Czechs ratify defense treaty with US that makes it easier to deploy US troops in Czech territory
Source: AP
Updated 6:01 AM CDT, August 16, 2023
PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic on Wednesday completed the ratification of a defense treaty with the United States that deepens military cooperation and makes it easier to deploy U.S. troops in Czech territory.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s signature was the final step in the ratification process of the Defense Cooperation Agreement, which had been endorsed by both houses of Parliament in July and by President Petr Pavel on Aug 1.
The document sets a legal framework for possible deployment of U.S. troops in the country at a time of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova signed the treaty together with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington, D.C. on May 23. The U.S. has similar agreements with 24 other NATO members, including Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Bulgaria that form the eastern flank of the alliance.
Facing Backlash to Green Agenda, EU President Goes Pro-business, Gets Tough with China by Cain Burdeau
September 13, 2023
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — In the last State of the Union speech of her mandate, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday laid out a pro-business agenda, tapped the brakes on her flagship Green Deal and threatened to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
In other key moments, von der Leyen, the EU's chief executive, renewed vows to support Kyiv in its war against Russia “for as long it takes” and said the EU must work to incorporate Ukraine, Moldova and several Western Balkan nations into the bloc.
“We need to set out a vision for a successful enlargement,” she said, speaking grandly about Europe “answering the call of history,” as her speech was titled.
She said bringing Ukraine and other aspiring members into the Brussels club would amount to completing the EU project “with over 500 million people living in a free, democratic and prosperous union.”
Modeled on State of the Union addresses by American presidents, the annual speech gives heads of the commission a platform to lay out priorities for the coming year. Unlike American presidents, commission presidents are not elected but chosen by EU leaders in an opaque process.
Erdogan says Turkey may part ways with the EU. He implied the country could end its membership bid
Source: AP
Updated 9:03 AM EDT, September 16, 2023
ISTANBUL (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc.
“The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey,” he told reporters before departing for the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York. “We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU.”
He was responding to a question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament, which stated “the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore ‘a parallel and realistic framework’ for EU-Türkiye relations.”
Turkey applied to join the European Union in 1999, and accession talks began in 2005. Accession negotiations were frozen in 2018 because of “democratic backsliding,” according to the European Parliament.
Prime Minister Sánchez Declares: Spain Must Ditch ‘Peripheral’ Role and Offer EU Leadership September 15, 2023
Introduction:
(Euractiv) It is high time Spain imposed itself as a leading EU country instead of staying “at the periphery,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the national employers association on Friday (15 September), as the Spanish EU Council presidency published a paper on the bloc’s ‘Open Strategic Autonomy’.
Fed up with its “peripheral” position in EU debates, Sánchez announced Madrid was ready to take centre stage and become a leading member state, joining the likes of France, Germany or Italy.
“For too many decades we have been satisfied as a peripheral country, a secondary actor in the negotiations in Brussels, following the positions set by other larger or more influential member states,” Sánchez said during the presentation of the paper to the association.
“We must put an end to this dynamic and we must exercise leadership in Europe from the South, a leadership that is undoubtedly inclusive, that listens to and respects the positions of the 27 member states.”
A Spanish official told Euractiv on condition of anonymity the general mood was that of “enough with being a young member state”.
European Commission to Recommend Starting EU Membership Talks with Ukraine – Media
FRIDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2023
The European Commission is preparing to recommend starting EU membership talks with Ukraine.
Bloomberg’s sources say the recommendation is expected next month. Yet the Commission will also insist that Ukraine make progress in solving problems in some priority areas, including fighting corruption.
The Commission’s recommendation will be discussed by EU member states in December when they gather for a summit. Meanwhile the position of some countries, such as Hungary, remains unclear, sources say.
European Union Has a Problem: Poland Seeks Extradition of a Nazi Veteran Who Was Hailed by Zelenskyy at the Canadian Parliament Cain Burdeau
September 27, 2023
Introduction:
(Courthouse News) — The European Union's got a problem: Poland, the bloc's erstwhile front-line champion of Ukraine, is in a bitter spat with Kyiv.
This row got new fuel on Tuesday when Poland's ultra-nationalist government said it may launch an extradition request against the 98-year-old Ukrainian-Canadian Nazi veteran who received a standing ovation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit last week to the Canadian Parliament.
On Tuesday evening, Przemysław Czarnek, the education minister in Poland's hard-right Law and Justice government, announced an extradition probe had been launched against Yaroslav Hunka for possible war crimes against Poles during World War II.
Hunka fought for the 1st Ukrainian Division, which was also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit under the command of the Nazis. The division committed atrocities in Poland.
“In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament, which involved honoring, in the presence of President Zelenskyy, a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galicia formation, I have taken steps towards the possible extradition of this man to Poland,” Czarnek said.
