All posts tagged: Latvia

Trump’s rage at NATO allies is binding them together — against him  – POLITICO

Trump’s rage at NATO allies is binding them together — against him  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Nordic table talk In Helsinki last week, 10 European leaders met for a private dinner without their officials and aides in the intimate surroundings of the Mannerheim Museum, the home of Finland’s World War II leader Gustaf Mannerheim.  Amid the 1940s interiors, decorated with the former president’s hunting trophies, the leaders of countries including the U.K, Sweden, Finland and Norway held a frank discussion about the dire state of the transatlantic alliance. Trump’s stream of invective via social media is bad and getting worse, they all agreed.  But they resolved they couldn’t consent to the U.S. president’s demands to join the fighting against Iran.  Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a working dinner on Oct. 23, 2025. | Pool photo by François Walschaerts via AFP/Getty Images “We all want the war to end but we are not on the same page as the U.S.,” said one official briefed on the discussions. Trump wants NATO to help, but the leaders remain resistant because “most Europeans were not informed beforehand …

EU diplomats meet in Ukraine to pledge support for Russia war crimes tribunal – POLITICO

EU diplomats meet in Ukraine to pledge support for Russia war crimes tribunal – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Some were just walking on the street, some were killed in their own homes, some were tortured and raped,” Kallas said, adding the slaughter was just one example of Russia’s barbarity throughout the war and could not go “unpunished.”  She added that the EU was “pushing forward” with creating a special tribunal to prosecute Kremlin officials over the full-scale invasion, along with a “claims commission” that will allow individuals to petition for Russian war damages.  Ukraine signed an agreement with the Council of Europe to establish the tribunal in June last year, but it still needs legal and financial backing from states in Europe and beyond to get off the ground. All EU countries but Hungary put out a joint statement of support on Tuesday, welcoming the tribunal’s eventual “operationalisation.” Budapest, which is among Moscow’s closest allies in the EU, continues to use its veto to block a €90 billion tranche of funds for Ukraine over a bitter dispute with Kyiv about a pipeline transporting oil from Russia. Hungary is also refusing to approve the bloc’s 20th package of sanctions on the Kremlin. Kallas said there had been no breakthrough on the funds or sanctions, but that she hoped to …

Unidentified drones crash in Finland

Unidentified drones crash in Finland

Published by Sam Flores

Two unidentified drones crashed near Kouvola in southern Finland on Sunday, the defence ministry said, calling the incident a “suspected territorial violation”. “Drones have strayed into Finland’s territory. We take this very seriously,” Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement, adding that security authorities had been sent to the scene. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.  Nearby countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania earlier ​this week ‌said several Ukrainian drones had ⁠crashed on their territory after going astray during attacks on Russian ‌oil export facilities on the Baltic Sea coast. Read moreFrom Ukraine to Iran, kamikaze drones are becoming indispensable to modern warfare ‘Low-flying slow objects’ “The investigation into the events is ongoing, and further details will be provided once the information has been verified,” Hakkanen said. According to the ministry, “a few low-flying slow objects were observed in Finnish airspace in the sea area and in southeastern Finland on Sunday morning”. Watch moreMade in UK: Ukrainian drone company to open first UK plant to boost production The air force sent up an …

Estonia and Latvia hit by drones as Ukraine unleashes massive attack on Russia

Estonia and Latvia hit by drones as Ukraine unleashes massive attack on Russia

Published by Sam Flores

A drone coming from Russian airspace hit a chimney of a power plant in Estonia while another fell on Latvian territory, authorities in the two Baltic countries said Wednesday. The reports came as Kyiv launched a barrage of almost 400 drones following Russia’s record aerial assault on Ukraine on Tuesday. Authorities in both countries said that the drones had come in from Russian airspace, with Riga saying that the projectile that landed in Latvia appeared to be Ukrainian. “A drone struck the chimney of the Auvere power plant. No one was injured in the incident,” Estonia’s internal security service said in a statement, adding that “the drone entered Estonian airspace from Russian airspace”. The Auvere power plant, operated by the Enefit Power group, is located in northeastern Estonia, near the town of Narva on the Russian border. “These are the effects of Russia’s large-scale war of aggression,” said ISS Director General Margo Palloson, expressing concern about “the occurrence of such incidents in the future”. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said on her X account, however, …

