EC welcomes steps taken by Ireland to reform litigation costs
In its annual report on law developments across the EU, it notes moves to reform the Defamation Act to improve the professional environment for journalists.
This year's Rule of Law Report is the first to be published under the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath.
It says there has been progress in providing appropriate funding for public service media, supporting its remit while safeguarding its independence.
The Commission also encourages Ireland to complete ongoing reforms, including efforts to address legal obstacles to funding for civil society organisations, as part of the reform of the Electoral Act.
Commissioner McGrath said: "We cannot ignore that in some member states, serious concerns remain.
"These are addressed through the recommendations in this year's report. The recommendations form the basis for constructive dialogue.
"In our union, dialogue always comes first – but it must lead to results. That is why we pair dialogue with decisive action. Where necessary, I am ready to use all available tools, including infringement proceedings, to ensure the rule of law is upheld."
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Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky wins EU and Nato backing as he seeks place at Trump-Putin talks table
Mr Trump, who for weeks had been threatening new sanctions against Russia for failing to halt the war, announced instead yesterday that he would meet Putin on August 15 in Alaska. A White House official has said Mr Trump is open to Mr Zelensky attending but preparations are under way for only a bilateral meeting. The Kremlin leader last week ruled out meeting Mr Zelensky, saying conditions for such an encounter were 'unfortunately still far' from being met. Mr Trump said a potential deal would involve 'some swapping of territories to the betterment of both [sides]', compounding Ukrainian fears that it may face pressure to surrender land. Mr Zelensky says any decisions taken without Ukraine will be 'stillborn' and unworkable. On Saturday the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said any diplomatic solution must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe. 'The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously,' EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said yesterday. 'Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security.' EU foreign ministers will meet today to discuss next steps, she said. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte told US network ABC News that Friday's summit 'will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end'. He added: 'It will be, of course, about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation, deciding on its own geopolitical future.' Russia holds nearly a fifth of the country. Mr Rutte said a deal could not include legal recognition of Russian control over Ukrainian land, although it might include de facto recognition. He compared it to the situation after World War II when Washington accepted that the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were de facto controlled by the Soviet Union but did not legally recognise their annexation. Mr Zelensky said yesterday: 'The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today.' A European official said Europe had come up with a counter-proposal to Mr Trump's, but declined to provide details. Russian officials accused Europe of trying to thwart Mr Trump's peace efforts. 'The Euro-imbeciles are trying to prevent American efforts to help resolve the Ukrainian conflict,' former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev posted on social media yesterday. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst, said a swap could entail Russia handing over 1,500 sq km to Ukraine and obtaining 7,000 sq km Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a vituperative statement that the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union resembled 'necrophilia'. Roman Alekhin, a Russian war blogger, said Europe had been reduced to the role of a spectator. 'If Putin and Trump reach an agreement directly, Europe will be faced with a fait accompli. Kyiv – even more so,' he said. In addition to Crimea, which it seized in 2014, Russia has formally claimed the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as its own, although it controls only about 70pc of the last three. It holds smaller pieces of territory in three other regions, while Ukraine says it holds a sliver of Russia's Kursk region. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst, said a swap could entail Russia handing over 1,500 sq km to Ukraine and obtaining 7,000 sq km, which he said Russia would capture anyway within about six months. He provided no evidence to back any of those figures. Russia took about 500 sq km of territory in July, according to western military analysts who say its grinding advances have come at the cost of very high casualties. Ukraine and its European allies have been haunted for months by the fear that Mr Trump, keen to claim credit for making peace and hoping to seal lucrative joint business deals between the US and Russia, could align with Putin to cut a deal that would be deeply disadvantageous to Kyiv. They had drawn some encouragement lately as Mr Trump, having piled heavy pressure on Mr Zelensky and berated him publicly in the Oval Office in February, began criticising Putin as Russia pounded Kyiv and other cities with its heaviest air attacks of the war. But the impending Putin-Trump summit has revived fears that Kyiv and Europe could be sidelined. 'What we will see emerge from Alaska will almost certainly be a catastrophe for Ukraine and Europe,' wrote Phillips P O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. 'And Ukraine will face the most terrible dilemma. Do they accept this humiliating and destructive deal? Or do they go it alone, unsure of the backing of European states?' US vice president JD Vance said a negotiated settlement was unlikely to satisfy either side. 'Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it,' he said on Fox News.
