Parliament passes law to allow multiple citizenship for Ukrainians
KYIV, June 18 (Reuters) - Parliament passed a law on Wednesday to allow Ukrainians to have multiple citizenship in an attempt to ease a demographic crisis caused by Russia's war and to enhance ties with Ukraine's diaspora.
The bill was passed by 243 deputies, lawmakers said.
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Reuters
38 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ukrainian MPs allow sale of petrol without mandatory 5% bioethanol until January 1
KYIV, June 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament has until the end of this year temporarily authorised the sale of petrol without the mandatory 5% bioethanol content, cancelling fines and other penalties for companies selling such petrol, lawmakers said on Wednesday. Ukraine introduced the mandatory addition of 5% bioethanol to motor fuel from May 1 to meet EU sustainability regulations. Lawmakers and authors of the law have not explained the reason for the amendment, but market sources say the refusal to impose fines and to allow the sale of petrol without bioethanol has been prompted by fears of possible fuel shortages. Ukraine does not officially disclose the volume of domestic fuel production as most of its facilities have been repeatedly attacked by Russian missiles and drones. Ukraine imported about 1.2 million tons of petrol in 2024.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US defence firms chase European military spending wave
PARIS, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. defence giants, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending. Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region. That tension has been notably absent at this week's Paris Airshow, where U.S. lawmakers and arms manufacturers pledged greater transatlantic partnership as Europe ramps up spending on everything from artillery shells and fighter jets to missile defence systems. "We understand that our allies and partners are a force multiplier, so we are stronger when we are working together," U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a member of Trump's Republican party, told reporters at the show, the world's largest aerospace and defence gathering. Moran, whose delegation was supporting U.S. weapons makers, said it was in Paris to send a message that the U.S. "is a dependable and reliable partner". The conciliatory tone stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration's recent string of disparaging remarks about Europe and its defence industry. "I think antagonising our allies does not make us stronger," Democrat Senator Jeanne Shaheen told reporters in Paris, expressing her desire to cement defence relations with Europe. RELIANCE ON U.S. Despite pledges by many European nations to boost military self-sufficiency, the continent remains heavily reliant on U.S. defence manufacturers. For instance, Europe buys American-made fighter jets and missiles from Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab, Patriot missile defence systems from Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N), opens new tab and military jets and helicopters built by Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab. In emerging military areas, like artificial intelligence, drones and satellite constellations, U.S. tech firms like Anduril, Palantir (PLTR.O), opens new tab and Elon Musk's SpaceX are far ahead. U.S. firms are hoping to press home their advantage as European military spending surges, including through partnerships which are a way to soften any potential diplomatic tensions, delegates said. U.S. drone-maker Anduril and German defence giant Rheinmetall ( opens new tab said on Wednesday they will link up to build military drones for European markets, in a sign of Europe leveraging American technology to boost military capabilities. Thomas Laliberty, president of Land & Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, said there were no easy replacements for its weapons in Europe and he expected the firm to maintain a long-term footprint on the continent, including through new partnerships. Laliberty said Raytheon was close to announcing a plan to manufacture Stingers - a lightweight air defence missile used by Ukrainian forces against Russia - in Europe. "For immediate needs, Raytheon is well positioned to support the European demand," Laliberty told reporters in Paris. "We have a very bright future here." Boeing, which won a contract from Trump's administration to develop the next-generation F-47 fighter jet this year, said Europe and the U.S. would remain long-term partners despite political wobbles, partly to hold off the Chinese threat. "Nobody can do it themselves - maybe the Chinese can try, but certainly the rest of us, we are going to have to work together," said Turbo Sjogren, Boeing's general manager for government services. "To do otherwise takes too long and will be unaffordable." The chairman of Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo ( opens new tab, Stefano Pontecorvo, added that U.S. participation in some European programmes would be "unavoidable" in coming years due to the defence technologies available to them. European rivals were bullish about their future growth prospects but said budget constraints and a lack of regional alliances were holding back progress, conceding that they would continue to need significant U.S. support. "National sovereignty matters but fragmentation is detrimental. We need to find a way to hit a balance," Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on Tuesday. Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power, defence and space at Airbus ( opens new tab, said Europe's dependence on the U.S. was "very high". "Zero dependency on the U.S. I believe is a dream. We have a need for interoperability that drives some U.S. needs," said Dumont, whose firm makes the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet with Britain's BAE Systems (BAES.L), opens new tab and Italy's Leonardo, as well as Earth observation satellites and drones. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Europe had "too much bureaucracy" compared to the U.S. and needed to adapt to a new military era of faster, cheaper and more nimble technology. "Either Europe adapts its industry to these new parameters - different from those with which it has lived until four years ago - or it will have huge competitors, and not only the American ones," he said.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
HS2: Labour to confirm delay until 2033 after ‘litany of failure'
Angela Rayner is to face questions from the shadow home secretary Chris Philp as the prime minister is travelling back from the G7 summit in Canada. The UK has been turned into an international 'laughing stock' over the failure to control the HS2 rail project, a minister acknowledged. The housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said there were 'serious problems' with HS2 'in terms of accountability, project overruns, costs'. He told LBC the way HS2 and other infrastructure projects had been handled 'reflect very poorly on us' as a country. Pennycook said the Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes a number of changes that will 'speed up the consenting process for nationally significant infrastructure' and this week's infrastructure strategy 'seeks to reverse the frankly erratic decisions and underinvestment we've seen over the past 14 years'. Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, is understood to have been astounded by his findings after he took control of the government-owned company in December last year. The source said: 'Alexander wants to turn the tide on the whole thing. Wild has been tasked with looking at the entire project and the speech today is designed to tackle these fresh revelations and look at how we move forward. 'There has been a total lack of ministerial oversight in the past and we need to change that so the same mistakes are not made on Northern Powerhouse Rail or the Lower Thames Crossing.' In December HS2 Ltd estimated the cost of building the railway would be between £54 and £66 billion in 2019 prices and between £67 and £83 billion in current prices. Revelations last year that HS2 had spent £100 million of taxpayers' money to build a bat tunnel shocked Westminster. Wild said that he could not apologise for complying with the law but conceded that an 'extraordinary amount of money' had been spent on the barrier, in ancient woodland in Buckinghamshire, to comply with the law on protected species. The transport secretary Heidi Alexander will tell the Commons that she is 'drawing a line in the sand' over the embattled rail project as the government tries to wrestle it back into order. The remaining section of the high-speed line between London and Birmingham will no longer be completed by 2033 and a delay of at least two years is now expected, according to reports. Alexander will present the findings of an interim report by Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, the company responsible for the delivery of the project at 12.30pm.