How every EU country responded to the strikes on Iran – POLITICO

How every EU country responded to the strikes on Iran – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran risk another Iraq-style quagmire, but said Berlin won’t lecture Washington as it seeks U.S. help to end the war in Ukraine. The German leader is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Merz also stressed that despite U.S. efforts, Iran hasn’t agreed to a nuclear deal or committed to reducing its missile program. Merz’s warnings against protracted conflict were later echoed by British PM Keir Starmer during a video address. Starmer gave more detail on the extent to which the British government is willing to help the U.S. and Israel in the conflict, albeit in a defined and limited manner, than the initial E3 statement cowritten with Germany and France. Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed the safety of Greeks in the region and the need for effective control of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, according to local media. Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Hungary is raising its counterterrorism level and used the strikes on Iran as a chance to talk about the …

Denmark in Talks With Ukrainian Drone Maker Skyfall on Hosting Production

Denmark in Talks With Ukrainian Drone Maker Skyfall on Hosting Production

Published by Sam Flores

STOCKHOLM, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Ukrainian ⁠drone ⁠maker Skyfall ⁠is in talks with Denmark ​about becoming the second defence firm ‌from the war-torn country ‌to establish production on ⁠Danish ⁠soil, the Nordic country’s defence ministry said on ​Tuesday. Skyfall develops unmanned aerial systems (UAS) including attack drones and drone interceptors, the ​firm said on its website. “Skyfall is ⁠a company ⁠with an impressive ⁠product ​portfolio that can provide strategically important production ​and supply ⁠on Danish soil – both for Ukraine and Denmark,” the defence ministry said in a statement. Copenhagen ⁠last year announced that Ukraine’s Fire Point will begin ⁠production of fuel for long-range missiles in Denmark, marking the first expansion abroad by a Ukrainian defence company. Russia’s foreign ministry in December said the production of fuel for Ukrainian missiles in ⁠Denmark posed a risk of escalation. Ukraine in December signed an agreement with the Netherlands for joint drone ​production. (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing ​by Terje Solsvik) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026 Source link

Brussels should scrap plans to hire 2,500 EU civil servants, 9 countries say – POLITICO

Brussels should scrap plans to hire 2,500 EU civil servants, 9 countries say – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Our joint message is clear: The Commission needs to hear the sign of the times,” said German Minister of State Günther Krichbaum. “When we talk about improving competitiveness, cutting red tape and scaling down national administrations, the Commission’s call to further increase staff numbers is simply out of touch with reality. It would be best for the Commission to retract this proposal.” The letter, signed by ministers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands, reads: “We expect the Commission to present ambitious, quantified proposals as a direct input for ongoing negotiations on the next MFF, including on an EU administrative system that reflects the challenges of our times.” “In this context, the proposed increase [from the Commission] of 2,500 posts as well as the overall significant increase of heading 4 (administration) runs counter to the stated objectives of efficiency, restraint and reform, and risks undermining the credibility of the broader MFF proposal.” Heading 4 of the 2028-2034 MFF refers to administrative costs. EU countries are in the midst …

Europe and America need each other but trust is gone  – POLITICO

Europe and America need each other but trust is gone  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

But he framed his appeal in terms of blood and soil familiar to Make America Great Again supporters, based on common (often economic) interests and not the common values of democracy and rule of law that had held the alliance together in past decades. “We are bound to one another by the deepest bonds that nations could share, forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture, heritage, language, ancestry and the sacrifices our forefathers made together for the common civilization to which we have fallen heir,” Rubio said. The response from European leaders was polite — no one wants to break the remaining bonds with an increasingly unpredictable United States, whose troops, nuclear weapons and military capabilities still give the continent crucial security against Russia. Ursula von der Leyen said she was “very much reassured by the speech of the secretary of state.” | Thomas Kianzle/AFP via Getty Images But on the sidelines of the event, multiple officials compared the current state of affairs to an abusive relationship in which the abuser blames the …

Poland should ‘begin work’ on nuclear defenses, Nawrocki says – POLITICO

Poland should ‘begin work’ on nuclear defenses, Nawrocki says – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

His comments come amid a growing debate in several European countries about developing their own nuclear weapons in the light of growing threats from Moscow and an erosion of trust in the United States. Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, for example, said at the Munich Security Conference this weekend that “nuclear deterrence can give us new opportunities.” Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said talks were ongoing with France about a European deterrent. Asked how Moscow might react to a Polish nuclear weapons program, Nawrocki was dismissive: “Russia can react aggressively to anything,” he said. Source link