EU

EU ministers hold emergency talks in the wake of tensions at the Greek-Turkish borders

European Union countries offered more money on Wednesday for border policing in Greece and humanitarian aid in Syria's Idlib, but they were in a bind over Turkey as they sought…

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Albania and North Macedonia have stepped up their efforts at complying with EU requirements

Both Albania and North Macedonia have stepped up their efforts at complying with EU requirements in their bid to eventually join the bloc. In a formal report about both Balkan…

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Diplomatique.Expert – International Affairs Journal Edition 24

Is too much information fuelling anxiety about Coronavirus? How will the future relations between the EU and Britain be? Is the far-right too close for comfort? What are the latest…

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Boris Johnson will reject EU demand on human rights law

Boris Johnson is preparing to reject EU demands to guarantee that the UK will continue to be bound by European human rights laws once the country becomes fully independent, The…

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European Commission to create EU-wide biometric residence permit for British nationals living in EU

The European Commission has decided to create an EU-wide biometric residence document for all British nationals living in the bloc by the end of the post-Brexit transition period, according to POLITICO.…

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EU details socio-economic challenges ahead

China's coronavirus outbreak will affect the EU economy — it just isn't clear by how much. Such was the warning from Commission economic chief Paolo Gentiloni after he unveiled Wednesday's European…

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EU sets goalposts for next round Brexit talks

Negotiations over Britain’s future relationship with the EU appear on course for an acrimonious start after Michel Barnier poured scorn on Boris Johnson’s spokesman and suggested the new Northern Ireland…

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CommuniqEU – Financial Services

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch In its efforts to enhance investor protection around the continent, ESMA, the regulator…

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CommuniqEU Dispatch – Taxation

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch In its effort to combat tax fraud and enchance cooperation between national tax…

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CommuniqEU Dispatch – Environment

This article by Keith Zahra appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch The European Commission has announced an investment exceeding €100 million to support a…

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Brussels Viewpoint – Our Slice of Pie

This article by Denise Grech appeared first on Diplomatique.Expert (Edition 23) and is compiled by CiConsulta for Corporate Dispatch Last Thursday, EU member state leaders met in Brussels to decide on the…

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No high hopes for agreement on EU budget

EU leaders were deadlocked over the bloc’s next multiannual budget after lengthy summit talks on Thursday night laid bare rifts over how to fill the €60bn to €75bn funding gap…

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UK cannot have same trade deal with EU like Canada – Barnier

The UK cannot have the same trade deal with the EU as Canada, according to the bloc's chief negotiator. BBC reports Michel Barnier saying that the EU was ready to…

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Leaderless Germany needs to step up

This article by Matthew Bugeja was first published on this week's edition of Diplomatique.Expert, Corporate Dispatch's eJournal. This is one of those stories that a lot of people are not…

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Panama and UK Cayman Islands added on EU blacklist for tax havens

Finance ministers today added four countries to the EU’s blacklist for tax havens outside the bloc, including Panama and U.K. territory Cayman Islands. Ministers updated the naming and shaming exercise at…

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Britain ready for basic agreement like EU – Australia one

Britain is ready to trade with the European Union on basic international terms that the bloc currently follows with Australia if a more ambitious free trade agreement cannot be reached,…

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€1.15 billion pledged to help Albania after November earthquake

International donors pledged 1.15 billion euros on Monday to help Albania rebuild after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit the Balkan country in later November, killing 51 people. "This is phenomenal…

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AI, EU’s long-term budget and drinking-water quality on European Parliament Agenda

The impact of artificial intelligence and new rules on water quality are among the topics being dealt with in Parliament this week. On Tuesday, the environment committee will vote on…

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EU rejects Facebook’s proposals on Social Media regulation

The EU was reported of having immediately rejected Facebook’s “latest vision of how online content should be regulated, warning that the social media company will have to assume more responsibility…

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Britain warns that it won’t accept EU supervision of its economy

Britain's trade negotiator warned Monday that his government would not accept EU supervision of its economy in exchange for close trade ties. Senior diplomat Mark Frost told academics in Brussels…

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EU to launch new naval operation in the central Mediterranean to replace Operation Sophia

EU foreign affairs ministers have agreed to launch a new naval operation in the Central Mediterranean, with the old mission that was supposed to fulfill that brief — Operation Sophia…

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Choosing Huawei is choosing autocracy over democracy – Pelosi warns European countries

Top US officials have threatened and cajoled European allies as cracks in the western alliance were laid bare at the Munich transatlantic security conference, the Financial Times reports. Nancy Pelosi,…

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Europe needs to develop an appetite for power – Borrell

The governments of the European Union states need to be willing to intervene in international crises or risk prolonging paralysis in their foreign policy, the EU's top diplomat said on…

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UK government sees Brussels demands on new trade deal ridiculous

Demands made by Brussels ahead of Brexit trade talks are unreasonable and ridiculous, a government source is claiming as the UK prepares to start negotiations. A new Brussels blueprint says…

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Diplomatique.Expert Insight – Brexit – One battle over, another begins

This article appeared first on this week's Diplomatique.Expert, CorporateDispatch geopolitics insights journal. Brexit fatigue has become a real issue for many analysts and policy makers over the past three and…

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Diplomatique.Expert Insights – Huawei ‘threats’ do not dissuade UK

This article appeared first on this week's Diplomatique.Expert, CorporateDispatch geopolitics insights journal. Brexit undoubtedly dominated the news around the world this week, but another issue that took both London and…

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Trump recalled impeachment trial key witness the US Ambassador to EU in a ‘revenge’ move

President Donald Trump on Friday recalled U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, a key witness in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, NBC News reported. The move was reported hours…

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Macron says that Poland, Germany and France will lead post-Brexit Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for closer ties with Poland in shaping the European Union without Britain, in European security and relations with Russia.Poland's controversial judicial reforms, which…

