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Europe
France
14/03/2025 Boycotts of American products are mobilising tens of thousands of consumers’ in France, Sweden, Denmark and Canada. Created on February 28, the Boycott USA: Buy French and European! Facebook group started in France, encourages members to support the French and European economies by refusing to buy products made in the United States, sharing tips on how to replace popular US brands with local equivalents. (Source: France 24)
Italy
14 March 2025 15:20 Extreme weather 'red alert' in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna. Many of the areas affected were the same ones hit by flooding and landslides last September and in May 2023 which were linked to unprecedented rainfall. (Source: Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata - Italy)
Romania
14 March 2025 Romania was approving a bill in late February that introduced stricter regulations on social media platforms and online content providers. Key features of the bill were speedy illicit content removal, with material deemed to be inciting violence, hate speech or disinformation on major national-interest topics to be removed within 15 minutes of publication. During this period, platforms would be expected to use algorithms, potentially AI-driven, to analyse and classify content. The bill allowed authorities, including the National Audiovisual Council (CNA) and the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), to order content removal or site blocking without prior independent judicial review in certain cases. This meant that once content was blocked, affected users must take legal action to restore their posts - a lengthy court procedure that would likely continue until the original message’s relevance and impact had effectively disappeared. On March 11, the government together with TikTok and Facebook announced “a partnership” to fight disinformation, focusing on quickly removing content. The Romanian Government has stated it will step up its efforts to 'combat illegal content online'. The news on March 14 came ahead of contentious presidential elections following the annulled ballot of November last year due to claims, considered unsubstantiated in Romanian media, of Russian interference. On March 27, officials will conduct a test run simulating potential electoral scenarios to evaluate rapid intervention capabilities. Institutions including the Permanent Electoral Authority, the National Audiovisual Council, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Defence will have the power to directly request the deletion of posts or the blocking of users’ access to them. There were strong concerns of possible political use or even abuse, especially regarding the elections. Critics noted there was a major risk of censorship. “While we understand the need for effective mechanisms to combat illegal content, we believe that the urgency imposed by this proposal, the strong reliance on AI, and the broad definition of ‘potentially harmful content’ could lead to errors and potentially infringe on freedom of expression,' lawyers from CMS Law Now, a leading international law firm with 79 offices in more than 40 countries and more than 5,000 lawyers worldwide conclude. (Source: Brussels Signal - Belgium)
European Union
14.03.2025 The EU’s $868 billion 'ReArm Europe Plan' could lead to economic collapse due to debt, warns former EU Commission senior economist Alkas. It leaves out funding strategy, leading to concerns amid Germany’s $900B debt agenda, he says. Der Leyen’s plan does not include a clear financial mechanism, raising concerns over how the EU will fund such a large-scale rearmament effort. Under current circumstances the EU is in no position to save its economy or support Ukraine. Especially Germany, being treated as ‘the sick man of Europe', currently is in intensive care, Alkas said. Energy policies have brought Europe’s economy to the brink of collapse. Recovery is impossible with high prices. The Nord Stream pipeline needs to be rebuilt and natural gas should flow through these pipes. Alkas said deindustrialization is rampant across the EU, pointing to plans by the new center-right government in Germany to borrow €900 billion. “Why would they want this? Because they realize their entire industry is now sinking,' he said. Alkas called Europe a bankrupt economy 'trying to salvage itself by supporting Ukraine and preparing for war'. Alkas warned that US tariffs would only exacerbate the situation. 'This much borrowing – one last fatal blow to an already failed economy,' he said. Debt partnership always pits people and countries against one another and it never works in the long run. He mentioned that exemptions to industrial investments can also lead to abuse. Alkas said Europe, with its aging society of 500 million people, has a weak economy. Europe’s ties to (US President ) Trump are being broken, prompting the bloc to become a new power under its own flag, he noted. "Europe cannot become a military power without Türkiye', Alkas added. (Source: Anadolu Agency - Turkey)
March 14, 2025 The European Union today agreed to drop three Russian individuals from its sanctions list as the price for Hungary's Viktor Orbán to drop a threat to veto Europe's sanctions against Russia. They are oligarch Kantor, Russian sports minister Degtyaryov, and Ismailova, sister of oligarch Usmanov, an Uzbek-Russian mining tycoon. (Source: UPI - U.S.)
