Latest news with #BlackSea
Bloomberg
15 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Romania Plans Higher Property, Dividend Taxes to Curb Budget Gap
Romania's premier outlined fresh measures to cut the ballooning budget deficit as the new government seeks to safeguard the country's investment-grade rating and ease investor concern. The Black Sea nation plans to raise dividend and property taxes from next year, as well as put more emphasis on the performance of state-owned companies, according to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan. These steps will be in addition to previously announced moves, including a temporary levy on 'excessive' bank profits, higher excise duties and ending some exemptions to value-added tax.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU must prepare to talk to Russia
EU member states should consider resuming contact with Moscow, which was severed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters. According to Macron, despite being fully committed to boosting military capabilities within NATO, the bloc's European members have no wish to 'endlessly' arm themselves and should in the near future negotiate a new security framework with Moscow. 'We are not going to go towards an endless escalation, towards more armament. We must arm ourselves because today there is a gap between our level of armament and that of Russia. And that poses a threat,' Macron stated on Wednesday. 'At the same time, we must think about the security framework in which we want to live tomorrow,' he said. 'That's why we need to rethink [the security architecture] in the territories from the Black Sea to the Arctic, to determine how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves and what would be the terms of the discussion with Russia to make it possible to limit military capabilities and restore trust.' Macron advised member states to 'think about' restoring dialogue with Russia 'right now' in order to be able to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal. Macron made the remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague, where members committed to hiking defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035 in order to address the alleged 'long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.' US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged European NATO members to take more responsibility for their security and increase defense spending. Commenting on the hike, which one reporter called a 'one-man whim,' Macron said it is both Washington's wish and a 'European necessity' to become more independent militarily. Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, dismissing the claims as 'nonsense' and scare tactics used by Western officials to justify increased defense spending. Asked to disclose what NATO's warnings of a Russian threat were based on at the NATO summit, Secretary-General Mark Rutte did not provide any specific intelligence assessments, instead citing general fears. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of 'fueling global militarization and an arms race' by fabricating 'horror stories' to extract money from citizens of member states.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russian woman arrested for leaking military secrets to Ukraine
A Russian woman suspected of treason has been detained in Novorossiysk, a major port city on the Black Sea in southern Russia, the Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday. The agency said she gathered and sent information on Russian military assets to Ukrainian intelligence. The FSB stated that the suspect worked on a civilian vessel in the ports of Novorossiysk and Sochi. During this time, she allegedly initiated contact with a pro-Ukrainian terrorist group, which the FSB said is controlled by Ukrainian intelligence services. The woman is accused of collecting details regarding the locations of Russian Navy vessels and air defense sites and sharing them with her Ukrainian handlers. 'No damage was allowed to be inflicted on military equipment or personnel of the Russian Armed Forces due to timely measures taken,' the statement reads. The FSB's branch in Krasnodar Region has opened a criminal case under the article for high treason. The woman has been placed in pretrial detention. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The agency has also shared a video of the woman's arrest. In the clip, when confronted about passing information about military facilities to a foreign government, she said she 'didn't see anything terrible in it.' The video also included a recorded confession in which the woman said she was contacted by a representative of Ukrainian intelligence. 'He offered me monetary compensation for cooperation. I agreed. Later, he gave me tasks to collect information about the locations of military facilities in Novorossiysk, Sochi, and Sevastopol,' she said. The suspect stated that she sent the information to a person named 'Maxim' via Telegram and acknowledged her guilt. In a separate message, the FSB warned that Ukrainian intelligence services are increasingly using Telegram and WhatsApp to recruit Russian citizens for reconnaissance and sabotage activities. Earlier on Thursday, the Russian security services reported the arrest of another woman in St. Petersburg who has also been charged with collecting data on Russian military personnel on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence and aiding in the organization of an act of terrorism. The woman allegedly helped establish the residences of Russian servicemen, as well as their vehicles and those of family members 'for the purpose of preparing and carrying out terrorist attacks against them,' the FSB said. The suspect faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Macron says EU must prepare to talk to Russia
EU member states should consider resuming contact with Moscow, which was severed after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters. According to Macron, despite being fully committed to boosting military capabilities within NATO, the bloc's European members have no wish to 'endlessly' arm themselves and should in the near future negotiate a new security framework with Moscow. 'We are not going to go towards an endless escalation, towards more armament. We must arm ourselves because today there is a gap between our level of armament and that of Russia. And that poses a threat,' Macron stated on Wednesday. 'At the same time, we must think about the security framework in which we want to live tomorrow,' he said. 'That's why we need to rethink [the security architecture] in the territories from the Black Sea to the Arctic, to determine how far we are willing to go to defend ourselves and what would be the terms of the discussion with Russia to make it possible to limit military capabilities and restore trust.' Macron advised member states to 'think about' restoring dialogue with Russia 'right now' in order to be able to negotiate broader European security as part of a potential Ukraine peace deal. Macron made the remarks at the NATO summit in The Hague, where members committed to hiking defense spending to 5% of their GDP annually by 2035 in order to address the alleged 'long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security.' US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged European NATO members to take more responsibility for their security and increase defense spending. Commenting on the hike, which one reporter called a 'one-man whim,' Macron said it is both Washington's wish and a 'European necessity' to become more independent militarily. Moscow has stressed that it has no intention of attacking any NATO member states, dismissing the claims as 'nonsense' and scare tactics used by Western officials to justify increased defense spending. Asked to disclose what NATO's warnings of a Russian threat were based on at the NATO summit, Secretary-General Mark Rutte did not provide any specific intelligence assessments, instead citing general fears. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of 'fueling global militarization and an arms race' by fabricating 'horror stories' to extract money from citizens of member states.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Turkey's higher straits fee may affect Ukrainian grain exports, brokers say
Turkey's announced increase in tariffs for passing through the Black Sea straits will cause a rise in the cost of logistics for Ukraine's exports and may reduce the competitiveness of Ukrainian grain, brokers said on Wednesday. Turkey has said it will increase the fee by 15% from July 1 to $5.83 per net ton. Ukraine ships most of its exports through the Turkish Black Sea straits and brokers say an increase in transit fee could affect freight rates in destinations that involve their passage - in particular to key markets such as Egypt, Italy and Spain. "According to preliminary estimates, such costs could increase freight by $2-$3 on average. This, in turn, makes it harder to compete with other exporters in the region, including Russia and Romania," Ukrainian Spike Brokers said on Telegram. Ukraine is a global major grain grower and exporter, shipping abroad 40.3 million tons of grain so far in the 2024/25 July-June season. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
