The European Union and its Member States strongly denounced malicious cyber activities against it originating in Russia. “We urge the Russian Federation to adhere to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace”, the EU and its member states said in a statement on Friday.

The EU has accused Russia of targeted cyber attacks on several Member States. The 27-member bloc demanded that the “malicious cyber activities” stop immediately, and urged Moscow to take responsibility. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a statement issued on Friday (24 September) that “such activities are unacceptable as they seek to threaten our integrity and security, democratic values and principles and the core functioning of our democracies.”

A Russian group called Ghostwriter, which is is well-known for spreading disinformation, is considered responsible for the cyber attacks on members of parliament, government officials, politicians, journalists and civil society organizations. The hackers seek access to computer systems, personal accounts and data.

The European Union previously  sanctioned a group of Russian hackers for breaking into the computer network of the German Bundestag in 2015. Data was stolen and even Chancellor Angela Merkel’s email account was not safe.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies

Source: https://www.commonspace.eu/news/european-union-accuses-russia-cyber-attacks

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• Alexei Navalny: What you need to know
• The women fighting for Navalny against corruption

Human rights campaigners say the jail where Alexei Navalny is being held is known for its especially harsh conditions – Reuters

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On Sunday, a number of countries joined the international protest against Navalny’s treatment inside the Russian jail in the town of Pokrov, about 100 km (62 miles) east of Moscow.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN there would be “consequences if Mr. Navalny dies” and Russia would be “held accountable by the international community”, while President Joe Biden said his medical treatment was “totally unfair and totally inappropriate”.

The US is already embroiled in a diplomatic row with Russia over the near-fatal poisoning of Navalny last year, with the chemical warfare agent Novichock.

The Kremlin denies Navalny’s claims that President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack. But US intelligence officials concluded that the Moscow government was behind the poisoning, prompting the Biden administration to impose sanctions on senior Russian officials.

Now Moscow is imposing its own measures in retaliation.

Jake Sullivan@jakejsullivan

Mr. Navalny should be immediately released, and the perpetrators of the outrageous attack on his life must be held accountable. The Kremlin’s attacks on Mr. Navalny are not just a violation of human rights, but an affront to the Russian people who want their voices heard.

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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

EU leaders are expected to discuss the situation on Monday, and Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top diplomat, said the EU was “deeply concerned” and called for prison authorities to grant access to Navalny’s medical team immediately.

The UK’s Foreign Office said in a statement: “Mr. Navalny must be given immediate access to independent medical care. We reiterate our call for his immediate release from his politically-motivated imprisonment.”

Navalny’s 20-year-old daughter, Daria Navalnaya, who is currently studying in California, wrote “allow a doctor to see my dad” on Twitter.

Navalny’s wife Yulia said he had lost 9kg (19 lbs) since starting his hunger strike, according to AP.

Josep Borrell Fontelles@JosepBorrellF

Deeply concerned by Alexei @navalny’s deteriorating health. Russian authorities must grant him immediate access to medical professionals he trusts. We hold them to account for ensuring his safety & health. EU continues to call for Mr. Navalny’s immediate & unconditional release.

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EU Council Press@EUCouncilPress

Declaration of @JosepBorrellF on behalf of the EU on the deteriorating health of Alexei #Navalny. The EU is deeply concerned and calls on the Russian authorities to grant him immediate access to medical professionals he trusts.

https://europa.eu/!Bq78XP

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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Navalny’s supporters in Russia are organizing a nationwide protest on Wednesday, saying “there are circumstances in which you need to act quickly, otherwise the irreparable will happen”.

On Friday, four doctors wrote to prison officials to request permission to see Navalny urgently, saying his potassium had reached “critical levels”.

Dr. Alexander Polupan, who treated Navalny after he was poisoned with Novichock last year, said his blood test results were an “absolute indication” that he needed urgent medical care or he would “die within the next [few] days”.

