The Government has nominated former European commissioner Phil Hogan as Ireland’s candidate to contest for a senior job at the United Nations. Ministers agreed to back the former Fine Gael politician as Ireland’s pick in the race to take over as the next director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Department […]
Continue ReadingThe Government is to discuss a recommendation that Ireland back former European commissioner Phil Hogan in a contest for a senior job at the United Nations. A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday is expected to discuss signing off on a recommendation from an internal department process that Ireland nominate Hogan for the international role. The Department […]
Continue ReadingIt was not exactly a quiet weekend on the international scene, and military action in Iran, the Middle East and the Gulf looks set to dominate much of the political discourse here over the coming days. The massive wave of US and Israeli attacks on Iran – and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – […]
Continue ReadingWhen I was young and even more foolish than I am now, myself and a friend hitchhiked around Europe. We had done this kind of thing before, but on this occasion I got it wedged into my head that we should have an adventure. I wanted to cross the Iron Curtain. My friend agreed with […]
Continue ReadingWhen Rachel Harper approached other primary school principals in Greystones, Co Wicklow, three years ago to discuss heightened anxiety levels among older pupils she had no idea she was starting a journey that would bring the world’s media to her door. Those early conversations led to a voluntary ban on smartphones across eight primary schools […]
Continue ReadingSocial networks could in future be treated as publishers if and when they make harmful and illegal content available, the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence has said. Niamh Smyth said she felt “very strongly” that the Irish Government needs to see if it can legislate to treat social networks like publishers. If the proposal […]
Continue ReadingAfter nearly two decades of intermittent negotiations, India and the European Union (EU) have announced the conclusion of a landmark free trade agreement, hailed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as the “mother of all deals.” Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hailed the “historic” trade deal with the European Union, which came after nearly […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union and India concluded a free-trade agreement after nearly two decades of negotiations, as both sides seek to deepen economic ties and offset the impact of Washington’s tariff policies. The deal will reduce tariffs on Irish whiskey and certain food exports. “We have concluded the mother of all deals,” European Commission president Ursula […]
Continue ReadingPolicymakers in Brussels and other European capitals are scrambling to calibrate their response to Donald Trump’s latest barrage of tariff threats. Things are expected to move quickly over the next three days. An emergency summit of the EU’s 27 leaders in Brussels on Thursday may not be the last time the heads of government and […]
Continue ReadingIn the last 72 hours, a question has crystallised in European capitals: is US president Donald Trump mad, bad or both? This is neither a frivolous nor a hyperbolic question. Nor, of course, can any clinical answer be offered. But balanced and rational individuals do not write to allied prime ministers as Trump did this […]
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