Category Archives: Ursula von der Leyen

Brexit: Ursula von der Leyen to travel to UK for talks with Rishi Sunak

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European Commission chief heading to Britain with Northern Ireland deal expected as soon as Monday

Rishi Sunak is to hold face-to-face talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, with a deal to revise post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland expected as soon as Monday.

“Today, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and prime minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak agreed to continue their work in person towards shared, practical solutions for the range of complex challenges around the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland,” a joint statement said.

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NI protocol: Sunak criticised over ‘plans for EU chief to meet king’

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Meeting between Charles and Ursula von de Leyen cancelled, reports say, as Varadkar says deal ‘inching towards conclusion’

Rishi Sunak is facing criticism after reports that a meeting between King Charles and the president of the European Commission was cancelled days before the announcement of an expected deal on the Northern Ireland protocol.

According to reports, there had been plans for an in-person meeting between the king and Ursula von der Leyen, as part of a trip to the UK to seal the deal on the Brexit trading arrangements.

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Western leaders give cool response to China’s plan for Ukraine peace talks

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Nato secretary general says Beijing ‘does not have much credibility’ because of failure to condemn Russia’s invasion

Western leaders have largely dismissed a peace plan for Ukraine laid out by China’s government, arguing that Beijing does not have the international credibility to act as a mediator in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

China’s government called for peace talks while urging all parties to avoid nuclear escalation and end attacks on civilians, in a statement which appeared to maintain Beijing’s stance that the west was fuelling the conflict and which analysts dismissed as anodyne.

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Sunak urges Europe to use weapons stockpiles to help Ukraine war

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UK prime minister says Kyiv needs more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons

European countries should stop hoarding weapon stockpiles and give them to Ukraine to allow Kyiv to make a decisive assault, Rishi Sunak has told the Munich security conference.

The British prime minister said Ukraine needed more ammunition, air defence, heavy armoury and longer range weapons, amid frustration in London and Kyiv that some European powers are refusing to hand over arms on the basis they cannot afford to reduce their own defences.

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EU institutions in row over leaking of details of potential Zelenskiy visit

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Ukraine president reported to be planning trip to Brussels this week to meet EU leaders in person

Recriminations have broken out among EU officials after a possible visit by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to Brussels was leaked, raising concerns over his security.

Zelenskiy was reported to be planning a trip to Brussels this Thursday to meet EU leaders in person at a summit and address the European parliament in an extraordinary session.

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EU leaders to dampen Ukraine’s hopes of fast-track EU membership

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EU leaders will try to temper Kyiv’s expectations while avoiding negative public statements that could weaken morale

EU leaders will seek to cool Ukraine’s expectations of a fast track to membership at a summit with Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, as the bloc spars over how much encouragement to give its war-torn neighbour.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, are due to meet Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Friday for wide-ranging talks on the war, further sanctions on Russia and integrating Ukraine into the EU’s internal market.

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EU pledges to double military aid programme for Ukraine

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EU to train an extra 15,000 soldiers and prepare new sanctions against Russia

The EU has pledged to double a military aid programme for Ukraine by training an extra 15,000 soldiers as part of a blizzard of announcements aimed at showing that it will “stand by Ukraine for the long-haul”.

Speaking at the start of a two-day trip to Kyiv, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, reiterated that the EU aimed to have a tenth package of sanctions against Russia in place by 24 February, the first anniversary of the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.

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Ukraine urges world leaders to intensify war efforts on first day at Davos

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Kyiv officials ask allies at World Economic Forum to step up military supplies to defeat Russia

Ukraine has urged world leaders to intensify efforts to remove Vladimir Putin’s troops from its soil as the country’s war with Russia dominated the first full day of the gathering of the global elite in Davos.

With the war clouding the outlook for the global economy in 2023, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko, urged the country’s allies to step up supplies of military hardware so that Russia could be more quickly defeated.

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Ukraine: Kryvyi Rih residents urged to shelter as Russian missiles strike again

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Zelenskiy meets Von der Leyen in Kyiv as Russia steps up attacks on power and utilities providers

Russia hit the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih with cruise missiles again on Thursday, after a devastating strike the day before destroyed a reservoir dam and caused extensive flooding.

The latest attack on the home city of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, caused serious damage. Two missiles struck the same reservoir hit on Wednesday, which was being repaired, Kryvyi Rih’s military administrator, Oleksandr Vilkul, said. He urged residents to stay in shelters.

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EU calls for money to be clawed back from energy firms, saying profits must go ‘to those who need it most’ – politics live

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Liz Truss has stated her opposition to windfall taxes but the European Commission says energy profits must be shared

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, says the UK is facing a “crisis of income”. She says workers should get a better share of corporate profits.