Georgia
14 March 2025 Today, US Ambassador to Georgia Dunnigan met with Georgian Foreign Minister Botchorishvili, the first formal meeting held between US officials and representatives of Georgian Dream since the parliamentary elections in October. The meeting came after months of a diplomatic freeze between the US and Georgia, particularly during the final months of former President Biden’s administration. Ambassador Dunnigan outlined President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s top priorities and steps that Georgia can take to demonstrate its seriousness about improving its relationship with the US. (Source: OC Media (Open Caucasus Media), an 'independent' * online news platform. Headquarters Tbilisi, Georgia)
by Ostiller, who after a year at The Kyiv Independent joined OC Media, where he covered Ukraine, Russia, and the South Caucasus.
* "The Trump/Musk cuts could shut us down - permanently", NGO 'OC Media' announces.
Russia
March 14, 2025, Friday Trump’s special envoy, Witkoff, visiting Moscow yesterday, held late-night discussions with Putin and relayed additional signals regarding the ceasefire proposal, according to Kremlin spokesperson Peskov. Trump has described Putin’s response as very promising but not complete, and has indicated he is open to a direct meeting with the Russian leader. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said there was now a very good chance of a resolution and claimed he had urged Putin to spare Ukrainian troops allegedly surrounded by Russian forces in Kursk Oblast. According to Trump, "thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by the Russian military," and he had "strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared," warning that otherwise, it would result in a massacre of a scale not seen since World War II. On March 12, Russian authorities claimed they had regained control of over 86% of the territory in the region, including the key town of Sudzha. Putin stated that Ukrainian forces in the area were facing a complete physical blockade, leaving them with only two choices: surrender or die. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)
Friday 14 March 2025 Mr Witkoff, a former property mogul who has become Trump's chief negotiator, and is often referred to as the president's 'fixer', had been dispatched to Moscow to deliver the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire to Putin. After arriving around lunchtime yesterday, he was left 'twiddling his thumbs' for at least eight hours before being called into the Kremlin. Mr Witkoff was leaving Russia not with Mr Putin's agreement but with a list of demands. It's now up to Mr Trump to decide what to do next. (Source: Sky News - United Kingdom)
Mar 14, 2025 Ukraine carried out drone attacks in central Moscow today, hitting buildings not far from the Kremlin, during Trump's envoy Witkoff's visit to Russia for secret talks with officials. Witkoff met with Putin in the Kremlin late yesterday. A plane linked to him had apparently left Moscow at around 2:00am. (Source: NewsBytes - India)
North America
Canada
March 14, 2025 Canadian Foreign Minister Joly, hosted counterparts from Britain, 'the European Union', France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. at the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Canada, today. 'They reached a deal on a joint statement aimed at showing unity that backed Ukraine's territorial integrity and warned Russia to follow Kyiv in accepting a ceasefire or face possible further sanctions. Washington had sought to impose red lines on language around Ukraine to not harm its talks with Russia and opposed a separate declaration on curbing Russia's so-called shadow fleet, while demanding more robust language on China. The final communique stated G7 opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait by force or coercion. There had been wrangling over language regarding Gaza and the Middle East, notably the notion of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, something the U.S. was resisting. (Source: Nikkei - Japan)
United States
March 14, 2025 European security advisers dash to Washington after Witkoff’s talks with Putin. Germany’s national security adviser, Plötner, traveled to Washington today for urgent talks alongside his British counterpart, Powell, and French President Macron's diplomatic adviser, Bonne. The three met with U.S. National Security Adviser Waltz at the White House. (Source: Politico, an American online newspaper owned by a German company)
NATO
March 14, 2025 Friday NATO Secretary General Rutte has stated that relations with Russia should eventually be restored after the war in Ukraine comes to an end. In an interview with Bloomberg, he noted that it would be normal to gradually return to normal diplomatic relations with Moscow, but emphasized that such a step is not currently possible. He stressed the need to maintain pressure on Russia to ensure that it takes negotiations seriously. Rutte's comments came following his meeting with U.S. President Trump yesterday. Rutte stated that the issue of Ukraine's NATO membership is no longer on the agenda, explaining that Trump has effectively removed that option. Trump dismissed concerns that Russia could pose a direct military threat to NATO, saying he does not believe Moscow would attack a member country. He argued that once the conflict in Ukraine is resolved, Russian troops would have no interest in further aggression. (Source: Novinite - Bulgaria)
