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Article: Polish Sanctions Decision Is an EU "Gamble"
January 09, 2018
An article in The Economist asserts that the European Commission's decision to trigger an EU sanctions procedure against Poland for measures aimed at reducing the independence of the country's judiciary could "backfire" and lead merely to more Polish claims of foreign political meddling if EU member states fail to advance the sanctions process.
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Swiss President Supports Vote on Future EU Relations
January 09, 2018
Reuters reports that Swiss President Doris Leuthard has suggested a "fundamental referendum" to clarify the direction of Switzerland's future relations with the EU and whether to pursue a "framework treaty" with the bloc would be helpful.
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Hungary Confirms Plans to Block EU Sanctions on Poland
January 09, 2018
Bloomberg reports that the government of Hungary has announced it will block any sanctions against Poland under the "Article 7" procedure launched by the European Commission over the country's judicial reforms and will oppose calls from Western EU governments to link development funding in the bloc with the observance of rule-of-law and human-rights norms.
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NGOs Target EU Commission on Climate Ambition
January 09, 2018
Deutsche Welle reports that European climate groups are criticizing the European Commission for what they call a failure to ramp up ambition on EU-wide greenhouse-gas-reduction targets that they say will be necessary to fulfill the bloc's pledges under the UN's Paris climate accord agreed in 2015.
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Swiss President Criticizes EU "Discrimination" on Stock Exchanges
January 09, 2018
Bloomberg reports that Swiss President Doris Leuthard recently accused the EU of discriminating against Switzerland by only granting the country's stock exchanges temporary access to EU markets, finding that the supranational organization's decision may be "intended to weaken Switzerland's financial sector."