Category Archives: European Union

Europe must reassess its relations with China, says EU chief

Posted on by

Ursula von der Leyen calls for ‘clear-eyed picture’ of risks as she prepares for Beijing trip

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called on Europe to reassess its diplomatic and economic relations with China before a visit to Beijing next week with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Europe needed to have “a clear-eyed picture on what the risks are”, she said in a wide-ranging speech in Brussels, noting that EU-China relations had become “more distant and more difficult” in recent years as China moved into “a new era of security and control” and ramped up “policies of disinformation and economic and trade coercion”.

Continue reading...

Britons have more confidence in EU than Westminster, poll finds

Posted on by

Faith in bloc higher than that in UK parliament for first time in three decades of World Values Survey

People in Britain have more confidence in the EU than the UK parliament, reversing a state of affairs that has lasted for more than 30 years, research reveals.

Since the UK voted for Brexit, the proportion of people declaring confidence in parliament has slumped by 10 percentage points to 22% while there has been a seven percentage point rise in confidence in the Brussels-based bloc, to 39%. Confidence in the UK government also fell from 2017 to 2021.

Continue reading...

‘Microcosm of Brexit Britain’: Norfolk documentary is surprise German hit

Posted on by

Jens Meurer’s Seaside Special follows Brexit-divided Cromer as town prepares for annual variety show

A German film director’s whimsical and heartfelt portrait of Cromer has become an unexpected hit among audiences and critics in his home country, sparking an interest in the town on the north Norfolk coast.

Seaside Special follows the town as it prepares for its annual end-of-pier variety show – a burlesque mix of song and dance, standup comedy and slapstick performed twice a day for three months – in the summer of 2019, set against the tumultuous backdrop of clashing views within the community over Brexit.

Continue reading...

EU ministers to approve vehicle emissions law after deal with Germany

Posted on by

Berlin secures concessions over future use of e-fuels after going back on agreement struck last year

EU ministers are expected to approve a draft law on emissions standards for cars on Tuesday, after reaching a deal with Germany over the weekend that ended a damaging row over a key part of Europe’s green deal.

Pascal Canfin, a French centrist MEP who chairs the European parliament’s environment committee, said an EU law that all cars sold from 2035 must produce zero emissions “will be voted unchanged, including by Germany” on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

‘It’s a con’: Labour amendment to put Sunak’s migrant bill under fresh scrutiny

Posted on by

Prime minister told to expect ‘biggest rebellion of this parliament’ as migration bill returns to Commons

Labour will seek to put Rishi Sunak’s inability to secure an EU migrant returns deal under fresh scrutiny with a vote on the government’s migration bill.

The bill will return to the Commons on Monday for its committee stage, where MPs will examine it line by line over two days. The prime minister has been told to expect the biggest rebellion of this parliament, with at least 60 Conservative MPs likely to vote against the bill amid concerns that it is not tough enough.

Continue reading...

Germany faces EU backlash over U-turn on phasing out combustion engine

Posted on by

Row a further signal of tensions over the green deal landmark proposals to tackle climate crisis

Germany is facing a growing backlash inside the EU over its U-turn on a law to phase out the combustion engine in new cars by 2035, despite signs of an end to the standoff with Brussels.

The row comes amid growing concerns over France’s push to include nuclear across a swathe of laws on green technologies, a further signal of tensions over the EU green deal, landmark proposals to tackle the climate crisis.

Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak stresses ‘close partnership’ with Israel amid protests at Benjamin Netanyahu visit – live

Posted on by

UK prime minister meets Israeli PM at Downing Street as Oxfam and Amnesty condemn visit amid protests in Whitehall

Downing Street described Israel as a “vital international partner” after Rishi Sunak’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu this morning. At the morning lobby briefing the PM’s spokesperson said:

Israel is a vital international partner for the United Kingdom and the prime minister was visiting London, and this was an important opportunity to talk about issues that matter to both countries, whether that’s the threat of Iran, Russia, new trade and investment … as well as peace and stability in the Middle East.

