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Eastern Europe
June 28, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Seven New Europe members of PACE walk out in protest against Russia’s readmission Ben Aris in Berlin
The delegations stonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine and all walked
out of a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) session to “consult with the government” following the decision to reinstate Russia’s delegation earlier this week.
"The unconditional restoration of the Russian Delegation’s rights without the Russian Federation honouring any of the Assembly’s numerous demands runs counter to the core values of the Council of Europe and its Statute," reads a joint statement released by the group of delegations.
“The future of the Council of Europe is under threat as it is in danger of losing the trust of the
people it stands to protect. We return home to consult with our governments and parliaments about the joint actions in the next sessions,” the spokeswoman said.
The crisis was sparked by the decision on June 25 to readmit Russia to the Council. Russia had been suspended following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. With elections for a new general secretary coming up, Russia was threatening to quit the Council completely, something that many members of the Council don't want to see.
Read the full story here
CEO of Russian retailer Magnit Naumova quits after only a year
The CEO and the head of the board of Russian retailer Magnit Olga Naumova quits "due to disagreement with the board of directors over the strategy of the company," Vedomosti daily reported on June 26.
Magnit is in intense rivalry with X5 Group, trying to regain leadership as Russia's largest retailer. Naumova, was appointed as CEO in May 2018 during a management reshuffle in both retail- ers. She is the former head of one of X5's formats Pyaterochka, and credited for its success.
Vedomosti links departure of Naumova to appoint-
ment of Jan Dunning, the former head of another retailer Lenta, who is now the president of Magnit. While the plan was to create a tandem that would take care investor relations and operational de- velopment, reportedly Naumova's and Dunning's management styles were not compatible.
The news are likely to be taken negative by the market. Magnit's new strategy presented in au- tumn 2018 did not impress the analysts, while the gap with X5 kept on widening in 2018 and 1Q19. X5 is also gaining an edge in development of online retail and delivery solutions.