EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials
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 ($234 billion) in Russian central bank assets, will remain in force until at least early 2026.
It comes after officials said they were preparing contingency plans to keep the bloc's economic punishment on Moscow in place should Hungarian leader Viktor Orban refuse to budge.
EU counterparts had feared a refusal by Budapest to renew the measures could blow a massive hole in the leverage the bloc holds over Russia as the United States presses peace efforts.
Orban took the decision to the wire the last time the sanctions — which need to be extended every six months — came up for renewal in January.
But while the EU made sure its existing measures will remain in place, it failed to get clearance on a new package of sanctions due to a blockage by Hungary's ally Slovakia.
Slovakian leader Roberto Fico refused at the summit to greenlight the new round of sanctions due to a separate dispute with Brussels over plans to cut off imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.
Slovakia remains dependent on Russian gas imports and earns money from transit fees for supplies piped across its territory.
Fico held talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier on Thursday but failed to get the concessions he wants and announced he would hold up approval of the sanctions package.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders in a video address to adopt the strong package 'targeting Russia's oil trade, shadow tanker fleet, banks, and supply chains that bring equipment or parts for making weapons.'
Officials say, however, that a push to lower a price cap on Russian oil exports has been shelved after Washington failed to back the push as part of a broader G7 initiative.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Ukraine has halted Russia's advance in the northern Sumy region, commander says
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian forces have halted Russia's recent advance into the northern Sumy region and have stabilized the front line near the border with Russia, Ukraine's top military commander said Thursday. Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the front line. His claim couldn't be independently verified, and Russian officials made no immediate comment. Russian forces have been slowly grinding forward at some points on the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, though their incremental gains have been costly in terms of troop casualties and damaged armor. The outnumbered Ukrainian army has relied heavily on drones to keep the Russians back. Months of US-led international efforts to stop the more than three years of war have failed. Amid the hostilities, the two sides have continued swaps of prisoners of war agreed on during recent talks between their delegations in Istanbul. Russia's Defense Ministry and Ukrainian authorities said another exchange took place on Thursday. Ukraine's coordination headquarters for POWs said the swap included injured soldiers and those with health complaints. The youngest is 24 and the oldest is 62, it said, adding that more exchanges are expected soon. Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000. It lies about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line. Russia's push into the region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defenses there. A special defense group has been formed to improve security in Sumy and surrounding communities, Syrskyi said, with a focus on improving fortifications and accelerating construction of defensive barriers. In March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from much of Russia's neighboring Kursk region, parts of which they had controlled after a surprise cross-border attack in August. That retreat enabled Russia to launch a counteroffensive that advanced between 2-12 kilometers (1-7 miles) into Ukrainian territory, according to different estimates. Ukrainian officials say fierce fighting is also taking place in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces have captured two villages, Novoserhiivka and Shevchenko, in Donetsk. Capturing Shevchenko marked an important stage in Russia's ongoing offensive that is trying to break into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, which borders Donetsk and is a major industrial center, according to the ministry. Meanwhile, the two sides continued to launch long-range strikes. The Russian ministry said 50 Ukrainian drones were downed over nine regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region. Ukraine's air force said that Russia deployed 41 Shahed and decoy drones across the country overnight, wounding five people. It said that 24 drones were either intercepted or jammed.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Apple Changes App Store Rules in EU to Comply with Antitrust Order
Apple on Thursday changed rules and fees in its App Store in the European Union after the bloc's antitrust regulators ordered it to remove commercial barriers to sending customers outside the store. Apple said developers will pay a 20% processing fee for purchases made via the App Store, though the fees could go as low as 13% for Apple's small-business program. Developers who send customers outside the App Store for payment will pay a minimum fee of 5% and at most 15%. Developers will also be able to use as many links as they wish to send users to outside forms of payment. The changes are aimed at trying to help Apple avoid a 500 million euro ($570 million) fine threatened by EU antitrust regulators in April. "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 said in a statement. In a statement, the European Commission said it will now review Apple's changes for compliance with the Digital Markets Act. "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," the Commission said in a statement. In a statement posted on social media site X, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, which fought a protracted antitrust lawsuit with Apple, called Apple's changes "a mockery of fair competition in digital markets. Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store." Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sweeney's remarks.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
EU leaders agree to prolong Russia sanctions: officials
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 ($234 billion) in Russian central bank assets, will remain in force until at least early 2026. It comes after officials said they were preparing contingency plans to keep the bloc's economic punishment on Moscow in place should Hungarian leader Viktor Orban refuse to budge. EU counterparts had feared a refusal by Budapest to renew the measures could blow a massive hole in the leverage the bloc holds over Russia as the United States presses peace efforts. Orban took the decision to the wire the last time the sanctions — which need to be extended every six months — came up for renewal in January. But while the EU made sure its existing measures will remain in place, it failed to get clearance on a new package of sanctions due to a blockage by Hungary's ally Slovakia. Slovakian leader Roberto Fico refused at the summit to greenlight the new round of sanctions due to a separate dispute with Brussels over plans to cut off imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027. Slovakia remains dependent on Russian gas imports and earns money from transit fees for supplies piped across its territory. Fico held talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen earlier on Thursday but failed to get the concessions he wants and announced he would hold up approval of the sanctions package. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged EU leaders in a video address to adopt the strong package 'targeting Russia's oil trade, shadow tanker fleet, banks, and supply chains that bring equipment or parts for making weapons.' Officials say, however, that a push to lower a price cap on Russian oil exports has been shelved after Washington failed to back the push as part of a broader G7 initiative.
