Politics in Europe > Fico pledges to veto EU anti-energy bill; NATO's Baltic Way plays games with Serbia and Slovakia PMs; Surprise! There are a few intelligent leaders in Europe; But not in the UK

 

Slovak PM makes veto pledge to Putin

Robert Fico has said Slovakia will oppose an EU-wide energy embargo on Russian fossil fuels

Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico during his meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin. © Sputnik / Stanislav Krasilnikov

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico pledged to block any European Union attempt to impose a full energy embargo on Russia during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday. He also denounced Western efforts to build a “new Iron Curtain.” 

Fico warned that halting Russian gas and oil deliveries would create instability, particularly for countries like Slovakia, whose refineries are configured for Russian crude. “Stopping supplies could cause technological problems,” he said.

Under the REPowerEU plan, the European Commission aims to eliminate the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

Read more

 Vucic and Fico are heroes – Kremlin

“If the decision requires agreement from all 27 EU member states, we will use our veto right against banning the import of all types of energy resources,” Fico said. He added, “If it’s decided by a majority vote instead of unanimity, then the big states will impose their will.” 

How do they make such a decision. For, certainly, if Slovakia or Serbia promise to veto the bill, then Ursula will make it a majority vote in order to get her way. 

The Slovak leader criticized sanctions on Russia as ineffective and damaging to the EU itself. He also dismissed the notion that nuclear fuel from US-based Westinghouse could replace Russian supplies at Slovak power stations, saying, “It’s simply impossible.” 

Fico also took aim at what he described as increasing efforts by the West to impose isolation. “There is a strong push to build a new Iron Curtain in various forms,” he said, referencing travel restrictions from EU states that he faced en route to Moscow. “I do not support this idea, and we will do everything so that through this curtain we can still shake hands.” 

Fico framed his visit to Moscow as a moral obligation, citing the over 60,000 Red Army soldiers who died during the liberation of Slovakia. “That’s why I considered it my duty to come here and pay tribute,” he said.

Slovak Prime Minister criticized EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for telling him that he was “on the wrong side of history.” In response, Fico wrote on his official account on X that, as a high-ranking official of the European Commission, Kallas has “absolutely no authority to criticize the sovereign Prime Minister of a sovereign country who approaches all European matters constructively.” 

“How can diplomacy and foreign policy be conducted if politicians are not supposed to meet and engage in normal dialogue on issues where they hold differing views?” he added.

No, Kaja, you are on the wrong side of history. You are on the side of the aggressor - NATO!

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The EU made it difficult for Fico and Vucic to get to Moscow for the Victory Day celebrations. 

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had warned leaders of member states and candidate countries against traveling to Russia for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. The renowned Russia hawk urged instead that they visit Kiev.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos reportedly also told Vucic in late April that his presence in Moscow could impact Serbia’s EU accession to the bloc.

Latvia and Lithuania denied airspace access to Vucic’s plane, forcing it to reroute through Bulgaria, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

Estonia refused to facilitate Fico’s  aircraft, despite Slovakia holding a year-round permit to use Estonian airspace for government flights.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna insisted that EU representatives should avoid participating in “propaganda events organized by Russia.”

And, instead, spend their time at propaganda events organized by Brussels.

Ukraine’s cause is ‘doomed’ – EU state’s president

Continued European support for Kiev will only bring more victims, destruction, and lost territory, Bulgaria’s Rumen Radev has said

FILE PHOTO: Bulgarian President Rumen Radev participates in the Three Seas Initiative Business Forum in Warsaw, Poland, April 29, 2025. © Getty Images / Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev has openly criticized the EU’s continued military support for Ukraine, warning that Kiev’s path to victory against Russia is “doomed.” He made the remarks in a Facebook post on Friday, timed with Russia’s Victory Day celebrations in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Radev called it “the tragedy of our time” that decades after World War II, international disputes in Europe “are once again being resolved by military means.”

“Europe does not have its own vision for the end of the [Ukraine conflict] and the establishment of peace, but continues to invest in a cause that, in my opinion, is doomed,” the Bulgarian leader wrote. He added that “pouring more weapons” into Ukraine would not bring peace closer, calling it a “utopian hope” that leads instead to “the opposite – even more victims, destruction and lost territory every day.”

