Belgium

EU to take joint stance at end of Khashoggi probe

BRUSSELS; 9 Nov 2018; AA: The European Commission said Friday they are discussing a joint stance for Saudi Arabia following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“In any case, the member states are in contact with one another,” commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said, in a daily press briefing in Brussels.

She added that the joint stance would be taken once the results of the investigation into Khashoggi's murder are revealed.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

EU joins US, UK to urge parties in Sri Lanka to follow Constitution, refrain from violence

Washington, Oct 27; PTI: The European Union joined the US and the UK on Saturday to urge the political parties in Sri Lanka to abide by the Constitution and refrain from violence, as the island nation plunged into a political crisis after the sacking of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Maithripala Sirisena sacked his former ally Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replaced him with controversial strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday, a move seen as an effort to allow Rajapaksa to buy more time to seek majority in the parliament.

No plans to station 'more nuclear weapons in Europe’, says NATO chief

BRUSSELS, October 24. /TASS/. NATO allies are not planning to station more nuclear weapons in Europe as a response to new Russian missiles, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

"We don’t want a new Cold War, we don’t want a new arms race. We strongly believe that it is important to address the concerns we have expressed for a long time regarding the new Russian missile and that Russia has to come into compliance with the INF treaty in a transparent and verifiable way," Stoltenberg said.

Full details of Saudi journalist's killing should be revealed: EU's Tusk

STRASBOURG, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk said here on Wednesday that all details of the killing of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, shoud be revealed regardless of "who is behind it".

"This was such a horrible crime, that even the slightest trace of hypocrisy would bring shame on us," Tusk said in a speech to the European Parliament.

"It is not my role to state who wants to protect whose interests here. But I know one thing: the only European interest is to reveal all the details of this case, regardless of who is behind it," he said.

EU urges US to consider consequences of INF exit

BRUSSELS, October 22. /TASS/. The European Union has called on the United States to think about impacts of its possible withdrawal from the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty on its own security and the security of its allies and the entire world, as no one in the world wants another arms race, the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement on Monday.

NATO holds Russia responsible for US decision to scrap INF Treaty

BRUSSELS, October 21. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has laid responsibility on Russia for the US decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), noting that Moscow 'highly likely' violates this agreement, NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Sunday.

Angela Merkel defies Trump, defends free trade at EU-Asia meeting

20 Oct 2018; DW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended free trade at a summit of European and Asian leaders in Brussels on Friday, rejecting the protectionist rhetoric and policy of US President Donald Trump.

"We can show that it's about creating win-win situations, making it clear that when one profits, the other also profits," she said at the 12th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Subscribe to Belgium