Latest news with #FAZ
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU threatens Ukraine aid freeze
Kiev is facing deeper cuts in EU financial support than it has publicly acknowledged, Ukrainian and German media have reported. Brussels reportedly views Ukraine's crackdown on anti-corruption institutions as an attempt to shield an ally of Vladimir Zelensky. Last Friday, the European Commission said it would reduce support under the Ukraine Facility program from a €4.5 billion ($5.2 billion) installment to €3.05 billion ($3.5 billion), citing Kiev's failure to meet commitments on anti-corruption reforms. However, Ukrainskaya Pravda has reported that the program has been de facto frozen, alongside another mechanism, ERA Loans, with a total of $60 billion at stake. On Monday, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on an EU letter to the Ukrainian government which threatened the suspension of aid. The Ukrainian government has placed two departments established with Western support to address rampant graft in Ukraine – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) – under the authority of the country's prosecutor general. However, following widespread Western rebukes, Zelensky promised to reverse the decision. Several of Zelensky's close political supporters, particularly in the Defense Ministry, are in danger of becoming caught in the organization's crosshairs. He claimed the move was an effort to eliminate 'Russian influence' in the agencies, but EU experts reportedly found the explanation unconvincing. According to an internal analysis cited by FAZ and shared with EU embassies in Kiev, the changes were described as 'the largest interference in the affairs of the Ukrainian anti-corruption system since its inception.' The analysis also indicated that the action was likely prompted by NABU's investigation into former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Chernyshov, a close political ally and personal friend of Zelensky. Ukraine's security service (SBU) allegedly seized case files from NABU investigators, including the lead officer handling the probe, raising concerns about the admissibility of evidence and the integrity of the case. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that Ukrainian bodies were designed not to combat corruption but to give Western governments leverage over Kiev.
Arab News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Taliban sends envoys to Germany to coordinate deportations
BERLIN: The German government said Monday that two new envoys had been sent by Afghanistan's Taliban administration to help coordinate deportations, days after 81 convicted Afghans were sent back to their homeland. The flight on Friday was the second from Germany since expulsions to Afghanistan resumed last year. Germany does not recognize the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan but does have 'technical contacts' on the deportations, which have been facilitated by Qatar. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that during the exchanges 'it has been agreed that two representatives of the Afghan administration will be incorporated' into Afghanistan's missions in Germany. A foreign ministry source later confirmed to AFP that the two envoys had arrived in Germany over the weekend. 'They are currently going through the normal registration process before they begin their work,' the source said. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily, the two envoys will work at the Afghan embassy in Berlin and at the country's consulate in the western city of Bonn. The Taliban authorities demanded this step in return for making last Friday's flight possible, the paper reported. The FAZ said that the envoys had already worked in consular services and were not considered extremists. Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban movement's return to power in 2021. However last year the last German government resumed expulsions with a flight in August carrying 28 Afghans. Current chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to continue deportations, having made a tougher line on immigration a key campaign theme in February's general election. Kornelius said that further flights were in the offing. 'The government has committed to systematic expulsions of those convicted of crimes and this will not be accomplished with just one flight,' he said.
Euractiv
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
In EU first, Germany to allow Taliban officials to work at Afghan missions
BERLIN – Germany has become the first EU country to allow Afghanistan's Taliban regime to send officials to Germany to assist with the deportation of Afghan nationals. This move follows a push from Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt for direct talks with the radical Islamist Taliban to facilitate regular deportations of rejected asylum seekers and convicted offenders to Afghanistan. Such flights had been largely halted due to diplomatic and human rights concerns after the militia toppled the Western-backed government in 2021. But Germany resumed deportations to Afghanistan on Friday – only the second such flight since 2021. As part of this arrangement, mediated by Qatar, the German government has approved the deployment of two Afghan consular officers to Germany, it confirmed on Monday. The officials would "support further planned deportation flights", said government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius. Berlin has insisted that this did not constitute recognition of the Taliban, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), which first reported the decision on Friday. Russia is currently the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government, following an announcement three weeks ago. Still, Germany's decision marks a significant policy shift, as the newly elected government has pledged to crack down on illegal migration after a series of violent attacks linked to rejected asylum-seekers earlier this year. It also led a group of EU interior ministers, who called for regular deportations to Afghanistan and Syria at a dedicated migration summit on Friday. Norway, a non-EU member, is so far the only European country to have accepted an acting Taliban envoy, however. Germany maintains no formal diplomatic ties with the Taliban, with the German government saying there was only strictly technical cooperation on a regular basis. The two Afghan officials have previously worked for the Western-backed government and had no known history of extremism, according to the FAZ . They could arrive "soon" and would be based at the Afghan embassy in Berlin and the consulate in Bonn, without holding formal diplomatic rank. (aw)
Local Germany
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Local Germany
Taliban to send envoys to Germany to work on deportations
The flight on Friday was the second from Germany since expulsions to Afghanistan were resumed last year. Germany does not recognise the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan but does have "technical contacts" on the deportations, which have been facilitated by Qatar. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that during the exchanges "it has been agreed that two representatives of the Afghan administration will be incorporated" into Afghanistan's missions in Germany. According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily, the two envoys will work at the Afghan embassy in Berlin and at the country's consulate in the western city of Bonn. The Taliban authorities demanded this step in return for making last Friday's flight possible, the paper reported. The FAZ said that the names of the envoys had been sent to Berlin and that they had already worked in consular services and were not considered extremists. Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban movement's return to power in 2021. READ ALSO: Germany presses ahead with deportations to Afghanistan However in 2024 the last German government resumed expulsions with a flight in August carrying 28 Afghans. Current chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to continue deportations, having made a tougher line on immigration a key campaign theme in February's general election. Kornelius said that further flights were in the offing. Advertisement "The government has committed to systematic expulsions of those convicted of crimes and this will not be accomplished with just one flight," he said.
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Taliban to send envoys to Germany to work on deportations
BERLIN: The German government said Monday that Afghanistan's Taliban administration will send two envoys to Germany to help with deportations, days after 81 convicted Afghans were sent back to their homeland. The flight on Friday was the second from Germany since expulsions to Afghanistan were resumed last year. Germany does not recognise the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan but does have 'technical contacts' on the deportations, which have been facilitated by Qatar. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that during the exchanges 'it has been agreed that two representatives of the Afghan administration will be incorporated' into Afghanistan's missions in Germany. Germany must honour visa obligations to Afghan refugees, rules court According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) daily, the two envoys will work at the Afghan embassy in Berlin and at the country's consulate in the western city of Bonn. The Taliban authorities demanded this step in return for making last Friday's flight possible, the paper reported. The FAZ said that the names of the envoys had been sent to Berlin and that they had already worked in consular services and were not considered extremists. Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban movement's return to power in 2021. However last year the last German government resumed expulsions with a flight in August carrying 28 Afghans. Current chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to continue deportations, having made a tougher line on immigration a key campaign theme in February's general election. Kornelius said that further flights were in the offing. 'The government has committed to systematic expulsions of those convicted of crimes and this will not be accomplished with just one flight,' he said.