On Sunday, his personal physician, Anastasia Vasilyeva, who has previously been arrested for protesting outside Navalny’s jail, tweeted that she and the three doctors had “stood for two hours and begged” to be let into the jail, but they were refused entry.

Also joining the call for action are more than 70 well-known writers, artists, and academics, who have signed a letter calling on President Putin to ensure Navalny receives adequate medical care.

The letter was published in The Economist and France’s Le Monde newspaper and included the signatures of Hollywood actors Jude Law, Ralph Fiennes, and Benedict Cumberbatch, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and director Ken Burns.

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr recorded on Friday but aired on Sunday, Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, said that Navalny was not in danger.

“Of course he will not be allowed to die in prison, but I can say that Mr. Navalny behaves like a hooligan absolutely in trying to violate every rule that has been established,” he said, adding that the activist was attempting “to attract attention”.

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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56794744

[Disclaimer]

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EU countries are ready to impose new sanctions against Russia over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Euronews has learned. A political decision is expected as early as next week.

The move comes after the widely-criticized visit of Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief to Moscow.

The first set of EU sanctions over the Navalny case was introduced in October, targeting six individuals and one entity believed to be involved in the poisoning of the Kremlin critic. No further action has been taken since he was jailed in early February.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, diplomatic sources told Euronews that there will likely be a political decision on the topic during next week’s Foreign Affairs Council.

The decision will then be referred to technical teams to prepare the lists of Russian individuals which will then be sent to EU ambassadors for review and approval. The consensus among member states is helping to speed up the process.

In the best-case scenario, the sanctions could be adopted by European leaders when they come together at the end of March.

Magnitsky Act

Brussels plans to use, for the first time, its recently established sanctions regime, similar to the Magnitsky Act in America.

This mechanism enables the 27 member states to punish those considered responsible for human rights abuses through the freezing of assets and travel bans.

However, sources note that there are still some differences concerning the approach and the form of these sanctions, stemming from the long-standing disagreements inside the bloc on how to handle Russia.

Countries like Poland and the Baltic states have always defended a hardline position and they would like the European Council to impose restrictive measures immediately.

Others, such as Germany, France, Greece, and Cyprus, which have traditionally closer ties with the Russian Federation, prefer to avoid extreme solutions and would rather have sanctions in place while keeping the channels of communication open.

Moreover, Croatia and Slovakia are eyeing a purchase of Sputnik V, Russia’s homegrown COVID-19 vaccine. Hungary is already using the jab as part of its vaccination campaign.

The Nord Stream 2 project, a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, which is nearing completion, is another thorny question in the complex EU-Russia agenda, although no member state has so far brought it up during the ongoing discussions.

Decisions on foreign affairs at EU level require unanimity among member states, which often slows down – or altogether impedes – taking decisive action.

Last year, Cyprus blocked EU sanctions against Belarus because the bloc refused to act in a similar manner against Turkey over its activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The fallout from that blockage, which made international headlines, led to the establishment of the Magnitsky Act-style regime three months later.

Action on Ankara is still an option, but remains stuck at technical level. A recent change in attitude by the government of Recep Erdoğan, together with the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, has lessened the sense of urgency.

Neither Cyprus nor Greece are expected to obstruct the Russian process.

“The two cases [Russia and Turkey] cannot be directly linked, but EU solidarity is a two-way street and member states which are now asking for solidarity, didn’t offer it when needed by others,” a diplomat told Euronews.

Sanctions but also dialogue

The new raft of sanctions follows Borrell’s controversial visit to Moscow, which was described as “a complete disaster” by MEPs. During a press conference alongside Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, Borrell shocked some when he publicly said the EU had no plans to impose further sanctions.

The intervention was met with immediate criticism. Borrell later corrected himself and told the European Parliament that sanctions were still a possibility and that he would come up with his own proposal.

Borrell’s words prompted Lavrov to announce that Russia was ready to break off relations with the EU if such punitive measures were to be imposed.

Lavrov suggested the EU’s decision to admit Baltic and Eastern European members 15 years ago had contributed to the current poor state of relations.

