BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union governments on Friday rejected Franco-British efforts to lift an EU arms embargo to allow weapons supplies to Syrian rebels, saying this could spark an arms race and worsen regional instability.

France and Britain found little support for their proposal at an EU summit in Brussels, diplomats said, but EU foreign ministers will consider the issue again next week.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A defiant Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban dismissed criticism that changes his government has made to the constitution are anti-democratic, saying there was no evidence of any breach of European Union rules.

The EU, the United States and human rights organizations have accused Orban of using constitutional amendments to limit the powers of Hungary’s top court and undermine democracy in the former Soviet satellite. The move follows steps last year to change Hungary’s media laws and the retirement ages of judges.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union imposed sanctions on Tuesday on an Iranian police unit monitoring the Internet, as well on several judges and media bosses the bloc blames for human rights violations in the Islamic Republic.

The sanctions reflect mounting concerns about human rights in Iran and are separate from measures against Tehran over its nuclear program, which governments in the European Union and elsewhere suspect has a covert military dimension.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – France urged the European Union to look again at lifting an arms embargo on Syria to help rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, putting it at odds with Germany which said such a step could spread conflict in the region.

Highlighting the different approaches of two of the European Union’s heavyweights, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday said lifting the arms embargo would help level the playing field in the two-year-old conflict in which 70,000 people have died.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has expressed concerns over a vote in Hungary’s parliament next week to change the constitution, arguing it contravenes EU rules in areas such as the judiciary.

In a phone call on Friday afternoon, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Prime Minister Viktor Orban that his government and the parliament should address concerns “in accordance with EU democratic principles”.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has expressed concerns over a vote in Hungary’s parliament next week to change the constitution, arguing it contravenes EU rules in areas such as the judiciary.

In a phone call on Friday afternoon, Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told Prime Minister Viktor Orban that his government and the parliament should address concerns “in accordance with EU democratic principles”.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union will consider imposing sanctions on the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah but does not yet have sufficient evidence of its activities in Europe to make a decision, the European Commission said on Thursday.

Bulgaria in February implicated Hezbollah in a bombing in the Black Sea resort of Burgas last year that killed five Israelis, putting pressure on the EU to sanction the group.

ALMATY, Feb 27 (Reuters) – Iran was upbeat on Wednesday
after talks with world powers about its nuclear work ended with
an agreement to meet again, but Western officials said it had
yet to take concrete steps to ease their fears about its atomic
ambitions.

Rapid progress was unlikely with Iran’s presidential
election, due in June, raising domestic political tensions,
diplomats and analysts had said ahead of the Feb. 26-27 meeting
in the Kazakh city of Almaty, the first in eight months.

ALMATY, Feb 27 (Reuters) – World powers hope Iran will
respond positively on Wednesday to their new offer to lift some
sanctions if Tehran scales back nuclear activity the West fears
could be used to build bombs.

The United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and
Russia presented the offer when their first meeting with Iran in
eight months began in Almaty on Tuesday and the Islamic state
was considering it, the powers’ spokesman said.

ALMATY, Feb 26 (Reuters) – World powers are expected to
offer Iran limited sanctions relief on Tuesday if it agrees to
halt its most sensitive nuclear work, in a new attempt to
resolve a dispute that threatens to trigger another war in the
Middle East.

In their first meeting in eight months – time that Iran has
used to expand atomic activity that the West suspects is aimed
at developing a bomb capability – the powers hope Iran will
engage in serious talks on finding a diplomatic solution.