Latest news with #EUIntegration
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Denmark gets Europe's Ukraine export guarantee scheme underway
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Denmark has become the first country to formally join the European Union's new 300 million euro Ukraine export credit guarantee facility which supports European companies doing business with Ukrainian counterparts. The deal with Danish export credit agency EIFO is the first of more than a dozen similar agreements expected in the next few weeks between EU lending arm the EIB Group, the European Commission and national agencies. The overall facility is designed to back small and medium-sized firms which export to Ukraine, giving them protection if companies they deal with are impacted by the ongoing war with Russia. According to the EU's Eurostat agency, exports from the EU to Ukraine jumped to nearly 43 billion euros ($49.11 billion) last year. Up to 40 Danish companies are expected to benefit from the first agreement, while the likes of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and some central and eastern European countries that export the most to Ukraine are expected to join soon. The European Commission's Valdis Dombrovskis said the facility represented "a significant step forward in further integrating the EU and Ukrainian economies, which is a crucial element of Ukraine's (EU) accession process." Kyiv's EU membership talks began last year, although a long and tough road lies ahead before it can join the bloc given the war with Russia. Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who was in Washington on Wednesday to formally sign the high-profile minerals deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, said the EU export support would help grow trade. Marjut Falkstedt, head of the European Investment Fund which provides the guarantees for the new export facility, said Denmark's sign-up was part of significant efforts made to get the facility up and running within a year. ($1 = 0.8757 euros)
The National
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Despite Romania's election result, the EU remains divided on issues ranging from domestic politics to Israel
After Romania's presidential election this weekend – in which the liberal mayor of Bucharest and pro-EU candidate, Nicusor Dan, won – the verdict appears to be that a close shave with a new form of internal chaos was avoided. Presidential elections in Romania, as well as in its fellow Eastern European powerhouse, Poland, are hard to beat as case studies in the increasing dysfunction of the bloc. In both countries, the political establishment that for more than 30 years has been loyal to the path of European integration has had to rely on independent candidates to hold back challenges from hard-right candidates. Those candidates would have had significant implications beyond each country's borders, rejecting, for example, any attempt to censure Israel or reduce its institutional ties. The EU has been unable to reflect the clear desire of a majority of its member states to demonstrate a rejection of the killing and destruction in Gaza, with governments such as those of Hungary being exceptions. For example, the Dutch government is currently pushing for a review of the EU's trade association agreement with Israel. In a letter, it said the Israelis are in violation of its Article Two of the agreement because of its breach of international humanitarian law. The governments of Belgium, Finland, France, Portugal and Sweden have also signed up to join the early movers on this issue – Spain and Ireland. But the politics of Eastern Europe make actual movement on this issue almost impossible, especially if hard-right candidates are thriving, much less winning. For now, however, a dramatic crisis in the EU has been averted. Mr Dan, the Bucharest mayor, defeated hard-right populist George Simion, who carried the banner for a US-style uprising against the establishment, after the country's top court annulled a previous round of voting last year over evidence of a Russian-backed interference campaign. Mr Simion rejected the result, setting the stage for the domestic political crisis to continue to fester, perhaps even grow. In a Facebook post, Mr Simion said his own election victory was 'clear" to all. "I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!" Much has been made of how centrist leaders in Canada and Australia staged a comeback based on the return of US President Donald Trump. The pendulum is still swinging in other parts of the globe. This is specifically the case in central and Eastern Europe, where presidential elections have been caught up in a wider power struggle. A victory for Mr Simion would no doubt have been cheered by the White House. He had pledged to appoint the court-deposed candidate Calin Georgescu as prime minister to shake things up. In Poland, the presidency holds certain key cards, such as formalising laws and judicial appointments, which makes the ongoing presidential election a high-stakes battle. The coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk – an impeccable EU figure who served as president of the European Council during Mr Trump's first term – has turned to the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, as its champion. Mr Trzaskowski won a little more than 30 per cent of the first-round vote, with the more Conservative opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki coming in narrowly behind. With Mr Tusk trailing in delivery on his coalition promises from last year, in part because the opposition controls the presidency, a win by his ally is key to his government's prospects over the coming years. During Mr Nawrocki's visit to the White House at the start of this month, the US President reportedly took a different point of view. "President Trump said 'you will win'," Mr Nawrocki claimed to a private Polish broadcaster. If true, it may be that the old enmity between either half of the 'two Donalds' has endured over the years. From everything that is known, the new administration in Washington prefers the new politics of Europe. Mr Trump has often said the EU treats the US very badly in trade and has hinted that he will continue the tariff war against the bloc. There is a wider dimension of political values at play that is even harder for the European leadership to accommodate. In a visit to Europe in February, US Vice President JD Vance sounded like an old-fashioned neoconservative when he beat up the Europeans over the cancelled Romanian elections. The intellectual leader of Maga's global politics, Mr Vance called out the Europeans for seizing on 'flimsy evidence from an intelligence agency' to cancel an election it didn't like. It gave him a critique of Europe failing to meet an American litmus test. 'What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values,' he said. Yet for the Europeans, it is the contest between politics as it has been practised since the end of the Cold War and the new American-style sovereigntist pursuit of national interests that remains in the balance after the weekend elections. This means that when it comes to making decisions on, say, what to do about Israel, the opposing sides are ever more entrenched. The bloc that pushed so hard for two-state diplomacy from the era of the Oslo Accords is now unrecognisable. The reason for that lies in the fitful progress of the hard right in the unfolding electoral cycle.
