Latest news with #EUfunding
Russia Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU state blasts Germany over Russia threats
Slovakia will not be bullied into changing its foreign policy, Prime Minister Robert Fico has said, calling German threats to cut EU funding due to its stance on Russia 'aggressive and unacceptable.' Fico's remarks came in response to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said member states that resist the EU's policies on Russia could face financial consequences. 'Member states that violate the rule of law can be confronted with infringement proceedings,' Merz warned at the WDR Europaforum in Berlin on Monday. 'There is always the option of withdrawing European funds from them.' Merz mentioned both Slovakia and Hungary in response to a question about countries resisting the EU's policies on sanctions and military aid for Ukraine. Fico hit back at Merz. 'Slovakia is not a little schoolchild that needs to be lectured,' he said on Tuesday on X. 'Slovakia's sovereign positions do not stem from vanity, but are based on our national interests.' He added that 'the politics of a single mandatory opinion is a denial of sovereignty and democracy.' He went on to describe Merz's remarks as 'aggressive' and an indication that 'we are not heading into good times.' 'The words of the German Chancellor are absolutely unacceptable in modern Europe. If we don't obey, are we to be punished? This is not the path toward cohesion and cooperation,' Fico said. Since returning to office in 2023, Fico has halted Slovak military assistance to Ukraine and has been critical of Western sanctions on Russia. He has also called for economic ties with Moscow to be rebuilt once the conflict with Kiev is over. Late last year, he became one of the few Western leaders to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss energy supplies to Slovakia, which were jeopardized by Ukraine's refusal to extend a gas transit agreement. On Monday, Merz also said Ukraine's European backers are no longer restricting the country from launching long-range strikes into Russia using Western-made weapons, later adding that the decision was made months ago. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, however, said he had not received the go-ahead, while suggesting that it could happen later. Responding to Merz, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of a 'serious escalation,' adding that the potential move 'severely undermines attempts for a peaceful settlement' of the conflict.
Russia Today
27-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Germany threatens EU states with loss of funding
Germany would consider supporting a suspension of EU funding to Slovakia and Hungary if the countries continue to oppose the bloc's sanctions policy against Russia, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned. Bratislava and Budapest have also taken a critical stance towards Western policies regarding the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, the German chancellor lifted Kiev's restrictions on firing long-range German weapons deep inside Russia, a move the Kremlin has described as a 'serious escalation.' Referring to Hungary and Slovakia, Merz warned that EU member states violating the rule of law could face infringement proceedings, adding that 'withdrawing European funds is always an option…If it is necessary, then we will deal with it.' Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have repeatedly criticized EU leaders and argued that the West's military and financial backing of Kiev only prolonged the conflict, without yielding any progress. Fico survived an assassination attempt in May 2024, when he was shot at close range by a pro-Ukraine activist. 'We will not be able to avoid this conflict with Hungary and Slovakia if we continue on this course,' Merz said. 'We cannot allow the decisions of the entire EU to depend on a small minority. And there could certainly be clearer words and possibly also harder conflicts.' Fico rejected Germany's threat to cut funding, calling it unacceptable and a breach of the bloc's democratic values. 'If someone wants to push a policy where only one opinion is allowed, that's the end of democracy in Europe,' Fico told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to Armenia. Slovakia took what Fico calls a 'constructive' and pragmatic approach towards Russia since he came to power in 2023. Under his leadership, Bratislava has cut military assistance to Kiev and pledged to veto any new EU sanctions that could harm Slovakia's economy. Fico has visited Moscow twice since December to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, drawing criticism from both the EU and NATO. 'Europe needs Russia, and Russia needs Europe,' he said in a video message last week, reflecting on his visit to Moscow earlier this month.
