EU Report

Addition to previous report Slovakia will continue to supply electricity to Ukraine, despite Fico's threats The operator of Slovak electrical systems, the state-owned company SEPS, announced its intention to continue supplying electricity to Ukraine as part of emergency assistance provided on the basis of the current contract with the Ukrainian state-owned company Ukrenergo, reports iRozhlas with reference to SEPS. According to the statement, deliveries will be carried out through all high-voltage lines as usual, despite threats made at the end of December by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Fico's threats an attempt to open a "second energy front" against Ukraine. "It seems that [Vladimir] Putin instructed Fico to act to the detriment of the interests of Slovakia, threatening to cut off emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine in winter, when Russian strikes continue to be carried out on our energy system," Zelensky said. On January 3, Fico threatened to cut off aid to to Ukrainian refugees in the country as retaliation to the stop of the transit of russian gas. On the same evening, a rally was held in Bratislava against the pro-Russian policy of Robert Fico and in support of Ukraine. According to the local publication Aktuality, the action gathered about 4.000 people near the government building. The organizer was the civil association "Peace for Ukraine". The demonstrators carried the flags of Slovakia and the European Union, and also sang the EU anthem - "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Among the slogans of the action were: "Slovakia - Europe", "Fico, move to Moscow!" and "We are not a Russian gasket!". Opposition politician Lucia Štasselová spoke at the rally, recalling the entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968. "I will not allow this country to fall under the political influence of Russia," she stressed. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇸🇰

Starved of Russian gas, industry shuts down in breakaway Moldovan region. The cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region has forced the closure of all industrial companies except food producers, an official said on Thursday. The mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the 1990s as the USSR collapsed, has suffered a painful and immediate hit from Wednesday's cut-off of russian gas supplies to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine. "All industrial enterprises are idle, with the exception of those engaged in food production - that is, directly ensuring food security for Transnistria," Sergei Obolonik, first deputy prime minister of the region, told a local news channel. "It is too early to judge how the situation will develop. ... The problem is so extensive that if it is not resolved for a long time, we will already have irreversible changes - that is, enterprises will lose their ability to start up." The local energy company cut heating and hot water to households on Wednesday, and urged families to keep warm by gathering in a single room, covering windows with curtains or blankets and using electric heaters. The leader of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, said the region had gas reserves that could last for 10 days of limited usage in northern parts and twice as long in the south. He said the main power plant had switched from gas to coal and should be able to supply electricity to residents in January and February. Russia had been pumping about 2 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Transnistria - including the power plant which also provided electricity for the whole of Moldova. But Moldova has been preparing since time to get rid of its dependence on russian energy. The head of Moldovan national gas company Moldovagaz, Vadim Ceban, said his company had told the gas distribution company in the separatist enclave, Tiraspoltransgaz, that it was willing to help purchase gas from European countries to ease shortages. But any gas supplied to the region would have to be paid for at market prices. Transnistria has for several years paid nothing for the gas supplies under a tacit understanding with Moscow. Russia however counts the cost of the supplies as foreign debt for Moldova. @freerussia_report

Slovakia threatens to cut aid to Ukrainian refugees over end of Russian gas. Slovakian leader Robert Fico, who has long kept friendly ties with Moscow, has threatened to cut financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in the country as part of a set of retaliatory measures against Kyiv over its decision to halt the flow of russian gas through its territory to Slovakia. In a video message posted on Facebook, Fico said his Smer party would also consider cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine and demand the renewal of gas transits or compensation for the financial loss he says Slovakia has taken due to the halting of Russian gas into its territory. As of 8 December, the United Nations Refugee Agency estimated there were 130,532 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, with the vast majority directly crossing the shared border between the two countries. Slovakia spent months trying to convince Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to renew the deal so that the flow of cheap Russian gas supplies into Europe could continue. A feud between the two countries has escalated in recent weeks, with Zelenskyy refusing to renew the deal. The Ukrainian leader has argued that he would not allow countries to "earn additional billions on our blood". Fico has hit back, saying halting Russian gas would increase European gas and power prices and ultimately hurt the European Union more than Russia. He added Slovakia itself wouldn't suffer from gas shortages as it had made substitute arrangements, but that Ukraine's decision to shut off Russian gas would still mean losses of €500 million in transit fees from other countries for Bratislava. Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan as well as a deal to import US-sourced liquefied natural gas via Poland last year. It's also able to receive gas through Austrian, Hungarian and Czech pipelines. Fico visited Putin last month to discuss gas supplies — where he initiated his threat to halt backup electricity supplies to Kyiv upon which the war-torn country is heavily reliant upon. At the time, Poland said it would be prepared to boost its energy exports to Ukraine to compensate for potential Slovakian losses. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇸🇰

