European Union
Bangladesh wants fair prices for its products in European market
Bangladesh has reiterated the need for ensuring fair prices for its products in the European market, especially in view of the investment being made in “safer and greener” factories.
Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) held the 10th Joint Commission in Brussels on Friday and discussed a wide range of issues of common interest including trade and investment in a very constructive and open atmosphere.
In view of Bangladesh’s graduation from least developed country (LDC) status, Bangladesh and the EU agreed on the importance of establishing a predictable and sustainable business climate that will make it easier for trade and investment, removing market access barriers and promoting a sustainable diversification of its economy.
To this end, the two sides remain committed to pursuing and further strengthening the Business Climate Dialogue.
The EU commended Bangladesh for its continuing success as the largest beneficiary of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) unilateral preferential trade arrangement.
Also read: First formula flights from Europe to arrive this weekend
It was recalled that EBA preferences are conditional on the respect of human rights, including labour rights, as reflected in the international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation.
Garment export to the European Union and the UK, Bangladesh's single largest export destination, rose 23.83 per cent year-on-year to $12 billion in the current fiscal year's first half.
Sustained reforms of labour rights standards by the Government of Bangladesh, and their full alignment with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions are crucial in this regard, according to the EU.
The EU welcomed the finalisation and publication of Bangladesh´s National Action Plan on the Labour Sector and stressed the need for its comprehensive implementation as per the stipulated timelines, for regular updates periodically on its implementation and for trying to advance the timelines of revising the labour law applicable in export-processing zones.
Also read: EU welcomes Dhaka’s 'openness' to intl election observers at next polls
The EU and Bangladesh discussed governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights, the Rohingya crisis, economic and trade cooperation, migration, climate change, education, development cooperation and regional cooperation.
The first EU-Bangladesh Political Dialogue will be held in Dhaka in June this year.
EU welcomes Dhaka’s 'openness' to intl election observers at next polls
The European Union (EU) has welcomed the "openness" of the Bangladesh government regarding an international election observation mission for the next general elections.
Bangladesh and the EU held their 10th Joint Commission meeting in Brussels on Friday, in a very "constructive and open" atmosphere, covering a wide range of issues of common interest.
The Joint Commission reviewed political developments on both sides and discussed the state of democracy, rule of law and governance, including the importance of holding free and fair elections, according to a message received here from the Bangladesh mission in Brussels.Bangladesh and the EU exchanged views on respective approaches to the advancement of the rights of minorities, the rights of women and children and to engagement on human rights in multilateral fora.The EU stressed that a vibrant civil society is an important component of democracy, raised concerns on human rights in Bangladesh, in particular reports of alleged violation of human rights and emphasized the need to ensure accountability for such violations.The EU also raised concerns regarding the issues of civic space and freedom of expression offline and online, notably in the framework of the Digital Security Act (DSA), noting the importance for legislation and its implementation in this area not to go beyond the stated purpose of fighting digital crime and to be in line with international Human Rights obligations.The EU emphasised that promoting and protecting human rights for all, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation, disability or socio-economic background is crucial for stability, economic growth and development.The EU stands ready to provide increased cooperation in view of Bangladesh’s next Universal Periodic Review in 2023.The Bangladesh side stated that the government is committed to guaranteeing human rights for all as enshrined in its constitution.
The government has a 'zero tolerance' policy against terrorism and violent extremism and highlighted the remarkable success of the security apparatus in this regard.The Bangladesh side also said that it values the nearly five-decade-long partnership with the European Union and appreciates objective and constructive observations.The EU and Bangladesh discussed governance, democracy, rule of law and human rights, the Rohingya crisis, economic and trade cooperation, migration, climate change, education, development cooperation and regional cooperation.