The prime minister expressed his solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorist attacks in recent months. The UK would always stand with Israel and its ability to defend itself. At the same time, the PM outlined international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank and the risk of undermining efforts towards the two state solution. He encouraged all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.

The prime minister stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.

The prime minister welcomed Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Downing Street today for talks on strengthening the close partnership between the United Kingdom and Israel.

The two leaders welcomed the signing of the UK-Israel 2030 Roadmap this week, which will drive our bilateral relationship forward and commit £20m in funding for joint science and technology projects over the next decade.

We would not accept any Scottish government simply vetoing parts of the Bute House agreement.

Those policies are in the Bute House agreement, that’s what we’re intended to deliver.

Continue reading...

Sunak evades damaging Commons rebellion as NI Brexit plan passes

Posted on by

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss among 22 Tory rebels voting against deal agreed with European Commission

Rishi Sunak has escaped an overly damaging Commons rebellion over his revised plan for post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade, winning a vote on the measure with 22 of his own MPs voting against the deal.

Among the Conservative rebels were Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, another former party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, and the former cabinet ministers Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel and Simon Clarke.

Continue reading...

‘A spirit of goodwill’: Michel Barnier praises Northern Ireland Brexit plan

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak’s attitude ‘much more responsible’ than that of Boris Johnson, says former EU negotiator

The EU’s former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has praised the agreement on Northern Ireland between the union and the British government as a positive step that turns a page in relations between the two sides.

In an interview with the Guardian, the veteran French politician said the Windsor framework agreement signed by Rishi Sunak and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, last month, “operationalised” the Northern Ireland protocol he had negotiated with the British government in 2019. “There was a spirit of goodwill for the first time in three years, to find solutions that are concrete, operational and realistic.”

Continue reading...

Brexit: DUP to vote against government over Windsor framework

Posted on by

Jeffrey Donaldson confirms unionist party will oppose Sunak plan for Northern Ireland in this week’s vote

The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) is to vote against the government in this week’s first parliamentary vote on the new Windsor framework Brexit deal.

Party officers met on Monday and made a unanimous decision to reject Rishi Sunak’s revised plan for post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, the DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said in a statement.

Continue reading...

EU hopeful of sealing deal to supply Ukraine with €2bn of ammunition

Posted on by

Bloc’s most senior diplomat says procurement needs to be ‘quick, cheap and in the necessary amounts’ to replenish dwindling stocks

EU ministers are hopeful of finalising an agreement to supply Ukraine with €2bn (£1.75bn) of ammunition to bolster its defences against Russia’s invasion.

The EU’s most senior diplomat, Josep Borrell, said he hoped the bloc’s foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday would reach an agreement on replenishing Ukraine’s dwindling stocks. “I hope that the ministers will, all of them, engage in a final discussion and agree on a very important decision,” he told reporters. “Otherwise we will be in difficulties in order to continue to supplying arms to Ukraine.”

Continue reading...

Several Tory MPs may join DUP in voting against Brexit ‘Stormont brake’

Posted on by

Anger among European Research Group over vote on key part of Windsor framework for Northern Ireland

Rishi Sunak faces a reckoning from hardline Brexiters on his backbenches who are prepared to follow the Democratic Unionist party in voting against a key element of his “Windsor framework” that overhauls the Northern Ireland protocol.

Anger is rising among those in the European Research Group at ministers using a vote on a statutory instrument to implement the “Stormont brake” on Wednesday, as a proxy for MPs to have their say on the whole deal.

Continue reading...

Aviation chiefs rejected measures to curb climate impact of jet vapours

Posted on by

Airline industry claimed science not ‘robust’ enough to implement new controls to combat climate warming caused by vapour trails

Airlines and airports opposed measures to combat global warming caused by jet vapour trails that evidence suggests account for more than half of the aviation industry’s climate impact, new documents reveal.

