By , BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States will take years to move its main military command in Europe from Germany to NATO headquarters in Belgium and updating facilities will be costly, three former senior officials said.Despite concerns that the move announced on Wednesday is politically motivated, they told Reuters that “streamlining and rationalising” the U.S. military presence in Europe made some strategic sense.Under a plan to reduce U.S. troop numbers in Germany, President Donald Trump has instructed the United States European Command (EUCOM) to be moved from Stuttgart to...…By , BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States will take years to move its main military command in Europe from Germany to NATO headquarters in Belgium and updating facilities will be costly, three former senior officials said.Despite concerns that the move announced on Wednesday is politically motivated, they told Reuters that “streamlining and rationalising” the U.S. military presence in Europe made some strategic sense.Under a plan to reduce U.S. troop numbers in Germany, President Donald Trump has instructed the United States European Command (EUCOM) to be moved from Stuttgart to...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBRUSSELS, April 14 (Reuters) - Foreign troops under NATO command will withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with a U.S. pull-out by Sept. 11, NATO allies agreed on Wednesday, pledging to mirror American plans to start removing troops on May 1 after two decades of war.Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, New Zealand and Georgia, outnumber the 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but still rely on American air support, planning and leadership for their training mission.NATO Secretary-General Jens...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comBRUSSELS, April 14 (Reuters) - Foreign troops under NATO command will withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with a U.S. pull-out by Sept. 11, NATO allies agreed on Wednesday, pledging to mirror American plans to start removing troops on May 1 after two decades of war.Around 7,000 non-U.S. forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, New Zealand and Georgia, outnumber the 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but still rely on American air support, planning and leadership for their training mission.NATO Secretary-General Jens...WW…

By , , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union threatened on Wednesday to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic that would jeopardise plans to restart travel this summer.With the number of COVID-related deaths in the EU topping 550,000 and less than a 10th of the bloc’s population inoculated, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the epidemiological situation was worsening.“We are in the crisis of the century,” she told reporters.“We see the crest of a third wave forming in member states,...…By , , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union threatened on Wednesday to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to Britain to safeguard scarce doses for its own citizens facing a third wave of the pandemic that would jeopardise plans to restart travel this summer.With the number of COVID-related deaths in the EU topping 550,000 and less than a 10th of the bloc’s population inoculated, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the epidemiological situation was worsening.“We are in the crisis of the century,” she told reporters.“We see the crest of a third wave forming in member states,...WW…

By , , CANBERRA/TOKYO/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Australia has asked the European Commission to review its decision to block a shipment of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, as countries importing EU-made shots fear a potential impact on supplies.The EU executive backed Italy’s decision to block a shipment of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia, European officials said, in the first refusal of an export request since a mechanism to monitor vaccine flows was established in late January.The move was a reaction to AstraZeneca’s delays in delivering vaccines to the EU. The company has...…By , , CANBERRA/TOKYO/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Australia has asked the European Commission to review its decision to block a shipment of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, as countries importing EU-made shots fear a potential impact on supplies.The EU executive backed Italy’s decision to block a shipment of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia, European officials said, in the first refusal of an export request since a mechanism to monitor vaccine flows was established in late January.The move was a reaction to AstraZeneca’s delays in delivering vaccines to the EU. The company has...WW…

By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose this month an EU-wide digital certificate providing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination that could allow Europeans to travel more freely over the summer.The EU executive aims to present its plans for a “digital green pass” on March 17 and to cooperate with international organisations to ensure that its system also works beyond the European Union.The pass would provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, the results of tests for those not yet vaccinated and information on recovery for people who have contracted COVID-19.“The aim...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose this month an EU-wide digital certificate providing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination that could allow Europeans to travel more freely over the summer.The EU executive aims to present its plans for a “digital green pass” on March 17 and to cooperate with international organisations to ensure that its system also works beyond the European Union.The pass would provide proof that a person has been vaccinated, the results of tests for those not yet vaccinated and information on recovery for people who have contracted COVID-19.“The aim...WW…

