Rob Schmitz

Marketplace’s China correspondent, based in Shanghai

Rob Schmitz appears in the following:

Latvia is growing its military as Russia becomes increasingly aggressive

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Latvia is gearing up for the possibility they could be next after Ukraine. Officials say their military are drastically understaffed, so the country plans to bring back compulsory military service.

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The EU agrees to plan that aims to cut gas consumption across Europe by 15%

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Russia claims mechanical issues are the reason for the supply cut. Germany's economy minister accused Russia's president of playing a "duplicitous game."

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The EU has agreed to cut gas consumption by 15% in order to reduce reliance on Russia

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Russia's gas company Gazprom has once again reduced the flow of natural gas to Europe. To counter that move, the EU has agreed to reduce its gas usage by 15%. But that's easier said than done.

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Germany bails out its largest energy company after Russia cut off gas supply

Saturday, July 23, 2022

Natural gas is flowing again between Russia and Germany. But Berlin isn't sure how long that may last, and is shoring up its gas supplies while looking for other energy options.

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Germany rushes to decouple itself from Russian gas

Thursday, July 14, 2022

Germany is scrambling to build infrastructure to replace its dependence on Russian gas. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports that time is not on its side.

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Germany aims to offset living costs and gas demand with discounted public transport

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

This summer, one can travel in Germany on public transportation for less than $10 a month. It's part of a government package to tackle the soaring cost of living by using more public transportation.

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The war in Ukraine is looming large at a meeting of the G7 nations

Monday, June 27, 2022

Leaders of the seven wealthiest democracies began three days of talks Sunday in Germany's Bavarian Alps — as Russia fired a barrage of missiles at the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

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Biden meets with G7 to talk about Ukraine, inflation, food insecurity, climate change

Saturday, June 25, 2022

President Biden is headed to Germany for a meeting of the G7 with leaders of the wealthiest countries. At the top of their agenda is the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth month.

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Biden to attend Germany's G-7 meeting this weekend; Blinken talks food security at UN

Friday, June 24, 2022

President Biden will be in Europe for a G-7 meeting in Germany, before he heads to a NATO summit. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Berlin on Friday to join a UN conference on food security.

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Ukraine could become a candidate to join the EU. Here's what it takes to get in

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

European Union leaders will meet Thursday in Brussels where they are expected to approve Ukraine as a candidate to join the EU — a process that is neither quick nor easy.

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Lithuana urges the world to stand up against Russia

Monday, June 06, 2022

Lithuana has warned its neighbors for years about the dangers posed by Russia. The country is once again calling for the international community to do more to stop Russia.

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European Union leaders agree to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of 2022

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

The European Union embargo covers only Russian oil brought in by sea — allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline.

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The EU will block most Russian oil imports as Hungary's Orbán fights off a total ban

Monday, May 30, 2022

Pipeline deliveries, which are critical to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, won't be affected by the ban. The much more complicated issue of Russian natural gas remains unresolved.

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Lithuania has become the 1st European country to stop using Russian gas

Thursday, May 26, 2022

As Russia's war in Ukraine enters its fourth month, European countries are scrambling to wean themselves off of Russian gas. The Baltic nation of Lithuania has become the first to do so.

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After decades of wartime neutrality, Finland now wants to join NATO without delay

Thursday, May 12, 2022

The announcement was widely expected and has broad support in the country: A recent poll showed that about three-quarters of all Finns support joining the military alliance.

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What reproductive rights look like around the world

Monday, May 09, 2022

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion, here's a look at abortion rights and access around the world.

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World leaders weighed in on the war in Ukraine on Victory in Europe Day

Monday, May 09, 2022

Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned peace is impossible under Russian dictatorship, saying "freedom and security will win the day, just as freedom and security triumphed over oppression, ... 77 years ago."

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The EU says it plans to ban Russian oil by the end of the year

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

The European Union says it intends to phase out Russian oil in the next few months. This was part of a package of new sanctions the EU announced Wednesday against Russia for its war in Ukraine.

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When this Shanghai building went into COVID lockdown, my WeChat message group blew up

Saturday, April 30, 2022

For nine years, I lived in a giant apartment complex called the Summit with hundreds of other people in the city of Shanghai. Now my old neighbors are entering week six stuck inside.

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In Hanna Bergholm's new horror film, a girl's adolescence is 'Hatching'

Friday, April 29, 2022

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks with Hanna Bergholm, the director of the new horror movie 'Hatching,' in which a girl finds a mysterious egg in the woods and nurtures it until it hatches.

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