#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #20

EU humanitarian operations for refugees in the Republic of Moldova

More than 4.5 million people have already been forced to flee to neighboring countries like Hungary, Moldova, Poland and Slovakia due to the war in Ukraine. The influx of civilians (most of them women and children) has led to a surge in humanitarian needs. The Commission is currently working to provide emergency assistance to people in need everywhere therefore, a humanitarian operation in Moldova will be launched this week through the European Humanitarian Response Capacity (EHRC).This activity consists of setting up a warehouse in Chisinau and transporting more than 1,200 EU-owned tents and 4,000 blankets to people displaced by the conflict. All of this is fully funded by the EU. Moreover Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič stated that „in addition to EU funding for humanitarian partners on the ground, we are also enabling them with concrete operational support.” Among other things, shelter and medical assistance food and energy supply were offered by 18 EU Member States and Norway.They mobilize all available capacity to provide adequate support to all those in need.

Via: Europa.eu

After coal, EU proposes ban on Russian oil and gas

A few months ago would have been unthinkable: The European Union banned Russian fossil fuels.The leaders were faced with brutal images of indiscriminate killings in Bucha, so seeing the horrors, Member States decided to set a 120-day deadline for the complete abolition of Russian coal imports. This move will help paralyze the Kremlin's war machine, as the sale of fossil fuels is Russia's main source of revenue. That same week, parliament passed an "immediate total embargo on Russian imports of oil, coal, nuclear fuel and gas." Poland and the Baltics say a sudden cut in Russian energy would be the solution, forcing President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire. However, Germany and Austria do not agree with this, as they are heavily dependent on Russian fuels. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned a sudden cut-off would plunge "all of Europe into a recession”. „Sanctions are effective when they don’t weaken those imposing sanctions against the one who is conducting war."- told Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vowed to veto any attempt to impose an energy embargo, because he believes it would "kill" his country. In any case, the total embargo on Russian gas could reduce eurozone GDP by 2.2 percentage points this year.

Via:Euronews

Frank-Walter Steinmeier became an undesirable person in Kiev

Steinmeier said during a visit to Warsaw on Tuesday that he wanted to travel to Kiev with the presidents of Poland and three Baltic countries to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and express their solidarity with Ukraine. However, his request for a meeting was rejected by Zelenskiy and he argued that, Minister Steinmeier had close ties with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and was a strong supporter of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany. “We all here know Steinmeier’s close ties to Russia, which have also been marked by the Steinmeier formula,” He is currently not welcome in Kyiv. We will see whether that will change one day.”- an anonymous Ukrainian diplomat told the tabloid Bild. However Steinmeier has recently conceded the failure of his past strategy of western rapprochement with Moscow. He said:“We failed to build a common European house. I did not believe Vladimir Putin would embrace his country’s complete economic, political and moral ruin for the sake of his imperial madness.”

Via:Theguardian