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
The Irish Independent's View: Peace talks without Ukraine at the table is not a legitimate solution, nor is it democratic
Carving up another country illegally invaded, while its leader is not at the table negates not only the integrity of international borders, but undermines democracy. Facilitating such a meeting confers legitimacy on the proposition. It cannot be assumed Mr Trump was just testing opposition to the plan. After a wave of diplomatic objections, the White House was only suggesting Mr Zelensky might be admitted to trilateral talks –but the summit between Putin and the US president was to go ahead. Thus the Russian leader has already achieved some significant political wins. He has secured a meeting with President Trump on US soil, without having to call a ceasefire in a war in which thousands are being killed as each year passes. The fact that the meeting is taking place in Alaska – sold to the US by the Russians 150 years ago for $7m – is also rich in symbolism. It signals borders are just lines on a piece of paper that can be changed by whoever has the power. Those who cannot afford the price, cannot complain their title is taken away from over their heads. So naturally, EU leaders have reacted with grave concern. Rallying behind Mr Zelensky, they are insisting he must be included in any talks on the future of his country. But despite their protest, Mr Trump has merely signalled he is prepared to hold a meeting in which the Ukrainian leader is in attendance. But there is no confirmation it will take place, or that Putin will agree. This once again plays into the hands of the Russian leader. With Russia massacring Ukrainians daily, Mr Trump has spoken of the 'swapping of territories' being on the agenda. Neither country has the right to ignore the government of an independent sovereign state, and lay claim to its lands. That such a conversation could even be taking place will send a shiver down the spines of all who respect a rules-based international order. It is reported that Washington is working to persuade Europe to support an agreement that would see Moscow make major gains – securing the Donbas region and the Crimean Peninsula. Brussels recognises that once again, all the pressure is being piled on Kyiv, while the aggressor is being rewarded. After an EU meeting at the weekend (which included the UK), a joint statement was issued, saying: 'The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.' Putin simply exploits photo-ops to bolster his prestige and power. One remembers the pomp and circumstance of his high-profile meeting with US president Joe Biden in 2021. Just eight months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. A trap is only a trap if you don't know about it. Should Mr Trump willingly take the bait, and Ukraine be thrown under the bus, Champagne corks will surely pop in the Kremlin, and an emboldened Moscow will eye Europe, as it strategises its next moves.
RTÉ News
7 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Europe pushes for Ukraine role in Trump-Putin talks
A US official said Ukraine could be a part of negotiations between the United States and Russia, as European leaders pushed for Ukraine's inclusion ahead of talks between presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The two leaders will meet in the US state of Alaska on 15 August to try to resolve the three-year war, but the European Union has insisted that Ukraine and European powers should be part of any deal to end the conflict. EU foreign ministers will discuss the talks in a meeting by video link today, joined by their Ukrainian counterpart. It comes as Tánaiste Simon Harris is to warn that this week represents a "pivotal moment" for the war in Ukraine. Mr Harris will also attend the virtual Foreign Affairs Council meeting today, scheduled to discuss the conflict. He is expected to say that Ukraine must be involved in any talks that take place and that a ceasefire is more imperative now than ever. He will say that Ireland will continue to show "unwavering support" to Ukrainian people who have suffered "unimaginable violence and hardship". US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could attend this week's US-Russia summit in Alaska. The idea of a US-Russia meeting without Mr Zelensky has raised concerns that a deal would require Ukraine to cede swaths of territory, which the EU has rejected. "The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine," leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain and Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a joint statement, urging Mr Trump to put more pressure on Russia. In a flurry of diplomacy, Mr Zelensky held calls with 13 counterparts over three days including Ukraine's main backers Germany, Britain and France. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he hoped and assumed that Mr Zelensky would attend the leaders' summit. Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden - also said no decisions should be taken without Ukraine's involvement. Talks on ending the war could only take place during a ceasefire, they added in a joint statement. Asked on CNN if Mr Zelensky could be present, Mr Whitaker responded that "yes, I certainly think it's possible." "Certainly, there can't be a deal that everybody that's involved in it doesn't agree to. And, I mean, obviously, it's a high priority to get this war to end," he added. Mr Whitaker said the decision would ultimately be Mr Trump's to make, and there was no word yesterday from the White House. 'Testing Putin' Top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said any deal between the United States and Russia to end the war in Ukraine had to include Ukraine and the bloc. "President Trump is right that Russia has to end its war against Ukraine," Ms Kallas said in a statement yesterday. "The US has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. Any deal between the US and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine's and the whole of Europe's security," she added. "I will convene an extraordinary meeting of the EU foreign ministers today to discuss our next steps," she said. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga will also take part in this afternoon's meeting, the ministry said. NATO chief Mark Rutte told ABC's "This Week" broadcast that Mr Trump was "putting pressure on Putin". "Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end," he added. Ukraine's military said it had taken back a village in the Sumy region from the Russian army, which has made significant recent gains. The village is on the frontline in the north of the country and about 20km west of the main fighting between the two armies in the northern region. A 'just peace' As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Russia has demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun US and EU military support and be excluded from joining NATO. Ukraine said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield. The EU's Ms Kallas backed Ukraine's position. "As we work towards a sustainable and just peace, international law is clear: All temporarily occupied territories belong to Ukraine," the EU foreign policy chief said. NATO's Mr Rutte said it was a reality that "Russia is controlling some of Ukrainian territory" and suggested a future deal could acknowledge this. "When it comes to acknowledging, for example, maybe in a future deal, that Russia is controlling, de facto, factually, some of the territory of Ukraine. It has to be effectual recognition and not a political de jure recognition," Mr Rutte told ABC. Mr Zelensky thanked those countries backing Ukraine's position in his evening address. "The war must be ended as soon as possible with a fair peace," he said. "A fair peace is needed." "Clear support for the fact that everything concerning Ukraine must be decided with Ukraine's participation. Just as it should be with every other independent state," he added.
