The revelations in The Irish Times about Aughinish Alumina in Limerick came a day after Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine that killed four people and injured dozens more. While the Government has refused to arm Ukraine’s military, a plant in Ireland has exported vast amounts of alumina via its […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union is pulling its funding of a Rwandan military operation that helps to protect a huge natural gas project in Mozambique. It’s a murky story. The high price of gas in Cabo Delgado Rwanda warned last weekend it will withdraw its forces from northern Mozambique, where they have been fighting an insurgency led […]
Continue ReadingNot many politicians’ hearts are sent racing by the prospect of a debate on structural reforms of the European Union’s single market. A summit of the EU’s 27 leaders in Brussels on Thursday had been arranged to give momentum to internal tweaks that might give Europe more of an economic edge. All that has been […]
Continue ReadingThe US has launched new investigations into trading partners including the EU, Japan and Korea, as Donald Trump looks to shore up his tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down many of his previous levies. The US trade representative’s office on Wednesday unveiled an investigation into what it said was “excess capacity and production […]
Continue ReadingA drawn-out war in Iran that chokes the supply of oil from the Gulf could create a “substantial” economic shock to Europe, the European Union’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has warned. Long-term disruption to global oil supply and the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz would continue to drive up energy prices, leading […]
Continue ReadingCeann Comhairle Verona Murphy hosted a lunch to mark International Women’s Day (IWD) in the Members’ Restaurant on Thursday. It was just as well, because the Dáil didn’t seem to notice. On Tuesday, Ruth Coppinger of People Before Profit-Solidarity noted there was no discussion on IWD on the Dáil schedule this week. She thought it […]
Continue ReadingWhat a week. Seven days of relentless Israeli and US bombing, the assassination of the head of state and other potential leaders of Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the suspension of most oil and gas exports from the Gulf, closure of the world’s largest LNG refinery in Qatar, as well as Iran’s […]
Continue ReadingCatching up over dinner in an upmarket Brussels restaurant before Christmas, Phil Hogan told a tight-knit group of confidants he was mulling something of a political comeback. Hogan has a tradition of getting together with his old team from his days in the European Commission for a meal every year around December. The group were […]
Continue ReadingThe European Union appears to be doing better than Britain from the EU-UK “reset” in relations that began last year, according to a report from a Westminster committee. The House of Commons foreign affairs committee criticised the UK government for being too vague about its aims and objectives at the Lancaster House summit in London […]
Continue ReadingTikTok’s challenge to the Data Protection Commission’s (DPC) finding that the social media giant breached privacy laws in transferring European users’ personal data to China has opened before the High Court. In April 2025, following a lengthy investigation, the DPC concluded that TikTok breached the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules in sending […]
Continue Reading