What I've been saying for more than 2 years.

Radev also questioned the EU’s goals in prolonging the Ukraine conflict.

READ MORE: Putin ‘doing whatever possible’ for Ukraine peace – Kremlin

“Is Europe afraid of the return of peace? Because the return of peace also means returning public attention to the crises that are smoldering within our countries and societies,” he stated, stressing that Europe must learn the lessons of World War II, abandon its militaristic approach, and focus instead on diplomatic solutions.

“Europe must remember that unity and prosperity were made possible by joint efforts to eradicate the rivalries, hatred, and disputes that led to the Second World War,” he said.

Radev has opposed sending military aid to Kiev and is one of the few EU leaders to speak out against Brussels’ hardline stance against Moscow. He previously warned against prolonging the conflict, dismissing the idea of Ukraine defeating Russia as “impossible,” while urging for peace.

Russia has warned against Western military aid to Ukraine, saying it would only drag out the conflict. Moscow offered a 72-hour ceasefire from midnight May 8 to midnight May 11 to mark Victory Day, describing the offer as a humanitarian gesture aimed at paving the way for direct peace talks without preconditions. Ukraine dismissed the overture as “manipulation” and demanded a 30-day ceasefire instead.

Xi calls for root causes of Ukraine conflict to be eliminated

The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukraine launched multiple attacks of various kinds, including four attempted cross-border incursions into the Russian regions of Kursk and Belgorod, following Russia’s ceasefire declaration.

Britain sanctions 100 Russian shadow fleet vessels

By Doug Cunningham

Britain Friday sanctioned 100 Russian shadow fleet oil tankers oil tankers that carried more than $24 billion in cargo since the beginning of 2024. Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) said increasing pressure on Russia in support of Ukraine is in British security interests. Photo by Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/UPI | License Photo

May 9 (UPI) -- Britain hit Russia's shadow fleet Friday with what Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the largest ever sanction package. 

Up to 100 oil tankers that carried more than $24 billion in cargo since the beginning of 2024 were targeted by the sanctions. 

"Every step we take to increase pressure on Russia and achieve a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine is another step towards security and prosperity in the U.K.," Starmer said in a statement.

Starmer said the sanctions targeting the fleet Russia used to transport oil will add more pressure to Russia's economy.

Related

• French President Macron pledges $2.15B for Ukraine defense
• British government now holds $32.3 billion in frozen Russian assets
• Russia holds WWII Victory Day celebrations in Red Square as fighting in Ukraine rages on

He said, thanks to Western sanctions, oil and gas revenues for Russia have fallen each year since 2022.

"Sanctions and the cost of his barbaric war are causing the Russian economy to stall -- with the wealth fund hollowed out, inflation rising and government spend on defense and security spiraling," Starmer said.

Is he talking about Russia, or the UK?

Starmer said Britain will do all it can to disrupt the Russian shadow fleet and the people behind it, because it's a security threat for Britain.

Good grief! How is that a security threat to Britain?

"The threat from Russia to our national security cannot be underestimated, that is why we will do everything in our power to destroy his shadow fleet operation, starve his war machine of oil revenues and protect the subsea infrastructure that we rely on for our everyday lives," Starmer's said.

Russia's shadow fleet, Starmer said, isn't just bringing in money for Russia. It's being used to damage critical national infrastructure "through reckless seafaring in Europe."  Huh?

The sanctioned shadow fleet vessels will be banned from British ports and could be seized if they enter British waters.

The British sanctions were announced as the Joint Expeditionary Force holds an Oslo summit Friday.

The JEF is a coalition of ten northern European nations supporting Ukraine and enhanced European security.

Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway comprise the security coalition.

Starmer said the JEF is expected to announce a strengthened partnership with Ukraine at the Oslo summit.

Politics in Europe > Scholz protecting Western War Industries at the expense of German citizens; Belgium finally forms a government and it's right-wing; Non-Russian energy closes Estonia's largest pulp mill

 

This is utter madness!

Scholz calls for state of emergency in Germany

The chancellor has spoken in favor of relaxing the constitutional ‘debt brake’ mechanism to continue supporting Ukraine

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. ©  Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on the country’s parliament to declare a state of emergency over the Ukraine conflict. The head of government said he wants the constitutional ‘debt brake’ mechanism relaxed in order to ensure continued support for Kiev.

