Section: News & Summaries

      European Commission expects Ukraine to raise gas price for population
      Jan10

      European Commission expects Ukraine to raise gas price for population

      The European Commission expects the Ukrainian government to raise the gas price for households. A European Commission spokesperson told this to an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels. “We expect that Ukraine will increase the gas prices for consumers. But it is up to the [Ukrainian] government how to implement this decision, and according...

      Ukraine begins consultations with IMF mission
      Jan10

      Ukraine begins consultations with IMF mission

      The IMF mission has arrived in Ukraine, and the consultations have currently begun. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said this at the beginning of a government meeting on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. “The IMF [mission] has arrived in Ukraine. The consultations have begun. All the ministers have to start active...

      Biometric passports to be issued in Ukraine from January 12 – Yatseniuk
      Jan10

      Biometric passports to be issued in Ukraine from January 12 – Yatseniuk

      The issuing of biometric passports will start in Ukraine on Monday, January 12. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk said this at the beginning of a government meeting on Friday. “Ukraine will start issuing biometric passports, which will meet international standards, from January 12. This is one of the key conditions for Ukrainians...

      Cameron, Merkel, Poroshenko and Tusk to attend national unity rally in France
      Jan10

      Cameron, Merkel, Poroshenko and Tusk to attend national unity rally in France

      British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have confirmed that they will come to Paris for a planned rally in commemoration of the Charlie Hebdo victims. Cameron wrote on Twitter that he had accepted French President Hollande’s invitation to join the unity rally on Sunday. The German Foreign Ministry reported...

      Tusk: This year EU should help Ukraine get back on its feet
      Jan10

      Tusk: This year EU should help Ukraine get back on its feet

      The situation in Ukraine is one of the four top priority problems to be settled in 2015. President of the European Council Donald Tusk said this in Riga, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. “Help Ukraine get back on its feet,” he said, defining one of the priorities in the activity of the heads of state and government of the EU...

      Latvian foreign minister to visit Ukraine
      Jan10

      Latvian foreign minister to visit Ukraine

      Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics will be on a working visit to Ukraine on January 10, the press service of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration reported. “At 13.40, Ukrainian and Latvian Foreign Ministers Pavlo Klimkin and Edgars Rinkevics will hold a press conference,” reads the statement.

      What the Kremlin’s Setback Means for 2015
      Jan09

      What the Kremlin’s Setback Means for 2015

      Economics Stalled Putin, But He Often Answers Setbacks With Military Threats [Below are excerpts from an essay by longtime Berlin-based journalist and author Elizabeth Pond. Read her full analysis here.] In the Ukraine crisis, soft economic power last month trumped hard military power for the first time. The threatened meltdown of the Russian...

      January: An Important Month for Shaping the US Role in Europe
      Jan09

      January: An Important Month for Shaping the US Role in Europe

      Amid Ukraine-Russia Crisis, New Decisions Will Define America’s ‘Force Posture’ for Years to Come Almost a year after Russia’s invasions of Ukraine, the US government will roll out a series of decisions in the next month that will play a big role in shaping how the United States and its transatlantic allies respond in the long...

      As Kyiv Tackles Corruption and Reform, a New Threat: Warlords
      Jan06

      As Kyiv Tackles Corruption and Reform, a New Threat: Warlords

      Kyiv’s Government Is Failing to Act Against Some Volunteer Defense Brigades That Are Acting Like Outlaws, Adrian Karatnycky Writes Ukraine’s new parliament and cabinet are beginning to bring revolutionary changes to how the country is governed. The legislature is energized by an unprecedented crop of civic activists and pro-democracy...

      Ukraine’s Crisis in 2015: What to Expect
      Jan06

      Ukraine’s Crisis in 2015: What to Expect

      Donbas War Will Last All Year; May Be Settled With Early Parliament Election, Mefford Writes How predictable is Ukraine’s coming year, given its financial crisis, its untested new government and, above all, its war against Russia and its proxy forces in the southeastern region of Donbas? Not very predictable, notes the Atlantic...