Category Archives: European Union

EU votes for diplomats to boycott China Winter Olympics over rights abuses

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Non-binding resolution also calls for governments to impose further sanctions on China as tensions rise

The European parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on diplomatic officials to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in response to continuing human rights abuses by the Chinese government.

In escalating tensions between the EU and China, the non-binding resolution also called for governments to impose further sanctions, provide emergency visas to Hong Kong journalists and further support Hongkongers to move to Europe.

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EU parliament condemns Hungary’s anti-LGBT law

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Resolution is passed to launch legal action, but Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán remains defiant

The European parliament has denounced a Hungarian law that bans gay people from appearing in educational materials or on primetime TV as “a clear breach” of its principles of equality.

In a resolution voted in Strasbourg on Thursday by a resounding majority, MEPs condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Hungarian law as “a clear breach of the EU’s values, principles and law”, while urging the European Commission to launch a fast-track legal case against Viktor Orbán’s government.

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EU urged to suspend funds to Hungary over ‘grave breaches of the rule of law’

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Action follows Viktor Orbán passing law banning LGBT content in schools and mishandling of EU funds

Ursula von der Leyen is being urged to suspend EU funds to Hungary to force Viktor Orbán to address concerns over politicised courts and corruption.

MEPs who work on the European parliament’s budgetary control committee are calling on the European Commission president to use a newly created EU law to freeze payments to Hungary for “grave breaches of the rule of law”.

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UK-EU relations deteriorate again after ‘strange’ David Frost remarks

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Irish foreign minister hits out at Brexit minister over provocative article on Northern Ireland protocol

The EU fears that Boris Johnson wants to “dismantle” the Northern Ireland protocol, the Irish foreign minister has said, as relations between Brussels and London deteriorated again after remarks by the Brexit minister David Frost in the past 24 hours.

Simon Coveney told RTÉ on Sunday that EU leaders feared the worst after what he felt was a provocative article written by Lord Frost and the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, in the Irish Times on Saturday.

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UK school skiing trips to EU could be wiped out by Brexit visa rules

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Extra cost of permission for British temporary staff to work in resorts likely to be prohibitive for firms

School skiing trips that rely on British personnel to staff their EU winter camps could be wiped out by Brexit after it emerged they are facing the same obstacles as the music and theatre sectors.

Just like rock bands and music artists, instructors who work on the slopes of France, Italy or elsewhere in the EU are now required to have visas if they work in Europe, even if it is for just one week at a time.

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After Brexit, Merkel probably dabbed her eyes – and moved on

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Analysis: when the German chancellor steps down in September, her departure will leave a gaping hole

Angela Merkel, now on an affable UK farewell tour including tea with the Queen, leaves a paradoxical legacy for many British.

She is often hailed as the upholder of a liberal Europe that faced a populist onslaught from Donald Trump. But she is also the woman who refused to throw David Cameron a lifeline on immigration ahead of the Brexit referendum, judging it not in the national interest. But for Merkel’s stance then, her jocular host now might not have been Boris Johnson, who leaves her cold, but an ageing Cameron in his 11th year in office.

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Britons with Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine face extra EU travel hurdle

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EU vaccine passport scheme omits Covishield jab, despite it offering same protection as UK-made one

British travellers hoping to visit Europe this summer face an extra hurdle as it emerged that those vaccinated with Indian-manufactured AstraZeneca jabs would not automatically skip quarantine.

Under the EU vaccine passport scheme, people given the AstraZeneca jab produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) would not automatically avoid quarantine and mandatory testing when travelling in Europe.

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EU Commission urged to reject Hungary’s Covid recovery plan

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Cross-party group writes to Ursula von der Leyen over fraud, corruption and LGBTQ+ rights concerns

The European Commission is being urged to reject a coronavirus recovery plan for Hungary over concerns about fraud, corruption and the country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights.

A cross-party group of left and liberal MEPs have written to the Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, demanding she send the Hungarian government back to the drawing board over its spending plans for a €7.2bn (£6.19bn) coronavirus recovery grant.

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Over 50,000 EU citizens scramble to beat UK settled status deadline

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Exclusive: Home Office receives fivefold daily rise in applications as people tell of fear and anger

There was a fivefold surge in applications by EU citizens for UK settled status on Wednesday, with more than 50,000 scrambling to beat the midnight deadline, it has emerged.

Such was the last-minute rush that the Home Office extended the time applications would be accepted to 9am on Thursday.

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Employers warned not to discriminate amid rush for EU settled status

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Citizens told to complain if rights have been breached, as number of applicants surges before deadline

Businesses and public bodies have been warned by the Brexit rights regulator not to discriminate against EU citizens as the new post-Brexit immigration regime enters into force at midnight.

The warnings come as Home Office helplines for EU citizens living in the UK were reported to be “jammed” by a last-minute surge in EU citizens applying to remain in the UK by the midnight deadline. Charity workers helping applicants said they were also struggling to get through to the specialist hotline reserved for advisers.

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Belfast court dismisses legal challenge to Brexit Northern Ireland protocol

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Ruling is boost to UK and EU negotiators who are expected to announce new arrangements

The high court in Belfast has thrown out a legal challenge to the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol.

The ruling is a setback for the applicants including the Democratic Unionist Party and a relief for UK and EU negotiators who are planning to announce a package of new arrangements later on Wednesday aimed at taking the heat out of the current dispute over Brexit checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Ireland.