Dutch 'War in Court' database lists around 425,000 suspected Nazi collaborators. The Netherlands has published a database with the names of almost half a million Dutch people who are suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during the country’s WWII occupation. The 'War in Court' project lists around 425,000 mostly Dutch citizens who were investigated for working with German occupying forces and have been made public for the first time. Of the people included in the database, more than 150,000 appeared in court and faced some form of punishment. War in Court is a joint project by the National Archives of the Netherlands, Netwerk Oorlogsbronnen, the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands, and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and was subsidised by the Ministries of Justice, Education and Health.. The records of these investigations were previously only available to researchers visiting the Dutch National Archives in The Hague. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇳🇱

The Georgian Nightmare will soon elect a new president - what happens next? The ruling party plans to hold the elections this Saturday, December 14. Most likely, it will do it alone - the opposition does not recognize the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections and, accordingly, half of the Electoral College. Shamlection day. The members of the Collegium will gather in the morning and must elect a new head of state that same day, in no more than two rounds of voting. At the moment, the only candidate is MP Mikheil Kavelashvili. Paper Kartuli has reported in more detail on the election procedure. Inauguration. Scheduled for December 29. According to Article 51 of the Constitution, this is when the elected candidate will officially replace Zurabishvili. It is not yet known where the inauguration will take place. The current president took the oath in Telavi, and before that the ceremony took place in Tbilisi. Zurabishvili's plans. In her address on November 30, she said that without a legitimately elected parliament, there can be no new president. "I remain as your president," she said. The regime on turn says that on the 29th, she will have to leave her residence on Atoneli. The president has not yet revealed her plans for the day of the new head of state's inauguration. Immunity and state security. According to the constitution, the president enjoys immunity, but only while in office. The only thing former presidents are entitled to is state security for a year, but it will most likely be taken away from Zurabishvili. The regime have already initiated a change of law according to which an official found to have violated the law will not be entitled to security after resignation. Conveniently the Constitutional Court found Zurabishvili guilty of violating the Constitution during the first and unsuccessful attempt to impeach her last fall because she “exercised representative powers in the sphere of foreign relations without the consent of the Georgian government.” 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Students and teachers protest at the Ministry of Education: “Russian diplomas” of deputies were burned 🔥 A protest action by students and teachers is taking place at the Georgian Ministry of Education. As a sign of protest, they symbolically burned the “Russian diplomas” of deputies from the Georgian Dream party. The protesters said that in this way they were protesting against the illegitimate government and demanding its resignation. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Ivanishvili explained to Macron: “The police acted above European standards.” In a conversation with Macron, he explained that those detained at the protests will soon be released, because the majority are simply “administrative”, and those who are “criminal” will be strictly judged, but only within the law and with a high standard of evidence 🤡 As for the actions of the police, it turns out that they acted in a much more civilized manner than in Europe, literally saving the country from the violence of protesters. Just like in the best traditions of the rule of law. Ivanishvili did not bother himself with unnecessary details about those who were beaten by the police during the protests - peaceful people and journalists. Like, it doesn't matter. 🇪🇺 @EU_Report 🇬🇪

The Nightmare regime wants to ban laser pointers at protests Georgian Nightmare MPs have already introduced the relevant amendments to the previously proposed bill banning the wearing of masks and the use of pyrotechnics at mass gatherings. “Laser pointers and bright light sources can hinder journalistic activity, and [their use] can also be provocative,” Rati Ionatamishvili, head of the Human Rights Committee explains the chosen pretext. Laser pointers are often used by protesters to limit visibility for riot police. Paper Kartuli wrote previously about the ban on masks. Video: Fedor Khudokormov for Paper Kartuli 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Russia's strategic disaster in Syria. For Russia this is potentially the end of almost 54 years of military facilities on the coast and a staunch and reliable client state in the Middle East. Russia is now facing a monumental problem in that its entire chain of operations has been disrupted, its potential for trouble in Africa, designed entirely to weaken western power and influence, has been sharply curtailed. The analysis resumes the past till Putin's came along, and goes on to the present day. For the first few years of his rule, certainly until 2011, nothing much changed in Syria. By 2011 the Arab Spring saw a slew of regimes fall – Egypt’s President Mubarak, after 30 years, Tunisia, but most of all Libya.Russia saw a way of intervening on one side that would regain influence and began supporting the side run by General Haftar In 2012 and 2015 Putin had the port and airfield in Syria, using both to funnel aid to Haftar, including flying Su-34, and Su-27’s there. When civil war in Syria broke out and it appeared that Assad would not win, came Putin in 2015, deploying soldier ‘advisors’, GRU and FSB units, and of course the Russian Air Force flying from Latakia and soon other bases further inland. General Surovikin, known also from Ukraine, cut his teeth here. He wasn’t called the butcher of Aleppo for nothing. He developed aerial bombing tactics, designated entirely to break the populations and force them out of the cities. Bombing hospitals purposefully, shops, schools, markets. Deliberately dropping deep penetrating bombs into crossroads and streets to destroy water, sewerage and electricity supplies. ‘Double-tap’ attacks to kill the emergency service workers responding to the first attacks. All of these were his gift to the world, and used extensively in Ukraine today. Aleppo, Homs, the suburbs of Damascus, all turned to rubble by these tactics. And all because of the Russian bases at Tartus and Latakia. The so-called ‘Syria Express’ was a freighter that went once a week from Russia to Tartus and back carrying the weapons and ammunition needed to sustain the campaign -until February 2022, when Turkey closed the Bosporus to all warships. Read more @freerussia_report