By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.The agreement, which is expected to be formally approved by the EU in early March, came after France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states urged the 27-member bloc to send a message to Putin that debate and protest must be allowed in Russia.Navalny was arrested after returning to Moscow last month from Germany, where he had been recovering from a...…By , BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.The agreement, which is expected to be formally approved by the EU in early March, came after France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states urged the 27-member bloc to send a message to Putin that debate and protest must be allowed in Russia.Navalny was arrested after returning to Moscow last month from Germany, where he had been recovering from a...WW…

By , BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe and the United States should join forces in the fight against climate change and agree on a new framework for the digital market, limiting the power of big tech companies, European Union chief executive Ursula von der Leyen said.“I am sure: A shared transatlantic commitment to a net-zero emissions pathway by 2050 would make climate neutrality a new global benchmark,” the president of the European Commission said in a speech at the virtual Munich Security Conference on Friday.“Together, we could create a digital economy rulebook that is valid worldwide: a set...…By , BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe and the United States should join forces in the fight against climate change and agree on a new framework for the digital market, limiting the power of big tech companies, European Union chief executive Ursula von der Leyen said.“I am sure: A shared transatlantic commitment to a net-zero emissions pathway by 2050 would make climate neutrality a new global benchmark,” the president of the European Commission said in a speech at the virtual Munich Security Conference on Friday.“Together, we could create a digital economy rulebook that is valid worldwide: a set...WW…

By BERLIN (Reuters) - Peace talks for Afghanistan have not made sufficient progress to allow a withdrawal of foreign troops, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Wednesday ahead of a virtual meeting with her NATO counterparts.The Afghan government and Taliban militants began peace talks in Doha last September, but negotiations have largely stalled.NATO defence ministers will discuss on Thursday whether the Taliban is making good on a separate 2020 peace deal with the United States, which called for militants to curb attacks and for foreign troops to withdraw by May...…By BERLIN (Reuters) - Peace talks for Afghanistan have not made sufficient progress to allow a withdrawal of foreign troops, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Wednesday ahead of a virtual meeting with her NATO counterparts.The Afghan government and Taliban militants began peace talks in Doha last September, but negotiations have largely stalled.NATO defence ministers will discuss on Thursday whether the Taliban is making good on a separate 2020 peace deal with the United States, which called for militants to curb attacks and for foreign troops to withdraw by May...WW…

By Slideshow BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not be able to lift all coronavirus lockdown curbs at the beginning of February, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, stressing the need to further reduce contacts to fend off a more virulent variant of the virus.The German cabinet on Wednesday approved stricter controls on people entering the country after a national lockdown was last week tightened and extended to the end of January.“One thing is already evident: It will not be possible to loosen all restrictions on Feb. 1,” Spahn told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday, adding it would take...…By Slideshow BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not be able to lift all coronavirus lockdown curbs at the beginning of February, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, stressing the need to further reduce contacts to fend off a more virulent variant of the virus.The German cabinet on Wednesday approved stricter controls on people entering the country after a national lockdown was last week tightened and extended to the end of January.“One thing is already evident: It will not be possible to loosen all restrictions on Feb. 1,” Spahn told Deutschlandfunk radio on Wednesday, adding it would take...WW…

By , BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO must think harder about how to handle China and its military rise, though Russia will remain its main adversary during this decade, according to a report to be published on Tuesday on reforming the Atlantic alliance.Slideshow The report “NATO 2030”, prepared by a group of so-called ‘wise persons’ and containing 138 proposals, comes amid growing doubts about the purpose and relevance of an alliance branded last year by French President Emmanuel Macron as “brain dead”.“China is no longer the benign trading partner that the West had hoped for. It is the...…By , BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO must think harder about how to handle China and its military rise, though Russia will remain its main adversary during this decade, according to a report to be published on Tuesday on reforming the Atlantic alliance.Slideshow The report “NATO 2030”, prepared by a group of so-called ‘wise persons’ and containing 138 proposals, comes amid growing doubts about the purpose and relevance of an alliance branded last year by French President Emmanuel Macron as “brain dead”.“China is no longer the benign trading partner that the West had hoped for. It is the...WW…