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EUROPEAN Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker threw EU policy into confusion yesterday by attending Russia’s top economic gathering in St Petersburg and declaring that the bloc needs to engage with Moscow.
The EU joined the US in imposing economic sanctions on Russia two years ago after it annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in response to an overwhelming referendum vote by the peninsula’s residents.
Mr Juncker lashed out at his critics in Europe who argued that his visit to Russia could signal that the EU was ready to compromise on sanctions while Russia is still not willing to help advance the peace process in Ukraine.
Western nations’ increasingly aggressive stance is not prompted by any increase in security threats against these countries — rather, it is caused by a desire to bring about regime changes against governments that pose a threat to the hegemony of imperialism, writes PRABHAT PATNAIK
US tariffs have had Von der Leyen bowing in submission, while comments from the former European Central Bank leader call for more European political integration and less individual state sovereignty. All this adds up to more pain and austerity ahead, argues NICK WRIGHT
Washington plays innocent bystander while pouring weapons and intelligence into Ukraine, just as it enables the Gaza genocide — but every US escalation leaves Ukraine weaker than the neutrality deal rejected in 2022, argue MEDEA BENJAMIN and NICOLAS JS DAVIES