This has parallels with the point Ursula von der Leyen was making about profits in her speech this morning (see 9.35am), although von der Leyen, a German Christian Democrat who has little in common with Graham, was just talking about the energy sector.

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‘Nothing is decided’: EU energy ministers clash over price cap on Russian gas

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Countries that import large volumes fear Kremlin would respond by halting all gas flows, plunging them into recession

EU energy ministers have clashed over a plan to put a price cap on Russian gas, casting doubt on whether the measure will go ahead.

Speaking after emergency talks in Brussels in response to surging gas and electricity prices, the EU’s energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, said “nothing is decided” on proposals to curb Russia’s income.

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EU must act now on ‘catastrophic’ energy price spike, says European Council chief

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Charles Michel says bloc must address price caps and has been too late in putting ‘concrete proposals on the table’

The EU must “make up for lost time” in finding urgent answers to an energy price spike that is a “catastrophe” for households and businesses, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, has said.

Michel, who chairs EU leader summits, said the bloc needed to address the question of price caps, an idea backed by many EU member states.

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Poland threatens to turn ‘all our cannon’ on EU in rule-of-law row

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Ruling party steps up rhetoric by suggesting it could unseat European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen

Poland’s national-conservative government has significantly toughened its rhetoric in its rule-of-law standoff with Brussels, threatening to turn “all our cannon” on the European Commission and if necessary build a coalition to unseat its president.

If the EU executive “tries to push us against the wall we will have no choice but to pull out all the weapons in our arsenal” and respond “an eye for an eye”, said Krzysztof Sobolewski, the general secretary of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

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Human rights groups criticise EU’s Azerbaijan gas deal

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Agreement with autocratic ruler to double supplies within five years comes as EU seeks to reduce reliance on Russian energy

Human rights groups have criticised an EU deal to ramp up gas supplies from Azerbaijan, as Europe scrambles to secure non-Russian sources of energy.

The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Monday hailed Azerbaijan as a “crucial” and “reliable” energy supplier, as she announced an agreement with Baku to expand the southern gas corridor, the 3,500km pipeline bringing Caspian Sea gas to Europe.

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‘Ukraine’s future is in the EU’: Zelenskiy welcomes granting of candidate status

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Move opens door to EU membership amid outrage over the brutality of the unprovoked Russian attack

European leaders have granted Ukraine candidate status, in a historic decision that opens the door to EU membership for the war-torn country and deals a blow to Vladimir Putin.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels approved Ukraine’s candidate status on Thursday night, nearly four months after the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, launched his country’s bid to join the bloc in the early days of the Russian invasion. Moldova was also given candidate status.

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EU will likely grant Ukraine candidate status to join bloc, says Ursula von der Leyen

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pushing for rapid admission, and says the decision will determine the future of Europe

The EU executive will next week make a recommendation on whether Ukraine should be given candidate status to join the bloc, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

Such a recommendation would be a preliminary step on a long road to full membership, and Ukraine would need the backing of all 27 EU governments before candidate status was given. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been pushing for rapid admission into the EU to provide the country with more security since the Russian invasion.

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Ukraine renews diplomatic push for speedy EU membership

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Effort to win over doubters in Berlin, Paris and other capitals and start accession process

Ukrainian officials are embarking on a concerted diplomatic push to start the country’s journey towards EU membership, as scepticism remains in a number of western European capitals about a fast-track approach.

Since Russia’s invasion, many in Europe, including Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, have spoken in favour of putting Ukraine on a speedy path to EU accession by granting it candidate status.

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EU approves Poland Covid recovery fund despite judicial concern

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European Commission to decide whether Poland has met requirements to reform its legal system

The European Commission has approved a long-delayed Covid recovery plan for Poland, overriding concerns that Warsaw is making cosmetic changes to its heavily criticised legal system to unlock EU cash.

The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, is expected to sign the agreement in Warsaw on Thursday, although Poland will have to initiate further judicial reforms to access €35.4bn (£30bn) in recovery grants and loans.

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EU leaders agree to partial embargo of Russian oil imports

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Some 75% of imports will be banned and Sberbank ejected from Swift but Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia to keep supplies

The European Union has agreed to an embargo on most Russian oil imports after late-night talks at a summit in Brussels.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, hailed the deal as a “remarkable achievement”, after tweeting on Monday night that sanctions will immediately impact 75% of Russian oil imports, “cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine”.

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Ursula von der Leyen says Putin must pay ‘high price’ as she proposes oil ban

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European Commission chief says Russian supply of crude would be prohibited in EU within six months

Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a total ban on Russian oil imports to the EU, saying Vladimir Putin had to pay a “high price for his brutal aggression” in Ukraine.

Member states in Brussels are scrutinising a proposed sixth package of sanctions, but in a speech on Wednesday the European Commission president said Russian oil flows had to stop.

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