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OpenStreetMap looks to relocate to EU due to Brexit limitations

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Open-source UK tech company cites copyright issues, rising costs and prospect of more influence in EU

OpenStreetMap, the Wikipedia-for-maps organisation that seeks to create a free and open-source map of the globe, is considering relocating to the EU, almost 20 years after it was founded in the UK by the British entrepreneur Steve Coast.

OpenStreetMap Foundation, which was formally registered in 2006, two years after the project began, is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Following Brexit, the organisation says the lack of agreement between the UK and EU could render its continued operation in Britain untenable.

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‘The anxiety is palpable’: EU citizens face looming settled status deadline

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Those submitting last-minute applications for right to stay in UK describe stress of dealing with an overwhelmed system

With just three days to go before the deadline for EU citizens who wish to remain living in the UK to apply for EU settled status (EUSS), applicants have described the stress they are experiencing as they submit last-minute applications or wait to hear from the Home Office about whether their applications have been accepted.

They describe the frustration of trying to get through to a Home Office helpline that is often unable to accept calls because of excessive numbers of people seeking advice; many are worried that they may find themselves in a legal limbo, despite government reassurances to the contrary.

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Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens ‘scrabbling’ to attain post-Brexit status before deadline

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Pressure grows for UK to extend Wednesday’s settlement-scheme cut-off date as backlog of applications grows and helplines crash

EU citizens are struggling to apply for post-Brexit settled status as the Home Office reaches “breaking point” coping with a last-minute surge in applications.

With three days before the deadline of the EU settlement scheme this Wednesday, campaigners say late applicants are being stuck in online queues as others find it impossible to access advice on the government helpline.

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‘The thought is unbearable’: Europeans react to EU plans to cut British TV

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EU media critics say post-Brexit plans could pave way for more homegrown content

It was during a trip to Brighton for an English language course in 1984 that the young German student Nicola Neumann first discovered British television.

“The elderly couple who put me up tried really hard to educate me further, so we’d sit in front of the telly together every evening and then talk about the programmes afterwards,” she said.

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UK facing summer of food shortages due to lack of lorry drivers

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Loss of 100,000 hauliers due to Covid and Brexit will cause food ‘rolling power cuts’, experts warn

The country is facing a summer of food shortages likened to a series of “rolling power cuts” because of a loss of 100,000 lorry drivers due to Covid and Brexit, industry chiefs have warned.

In a letter to Boris Johnson they have called for an urgent intervention to allow eastern European drivers back into the country on special visas, similar to those issued to farm pickers, warning that there is a “crisis” in the supply chain.

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Fractious EU summit rejects Franco-German plan for Putin talks

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Bloc to explore sanctions instead, as gathering also holds ‘emotional’ debate over Hungary’s LGBT laws

A Franco-German plan to restart talks with Vladimir Putin has been rejected at a fractious EU summit that resulted in a decision to explore economic sanctions against Russia instead.

The two-day gathering in Brussels also included an “emotional” debate over LGBT rights in Hungary, as EU leaders confronted Viktor Orbán over a law that will ban gay people from being shown in educational and entertainment content for minors.

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Covid news: UK removes quarantine requirement for arrivals from Balearics, Malta and some Caribbean islands

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Latest updates: territories are added to UK’s green list or green watchlist, while more countries added to red list

Rory Boland, travel editor for consumer group Which?, said travellers still needed to be “extremely cautious” about booking trips abroad.
He said: “Countries can be downgraded quickly and with little warning, as we saw with Portugal, while several European countries have introduced quarantine requirements for UK residents. “Restrictions around international travel are changing regularly and when they do, the cost to holidaymakers is significant. “Most providers will not pay refunds if a country is moved from green to amber, and ‘free’ amendments are often anything but, with many companies requiring significant notice of any changes and bookings for new dates usually costing hundreds of pounds. Travel insurance is also unlikely to pay out in these circumstances. “It is only advisable to book if you are able to do 14 days’ quarantine, can be flexible about destination and dates, and book with a provider that guarantees refunds in the event of traffic light changes or quarantine requirements.”

Eluned Morgan MS, minister for health and social services in Wales, said: “International travel is resuming but the pandemic is not over and protecting people’s health remains our main priority.

“Our strong advice continues to be not to travel overseas unless it is essential because of the risk of contracting coronavirus, especially new and emerging variants of concern.

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After 16 years of Merkel, EU summit could mark end of an era

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Analysis: Outgoing German chancellor attended her first summit in 2005 with likes of Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac

When Angela Merkel attended her first EU summit in December 2005, her fellow leaders included Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac. It was a different world from the one that exists now as she attends what could be her last.

Europe’s divisions over the Iraq war were still raw. Blair was running the European Council, as the British held the EU’s rotating presidency. During the summit, the UK brokered a deal on the EU budget that cut the British rebate to pay for enlargement into central and eastern Europe.

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Violence towards refugees at Libyan detention centres forces MSF to pull out

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Medical charity says abuse and attacks have escalated as more migrants are intercepted at sea and camps become increasingly overcrowded

Increasing violence towards refugees and migrants held in Libyan detention centres has forced Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its operations at two facilities, the medical charity said.

MSF said its teams witnessed guards beating detainees, including those seeking treatment from MSF doctors, during a visit to the Mabani detention centre in Tripoli last week.

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