News.com.au
19-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
EU relief as centrist wins Romania vote but tensions remain
Romania's newly elected president Nicusor Dan on Monday faced an uphill task to bring together a deeply divided country after a tense rerun vote, with Brussels and other European allies welcoming the victory of the centrist. Dan, the pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, beat far-right leader George Simion, a US President Donald Trump fan, who has slammed the bloc's "absurd policies" and vowed to stop aid to war-torn Ukraine, which neighbours NATO member Romania. The ballot came five months after Romania's constitutional court annulled an election over allegations of Russian interference and a massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, who was not allowed to stand again. "I feel relieved. I'm glad we can continue our European journey," Adrian Ciubotaru, a 33-year-old IT worker, told AFP in Bucharest on Monday, adding he was expecting a "calmer period" to "bring us together". - 'Regain trust' - Dan's victory was welcomed by Romania's European allies, with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, NATO chief Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among those who congratulated him. The president represents Romania at EU and NATO summits and also appoints key posts in the country, including the prime minister. Dan in his address to jubilant supporters in a central Bucharest park after results were announced late Sunday said that Romania's "reconstruction" would begin on Monday. "The question is the tension in the society... I think it will remain months or years from now on," Dan told reporters later, evoking "two Romanias". "To resolve this tension in society, it is necessary to regain people's trust," said the 55-year-old who holds a PhD in mathematics and made a name for himself campaigning against graft in one of the EU's most corrupt members. Simion had topped the first round of voting but a high voter turnout in the second round was seen as key in thwarting a win for the 38-year-old, who heads the far-right AUR party and vows to put "Romania first". Dan, who campaigned for "change" and an "honest" Romania, gained close to 54 percent of the vote, while Simion secured some 46 percent. An interim prime minister from the liberal party is currently governing the country of 19 million after the premier from the Social Democrats resigned earlier this month. Dan said he would speak to all four pro-Western parliamentary parties about "not only the appointment of the prime minister, but also the outline of the government's programme," including justice reforms. Romanians are struggling with high inflation in the EU's most indebted country, and voter frustrations ran high with the same class of politicians ruling Romania since the end of Communism in 1989. Andreea Unguranu, a 52-year-old bank worker, said those governing Romania must "shake off some old political habits and somehow embrace a new vision". "I lived under communism until the age of 16 and I understand very well the danger that passed in front of our eyes," she told AFP. - 'Growing polarisation' - The election campaign took place in a tense atmosphere. The cancellation of last year's vote and subsequent barring of far-right politician Calin Georgescu drew tens of thousands onto the streets to protest in sometimes violent rallies. Top US officials also criticised the decision to scrap the last ballot. Simion, accepting defeat after initially claiming victory and citing "fraud", has vowed to "continue our fight". Online, supporters posted numerous comments blaming "the system" for "stealing" Simion's victory. Political analyst Sorina Soare warned there remained "a risk of destabilisation linked to growing polarisation" especially with countryside voters feeling frustrated. "The new president will have to work toward reconciliation in a divided and angry society," Soare told AFP, adding a first "test of his ability to steer" would be in finding a parliamentary majority for a premier. bur-jza/phz
Asharq Al-Awsat
19-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
EU Leaders Relieved After Centrist Dan Wins Romanian Presidency