I suspect this is the very kind of madness for which the debt brake was adopted in the first place.

Enshrined in the German constitution, the limit dictates that the government cannot take on debts worth more than 0.35% of the country’s annual GDP. Temporary exceptions are allowed “in the event of natural disasters or exceptional emergency situations that are beyond the control of the state,” as long as the Bundestag supports the move. This, for instance, was done during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Scholz said that the “Bundestag should adopt a resolution as soon as possible, whereby the war in Ukraine and its grave consequences for Germany’s and Europe’s security are classified as an emergency situation.” He explained that this would ensure that aid for Ukraine, “which is more important today than ever, no longer comes at the expense of the other duties that our state has to fulfill towards its own citizens.”

READ MORE: Germany’s Scholz blasts Trump’s Ukraine minerals demand

The chancellor added that US President Donald Trump is right to demand that European NATO member states shell out more for their defense, stressing that military-related spending “must grow considerably more.” Scholz dismissed the idea that the necessary funds could be obtained from the existing budget.

Speaking on the debt brake, the chancellor suggested permanently exempting defense spending from the limit.

OMG! There is nothing the War Industries would like better, and, indeed, are probably working frantically to bring about in all NATO countries.

Scholz welcomed President Trump’s phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, stressing at the same time that the principle “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine and nothing about Europe without Europe” should be respected.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, between January 2022 and October 2024, Germany provided Ukraine with €11 billion ($11.5 billion) worth of assistance, emerging as its second-largest backer after the US.

Meanwhile, amid the decoupling from relatively inexpensive Russian energy and several other factors, the German economy contracted for a second straight year in 2024 for the first time in more than two decades, according to a report released last month by the country’s federal statistics office Destatis.

Among the sectors bearing the brunt of the downturn is the country’s automotive industry.

Commenting on Scholz’s remark, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that by highlighting his staunchly pro-Ukrainian stance, the German chancellor had struck a pose in stark contrast to US President Donald Trump’s position. Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, opined that the German chancellor is hoping to thus score political points at home ahead of the February 23 snap general election, with his party projected to lose to its Christian Democratic Union rivals.

After Belgian Elections, a Move Rightward Promises to be Less anti-Israel

Feb 16, 2025 4:00 pm By Hugh Fitzgerald

Belgium now has a new government, one that has replaced the previous left-wing coalition of the anti-Israel Socialist Party and Ecolo (the environmental party of the “Greens”) with a center-right coalition consisting of the N-VA Party (the New Flemish Alliance) and the French-speaking “Reform Movement.” The Belgian electorate has tired of the leftists who, when in power, instead of addressing the country’s domestic problems, including economic distress and the many problems caused by Muslim economic migrants who have cost Belgian taxpayers billions of dollars, have focused on foreign policy, and specifically, on the war in Gaza, where the government has displayed an extreme anti-Israel animus. More on the significance of the new government’s move from left to center-right for Belgian Jews, and for increased support for Israel, can be found here: 

Belgium has a new government. What does it mean for the Jewish community and Israel? – opinion

by Henri Benkoski, Jerusalem Post, February 14, 2025:

After long months of discussions, Belgium has finally formed a new federal government. For the first time in a long time, the Socialist Party and Ecolo, the ‘Greens,’ are no longer in power. This represents a significant shift in Belgian politics.

A right-wing/center-right majority has now been established in the federal government and across other regional governments. The N-VA party (‘New Flemish Alliance’), led by Antwerp’s conservative and officially nationalist mayor, Bart De Wever, along with the liberal, French-speaking ‘Reform Movement’ under its young and effective president, Georges-Louis Bouchez, are now in power throughout the country….

The new federal government has moved away from the tendencies that willingly brought the Middle East conflict into Belgian politics, funding pro-Palestinian NGOs (and particularly the highly biased educational materials introduced into our schools, and advocating for the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state with little to no criticism of Hamas or Hezbollah….

It appears the new federal government is adopting a more balanced stance, which comes as a relief. Bart De Wever and Georges-Louis Bouchez, from the Flemish N-VA and the French-speaking MR, respectively, are finally offering reassurances that their policies will be more impartial and honest, even leaning more towards being pro-Israel….