In this context, they looked forward to the first EU-Bangladesh Political Dialogue in Dhaka in June this year.Rohingya crisis
The EU reiterated its appreciation for the continued generous role and action of the people and government of Bangladesh in temporarily hosting more than a million Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) or Rohingya refugees for more than four years.Bangladesh thanked the EU for its political and humanitarian support in addressing this humanitarian catastrophe created by Myanmar.They both stressed the need for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya to Myanmar, and the importance of continued delivery of essential assistance, support, and services.The EU raised the importance of providing perspectives to the largely young population of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas, especially in terms of health, education and livelihoods.Bangladesh welcomed the additional humanitarian aid announced on 20 May 2022 by the European Union to ensure life-saving support for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and host communities in Bangladesh.Trade, labour rightsThe EU commended Bangladesh for its continuing success as the largest beneficiary of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) unilateral preferential trade arrangement.It was recalled that EBA preferences are conditional on the respect of human rights, including labour rights, as reflected in the international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation.Sustained reforms of labour rights standards by the government of Bangladesh, and their full alignment with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions are crucial in this regard.In this context, the EU welcomed the finalisation and publication of Bangladesh´s National Action Plan on the Labour Sector and stressed the need for its comprehensive implementation as per the stipulated timelines, for regular updates periodically on its implementation and for trying to advance the timelines of revising the labour law applicable in export-processing zones.Bangladesh reiterated the need for ensuring fair prices, especially in view of the investment being made in safer and greener factories.
EU rushes out $300 billion roadmap to ditch Russian energy
The European Union’s executive arm moved Wednesday to jump-start plans for the 27-nation bloc to abandon Russian energy amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, proposing a nearly 300 billion-euro ($315 billion) package that includes more efficient use of fuels and faster rollout of renewable power.
The European Commission’s investment initiative is meant to help the 27 EU countries start weaning themselves off Russian fossil fuels this year. The goal is to deprive Russia, the EU’s main supplier of oil, natural gas and coal, of tens of billions in revenue and strengthen EU climate policies.
“We are taking our ambition to yet another level to make sure that we become independent from Russian fossil fuels as quickly as possible,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels when announcing the package, dubbed REPowerEU.
With no end in sight to Russia’s war in Ukraine and European energy security shaken, the EU is rushing to align its geopolitical and climate interests for the coming decades. It comes amid troubling signs that have raised concerns about energy supplies that the EU relies on and have no quick replacements for, including Russia cutting off member nations Poland and Bulgaria after they refused a demand to pay for natural gas in rubles.
The bloc’s dash to ditch Russian energy stems from a combination of voluntary and mandatory actions. Both reflect the political discomfort of helping fund Russia’s military campaign in a country that neighbors the EU and wants to join the bloc.
Also Read: Fall of Mariupol appears at hand; fighters leave steel plant
An EU ban on coal from Russia is due to start in August, and the bloc has pledged to try to reduce demand for Russian gas by two-thirds by year’s end. Meanwhile, a proposed EU oil embargo has hit a roadblock from Hungary and other landlocked countries that worry about the cost of switching to alternative sources.
In a bid to swing Hungary behind the oil phaseout, the REPowerEU package expects oil investment funding of around 2 billion euros for member nations highly dependent on Russian oil.
Energy savings and renewables form the cornerstones of the package, which would be funded mainly by an economic stimulus program put in place to help member countries overcome the slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The European Commission said the price tag for abandoning Russian fossil fuels completely by a 2027 target date is 210 billion euros. Its package includes 56 billion euros for energy efficiency and 86 billion euros for renewables.
Von der Leyen cited a total funding pot of 72 billion euros in grants and 225 billion euros for loans.
The European Commission also proposed ways to streamline the approval processes in EU countries for renewable projects, which can take up to a decade to get through red tape. The commission said approval times need to fall to as little as a year or less.
Also read:Russian neighbor Finland announces it wants to join NATO
It put forward a specific plan on solar energy, seeking to double photovoltaic capacity by 2025 and pushing for a phased-in obligation to install solar panels on new buildings.
Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, called REPowerEU a “jumbo package” whose success will ultimately depend on political will in the bloc’s national capitals.
“Most of the actions entailed in the plan require either national implementation or strong coordination among member states,” Tagliapietra said. “The extent to which countries really engage is going to be defining.”
The German energy think tank Agora Energiewende said the EU’s plan “gives too little attention to concrete initiatives that reduce fossil fuel demand in the short term and thereby misses the opportunity to simultaneously enhance Europe’s energy security and meet Europe’s climate objectives.”
