled ecosystem. The company argues that the Commission's rules are unreasonable, costly, and could undermine user privacy and security.'These deeply flawed rules that only target Apple – and no other company – will severely limit our ability to deliver innovative products and features to Europe,' the company said earlier this Apple prepares to fight the EU in court, it will still have to comply with the Commission's order. That includes allowing competitors like Google, Meta, Spotify and Garmin to request access to key Apple technologies, and laying out a timeline for how Apple must respond to those interoperability requests. - Ends
