Ukraine’s entry into the European Union would help guarantee its security and help ward off any future Russian attack in the event of a peace deal, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said. European leaders are grappling to keep Washington onside in the stop-start negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, while at […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union is reportedly demanding guarantees the UK will compensate the bloc if a future government reneges on the Brexit “reset” agreement British prime minister Keir Starmer is currently negotiating. The termination clause is a stark reminder of the painful and costly divorce in which the EU set up a colossal €5.4 billion fund […]
Continue ReadingIrish farmers have gathered for a rolling tractor protest in Athlone as anger grows over the progression of the EU-Mercosur deal. On Friday, the EU ambassador approved a trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – but it still needs to be backed by the European Parliament. The Irish Government voted against the deal […]
Continue ReadingBack in 2017, in the early days of Leo Varadkar’s period as taoiseach, he was fond of referring to Ireland as “an island at the centre of the world”. It was a phrase that reflected both Varadkar’s facility for a catchy soundbite but also Ireland’s good fortune in the second half of the 2010s, as […]
Continue ReadingIf Astrid Lindgren, the creator of Pippi Longstocking, had written Nordic westerns then she would have set them in a place like Nuuk. A sprawl of multicoloured wooden homes on snowy hills, Nuuk feels like a frontier town and, as the world’s most northerly capital city, is tucked into the southwestern coast of Greenland. The […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union (EU) has approved a trade deal with a bloc of South American countries, opening up a big new market for European producers but likely drawing backlash from farmers. The Mercosur trade deal has for years been a contentious flashpoint between efforts to expand the union’s global influence and the powerful farming lobby […]
Continue ReadingThe Government has decided not to back a significant European Union trade deal with a South American bloc in a move that risks damaging relations with Brussels but preserves Coalition stability. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the decision, which came after speculation that the Coalition could change course and back the Mercosur agreement, was due to […]
Continue ReadingThe British government may be saying as little as possible to upset Donald Trump but it is still frantically reassessing the UK’s place in the world, with implications for Ireland, North and South. Much of this has manifested itself as a fresh debate over Brexit, directly and indirectly connected to defence. The UK wants to […]
Continue ReadingEuropean leaders are pushing for “legally binding” assurances that western allies would jointly guarantee Ukraine’s security from a future Russia attack, as a core element of any peace deal to end the brutal conflict. A Paris summit of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, attended by the leaders of Europe’s major powers, plus US officials, […]
Continue ReadingIrish doctor Lorraine Nolan has taken over as head of the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), the Lisbon-based organisation that provides independent research and analysis on all aspects of drug use. Elected to the position last June, Dr Nolan succeeds Belgium’s Alex Goosdeel, who led the organisation for a decade. She is the organisation’s fourth […]
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