The group’s research shows rapidly expanding solar, wind parks and use of heat pumps for low-temperature heat in industry and buildings could be done faster than constructing new liquefied natural gas terminals or gas infrastructure, said Matthias Buck, its director for Europe.
The European Commission’s recommendations on short-term national actions to cut demand for Russian energy coincide with deliberations underway in the bloc since last year on setting more ambitious EU energy-efficiency and renewable targets for 2030.
Those targets, being negotiated by the European Parliament and national governments, are part of the bloc’s commitments to a 55% cut in greenhouse gases by decade’s end, compared with 1990 emissions, and to climate neutrality by 2050.
Von der Leyen urged the European Parliament and national governments to deepen the commission’s July proposal for an energy efficiency target of 9% and renewable energy goal of 40% by 2030. She said those objectives should be 13% and 45%, respectively.
Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark plan to build North Sea wind farms to help cut carbon emissions.
EU energy ministers meet to discuss Russian gas, sanctions
European Union energy ministers will meet Monday to discuss Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, and debate planned new sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The 27 nation-bloc has imposed five rounds of sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, banks, companies and other organizations since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.
The European Commission is working on a sixth round of measures which could include oil restrictions, but Russia-dependent countries like Hungary and Slovakia are wary of taking tough action.
Germany believes it could cope if supplies of Russian oil were cut off due to an embargo or action by Moscow. Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Russian oil now accounts for 12% of total imports, down from 35% before the war, and most of it goes to the Schwedt refinery near Berlin.
Habeck acknowledged that losing those supplies could result in a “bumpy” situation for the capital and surrounding region, with price hikes and shortages, but that wouldn’t result in Germany “slipping into an oil crisis.”
Also Read: Russia cuts off 2 EU nations from its gas in war escalation
Still, Habeck added, “other countries aren’t so far yet and I think that needs to be respected.”
The commission, the EU’s executive branch, could announce it new sanction proposals later this week. The measures would have to be approved by the member countries - a process that can take several days.
The energy ministers will also look at what steps to take should Russia ramp up its pressure by cutting gas supplies to other countries.
The EU imports around 40% of the gas it consumes from Russia, but some member countries are more heavily dependent on Russian supplies than others.
In a move last week branded in Europe as “blackmail,” Russian energy giant Gazprom cut supplies to Bulgaria and Poland. It came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “unfriendly” countries must start paying for gas in rubles, Russia’s currency.
Also Read: EU prepared for Russian gas cut off: von-der-leyen
Bulgaria and Poland have refused to do so, like most EU countries. More Gazprom bills are due on May 20, and the bloc is wary that Russia might turn off more taps then. Russia rejects the claims of blackmail and says that Bulgaria and Poland missed their payment deadlines.
The commission has warned that companies which comply with the terms of Putin’s decree insisting that companies convert euros to rubles through two accounts at Gazprombank would contravene the bloc’s sanctions.
Despite the pressure, Europe does have some leverage in the dispute since it pays Russia $400 million a day for gas, a huge dent in Moscow’s coffers should it opt for a complete cutoff.
Off the Dutch North Sea coast, meanwhile, a fuel tanker stood idle at anchor after port workers in Amsterdam said they would not unload its cargo of Russian diesel. The Marshall Islands-flagged Sunny Liger was initially scheduled to unload in Sweden, but dockers there refused to carry out the work.
Dutch port employees who are members of the FNV dockers’ union say they also refused to unload the tanker out of solidarity with their Swedish colleagues. Union spokeswoman Asmae Hajjari told NOS Radio 1 over the weekend that “the ship is not welcome.”
US, allies to revoke 'most favored nation' status for Russia
President Joe Biden is announcing Friday that, along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke “most favored nation” trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement. Each country would have to follow its own national processes, the person said.
Read:China amplifies unsupported Russian claim of Ukraine biolabs
Stripping most favored nation status from Russia would allow the U.S. and allies to impose higher tariffs on some Russian imports, increasing the isolation of the Russian economy in retaliation for the invasion.
