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UAE negotiations over Ukraine covered ‘important issues,’ but ‘complex political matters remain unresolved,’ Zelenskyy says, hinting at more talks to come
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has also issued a brief update on the trilateral talks with Russia and US over the weekend.
In a post on social media, he said the talks “covered a range of important issues – primarily military, essential to bringing the war to an end.”
But he added that “complex political matters that remain unresolved were also discussed.”
“Preparations are now underway for new trilateral meetings this week,” he stressed.
Key events
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Rutte warns Ukraine is facing ‘harshest winter’ as he urges lawmakers to show flexibility on use of EU funds
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Nato’s Rutte about to speak in European parliament
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Czechs raise over €5.4m to fund generators, heaters for Ukraine
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India, EU reportedly conclude talks on new trade deal
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Hungary to challenge EU’s plans to phase out Russian energy imports
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UAE negotiations over Ukraine covered ‘important issues,’ but ‘complex political matters remain unresolved,’ Zelenskyy says, hinting at more talks to come
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Energy, heat situation remains ‘extremely challenging,’ Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says
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10 countries commit to build 100GW wind power grid in North Sea
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Italian journalists threatened by ICE agents while filming on US tensions
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Germany criticises Russia’s ‘stubborn insistence’ on maximalist territorial demands
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EU ‘in contact’ with Ukrainian, US delegations after talks with Russia in UAE
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EU dismisses suggestions of targeting US companies, undermining free speech as it launches new Grok probe
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European Commission declines to comment on ‘US internal matter’ of Minneapolis killing
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EU opens new probe into Elon Musk’s X over manipulated sexually explicit images
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Why Germany is racing to rebuild its army? – podcast
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Senior EU leaders continue to criticise Trump for ‘disrespecful’ Afghanistan comments
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EU countries sign off on Russian LNG, pipeline gas ban
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Finland warns about Russia’s continuing hybrid activities in region
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Finland steps up maritime surveillance with EU, Baltics to protect critical undersea infrastructure
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Morning opening: The week after the week before
Rutte warns Ukraine is facing ‘harshest winter’ as he urges lawmakers to show flexibility on use of EU funds
Rutte begins by talking about the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
He says it is “the harshest winter” for Ukrainians for over a decade, highlighting the worsening issues caused by Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities.
Rutte says that the US-led peace talks are on-going, crediting the US leadership for the initiative, but also mentions the EU-led Coalition of the Willing and its work on security guarantees.
He says the aim should be to get to a peace deal or a long-term ceasefire, “and let’s pray we have it as soon as possible,” and then make sure that Russia’s Vladimir Putin “never, never” attacks Ukraine again.
He then says that Nato continues to support Ukraine with US military equipment worth billions of dollars coming through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, mechanism and smaller, national initiatives.
He also urges EU lawmakers to not be “overly restrictive” on how €90bn of EU loan on security will be used by imposing any “buy EU” conditions that would restrict Kyiv’s ability to get what’s needed or spend the assigned budgets. “I encourage you to keep Ukraine’s needs first in focus,” he says.
Rutte repeats his general warning that Ukraine’s security “I think we all know …is also our security.”
He then moves on to discuss Nato’s revised GDP defence spending targets and Europe’s broader security partnerships.
Nato’s Rutte about to speak in European parliament
Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte is about to appear in front of the European parliament’s defence and foreign committees.
Expect questions on Ukraine, Trump, Greenland and the Arctic security, and Nato’s future.
I will keep an eye on this and bring you the key lines here.
Czechs raise over €5.4m to fund generators, heaters for Ukraine
A Czech grassroots fundraising effort has managed to raise more than €5.4m to buy generators, heaters and batteries for Ukraine, responding to dramatic warnings from Ukrainian authorities over the prolonger impact of recent Russian strikes on critical infrastructure amid freezing temperatures.
The “Gift for Putin” group has seen over 74,000 donors donate more than 131 millions of Czech crowns – or €5.4m – to help fund energy supplies in just five days since the call has been launched.
The group has been running similar fundraisers for Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion on Ukraine, in the past looking to raise money to buy a Blackhawk helicopter, among other things, Reuters reported.
India, EU reportedly conclude talks on new trade deal
India and the European Union have concluded negotiations on a long-coveted trade deal, the South Asian country’s trade secretary said on Monday, an accord both sides hailed as historic as they contend with strained US ties, Reuters reported.
The announcement comes as top EU officials, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa are in Delhi for talks. Earlier today, they attended a parade celebrating India’s Republic Day.
“It will be a balanced, forward-looking deal for better economic integration with the EU. The deal will propel trade and investment between both sides,” said India’s trade secretary Rajesh Agrawal.
EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said earlier today that the deal was “very close,” with the two sides “checking their final numbers,” Euronews reported, as he referred to the agreement as the “mother of all deals” as it looks to open a market of 1.4 billion people for European exports and services.
The agreement could be formally announced tomorrow, and Reuters reported the deal is expected to be signed after further legal checks.