Bart De Wever and Georges-Louis Bouchez have assured Belgian Jews and other supporters of Israel that they are not going to continue the anti-Israel policies of the previous government, and suggest that they will be pro-Israel. No longer will the Middle East, and the Palestinians, be the center of the government’s attention, but instead the new government will focus, as it should, on ameliorating the economic conditions of ordinary Belgians.

The coming months will reveal the true political landscape of Belgium. The Belgian Jewish community eagerly awaits the change as it is united in its concern for Israel’s security and the fate of the hostages. We are tired of so much hatred and fear and look forward to a Belgium that is a haven for people of all faiths and cultures. The journey ahead will require continuous effort and vigilance to ensure that Belgium remains a beacon of hope and inclusivity in an increasingly polarized world.

That’s the hopeful view of Henri Benkoski, a leader of the Belgian Jewish community, and the founder of Radio Judaica. One thing is clear: Belgium is turning rightward, as is so much of Europe. Italy is now governed by the openly right-wing Giorgia Meloni; in France, Marine Le Pen has a real chance to come in first in the French presidential elections to be held in 2027; in Germany, the right-wing Alternativ für Deutschland party, under the leadership of the formidable Alice Weidel, is widely predicted to have its best showing yet in the elections to be held on February 23. The AfD is the party whose main issue is Muslim immigration. The party calls for a halt to that immigration, though it does not object to non-Muslim immigrants, and for deporting Muslims already in Germany back to their countries of origin.

Like Marine Le Pen, Giorgia Meloni, and Alice Weidel, the government of Bart De Wever and Georges-Louis Bouchez offers the promise of three things: first, more attention to domestic matters, especially the growing threat to the economy and physical security posed by Muslim immigration; second, an end to the previous fixation on Gaza and Israel’s putative misdeeds; third, a distinctly pro-Israel policy. A roar of approval, please, from Leo Belgicus, for the new government in Brussels.

Vital pulp mill shuts after Estonia after Baltics disconnect from Russian grid

Estonian Cell has suspended production after electricity prices hit record highs last week, Delfi has reported

FILE PHOTO: Estonian Cell. ©  Wikipedia

Estonia’s largest pulp mill has halted production due to skyrocketing electricity prices after the Baltic nation disconnected from the Russian-Belarusian energy network (BRELL) and synchronized with the EU’s grid, news outlet Delfi has reported.

BRELL was originally part of the unified Soviet energy system and remained in operation after the USSR’s collapse in 1991, connecting Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Under a 2001 agreement, the five countries committed to sharing electricity and providing mutual support during power emergencies. Earlier this month, the Baltic states severed their ties with BRELL and integrated with the EU’s network.

The move sparked a massive surge in electricity prices in the three Baltic countries. Last week, the average daily price almost doubled from €126 ($131) to €230 ($240) per megawatt-hour, while peak hours saw prices up to €483 ($505) per MWh, according to the Nord Pool exchange.

The sudden price spike forced Estonia’s largest energy consumer, pulp mill Estonian Cell, to suspend production.

“We stopped production on Tuesday, and now we wait for the next day’s price every day at lunchtime,” Estonian Cell chief financial officer Meelis Kuzma told Delfi Business last week.

Although representatives from Elering, Estonia’s power operator, blamed the price hike on weather conditions and market dynamics, the increase came soon after the country disconnected from the Russian power grid.

READ MORE: Power prices in Baltics nearly double after cut from Russian grid

The power operator noted reduced wind energy production, increased consumption due to colder weather, and a rise in gas prices as key factors influencing the surge.

“The fact that the price of electricity depends on the weather and thus affects our production is actually absurd!” Kuzma argued.

Estonian Cell has faced significant financial challenges in recent years due to the volatility of energy prices, and has suspended production several times because of soaring electricity prices.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – all NATO members – have stopped electricity supplies from Russia since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, although they maintained their connection to the BRELL grid. The Baltic countries now have to purchase reserve capacity on their own.

Elering said earlier that in 2025, the Baltic states will require around 1,500 MW of balancing capacity, with demand expected to rise amid growing consumption. While most residents in the Baltic countries pay fixed electricity tariffs, price hikes have primarily hit businesses and industries.