By pursuing an agreement, the government appears ready to adopt “unnecessarily stringent” EU SPS controls on imports from non-EU countries, said Jenney. This risks triggering “thousands of additional and unnecessary border delays, considerably more inspections, more paperwork and port congestion — every added layer acting as a compounding financial penalty on trade,” he warned. Analysis […]
Continue ReadingVon der Leyen’s remarks generated headlines in Turkey, a longtime EU candidate country and key NATO ally. A Commission spokesperson later told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency that the Commission president had meant to recognize the country’s “geopolitical clout, size and ambition.” That clarification didn’t pass muster with Michel, who on Wednesday took to X to […]
Continue ReadingEU leaders on Thursday and Friday meet in Cyprus to discuss how to deal with the situation in Iran, and the energy crisis that it has caused, as well as broader security questions and the bloc’s next long-term budget. Scroll down for news and analysis.
Continue ReadingThe note, which was included with papers relating to Mandelson’s appointment released on March 11, throws additional light on how Starmer approached questions about Mandelson. The episode has already cost Mandelson, the PM’s chief of staff and the head of the foreign office their jobs and Starmer is facing calls to resign over his handling […]
Continue ReadingInflation to rebound Rising energy prices will likely push inflation back toward 3 percent this year and next, the government said — prompting financial markets to expect two European Central Bank rate hikes this year. ECB officials say they won’t overreact to what may be a short-lived blip, but have warned that they will raise […]
Continue ReadingAfter initially agreeing to the loan in December, Budapest blocked it in February as a dispute flared over the pipeline. Orbán accused Zelenskyy of slow-walking repairs to the infrastructure in retaliation for Hungary’s friendly relations with Russia. Zelenskyy sounded optimistic the cash would finally reach Ukraine. “The unblocking is the right signal under the current […]
Continue ReadingYvette Cooper The U.K.’s current foreign secretary was keen to remind MPs she wasn’t running the Foreign Office when the seeds of the Mandelson saga were sown. Asked about the Doyle revelation in the House of Commons Tuesday, Cooper said: “Obviously, I was the home secretary at the time that I understand that took place, […]
Continue ReadingIran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two foreign ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to a semi-official state news agency, a major escalation coming just hours after President Donald Trump announced he was extending a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. The state-linked Tasnim News Agency said that the captured vessels were “operating without […]
Continue ReadingDie AfD sucht nach einer außenpolitischen Linie und lässt sich dabei von jemandem beraten, den die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung nicht mehr einlädt. Alexander Rahr, bis 2022 bezahlter Gazprom-Berater in Brüssel und heute Leiter der Eurasischen Gesellschaft in Berlin, stand auf der Gästeliste einer Sonderklausur des AfD-Arbeitskreises Außen für dieses Wochenende. Was der Fall Rahr über die echte […]
Continue ReadingMacGregor said she agreed to the meeting in an effort to “educate” the party leadership and deter them from an exit from the European energy market. According to MacGregor, the National Rally’s proposals ahead of a 2024 snap parliamentary election were a wake-up call for Engie and other energy firms. “We suddenly thought: ‘Oh my […]
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