Category Archives: European Union

EU moves to cut dependency on China for battery and solar panel materials

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Parliament votes to cut mining red tape and diversify its supplies of raw materials such as lithium and silicon

The EU has voted in a plan to secure more of the critical materials needed to make solar panels, electric car batteries and other key elements of its green transition.

The European parliament agreed on Thursday to diversify its supplies of critical raw materials and cut red tape for mining companies. In an attempt to reduce its dependency on China, it plans to ensure that by 2030 it does not rely on a single country for more than 65% of its supply of any strategic raw material.

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UK, France and Germany refuse to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal

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Tehran in ‘too serious a breach’ of 2015 deal to lift sanctions under clause that would allow ballistic missile trade

The UK, France and Germany will not lift sanctions on Iran in line with the timetable set out in the 2015 nuclear deal, the governments have announced in a move that will infuriate Tehran and put the continued viability of the deal at even greater risk.

Under the terms of the original deal, some UN sanctions were due to be lifted on 18 October 2023 as part of a sunset clause that would allow Iran to import and export ballistic missiles, including missiles and drones with a range of 300km (186 miles) or more.

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Sluggish eurozone economies will not welcome ECB’s interest rate rise

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Weak consumer spending as, people – especially in Germany, the EU’s largest economy – put more into savings

Interest rates went up again across the eurozone on Thursday – probably for the last time during this cycle of hikes that has become a familiar story in the single currency bloc, as it has in the UK and US.

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised its main deposit rate by a quarter of one per cent to 4% – the highest level in the euro’s history.

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MEPs refused entry to Tunisia two months after signing of migration deal

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Trip by foreign affairs committee blocked with no reason given, raising questions about country’s partnership with EU

A group of MEPs from the European parliament have been refused entry to Tunisia, raising questions about the controversial partnership on migration that Tunisia signed with the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and the Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, this summer.

The foreign affairs committee, chaired by the German MEP Michael Gahler, was due to arrive in the country on Friday. “We have cancelled the trip. We have not been given reasons for the refused entry, that would be speculation,” he said.

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UK nears agreement to cooperate with EU border force

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Frontex deal would be Sunak’s third with EU as prime minister but would not address small boats crisis

Rishi Sunak is on the verge of securing an agreement for cooperation between the UK and the EU’s border protection agency, Frontex in a further sign of thawing post-Brexit relations.

The deal is expected to mirror other agreements Frontex has with “third country” states, including one with Albania, which agreed to renew its 2019 accord.

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EU ‘very worried’ about Swedish official Johan Floderus jailed in Iran

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Ylva Johansson says EU is supporting Swedish government in attempt to get 33-year-old home after 512 days

The European Commission has said it is “very worried” about the plight of a Swedish EU official who has spent more than 500 days in jail in Iran.

Ylva Johansson, the home affairs commissioner, who was previously in charge of the work of the detained Johan Floderus, said every effort was being made to get him released as she spoke publicly for the first time on Monday since the veil of secrecy about his case was lifted.

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G20: EU and US back trade corridor linking Europe, Middle East and India

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Joe Biden describes ambitious rail and sea plan to counter China’s Belt and Road project as a ‘really big deal’

The US and the EU have backed an ambitious plan to build an economic corridor linking Europe with the Middle East and India via rail and sea, a project the US president, Joe Biden, described as a “really big deal”.

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the project during a Saturday afternoon session at the G20 leaders’ summit, being held in Delhi this weekend.

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UK’s years out of EU Horizon programme did ‘untold damage’, say scientists

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Relief at rejoining flagship research scheme tempered by anger over loss of top academics since Brexit

Britain may have rescued its scientific fortunes with a last-minute decision to rejoin the EU’s Horizon research programme – but the move should not be treated as a cause for jubilation, scientists have warned.

The sluggish pace at which the agreement was reached has had too severe an impact on UK research for widespread elation, say many British researchers, who believe that science in this country suffered a major blow after being locked out of the £82bn programme for almost three years since Brexit. Putting it right has taken far too long, they argue.

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Germany backs tariff delay on electric vehicle sales between UK and EU

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Manufacturers face 10% levies under post-Brexit trade deal but German government supports postponement

Carmakers could be in line for a reprieve after it emerged that Germany is backing calls to postpone tariffs on electric vehicle sales between the UK and the EU.

Manufacturers in the UK and on the continent face the prospect of 10% levies on new electric vehicles that cross the Channel from January under the post-Brexit trade deal agreed between Britain and the bloc in 2020.

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EU diplomats hope Horizon deal could be first of many with UK

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UK’s return to science programme raises hope of more deals, including suspension of planned EV tariffs

A dramatic thaw in relations between Britain and the EU has raised hopes that the Horizon science deal could be the first of many breakthroughs, diplomats in Brussels have said.