Romania's European allies and markets welcomed centrist Nicusor Dan's presidential election victory over the euroskeptic hard-right on Sunday, relieved that the European Union member avoided a lurch to a Donald Trump-inspired political path. Dan, a softly-spoken 55-year-old mathematician and Bucharest mayor, won 54% of votes in the country of 19 million, beating rival George Simion, a vocal Trump admirer whose strong showing in the first round of voting this month had rattled allies and investors. On Monday, the leu gained more than 1% after shedding as much as 3% this month in the run up to the election and Romania's euro-denominated bonds rallied. Dan had campaigned on a pledge to fight corruption, maintain support for Ukraine, where Romania has played an important logistical role, and keep the country firmly within the European mainstream. In contrast, Simion, a 38-year-old nationalist, had been critical of EU leadership and opposed military aid to Ukraine, and his strong position before Sunday's run-off had caused the collapse of Romania's pro-Western coalition government. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was one of the first to congratulate Dan. "The Romanian people have turned out massively to the polls," she said on X. "They have chosen the promise of an open, prosperous Romania in a strong Europe." Echoing that, European Council President Antonio Costa said he welcomed working with Dan. "From city hall to the table of the European Council," he said. "This is a strong signal of Romanians' attachment to the European project." Neighboring Moldova's President Maia Sandu called the result "a step forward for democratic values and our shared European path." After years of rising nationalist sentiment in Europe, the EU was increasingly uneasy about the prospect of a shift to the hard-right in Romania. Analysts had said victory for Simion would have risked isolating Romania abroad and destabilizing NATO's eastern flank. Donald Tusk, prime minister in Poland where centrist Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and nationalist Karol Nawrocki will face off in a presidential election on June 1, applauded the result, as did French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. "Despite numerous attempts at manipulation, Romanians tonight chose democracy, the rule of law, and the European Union," Macron said on X, in Romanian. The election took place nearly six months after the initial ballot was cancelled because of alleged Russian interference - denied by Moscow - in favor of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, who was banned from standing again. Russian-born Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, accused the head of France's foreign intelligence agency of asking him to ban Romanian conservative voices ahead of the election, adding he refused the request. The intelligence agency denied the allegations. Asked about Durov's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it was not news that European states such as France, Britain and Germany interfered in the affairs of other countries and said that the vote's conduct had been "strange, to say the least", state news agency TASS reported. Analyst Radu Magdin said Dan's contrast to Simion's bluster helped as the campaign drew to a close and he would pursue a common sense foreign policy. "He will cultivate the Trump administration as much as possible while remaining a staunch European," Magdin said.
Russia Today
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Presidential election kicks off in Poland
The Polish presidential election is underway in what will likely be a tight contest pitting critics of the EU against those supporting deeper integration. A runoff will be held on June 1 if no candidate secures a majority in Sunday's first round. Around 29 million eligible voters will be choosing the successor to President Andrzej Duda from a field of 13 candidates. According to the latest opinion polls, three contenders have emerged as frontrunners. Emerging as the frontrunner is Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who is aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition. A pro-European candidate and advocate of judicial reform, Trzaskowski narrowly lost the last presidential election to Duda five years ago. He is seen as the most pro-Ukrainian contender, though he has pledged to cut some social benefits to Ukrainian nationals. Karol Nawrocki, backed by the Law and Justice party and running on a conservative platform, is polling second. He strongly opposes what he calls left-wing ideologies and has criticized EU migration and climate policies. Nawrocki rejects Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO and is against financial support for refugees, though he backs continued military aid to Kiev. Slawomir Mentzen, an economist from the right-leaning Confederation Liberty and Independence party, is currently polling in third place. Mentzen is prominent on social media, especially TikTok, where he has criticized EU regulations on car emissions and home heating, arguing they undermine Polish sovereignty. He has also condemned the government's refugee policy, claiming it strains public resources. Public sentiment toward Ukrainian refugees has shifted significantly of late. Media reports claim a growing numbers of Poles now support having them returned home. The issue has become prominent in the campaigns of several of the leading candidates. The official results are expected on Monday, although exit polls will be released shortly after voting ends at 9 p.m. local time on Sunday.