Biden's changes on Russia's trade status come as bipartisan pressure has been building in Washington to revoke what is formally known as “permanent normal trade relations” with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed the U.S. and allies to take the action against Russia in remarks to Congress over the weekend. It follows days after the Biden moved to ban imports of Russian oil and gas products.
This week's moves are the latest for the sanctions that have crippled the Russian economy and a sign that the U.S. and its allies will continue to use their financial heft to retaliate against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The other measures include the freezing of central bank assets, limits on exports and sanctions against Russian oligarchs and their families. These financial tools have led to the Russian ruble losing 76% of its value against the U.S. dollar over the past month, which has caused destructive inflation that could erode Putin’s ability to wage a prolonged war in Ukraine.
Biden, after initially slow-walking congressional attempts to take the trade action against Russia, was to embrace lawmakers' efforts to do just that on Friday.
The White House said Biden would announce "actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine.”
The earlier sanctions on imports of Russian oil, gas and coal cut off about 60% of U.S. imports from the country.
Most favored nation status has been a baseline for global trade, ensuring that countries within the World Trade Organization are treated similarly. Some countries in the WTO have special privileges due to their status as developing economies. Russia would join the ranks of Cuba and North Korea by not having MFN status from the U.S.
The revocation carries mostly symbolic weight. Because Russian imports into the U.S. are primarily natural resources, they would generally face little to no increase in their tariffs because of the lost status, Ed Gresser of the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, said in an online post.
Instead of the current tariff rate, buyers of Russian goods would pay rates established under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which disrupted trade during the Great Depression. This would still be zero for uranium, rhodium, palladium, silver bullion and king crabs. But the import tax would shoot up for unwrought aluminum, plywood, semi-finished steel and diamonds, among other products.
Read:Warsaw overwhelmed as it becomes key refugee destination
On Monday, Democrats on the powerful House Ways & Means Committee posted, then removed, an announcement on a bipartisan bill to ban Russian oil imports and slap further trade sanctions on the country, according to an aide, because of pushback from the White House against acting before Biden had coordinated with allies and reached a decision on both matters. The House voted Wednesday on a narrower bill to ban Russian energy imports after Biden instituted the ban by executive order.
Canada was the first major U.S. ally to remove most favored nation status for Russia last week.
Biden's action was first reported by Bloomberg News.
As West tries to force Russia from Ukraine, endgame elusive
As Western leaders congratulate themselves for their speedy and severe responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they’re also scratching their heads with uncertainty about what their actions will accomplish.
The U.S., NATO and the European Union have focused on strangling Russia’s economy and arming Ukrainian fighters. But it’s unclear how this will stop the war. No one knows what President Vladimir Putin is thinking, but there’s no reason to believe that even the toughest measures will shatter his determination to force the Western-leaning former Soviet republic back into Moscow’s orbit.
They may not say it publicly, but U.S. officials and their NATO allies don’t see a breaking point for Putin — either an economic toll so severe or battlefield losses so devastating — that would convince him to order his troops home and allow Ukraine’s leaders to govern in peace.
“Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin,” Biden said as he announced a U.S. ban on Russian energy imports on Tuesday. But Ukraine might not be a complete defeat for Putin either.
Read:US, allies to revoke 'most favored nation' status for Russia
The sanctions and military aid may have been effective in slowing the Russian advance in Ukraine and perhaps discouraging Putin from targeting other countries. They may serve as a warning for other powerful countries tempted to target weaker neighbors. But Western officials have been vague about how the actions will end the fighting.
One of the most direct answers came from the third-ranking U.S. diplomat, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. She said Tuesday that internal, rather than external, pressure on Putin will be more effective.
“The way this conflict will end is when Putin realizes that this adventure has put his own leadership standing at risk with his own military, with his own people,” she testified before Congress. “He will have to change course, or the Russian people take matters into their own hands.”
A more provocative remark came from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who called for the Russian people to assassinate Putin. The White House quickly distanced itself from that comment.
In fact, there is no sign yet that his grip on power has loosened. There’s also the frightening uncertainty about how a nuclear-armed Putin, if cornered, would respond to a genuine threat to his power if one were to arise.
