1. Russia credit outlook cut by Fitch as U.S., EU widen sanctions

Russia's credit rating outlook was cut to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings, citing the potential impact on a slowing economy of Western sanctions imposed after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

Fitch's move followed a decision by Standard & Poor's to change its outlook on Russia to negative. Both companies affirmed the former Soviet state's ranking at BBB, the second- lowest investment grade.

"Since U.S. and EU banks and investors may well be reluctant to lend to Russia under the current circumstances, the economy may slow further and the private sector may require official support.

So folks, the economic war between Russia and the West is on. You can bet your bankster bonus that this will result in an escalation with reprisal sanctions from Russia in response.

Now what you could do at this point, is put the kettle on, flip channels on the TV and pretend that this isn't happening, or you can write a letter to your MEP, stating clearly your position and what you feel should be the stance of the UK in this crisis.

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2. Russian share in European Union gas consumption jumps to 27 per cent

The share of Russian gas in the total consumption of the 28 EU countries jumped by four percentage points to 27 per cent last year, making it the top foreign supplier, data showed Tuesday.

However for the third year running consumption of natural gas declined in the European Union, sliding 1.4 per cent to 462 billion cubic meters last year, according to data from Eurogas, an association of European gas companies.

This of course still gives significant leverage to Russia with regard to energy supply into the European Union. The article details supply metrics and it's worth your time getting familiar with, as you can be assured that this story is going to run and run.

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3. EU aims to deploy Central Africa mission by end-April

The European Union wants to deploy troops to Central African Republic by the end of April, the general picked to lead the proposed mission said on Wednesday, adding the crisis in Ukraine had delayed its launch.

As we covered in depth last week the European Union has a deep and protracted interest in the African continent and this move dovetails with the funding and economic regulations that we have been seeing.

France has accused the EU of shirking its responsibility for international security after a plan to send up to 1,000 troops to Central African Republic this week seemed set to collapse.

EU diplomats have said there is a link between the problems facing the Central African Republic force and the political crisis in Ukraine, where Russian forces have occupied the Crimea region, raising tensions between Moscow and the West.

We're not sure exactly what the link is between the Ukrainian crisis and Africa is at this point, but we are looking to get some answers as soon as we can. Watch this space, we'll keep you posted.

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4. Britain is absent from the EU's Presidential Election

So the lineup for the first-ever Presidential Election in Europe, to select the Commission President 2014-2019, is complete - Martin Schulz for the Party of European Socialists (PES), Jean-Claude Juncker for the European People's Party (EPP), Guy Verhofstadt for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), José Bové and Ska Keller for the Greens (EGP) and Alexis Tsipras for the European Left (EL).

That means that among the UK's main parties, only the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are part of the process to select top candidates for the Commission and the Lib Dems actually initially favoured Verhofstadt's rival, Rehn.

So when it comes to the selection of the Commission President, just like so much else about the European Union, the UK doesn't know if it's in or out and so voters in the UK will not be able to really express their views on the future direction of the European Union.

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5. News website found liable for defamatory material

The Chamber of the First Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the "ECHR") has recently handed down a controversial decision which has the potential to impose liability on internet portals for comments posted by third parties, despite effective take-down procedures being in place.

Delfi posted an article in 2006 covering route alterations by SLK, a ferry company which provided public transportation between mainland Estonia and two of the country's larger islands. The article also referred to how the company had "destroyed planned ice roads", which are public roads over the sea.

Whilst the article itself was not defamatory, it attracted 185 comments, about twenty of which were threatening and offensive posts against the company's owner and sole shareholder.

As rapper Ice T postulated so many years ago with his Album "Freedom of Speech, just watch what you say". Of course if you allow the posting of comments onto your main website then you run the risk of defacement and defamatory comments. That's why here at the thEUnit we've set up a community on Google where you can interact and post comments about our stories and shows.

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