A new wave of scam messages targeting people shopping on websites based outside the European Union is coming as criminals seek to exploit a significant rule change, the consumer watchdog has warned. Under rules coming into force early next week, deliveries shipped from outside the EU that have a value of less than €150 will […]
Continue ReadingThe Ombudsman for Children has warned that underinvestment in Tusla could impact its ability to meet demand amid a surge in referrals and an expanded brief. In correspondence to Minister for Children Norma Foley sent in April, Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon called for a review of the level of funding given to the child and […]
Continue ReadingIndividual Government departments risk doing “significant” harm to Ireland’s reputation among its European peers if there is any sense they are not pulling their weight during the upcoming EU presidency, internal documents state. There is a concern inside Government that the extra workload from the Council of the EU presidency could lead to a slowdown […]
Continue ReadingTaoiseach Micheál Martin walked into a two-day summit of European leaders this week in what he described as “listening mode”. It is less than a fortnight before Ireland takes on the Council of the European Union presidency, the first time it has held the influential position since 2013. Rather than being a central power broker […]
Continue ReadingThe Taoiseach has said the presumptive challenger to Keir Starmer for the keys to No 10 Downing Street has taken a “particular interest” in Ireland. Speaking in Brussels as EU government leaders continued their June summit, Micheál Martin congratulated Andy Burnham on his victory in the Makerfield byelection, saying the new Labour MP had a […]
Continue ReadingEuropean Council president António Costa should represent the EU in any future talks to agree a peace deal ending the Ukraine war, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. Leaders of the 27 EU states spent several hours discussing the war in Ukraine during a summit in Brussels on Thursday, where they debated the prospects of Russia […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union must speed up its years-long process of vetting countries before they can join the bloc, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said. The future enlargement of the 27-state union was a geopolitical “imperative” in a shifting world and would make Europe stronger, said the head of the EU’s executive arm […]
Continue ReadingMeta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among other apps competing for your attention on your smartphone, has a chequered history when it comes to runs-in with European Union regulators. But Meta struck a rare victory on Wednesday after the EU’s general court in Luxembourg said a European Commission move to regulate Facebook […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union and China are tooling up for a trade war with new coercive instruments to target each other’s companies. It could end badly for both of them. Tooling up for a trade war When Ursula von der Leyen emerged from a closed-door European Commission meeting about China last Friday, her officials issued the […]
Continue ReadingIn August, Icelanders will vote on whether the small Nordic island should restart negotiations with the European Union about joining the bloc. The referendum campaign has not taken off yet, but most agree questions about fishing rights, sovereignty and the euro will feature prominently when it does. Slotting Iceland into the 27-state union would be […]
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