And no one is counting on an outright military victory by Ukraine. While Ukrainian fighters have put up a remarkable defense and are determined to fight for as long as Russian forces remain on their soil, they are badly outgunned and would be hard-pressed to push Russian troops back across the border. Meanwhile, NATO nations aren’t about to risk triggering World War III by joining the fight in defense of a non-member state.
Against this backdrop, a diplomatic solution appears unlikely. Russia has only hardened its demands since launching the invasion last month and attempts at diplomacy by French, Israeli and Turkish leaders have thus far proven fruitless. The top U.S. and Russian diplomats aren’t even talking to each other and recent lower-level communications have focused almost entirely on the expulsions of diplomats from their two countries.
“Nobody knows how this is going to end and it’s going to take some time to see how the Russians decide to react to the obvious dead-end that they’ve got themselves into,” said Jeff Rathke, a European expert and president of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
“Until the Russians are ready to negotiate something serious and real, there’s not much you can do,” he said. He added that the U.S. and Europe should resist the temptation to negotiate themselves with Putin over Ukraine, especially as the economic costs of isolating Moscow mount, particularly in Europe. “The endgame has to be decided by the Ukrainians in terms of what they will accept,” he said.
Read:China amplifies unsupported Russian claim of Ukraine biolabs
“I can’t see this ending in any way good for Ukraine as long as Putin is in power,” said Ian Kelly, a retired U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Georgia who now teaches international relations at Northwestern University. “He’s put out his maximalist goal, which is basically surrender, and that’s something the Ukrainians aren’t going to be able to accept and the Russians are not going to be able to implement.”
“Withdrawal for him is death. It’s too weak,” Kelly said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the limits of the West’s ability to end the conflict.
“What we’re looking at is whether or not President Putin will decide to try to finally cut the losses that he’s inflicted on himself and inflicted on the Russian people. We can’t decide that for him,” he said Wednesday.
Appearing beside Blinken, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss suggested the Western response may go beyond hopes of getting Russia out of Ukraine.
“Putin must fail,” she said. “We know from history that aggressors only understand one thing, and that is strength. We know that if we don’t do enough now, other aggressors around the world will be emboldened. And we know that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, there will be terrible implications for European and global security.”
With the uncertainty, U.S. officials have said they are convinced of only one thing: that an angry and frustrated Putin will pour more troops and firepower into Ukraine and the bloodshed will get worse before the situation approaches any return to normalcy.
CIA Director William Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, told lawmakers this week he believes Putin has profoundly miscalculated the resistance and determination that his forces would meet from Ukrainians. He also said it may soon dawn on Putin that he will not be able to occupy Ukraine or impose a Russia-friendly regime there without facing years, if not decades, of fierce and bloody opposition.
“Where that leads, I think, is for an ugly next few weeks in which he doubles down with scant regard for civilian casualties, in which urban fighting can get even uglier,” Burns said.
520,000+ refugees have fled Ukraine since Russia waged war
The mass exodus of refugees from Ukraine to the eastern edge of the European Union showed no signs of stopping Monday, with the U.N. estimating more than 520,000 people have already escaped Russia's burgeoning war against Ukraine.
Long lines of cars and buses were backed up at checkpoints at the borders of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and non-EU member Moldova. Others crossed the borders on foot, dragging their possessions behind them.
Several hundred refugees were gathered at a temporary reception center in the Hungarian border village of Beregsurany awaiting transport to transit hubs, where they would be taken further into Hungary and beyond.
Maria Pavlushko, 24, an information technology project manager from Zhytomyr, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, said she was on a skiing holiday in the Carpathian mountains when she got word from home that Russia’s invasion had begun.
“My granny called me saying there is war in the city,” she said.
Also read: Russian forces shell Ukraine's No. 2 city and menace Kyiv
Pavlushko plans to travel from Hungary to Poland, where her mother lives. But her grandmother is still in Zhytomyr, she said, and her father stayed behind to join the fight against the invading Russian forces sent in by Vladimir Putin.
“I am proud about him,” she said. “A lot of my friends, a lot of young boys are going ... to kill (the Russian soldiers).”