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EU – UK Post-Brexit negotiations will start tomorrow

Brexit negotiations will begin as early as Monday — little more than 48 hours after Britain’s historic departure from the European Union — as the clock begins ticking on the…

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Diplomatique.Expert – BREXIT Commemorative Edition

The United Kingdom has left the European Union. As the clock struck 11 p.m. in London, the U.K. ceased to be a member of the bloc after 47 years. We…

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Britain leaves the European Union

After 47 years of membership and months of seemingly endless Brexit negotiations, the UK will leave the European Union. In a highly symbolic moment, two officials strode across the European…

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EU to dispatch two flights to evacuate 350 Europeans from Wuhan, China

The European Union is dispatching two flights to evacuate at least 350 healthy European citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan as a deadly new flu spreads in the region.…

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EU will not recommend banning Huawei

The EU will unveil a set of recommended measures that are “naturally strict and vigilant” at the end of January, European Digital Commissioner Thierry Breton said at a news conference…

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Germany calls for UN sanctions for countries breaking Libya arms embargo

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the UN should pass a resolution sanctioning any country that breaks the arms embargo on Libya. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made this point…

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Brexit will be an exercise in damage limitation – Barnier

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Monday warned Britain that its departure from the bloc later this week would have “negative consequences” and only ever be an…

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No EU deal on Libya unless Turkey accord scrapped – Greek PM

European Union will not agree to a political solution to Libya’s factional conflict unless Turkey and Libya abandon a maritime accord they signed in November, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis…

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Climate change results to be added in EU countries proposed fiscal vetting mechanism

The European Commission will this year begin to assess the green transition of EU states as part of its monitoring of national budgets, a top official said, in a new…

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Over half a million people imprisoned in EU in 2017

There were in all 589 000 prisoners in the EU in 2017, which is 9 per cent less than in 2012, when there were around 648,000 people in prison. A study,…

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Agenda Europe 20th – 26th January 2020

A quick glance at the main forthcoming events in the European Union including EU Council, Commission and Parliament meetings and other EU-related conferences and events. Events for the week of…

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Gibraltar could remain in Schengen Area post Brexit

British territory Gibraltar could remain in the European Union’s Schengen Area of free movement after Brexit, it’s been claimed. While London has said its Brexit deal will put an end…

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EU should consider sending troops to Libya – Borrell

The EU should consider sending troops to Libya to enforce a cease-fire in the North African country, the blocs's foreign policy chief said. “If there is a cease-fire in Libya,…

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Catalan separatist stripped of EP seat

Jailed Catalan separatist leader Oriol Junqueras is to be stripped of his seat in the European Parliament, the assembly's president said Friday. David Sassoli said in a statement that Junqueras' mandate…

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EU’s top diplomat and European foreign ministers called on Turkey to stop interfering in Libya

The EU’s top diplomat and the foreign ministers of France, Germany, the U.K. and Italy on Tuesday called on Turkey to stop interfering in Libya. POLITICO reports that in a…

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EU, Britain, France, Germany and Italy meeting to discuss Libya

An EU spokesman confirmed the the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrel and the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and Italy will meet on Tuesday afternoon in Brussels to…

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Swiss oppose plan to end free movement of citizens from EU – poll

Most of the Swiss seem to oppose a referendum campaign launched by the far right aimed at ending free movement of citizens from the European Union according to a poll…

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CiConsulta Geopolitics 2020 Forecast – The EU will become more outward looking, but just a little bit

For the first time in a long time, the new European Commission will look to flex its muscles outside of Europe’s borders by becoming a truly ‘geopolitical commission’. The problem…

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Doubts on post-Brexit transition period – EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan

Boris Johnson will dump his pledge to end the post-Brexit transition period by December 2020, EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan claimed, in a sign of deepening Brussels scepticism that talks…

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European subsidies cannot support sectors or technologies harmful to the environment – Von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen expressed her views on the future of Europe in an interview with the French news outlet Les Echos. "I feel that a period…

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Photo Story – European Council Family Picture

European leaders pose for a family picture during the European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium, 12 December 2019. An European Council meeting will be held in Brussels on 12 and…

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UK to be absent in this week’s European Council

Boris Johnson will not attend the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, nor will he send an official or envoy in his place, a spokesperson for the…

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Morals, money and power: the EU’s (in)action in Iran

Over 100 protesters were killed by Iranian government forces this week, after the government there hiked up petrol prices by a soaring 50 per cent. The move is directly tied…

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The week’s news in a cartoon

First published on POLITICO.eu, Belgium, November 16, 2019 | By Rytis Daukantas Via POLITICO

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Romania’s nominee Adina-Ioana Vălean confirmed as EU Commissioner

Romania’s candidate for commissioner, Adina-Ioana Vălean, was today given the green light by MEPs in the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee. A majority of committee coordinators gave their approval…

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Erdogan warns EU that sanctions for oil drilling in Cyprus will disrupt talks with bloc

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the European Union's decision to sanction Turkey over drilling off the coast of Cyprus could disrupt talks with the bloc, and he warned…

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ECB says that EU banks are lagging in executing Brexit plans

European Union banks have put in place all the plans for Brexit but execution is lagging as lenders await the outcome of negotiations between Britain and the EU, European Central…

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Romania proposes Adina-Ioana Vălean for European Commissioner

Romania’s Adina-Ioana Vălean has been picked to be the next transport commissioner by Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen. “The president-elect decided for Adina Vălean to take on the portfolio of…

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The risks of the France’s obstacle to North Macedonia and Albania’s EU membership

North Macedonia and Albania face a risk of surging nationalism and unravelling economic reforms after the EU closed the door for years on their hopes of joining the bloc, the…

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