Russia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
MEPs urge Brussels to cut all funding for Budapest
Over 20 members of the European Parliament have urged the European Commission to immediately freeze all EU funding to Hungary as a means of putting pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government. The demand comes as the bloc's foreign ministers prepare to weigh potential sanctions, including a suspension of Budapest's voting rights. In a letter sent Tuesday to Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin and Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath, 26 MEPs accused Hungary of 'violating EU values and EU laws.' They cited four specific actions, including a March law that effectively bans pride parades in Hungary, a move consistent with Orban's rejection of 'LGBT ideology.' The lawmakers also blasted proposed Hungarian legislation that would tighten oversight of political organizations receiving foreign funding, which critics argue would suppress 'civil society.' The MEPs alleged that Budapest's policies indicate that all EU funding for Hungary risks being misused and that a full freeze would be 'proportionate' under the circumstances. Hungarian MEP Csaba Domotor pushed back against the accusations, arguing that the targeted organizations serve foreign interests with grants they receive from the EU, George Soros' Open Society Foundation, and the recently defunded US Agency for International Development (USAID). Hungary has repeatedly faced EU criticism for its conservative social policies, which don't align with the bloc's pro-LGBT agenda, and regulations requiring more transparency from foreign-funded organizations. Budapest has also clashed with Brussels over support for Kiev and anti-Russian sanctions. Orban has warned that admitting Ukraine into the European Union risks drawing the bloc into the ongoing military conflict and called the European Commission's plans to end all imports of Russian energy by the end of 2027 'absolute insanity.' Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said that such a move would sharply increase energy prices across the EU, seriously undermine member states' national sovereignty, and harm European businesses. Some EU officials, including Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, have advocated for stronger action, such as triggering Article 7 of the EU Treaty to strip Hungary of its voting rights. Relevant proceedings against Hungary were launched in 2018. The EU's General Affairs Council, which is comprised of foreign and European affairs ministers from member states, is scheduled to discuss Hungary's Article 7 case for the eighth time next Tuesday, according to the official agenda.
Russia Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU hands underfire US state media €5.5 million
The European Union has pledged €5.5 million in emergency funding to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) to prop up the Cold War-era broadcaster widely regarded as a Western propaganda outlet. Originally created in the 1950s and covertly financed by the CIA to disseminate pro-Western narratives into the Soviet bloc, RFE/RL has more recently operated under the oversight of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM). In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating most of the agency's funding as part of a sweeping cost-cutting agenda. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the bloc's financial lifeline on Tuesday, describing it as 'short-term emergency funding' to support what she called a 'vital' mission. The €5.5 million package will act as a 'safety net' to help RFE/RL maintain operations in countries within Brussels's sphere of interest, including Russia, Belarus, Iran, and several Central Asian states. 'In a time of growing unfiltered content, independent journalism is more important than ever,' Kallas said following a meeting of EU foreign ministers. She acknowledged that the EU could not fully replace the lost American funding but emphasized the symbolic value of the move, urging individual member states to offer further support. Since Trump's defunding order, RFE/RL has furloughed staff, suspended programming, and launched legal challenges. Although a Washington judge temporarily halted the administration's decision in April, a federal appeals court later blocked the release of funds pending further litigation. The broadcaster has warned that it faces permanent shutdown in multiple regions if its financial crisis is not resolved. The Trump administration framed the defunding as part of a broader campaign to dismantle bureaucratic institutions that no longer align with US strategic interests. RFE/RL's leadership has disputed that rationale, with its president, Stephen Capus, calling the funding cuts a 'massive gift to America's enemies.' Administration officials and critics have argued that RFE/RL and its sister outlet, Voice of America (VOA), have lost their relevance and veered toward partisan editorializing. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has publicly called for both outlets to be 'shut down,' writing on X: 'Nobody listens to them anymore.'
Times of Oman
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
EU releases funding to keep Radio Free Europe afloat
Brussels: The European Union is providing €;5.5 million ($6.2 million) to support Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) after the broadcaster lost US public funding. US President Donald Trump's administration suspended funding to the 75-year-old broadcaster in March, accusing it of promoting a news agenda with liberal bias. But on Tuesday, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc is releasing the emergency funding as a "safety net for independent journalism." What did the EU say? Kallas addressed the significance of Radio Free Europe in resisting authoritarian regimes. Founded during the Cold War, the broadcaster's aim was to deliver news to people under communist rule. Kallas spoke about tuning in to Radio Free Europe during her childhood in Estonia, part of the former Soviet Union. "Coming from the other side of the Iron Curtain, actually it was [from] the radio that we got a lot of information," she said. "So, it has been a beacon of democracy, very valuable in this regard." What is the significance of the EU funding? Kallas said the procured funds would not be able to support all of Radio Free Europe's 27 languages in 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. It will, however, focus on countries in regions such as Central Asia and the Caucasus. "In a time of growing unfiltered content, independent journalism is more important than ever," Kallas told reporters after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. The EU funds would help the broadcaster "work and function in those countries that are in our neighborhood and that are very much dependent on news coming from outside." Radio Free Europe's lawyers have challenged the decision to cut their funding in court. A US District Court judge placed a temporary pause on Trump's order to terminate grants to multiple publicly-funded outlets including Radio Free Europe, but a federal appeals court blocked the ruling this month.