Diplomatic sources don’t share Lavrov’s uncompromising thinking.

“We want to keep the channels of dialogue open and, for sure, there is no appetite to further push Russia [in]to the arms of China because cutting ties with the EU is increasing [Russia’s] dependence on China,” said an EU diplomat.

Regarding Borrell, the official said there was initial disappointment and surprise with his performance, especially when he didn’t strike back when Lavrov condemned the EU as an “unreliable partner”.

Nevertheless, national ministers remain united behind the EU’s chief diplomat, something they consider necessary to face the Russian challenge together.

The new US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will take part in next week’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting, after accepting an invitation from Borrell. Relations with Russia and China will be the two main topics that EU ministers will tackle with his American counterpart.

Source: https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/18/eu-is-ready-to-impose-new-sanctions-against-russia-over-navalny

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European Union flag

Several European foreign ministers are seeking to reinstate the annual high-profile meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council, after Israel suspended its plans to apply sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria as part of its agreement to normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates, Haaretz reported on Friday.

The proposal to renew the meetings, which stopped in 2013 due to political tensions over European policy concerning Judea and Samaria and pressure from pro-Palestinian groups, was presented this week during Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi’s visit to Germany, where he participated in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, the report said.

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell has backed the proposal, which Israel is looking into and is still pending formal approval by all member states.

The association agreements signed between Israel and the European Union in 1995 call for an annual meeting of Israeli and EU foreign ministers, which was last held in July 2012. Israel canceled its participation in the summit planned for 2013, citing EU guidelines stipulating that agreements with Israel would not apply to Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.

In December 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, but only at the informal invite of Lithuania and against protocol, spurring outrage by member states and the EU’s then-foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who invited Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas for a visit in response.

EU officials have lately been working behind the scenes to advance a meeting of the Association Council, as part of a carrot-and-stick policy to fend off Israel’s sovereignty plans. If Israel backs off from its plans, EU officials have argued, the EU and Israel could turn over a new leaf in their relationship.

Israel’s agreement with the United Arab Emirates stipulates that Israel would suspend its plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that the agreement with the UAE did not mark the end of his sovereignty plan, but is merely a temporary delay. US President Donald Trump, however, later asserted that Israel agreed not to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria as part of the agreement.

Borrell was highly vocal in his criticism of Israel’s plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, having warned that “annexation would inevitably have significant consequences for the close relationship we currently enjoy with Israel.”

The EU welcomed the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates while restating its support for a two-state solution between Israel and the PA.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/286161

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The EU must have more troops and be prepared to use them across the globe, the bloc’s incoming foreign affairs chief has told the European Parliament.

Josep Borrell, who is nominated to be the EU’s next chief diplomat, said that Europe could not allow itself to become “irrelevant” on a world stage dominated by superpowers such as the US and China.

“We have the instruments to play power politics,” he said at a European Parliament hearing into his candidacy to head up the EU foreign affairs service, “The EU has to learn to use the language of power.”

“We should reinforce the EU’s international role and further our military capacity to act,” the 72-year-old Spanish socialist added.

“We should pool our national sovereignties together to multiply the power of individual member states,” Mr. Borrell said, “I am convinced that if we don’t act together Europe will become irrelevant.”

Mr. Borrell called for the numbers of EU troops that could be deployed to be raised to at least 55-60,000 from the current 35,000 worldwide.

“That’s impressive but we have to do more,” he said before pointing out the 60,000 target was first set in 1999 by EU leaders after the Balkan war.

Mr. Borrell said the EU had to speak with a unified “truly integrated” foreign policy voice on the world stage. He said the total defense spending in the EU was half the GDP of Belgium and more than in China and Russia.

But that spending did not translate into military capacity because it was fragmented among the EU member countries, Mr. Borrell said.

He backed EU plans for pooling defense research projects. Some critics have accused those plans of being a stepping stone towards a future EU Army.

Source: https://news.yahoo.com/incoming-eu-foreign-affairs-chief-153231029.html

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