Category Archives: European Union

Starmer to begin reset of EU relations in meetings with Irish and French leaders

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PM to hold bilateral talks at Chequers next week when European leaders will also gather for summit at Blenheim Palace

Keir Starmer is to kickstart the resetting of the UK’s relationship with the EU in bilateral meetings next week with the prime minister of Ireland and president of France.

He will meet the taoiseach, Simon Harris, at Chequers on Wednesday on the eve of the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), a conference of more then 45 EU and non-EU leaders, which takes this place this year at Blenheim Palace near Oxford.

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Le Pen and Orbán join forces in European parliament far-right alliance

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The group, styled Patriots for Europe, becomes the third-largest force and largest-ever far-right bloc assembly

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has joined forces with the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in a new far-right alliance in the European parliament.

The group, styled Patriots for Europe, becomes the third-largest force in the European parliament and the largest-ever far-right bloc in the history of the assembly.

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China to hold hearing into brandy imports as tension grows with EU over tariffs on EVs

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Ministry will discuss investigation into claims that European producers are selling goods below market rates

China has ramped up its anti-dumping investigation into European brandy imports in what appears to be a retaliatory move as the EU imposed higher tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles from Friday.

The commerce ministry in Beijing said it would hold a hearing on 18 July to discuss an investigation into claims that European brandy producers are selling products in China below market rates.

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Orbán to meet Putin in Moscow visit likely to anger EU

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Hungarian PM ‘trying to mediate between Russia and Ukraine’ after Hungary took over rotating EU presidency

Viktor Orbán will travel to Moscow on Friday for talks with Vladimir Putin, sources said, days after Hungary’s prime minister made his first visit to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country.

Two sources in Budapest told the Guardian about the trip, saying it was planned as part of a package with the Ukraine visit after Hungary took over the rotating EU presidency this week.

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EU brushes aside risk of China trade war over electric vehicle tariffs

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Higher levies on Chinese EV imports to come into force despite carmakers’ fears of retaliation

The EU’s top trade official, Valdis Dombrovskis, has brushed aside concerns of trade-war retaliation from Beijing against European business, after the European Commission imposed duties on Chinese electric vehicles.

Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, told Bloomberg Television that talks with China were ongoing, adding: “We are not seeing the basis for retaliation as what we are conducting is indeed in line with WTO [World Trade Organization] rules.”

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Britain will not rejoin EU in my lifetime, says Starmer

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Labour leader also says he cannot foresee circumstances where UK would re-enter single market or customs union

Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will not rejoin either the EU, the single market or the customs union within his lifetime, in his firmest pledge yet that Labour will not seek much closer relations with Europe for as long as he is prime minister.

The Labour leader told reporters on Wednesday he did not think Britain would go back into any of the three blocs while he was alive, all but ruling out rejoining even if he wins a second term in office.

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EU plan to impose import duty on cheap goods could dent Shein and Temu

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Brussels move to end tax loophole exploited by China-linked marketplaces could also dent Shein’s planned London listing

The EU is moving forward with plans to impose customs duty on cheap goods in a shift that could hit imports from online retailers and harm a hoped-for London listing by the fast-fashion seller Shein.

The potential change comes amid growing disquiet among retailers based in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, and the US about rising competition from Chinese-linked marketplaces Shein and Temu, which exploit a loophole that excludes low-value items from import duty.

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Viktor Orbán expected to make surprise trip to Kyiv on Tuesday

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Sources say Hungary’s pro-Russia PM planning to visit president Volodymyr Zelenskiy one day after assuming EU presidency

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is expected to travel to Kyiv on Tuesday, according to three sources with knowledge of the plans, in a surprise visit for one of Europe’s most pro-Russian leaders, which comes as Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU.

Two sources in Budapest said Orbán was expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, in the Hungarian prime minister’s first trip to neighbouring Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion more than two years ago.

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Starmer says far-right win in France would not stop Labour trying to forge better EU deal

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Labour leader hopes to gain closer economic ties with EU if he becomes PM and says he would work with ‘whoever’

Keir Starmer has said that a government in France led by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party would not hamper a Labour government’s intention to negotiate a better EU deal.

The RN made historic gains in the first round of France’s snap elections on Sunday with 33% of the vote, bringing the possibility the party could emerge as the largest in the final round of voting next Sunday.

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EU would not rush to reopen Brexit talks with Labour, say Brussel sources

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‘People will be asking, is it worth the pain?’ if asked to give UK a gift, says European diplomat

The EU will not rush to reopen Brexit negotiations with the UK even if Labour is swept to power next Thursday, senior sources in Brussels have indicated.

They say they will welcome a change of government but the deep scars left by the Conservatives during Brexit negotiations along with the new priorities caused by the war in Ukraine, and the rise of the far right weigh heavily on the minds of influential figures in Brussels.

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UK and EU horticulture firms warn of harm caused by post-Brexit border delays

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Nursery and garden centre trade bodies write open letter saying problems at border need to be urgently fixed

Nurseries and garden centres across Britain and Europe have warned that new post-Brexit border posts are not working properly and are leading to delays, damage and significant extra costs for importers bringing plants into Britain.