The industry argued in government submissions that the science was not “robust” enough to justify reduction targets for these non-CO2 emissions. Scientists say the climate impact of vapour trails, or contrails, has been known for more than two decades, with one accusing the industry of a “typical climate denialist strategy”.

Continue reading...

ECB raises eurozone interest rate despite banking sector fears

Posted on by

Concerns half-point could set off domino effect across financial industry knocked by Credit Suisse crisis

The European Central Bank has raised interest rates across the eurozone by 0.5 percentage points, despite fears that higher borrowing costs could set off a domino effect across a banking sector already reeling from a collapse in confidence in Switzerland’s second largest lender, Credit Suisse.

Officials at the ECB, the central bank covering the 19-member euro bloc, said inflation was likely to remain high “for too long”, forcing it to continue with its planned run of rate increases.

Continue reading...

Rural populist party emerges as big winner in Dutch elections

Posted on by

Success of Farmer-Citizen Movement in provincial vote is heavy blow to Mark Rutte’s four-party coalition

A new populist party surfing a wave of rural anger at government environmental policies has emerged as the big winner in Dutch provincial elections, dealing a heavy blow to the four-party coalition of the prime minister, Mark Rutte.

The success of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) in Wednesday’s vote, which will determine the makeup of the senate, casts doubt over the government’s ability to pass key legislation, including its plans to slash nitrogen emissions.

Continue reading...

ECB faces dilemma over interest rate rise amid Credit Suisse crisis

Posted on by

European Central Bank could opt for smaller increase as concerns spread over health of banking system

The European Central Bank is facing a dilemma over whether to push ahead with its plans for a large interest rise on Thursday amid fears over the strength of the banking system after Wednesday’s heavy sell-off of the Swiss banking firm Credit Suisse.

After raising interest rates since last summer at a record pace to tackle high inflation across the eurozone, the ECB had in effect committed to another 0.5 percentage point increase in borrowing costs this week.

Continue reading...

Catalonia launches operation to clear fish from reservoir to save drinking water

Posted on by

Focus is on Sau reservoir, where water supplies have plunged to their lowest level since 1990

Officials in Catalonia have launched what is being described as an extraordinary operation to clear as many as 1.5 tonnes of fish a day, including many invasive species, from a rapidly dwindling reservoir in the hopes of salvaging drinking water as drought continues to grip the region.

The operation is focused on the Sau reservoir, a sprawling body of water flanked by mountains and tree-covered hills about 60 miles north of Barcelona, where water supplies have plunged to their lowest level since 1990.

Continue reading...

Head of global trade union body sacked after donation investigation

Posted on by

ITUC removes Luca Visentini from role in wake of disclosure he took money from main suspect in Qatargate bribery scandal

An Italian union leader has been sacked from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) after he disclosed taking money from the main suspect in the Qatargate bribery scandal that has shaken the European parliament.

Luca Visentini was removed from his position as ITUC general secretary on Saturday following the results of an investigation. “The meeting decided that Luca Visentini no longer had the confidence of the general council as ITUC general secretary,” the trade union body said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Why did protesters in Georgia oppose the ‘Russian law’ bill?

Posted on by

Critics of withdrawn ‘foreign agents’ bill feared it would undercut bid for EU membership

Thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, this week after parliament backed a draft law which critics, who called it a “Russian law”, said would limit press freedom and undercut Georgia’s efforts to become a candidate for EU membership.

Continue reading...

Georgia drops bill on ‘foreign agents’ after two nights of violent protests

Posted on by

After criticism law was similar to Russian legislation used to stifle dissent, ruling party says it will withdraw bill

Georgia’s ruling party has said it will drop its bill on “foreign agents” after fierce opposition culminated in two nights of violent protests and criticism that the draft law would limit press freedom and undercut the country’s efforts to become a candidate for EU membership.

The Georgian Dream party said in a statement it would “unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations”. It cited the need to reduce “confrontation” in society.

Continue reading...