Civil servants protested in the center of Tbilisi A protest march of civil servants takes place in Tbilisi. The route runs from Republic Square to the Parliament building. The protesters stand up for their rights and demand that their voices be heard. 🇪🇺 @EU_Report 🇬🇪

Dean and students imprisoned Today, December 11, at the Batumi City Court Judge Levan Kolbaia considered the issue of applying a preventive measure in the case of “professor and four students” and elected a 'preventive measure' in the form of detention for all of them. The prosecutor's office accuses the defendants of participating in gang violence. If found guilty, they face up to two years in prison. Mamuka Jorbenadze was actively involved in organizing the strike at the University of Arts. The professor and all four students are active participants of the ongoing protest actions. According to the version of the investigation, on December 3, Mamuka Dzhorbenadze together with students attacked Irakli Devadze and another person who came to the university for a meeting. The conflict was preceded by the placement of protest banners at the university. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Студенты и преподаватели протестуют у Министерства образования: сожжены «российские дипломы» депутатов 🔥 У Министерства образования Грузии проходит протестная акция студентов и преподавателей. В знак протеста они символически сожгли «российские дипломы» депутатов от партии «Грузинская мечта». Участники акции заявили, что таким образом выражают протест против нелегитимного правительства и требуют его отставки. ТРУХА🇬🇪Georgia | Прислать новости

Iskra Kirova and Giorgi Gogia, Human Rights Watch officials, called on the European Union to take critical action against Georgian authorities for interfering with peaceful protests. In a joint statement, they highlighted the necessity for EU foreign ministers to push for an independent investigation into the handling of the protests. They warned that “the government’s strict response to protests risks a human rights crisis in Georgia.” The statement also emphasized the need for proper sanctions on officials responsible for the suppression of demonstrators, proposing visa restrictions. “EU member states must reach a consensus to apply the global human rights sanctions regime against those accountable for these actions,” the statement reads. Most importantly, Kirova and Gogia mentioned that strict decisive measures on officials must be balanced with stronger support for the Georgian people and media to address the political crisis. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Georgian Nightmare plans to declare a state of emergency, impose curfew after Kavelashvili’s inauguration as president. Mtavari Arkhi reports that the Georgian Nightmare government intends to declare a state of emergency and introduce a curfew after appointing Mikheil Kavelashvili as the president on December 29. Mtavari Arkhi also reports that Georgian Nightmare plans to forcefully clear Rustaveli Avenue by December 12. Georgian Nightmare representatives have denied the rumors, saying that no state of emergency or curfew are planned. The last time curfew was in force in Georgia was during the Covid-19 pandemic, which, most of the population believes lasted longer than necessary so as to maintain governmental control over the citizens. Considering the fierce protests throughout Georgia related to the halt of the EU accession negotiations by the Nightmare government, if imposed, the curfew will certainly serve this goal. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Russia’s colony of Transnistria declares state of emergency due to the imminent loss of russian gas. After losing Syria, the last thing Putin’s already flailing image needs is the loss of yet another colony, but it seems that may be exactly what’s about to happen. Russia’s colony of Transnistria is a tiny strip of land between Ukraine and Moldova, a massive Russian military base since 1993 with which Moscow can further destabilize Europe. Since 15 years Putin has provided them with gratis gas. With a population of around 450,000 people, the Transnistrian economy runs on russian gas transferred through Ukraine. But at the end of the year the transfer contracts ends and won't be renewed. So Zelensky now holds this colony, its massive weapons surpluses and Putin’s PR image in the palm of his hand. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moldova ceased purchasing Russian gas, opting instead for European market alternatives. However, Gazprom has continued supplying gas to Transnistria, which houses the Kuchurgan power station which was alsoa key electricity source for Moldova. Yesterday, Vadim Krasnoselsky, leader of this internationally unrecognized Transnistrian region, signed a decree declaring a 30-day economic state of emergency due to anticipated disruptions in russian gas supplies. This measure mandates all businesses to conserve gas and other energy resources, prohibits the export of energy resources, and imposes restrictions on certain financial and commercial activities, including the movement of products and financial resources. Recent negotiations between Moldova’s former Minister of Energy, Victor Parlicov, and russian officials have not yielded a consensus on gas delivery routes or the settlement of Moldovagaz’s outstanding debts. Parlicov emphasized the serious risk of a gas-related crisis in Transnistria, while Transnistrian authorities have tried to blame the situation to official Chișinău. Analysts expect that by severing the connection between Moscow and the colony, we will see negotiations begin as to the region’s alliances and resolution regarding what are considered to be substantial warehoused Russian military surpluses. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇲🇩

Georgia continues to protest. A scarecrow of the founder of the ruling party and organizer of violence in the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili, was brought to a protest in Zugdidi in a cage. Earlier, a similar installation was protected, probably from burning, and confiscated by the police in Kutaisi. Video by Daitove 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

What protests will be held in Tbilisi on December 11 According to Netgazeti, four demonstrations are planned: ▫️16:00 - action of lecturers and students in front of the Ministry of Education; ▫️18:00 - demonstration of scientific and technical community in front of the Ministry of Education; ▫️19:00 - the traditional rally in front of the Parliament; ▫️20:00 - march of former and current civil servants from Republic Square. Rallies in Tbilisi and other Georgian cities against the freezing of negotiations on the country's European integration until 2028 have not stopped since November 28. Photo: December 10 rally / Artem Monakhov for Paper Kartuli Kartuli 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Germany launches Meteor missile from Eurofighter for the first time. Germany has conducted the first test launch of the MBDA Meteor long-range air-to-air missile from a Eurofighter fighter jet, report the German Armed Forces on their website. Currently, German Eurofighters are equipped with the IRIS-T short-range heat-seeking missile and the AMRAAM medium-range missile. The integration of the Meteor will significantly enhance the aircraft’s combat capabilities and increase its ability to neutralize threats over long distances. “This means that we can now better protect ourselves because targets can be attacked from a long distance and cannot get as close to us. Therefore, the Meteor is also a great asset in terms of deterrence,” the German Air Force noted. The full integration of Meteor missiles into a new fighter jet is a complex and lengthy process, more than three years have passed since the formal completion of flight tests to the first real launch. A similar situation is observed in the Italian Air Force. But despite the difficulties, the Meteor missile remains probably the best missile in the long-range air-to-air missile class, writes Militarnyi, adding that this is the reason why the German government allocated more than €521 million at the end of November 2024 to purchase an additional number of these missiles, despite financial difficulties. The test was conducted at the British military training ground in Scotland, as no German training ground is of sufficient size. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇩🇪

Maria Alyokhina announced a ban on entry into Georgia. Russian human rights activist and activist Maria Alyokhina reported that she was banned from entering Georgia. On her Instagram, she noted that russian propagandists are freely entering the country to film stories about the protests, while people who can tell the truth about the violence are denied access. The decision raises questions about the double standards of the Georgian regime, who, while welcoming Z-propagandists, restrict entry to activists, thereby calling into question their commitment to free speech and human rights. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪

Georgian Nightmare’s FM thanks Hungary for support of Georgia’s sovereignty and democratic values Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, expressed gratitude to Hungary on Tuesday for its unwavering support of Georgia’s statehood, sovereignty, and democracy during a joint press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. Botchorishvili, who was making her first bilateral visit as foreign minister, noted, “I’m thrilled to begin my tenure with Hungary, a close friend and partner, particularly as it holds the EU presidency. I deeply appreciate the invitation and the consistent support Hungary has shown Georgia.” She also highlighted the visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Georgia as a clear example of Hungary’s strong friendship and support. Botchorishvili emphasized the strategic partnership between the two nations, established in 2022, which has fostered high-level political dialogue. “We are eager to continue strengthening our collaboration in all areas and expanding our cooperation,” she said. She thanked Hungary for understanding Georgia’s delicate position and reiterated that Georgia’s primary foreign policy goal remains European integration, a priority driven by the country’s history, identity, and the will of its people. “We highly value our partnership with the EU and its member states, but it is troubling when that partnership is not always grounded in mutual respect,” Botchorishvili remarked, expressing concern over the international reluctance to “legitimize the democratic choices made by the Georgian people.” In response to the upcoming discussions on Georgia’s situation, Botchorishvili emphasized Hungary’s firm stance against sanctions on Georgian officials, stating, “Hungary has made it clear that it will veto any sanctions against Georgian Government representatives and does not believe there is any justification for such measures.” Putin's slaves gathering together. 🇪🇺@EU_Report 🇬🇪