The Horticultural Trade Association, which represents 1,400 garden retailers and growers in the UK, has joined forces with several European trade bodies to write an open letter to call for urgent solutions, warning the new system was adding more than 25% to import costs.

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Zelenskiy says Russia’s recent offensive shows pressure on Kremlin ‘not enough’

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Ukrainian president signs military agreement with EU and says ‘fulfilment of every promise’ of support is important

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has told EU leaders that Russia’s spring offensive in Kharkiv showed that international pressure on the Kremlin was “not enough”, as he signed a military agreement with the bloc.

Vladimir Putin had tried to “expand the war” in May with a new offensive in eastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy said on Thursday, referring to relentless attacks on the Kharkiv region.

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UK must stop ‘walking on eggshells’ over post-Brexit deal, says BCC chief

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British Chambers of Commerce director general calls on politicians to improve ties with EU and strike better deal

The UK’s current trade deal with the EU is not working and the country must stop “walking on eggshells” around the issue of building closer ties with its biggest trading partner, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is expected to say.

At the annual BCC global conference in London on Thursday, Shevaun Haviland will say that the UK must forge closer ties with the EU and the next government should focus on improving trading relations to grow the economy.

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Giorgia Meloni rails against pro-Europe parties’ deal on top commission jobs

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Italian PM says deal that cut out her Eurosceptic block ignores EU’s rightward shift

Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has condemned a deal to divide the EU’s top jobs between mainstream pro-European parties, saying it ignored the bloc’s rightward shift.

In an angry speech to the Italian parliament, Meloni said the top jobs deal reflected a view that “citizens are not mature enough to make certain decisions” and had been taken by those who believe “that oligarchy is basically the only acceptable form of democracy”.

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EU braces for the nightmare scenario- a eurosceptic France

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National Rally win may hamper bloc’s ability to get things done and pose existential question over French role

On the night her party swept to a crushing victory in European elections and France’s president triggered a political earthquake by dissolving parliament, Marine Le Pen, the longtime leader of the National Rally (RN), could not have been much clearer.

“Tonight’s message – including the dissolution – is also addressed to the leaders in Brussels,” she said. “This great victory for patriotic movements is in alignment with the direction of history … We are ready to take power if the people so wish.”

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EU centrists’ deal paves way for von der Leyen to return as commission president

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Agreement between three pro-European blocks would make Estonian PM top diplomat and former Portuguese PM council president

Ursula von der Leyen looks likely to clinch the nomination for a second term as European Commission president under a deal by EU leaders from the three pro-European political groups that sews up the bloc’s top jobs.

According to the agreement made by the centre-right European People’s party (EPP), the Socialists and the Liberals, von der Leyen will be nominated for a second five-year mandate at the head of the EU executive at a Brussels summit on Thursday.

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African and Asian artists condemn ‘humiliating’ UK and EU visa refusals

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‘Unfair’ rejection rates of up to 70% harm cultural diversity and create a ‘global apartheid’, say promoters and musicians

Musicians, authors, producers and festival managers have hit out at “humiliating” and costly visa-rejection rates for African and Asian artists visiting Britain and European Union countries, saying it is having a chilling impact on cultural diversity.

Analysis shows the UK last year raised £44m in fees for visa applications that were then rejected, mainly coming from low- and middle-income countries. The EU made €130m (£110m).

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Apple found in breach of EU competition rules

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European Commission finds iPhone maker broke new laws designed to protect smaller competitors against big tech platforms

Apple has been found to be in breach of sweeping new EU laws designed to allow smaller companies to compete and allow consumers to find cheaper and alternative apps in the tech business’s app store.

The European Commission, which also acts as the EU antitrust and technology regulator, said it had sent its preliminary findings to Apple after an investigation launched in March.

“For too long Apple has been squeezing out innovative companies — denying consumers new opportunities and choices,” said Thierry Breton, the European commissioner responsible for digital markets, on X.

In preliminary findings, against which Apple can appeal, the European Commission said it believed its rules of engagement did not comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) “as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternatives channels for offers and content”.

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Labour would comply with ICC arrest order for Netanyahu, Lammy reiterates

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Shadow foreign secretary repeats belief in ‘rules-based order’ and also says UK would not seek EU membership

David Lammy has reiterated that Labour would seek to implement an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu if one was issued by the international criminal court.

Speaking to CNN, the shadow foreign secretary said a Labour government would comply if an order was issued for the arrest of the Israeli prime minister, adding that he expected the response to be the same all over Europe.

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Starmer’s growth plan ‘doomed’ without access to EU markets, warn economists

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Labour leader told if elected he will have to rejoin the customs union to meet party’s manifesto pledges, while 56% of voters say Brexit was bad for economy

A Labour government under Keir Starmer will fail to maximise the UK’s economic growth unless it takes the country back into the European Union’s single market and customs union, leading economists and diplomats have said.

The warnings come as an Opinium poll for the Observer finds that 56% of voters now believe Brexit has been bad for the UK economy as a whole, compared with just 12% who believe it has been economically beneficial.

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