They claimed the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, had a close relationship that was in stark contrast to the hostility EU officials faced from Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

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EU unveils package of laws to curb power of big tech firms

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‘Revolutionary’ Digital Markets Act aims to allow more competition and let consumers delete preloaded phone apps

The EU has unveiled a set of “revolutionary” laws to curb the power of six big tech companies, including allowing consumers to decide what apps they want on their phone and to delete pre-loaded software such as Google or Apple’s maps apps.

The package of laws will also pave the way for more competition in some of the areas most guarded by the tech firms, including Apple Wallet and Google Pay.

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Syrian refugee deported from Greece loses case against EU border agency

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Ruling against man who claimed family were ‘pushback’ victims seen as blow to efforts to make Frontex accountable

A Syrian refugee has lost a landmark case against the EU’s border protection agency, Frontex, after he and his family were forcibly deported from Greece before his asylum application was processed.

The ruling is seen as a major blow to efforts to make the operations of Frontex in Greece and other countries more transparent and accountable to the member states who employ them.

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Climate crisis poses greatest risk to people with respiratory illnesses, experts warn

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Call for EU to match WHO’s air pollution regulatory limits as impact of climate emergency interlinks with human health

The climate crisis may pose the greatest risks to people with respiratory illnesses, with high temperatures and changing weather patterns exacerbating lung health problems, experts have said.

Respiratory experts have called on the EU to lower its regulatory limits for air pollution in line with the World Health Organization (WHO). In a European Respiratory Journal editorial, they said: “We need to do all we can to help alleviate patients’ suffering.”

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Georgia’s ruling party seeks to impeach president over EU visits

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Salome Zourabichvili’s meetings in Berlin and Brussels violated constitution, party leader says

Georgia’s ruling party is seeking to impeach the president over her visits to the EU, which it said were made against the will of the government, the local news agency Interpress has reported.

Salome Zourabichvili met the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin on Thursday and the European Council president, Charles Michel, in Brussels on Friday to drum up support for Georgia’s campaign to receive EU candidate status.

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EU imports of Russian liquified gas leap by 40% since Ukraine invasion

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Pipeline flows from Russia have fallen to historic lows, but shipments of LNG from all over the world have surged

EU imports of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) have increased by 40% since the invasion of Ukraine despite efforts to cut down supplies.

Member states have bought more than half of Russia’s LNG on the market in the first seven months of this year, according to analysis of data by Kpler, which tracks marine and tanker traffic.

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France to spend €200m on destroying excess wine as demand falls

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Fund aims to help struggling winemakers as they adjust to consumers’ changing habits

The French government has announced it is to set aside €200m to fund the destruction of surplus wine production in an attempt to support struggling producers and shore up prices.

Several major wine-producing regions in France, particularly the Bordeaux area, are struggling because of a cocktail of problems including changes in consumption habits, the cost of living crisis and the after-effects of Covid-19.

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Niger observers link coup to president’s support for EU migration policies

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Experts say army received bribes from people smuggling until 2015 law associated with Mohamed Bazoum

Observers have linked Mohamed Bazoum’s support for European Union policies aimed at stifling migration routes through north Africa to his ousting as president of Niger last month.

Army officers toppled Bazoum on 26 July, as Niger became the fourth west African country since 2020 to have a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.

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Quarter of music industry workers have had no work in EU since Brexit

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Survey shows devastating impact of Brexit on music sector, says Independent Society of Musicians

Almost half of UK musicians and workers in the music industry have had less work in the EU since Brexit than before it, and more than a quarter have had no EU work at all, according to a survey.

The impact of Brexit on the music sector had been devastating, said the Independent Society of Musicians (ISM), which carried out the survey. Restrictions had impaired the viability of making a living as a musician, it said.

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My view on Scottish independence has ‘moved’, says Kezia Dugdale

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When asked how she would vote in a referendum, former Labour leader in Scotland says she will ‘decide at the time’

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said her stance on independence has “moved”, as she can no longer argue for staying in the UK with the same strength she did in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.

Dugdale said she felt that Scots will eventually get a second vote on the future of the UK but did not believe another referendum would take place within the next decade.

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EU denies reports it has rejected UK deal to return people who cross Channel

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Ursula von der Leyen aide reported to have ruled out ‘returns agreement’ in leaked copy of memo

The EU has rejected reports that it is not open to a new deal with the UK on returning people who have crossed the Channel, after a leak of purported discussions between London and Brussels.

A leaked copy of a memo on discussions with the UK’s national security adviser, Sir Tim Barrow, was reported to have included mention of an aide to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, ruling out a post-Brexit “returns agreement”.

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