Many of the refugees in Beregsurany, as in other border areas in Eastern Europe, are from India, Nigeria and other African countries, and were working or studying in Ukraine when the war broke out.
Masroor Ahmed, a 22-year-old Indian medical student studying in Ternopil in western Ukraine, came with 18 other Indian students to the Hungarian border. He said they hoped to reach the capital of Budapest, where India’s government has organized an evacuation flight for its citizens.
While Ternopil had not yet experienced violence when they left: “It might be that there is bombing next hour, next month or next year. We are not sure, that’s why we left that city.”
Hungary, in a turnaround from its long-standing opposition to immigration and refusal to accept refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has opened its borders to all refugees fleeing Ukraine, including third-country nationals that can prove Ukrainian residency.
As part of an agreement with some foreign governments, Hungary has set up a “humanitarian corridor” to escort non-Ukrainian nationals from the border to airports in the city of Debrecen and the capital, Budapest.
Also read: Over 500,000 flee Ukraine
Priscillia Vawa Zira, a Nigerian medical student in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, said she fled toward Hungary as the Russian military commenced an assault.
“The situation was very terrible. You had to run because explosions here and there every minute," she said.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, speaking by video to the U.N. Security Council, said more than 520,000 refugees had fled Ukraine, a number he said “has been rising exponentially, hour after hour."
The U.N. expects the total to reach 4 million in the coming weeks, Grandi said.
In Poland, which has reported the most arrivals at more than 280,000, trains continued to bring refugees into the border town of Przemysl on Monday. In winter coats to protect them against near-freezing temperatures, many carried small suitcases as they exited the station.
Polish U.N. Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski, speaking at the General Assembly, said that in addition to Ukrainians, those coming in Monday included people of some 125 nationalities, including Uzbeks, Nigerians, Indians, Moroccans, Pakistanis, Afghans, Iranians, Iraqis, Turks and Algerians.
Otoman Adel Abid, a student from Iraq, fled to Poland from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv after he said panic broke out among many in the city.
“Everyone ran to buy some food and we heard bombs everywhere,” he told The Associated Press. “After that we directly packed our bag and clothes and some documents and we ran to the train station.”
Natalia Pivniuk, a young Ukrainian woman from Lviv, described people crowding and pushing to get on the train, which she said was “very scary, and dangerous physically and dangerous mentally.”
“People are under stress ... and when people are scared they become egoist and forget about everything,” she said. “People are traumatized because they were on that train.”
Maxime Guselnikov was leaving Poland to return to Ukraine to take up arms against Russia, he said, adding that his wife and daughter are still in Kyiv along with friends and colleagues.
“I return to Kyiv to fight,” he said. “The Russians came to kill our brothers, soldiers, our children, mothers, sons. I go to take revenge for it. I should react.”
Many of those fleeing Ukraine were traveling on to countries further west.
Aksieniia Shtimmerman, 41, arrived with her four children in Berlin Monday morning after a three-day journey from Kyiv.
Sitting on a bench inside the German capital’s main train station, she attempted to decipher a leaflet with instructions and maps on how to reach a shelter for new arrivals.
As she tried to comfort her crying 3-year-old twin boys, Shtimmerman said she had worked in telecommunications at a Kyiv university but was now only seeking a place where she and her children could eat, sleep and rest.
“I grabbed my kids on Friday morning at 7 a.m. to run away from the war,” Shtimmerman said. “I can’t even count anymore how many different trains we took until we arrived here.”
Germany’s interior ministry said 1,800 refugees from Ukraine had arrived by early Monday, but that the number was constantly growing as more trains from Poland arrived.
In the Romanian town of Siret, the EU commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, visited a border crossing where thousands of refugees were entering from neighboring Ukraine.
Johansson, who visited some of the humanitarian stations at the border, commended the “heartwarming” cooperation between volunteers and the authorities, and said the EU is united “in a way we have never seen before.”
She said it was a “very difficult time where we see war in Europe again, where we see aggression, invasion from Putin towards a sovereign, neighboring country.”
