Новости за 21.02.2018

Governments are not doing enough in the global fight against graft, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said on February  21 after presenting its annual Corruption Perceptions Index, The report paints a bleak picture for some European countries – and a stark warning for the European Union – as several member states are backsliding on the rule of law and

Governments are not doing enough in the global fight against graft, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) said on Wednesday (Feb 21) as it presented its annual corruption perceptions index. The report, Corruption Perceptions Index, paints a bleak picture for some European countries that are backsliding on the rule of law, and is a stark warning for the

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced Wednesday a decision to fine three different cartels that have helped make cars more expensive in Europe. The fines for shipping companies that transport new vehicles to Europe and to suppliers of spark plugs and brake systems amounts to €546 million. Vestager explained that the cartels have damaged European consumers by raising

On the same day that Secretary-General Alexander Italiener announced that he would be stepping downe after only 30 months on the job, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stunned many in Brussels with an announcement that he would nominate German-born Martin Selmayr – a powerful backroom brawler best known for his contentious relationship with UK Prime Minister Theresa May during the

A Dutch lawyer has admitted making false statements to US investigators examining links between Donald Trump’s election campaign team and Russia. Alex van der Zwaan, 33, is the 19th person to be charged by special counsel Robert Mueller in the ongoing Trump-Russia investigation. Van der Zwaan admitted in front of a US District Court in

Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo has dropped an earlier decision to make famed Turkish writer and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk an “honourary citizen” after coming under heavy pressure from the government of authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Pamuk, 65, who is a vocal critic of Erdoğan, was nominated by Sarajevo for his writing screenplay dealing with the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina, dropped its earlier decision to make the Turkish writer and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk an “honorary citizen”, under what is seen as heavy pressure from Ankara. Pamuk, 65, who is a vocal critic of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was nominated for the honour while writing screenplay about Bosnian war. Bosnia’s

Less than two weeks after the European Commission’s articulated a roadmap for the Balkans’ further integration into the EU, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama sparked outrage in Serbia at the weekend when he publically broke with current EU policy by suggesting that his country and neighbouring Kosovo could in the future share a single president that

With rumours swirling that former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso was in clear violation of the EU’s ethics protocols when he met with current Commission VP Jyrki Katainen in a Brussels hotel late last year, the Commission has concluded that the two were with within their legal bounds during an October 2017 private conversation Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said Katainen followed procedure

The European Commission said on Tuesday that the EC has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over a newly created full-function joint venture by Repsol and KIA, both of Spain. According to the Commission, the joint venture will carry out a car-sharing business in Madrid. Repsol is a publicly listed

The European Union can increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix to 34% by 2030 – double the share in 2016 – with a net positive economic impact, according to an International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report launched in Brussels on Tuesday. IRENA’s Director General Adnan Z. Amin presented the findings during the

The UK aims to lead a “global race to the top” in rights and standards rather than become a “Mad Max” dystopia of deregulation, David Davis said on Tuesday. That reference was addressing a domestic audience, as the Labour opposition has accused the government of paving the way for a low-wage offshore tax heaven for

The EU is bracing for a reaction to threats of a 24% US tariff on steel and a 7.7% tax on aluminium. The European Commission is preparing for countermeasures in kind, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Tuesday. Washington has directly threatened China, Russia, Vietnam and other emerging economies. However, if tariffs were to be

The EU is bracing for a reaction to threats of a 24% US tariffs on steel and 7,7% on aluminum. The European Commission is preparing for countermeasures in kind, Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Tuesday. Washington has directly threatened China, Russia, Vietnam and other emerging economies. However, if tariffs were to be extended to