Free Republic

I can’t believe we had to wait almost 24 hours for her to reply to yesterday’s White House letter. We live in the Netflix era. We should be able to binge-watch every episode of this pitiful melodrama in a day. “After President Trump revoked the use of military aircraft to travel to Afghanistan, the delegation was prepared to fly commercially to proceed with this vital trip to meet with our commanders and troops on the front lines,” [Pelosi spokesman Drew] Hammill said.Overnight, he added, a new State Department threat assessment indicated “that the President announcing this sensitive travel had...

The European Union on Tuesday reacted to Iran’s announcement that it will boost uranium enrichment capacity, saying a “first assessment” indicated the plan does not breach its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal. “Following a first assessment, the announced steps per se are not a violation of the JCPOA,” Maja Kocijancic, spokeswoman for EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini, told AFP, using the official name for the agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). “However, at this particularly critical juncture, they will not contribute to build confidence in the nature of the Iranian nuclear program,” she added. Earlier on...

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, responded on to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Iran, in which he vowed that Washington would impose unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. In a statement quoted by AFP, Mogherini warned that there is “no alternative” to the Iran nuclear deal. “Secretary Pompeo’s speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran’s conduct in areas outside the...

European Union member states on Monday moved ever closer toward establishing a defense union, after the European Council adopted the creation of a new European defense and security cooperation network known as PESCO. The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), which was first set out in the Lisbon Treaty, will allow member states to jointly develop military capabilities, invest in shared projects and enhance their respective armed forces. […] On December 7, Portugal and Ireland announced their decision to join, taking the total number of contributing members up to 25. The countries that have chosen not to take part are Malta, Denmark...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the European Union on Monday to back a new U.S. peace initiative in the Middle East, after President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital met with widespread condemnation and triggered clashes in the Palestinian territories. Netanyahu, making the first official visit by an Israeli premier to the EU’s Brussels headquarters in 22 years, told reporters that recognizing Jerusalem merely stated the reality on the ground. He said he expected many European countries to follow Trump’s lead. But EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who chaired talks between Netanyahu and EU...

"I strongly condemn any attack on Jews anywhere in the world and on Israeli citizens," the EU foreign minister said...

..... "We will continue not to decide on the status of Jerusalem until it is determined in negotiations."

(AFP) - The European Union warned on Tuesday of possible "serious repercussions" if United States President Donald Trump decides to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the US embassy there. EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini's office said, in a statement, that "any decision or unilateral action affecting Jerusalem's status" might have "serious repercussions on public opinion in large parts of the world." It added, "The focus should therefore remain on the efforts to restart the peace process and avoiding any action that would undermine such efforts." ....

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini participated in the swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. This will be 68-year-old Rouhani’s second term as president. […] In his speech to Iran’s parliament, Rouhani said his country will not be the first to violate the nuclear deal, but will also not stand by the deal if other countries violate it. […] In a pre-ceremony meeting with Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Khonsari said the EU must remain alert to Trump’s efforts to “undermine the deal and blame Iran.” In her response, Mogherini promised that the EU...

The EU foreign policy chief says Europe does “not see eye to eye” with the Trump administration on major issues such as trade, climate change and funding of U.N. agencies, but can “easily” work with the U.S. on Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Federica Mogherini spoke Saturday during a regional gathering of the World Economic Forum. Mogherini warned that threatened U.S. cuts in funding U.N. agencies “would create a major security issue worldwide, including in Europe.” …

The European Union is set to approve the creation of a headquarters for its military training missions in Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she would urge foreign and defense ministers Monday to “take immediate decisions on the establishment of a military planning and conduct capability.” She said it would provide a “more efficient approach to the existing military training missions we have.” …

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini says she is preparing to visit Iran following the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran with world powers. Mogherini said Saturday there was no set date had been set, but that preparations with Tehran were well underway. She insisted all 28 EU nations were backing the opening with Iran. ...

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called Wednesday on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume peace negotiations, saying the situation on the ground was "not sustainable," according to AFP. Mogherini issued the remarks after eyewitnesses said the Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out four strikes on terror targets in Gaza on Wednesday, hours after terrorists launched five rockets at civilians in the Jewish state. "We see the situation on the ground as not sustainable and (it is) an illusion to think the status quo is an option," Mogherini said at the opening of an annual meeting in Brussels...

The European Union (EU) on Sunday denounced the death sentence handed down to Egypt’s ousted president Mohammed Morsi and at least 100 others, noting the penalty stemmed from a flawed trial, according to AFP. “The court decision to seek the death penalty… was taken at the end of a mass trial that was not in line with Egypt’s obligations under international law,” the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini said in a statement. She added that Egypt has to guarantee defendants’ rights to a fair trial and to an independent investigation, noting the EU believes the sentence will be revised upon...

EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini will call on the UN Security Council Monday to approve military action against people smugglers as the bloc splits over a new migrant quota plan. "I am ashamed that Europe only wakes up when it is confronted by the dead," Mogherini, the former Italian foreign minister, said recently. EU leaders tasked Mogherini with drawing up a list of military options, including action "to capture and destroy the smugglers' vessels," on the key condition it should be in accordance with international law. Normally that would require an agreement with the government concerned, but Libya is...

While US President Barack Obama’s administration has been so busily celebrating the framework deal sealed last Thursday with Iran over its nuclear program, official Iranian statements in Farsi appear to disprove Obama’s claims about what has or hasn’t been agreed. The New York Post outlined on Saturday the different statements about the agreement. Those statements include one by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy head Federica Mogherini, as well as an official Iranian text, a text in French, and US Secretary of State John Kerry’s summary which presents the framework as being a done deal. […] But...

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Monday called for an anti-terror alliance with Arab countries to boost cooperation and information-sharing in the wake of deadly attacks and arrests across Europe. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday that "we need an alliance. We need to strengthen our way of cooperating together."...

BRUSSELS - Europe’s new foreign relations chief has denied the EU is in talks on Israel sanctions, despite a leaked paper on the issue. Federica Mogherini, who chaired her first foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday (17 November), told press the leaked paper is a “technical working hypothesis” which “member states requested” when her predecessor was in office. She added: “It is not at the heart of today’s discussions on how to start a positive process with the Israelis and Palestinians. There’s currently no question of sanctioning anybody. The question is rather how to motivate people to … restart...