Europe is “showing that we are based on other values than Putin,” she said.
EU blacklists 26 Russians, including Kremlin spokesman Peskov, and one company
The European Union has blacklisted 26 more Russian nationals, including presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, and one legal entity, according to the corresponding normative acts published in the EU Official Journal on Monday.
"In view of the gravity of the situation, the Council considers that 26 persons and one entity should be added to the list of persons, entities and bodies subject to restrictive measures set out in the Annex to Decision 2014/145/CFSP," it reads.
Also read: Russia facing sports isolation over invasion of Ukraine
Along with Peskov, the blacklist includes Igor Sechin, executive director of Rosneft; Nikolay Tokarev, Transneft CEO; Alisher Usmanov, founder and major shareholder of USM holding co; Pyotr Aven, chairman, board of directors, Afta Bank; Mikhail Fridman, co-owner, Alfa Group; Sergey Roldugin, cellist and businessman; Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister; Irek Faizullin, Minister of Construction and Housing; Vitaly Savelyev, Minister of Transport; Andrey Turchak, first deputy speaker of the Federation Council (upper parliament house); Tigran Keosayan, film director; Olga Skabeyev, journalist; Alexander Ponomarenko, chairms, board of directors, Sheremetyevo airport; Modest Kolerov, editor-in-chief, Regnum news agency; Roman Babayan, editor-in-chief, Govorit Moskva radio station; Zakhar Prilepin, writer and co-leader of the Just Russia - For Truth party; Anton Krasovsky, journalists and RT host; Arkady Mamontov, journalist and host on Rossiya-1 television channel; Sergey Punchuk, first deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet; Alexey Avdeyev, deputy commander, Southern Military District; Rustam Muradov, deputy commander, Southern Military District; Andrey Sychevoy, commander, 8th army of the Southern Military District; Gennady Timchenko, majority shareholder, Volga Group investment company and holder of share in Rossiya bank; Alexey Mordashev, chairman, board of directors, Severstal; and Pyotr Fradkov, Promsvyazbank chairman.
They are banned from entering the European Union and their assets in the EU countries, if any, will be frozen.
Apart from that, sanctions have been imposed on Gas Industry Insurance Company SOGAZ.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on Thursday morning that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
Also read: European Union closes airspace to Russia
When clarifying the unfolding developments, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.
European Union closes airspace to Russia
The European Union has closed its airspace to Russia due to the situation in Ukraine, according to a document published in the Official Journal of the European Union on Monday.
"It shall be prohibited for any aircraft operated by Russian air carriers, including as a marketing carrier in code-sharing or blocked-space arrangements, or for any Russian registered aircraft, or for any non-Russian-registered aircraft which is owned or chartered, or otherwise controlled by any Russian natural or legal person, entity or body, to land in, take off from or overfly the territory of the union," the document reads.
Also read: Sanctions vs. neutrality: Swiss fine-tune response to Russia
However, "the competent authorities may authorize an aircraft to land in, take off from, or overfly, the territory of the union if the competent authorities have determined that such landing, take-off or overflight is required for humanitarian purposes or for any other purpose consistent with the objectives of this regulation."
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.
Also read: Russia may nationalize property of US, EU citizens in response to sanctions: Medvedev
RMG exports rise 28% to nearly USD 20 billion in first half of FY22
Bangladesh exported readymade garments (RMG) worth US$ 19.9 billion in the first half of the current fiscal, a 28% growth year-on-year.
As per the latest figures released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the US was the largest export market for Bangladesh between July and December 2021.
The volume of exports to the US grew 46% growth during this period compared to the same in the last financial year. The figures exhibited a robust external demand for this country's RMG items abroad.
READ: BGMEA seeks support of all to protect interests of RMG sector
Exports to the European Union (EU) and Canada also witnessed a growth of 23.83% and 23.78%, respectively, according to the EPB figures.
"The overall exports of RMG during the first half of 2021-22 reached US$ 19.9 billion, with 28% year-on-year growth," Mohiuddin Rubel, director of BGMEA, said on Saturday.
READ: SCB’s Covid-time support has helped RMG overcome challenges: Press Release