Hungary to challenge EU’s plans to phase out Russian energy imports
Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has said that Hungary will challenge the EU’s REPowerEU plan phasing out Russian energy imports (10:36), arguing that energy policy falls under national jurisdiction.
He said:
“We will use every legal means to have it annulled. The REPowerEU plan is based on a legal trick, presenting a sanctions measure as a trade policy decision in order to avoid unanimity. This goes completely against the EU’s own rules.
The Treaties are clear: decisions on the energy mix are a national competence. Banning Hungary from buying oil and gas from Russia goes against our national interest and would significantly increase energy costs for Hungarian families.”
UAE negotiations over Ukraine covered ‘important issues,’ but ‘complex political matters remain unresolved,’ Zelenskyy says, hinting at more talks to come
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy has also issued a brief update on the trilateral talks with Russia and US over the weekend.
In a post on social media, he said the talks “covered a range of important issues – primarily military, essential to bringing the war to an end.”
But he added that “complex political matters that remain unresolved were also discussed.”
“Preparations are now underway for new trilateral meetings this week,” he stressed.
Energy, heat situation remains ‘extremely challenging,’ Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the situation in Kyiv remained “extremely challenging” as the country battles energy outages after recent Russian attacks on the Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said that more than 1,200 apartment buildings in the capital remained without heating, despite temperatures well below 0 Celsius.
“Together with local authorities and government officials, we discussed how to help as swiftly as possible. For now, the timelines that have been mentioned cannot be considered satisfactory — we must act faster,” he said.
The president also added that “a significant number of people” in Kyiv needed “immediate” support to help with the extreme temperatures.
Zelenskyy said the instructed the government to look into “urgently procuring everything that is genuinely needed right now for alternative electricity generation and heat supply” for Kyiv.
10 countries commit to build 100GW wind power grid in North Sea
Lauren Almeida
Business reporter
The UK and nine other European countries have agreed to build an offshore wind power grid in the North Sea in a landmark pact to turn the ageing oil basin into a “clean energy reservoir”.
The countries will build windfarms at sea that directly connect to multiple nations through high-voltage subsea cables, under plans that are expected to provide 100GW of offshore wind power, or enough electricity capacity to power 143m homes.
The commitment is set out in the “Hamburg declaration” signed on Monday by energy ministers from the UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway.
The pact comes less than a week after the US president, Donald Trump, criticised the UK’s plans to phase out production of North Sea oil and gas, and complained about European wind power.
Italian journalists threatened by ICE agents while filming on US tensions
Angela Giuffrida
in Rome
Two journalists from the Italian state broadcaster, Rai, were threatened by ICE agents in Minneapolis while filming for a report on the rising tensions in the US under Donald Trump’s administration, sparking a political backlash in Italy.
In a video posted on the Instagram account and the website of the news show, In Mezz’Ora, journalists Laura Cappon and Daniele Babbo are in a car with anti-ICE activists who are following a jeep with agents on board as they search the city for people to detain.
Upon realising their vehicle is being followed, the ICE agents stop the jeep and approach the car with the two journalists inside. Despite identifying themselves as being from the press, the ICE agents threaten to break the car window and drag the passengers out if they continue keep following and recording.
The woman driving the car refuses to pull down the window while repeatedly saying “we’re not doing anything wrong”. Others can be seen filming the encounter on the street before the agents get into their vehicle and drive away.
Politicians from Italian opposition parties have urged the government of Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who is ideologically aligned with Trump, to protect its citizens and condemn the intimidation.
“Two Italian journalists have also been threatened by Trump’s political police,” said Peppe Provenzano, a politician with the centre-left Democratic party. “Our deepest sympathy and solidarity goes out to them. If the Meloni government has any national pride, we ask it to formally protest and distance itself once and for all. We also ask it to clarify how it intends to protect our fellow citizens who live and work in places where ICE is operating from this climate of intimidation and violence.”
He added:
“Seeing America reduced to this state by Trump’s thugs, sowing chaos, terror and death in the streets, while being covered up by the Trump administration, is truly dismaying.”
For more updates on the situation in the US:
Germany criticises Russia’s ‘stubborn insistence’ on maximalist territorial demands
Separately, Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul denounced Russia’s “stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue” after talks between Russian, Ukrainian and US envoys in Abu Dhabi over the weekend, AFP reported.
“What I am hearing and reading today, including from the negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, is only Russia’s stubborn insistence on the crucial territorial issue,” Wadephul said in Riga. “And if there is no flexibility here, I fear that the negotiations may still take a long time or may not be successful at this stage.”
EU ‘in contact’ with Ukrainian, US delegations after talks with Russia in UAE
The commission has also confirmed that it has been in touch with the Ukrainian and the American delegations “before and after” their talks with Russia in the UAE over the weekend.
It has also said that it sees Ukraine’s future EU membership as part of its economic security guarantees after any peace settlement with Russia, but said that there was no specific agreed date for that to happen and it would be for the European Council to determine.
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