European Union

EU launches negotiations to deepen trade relations with Eastern and Southern Africa countries

In Mauritius, the EU started negotiations with five Eastern and Southern Africa partners (so-called ESA: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe) to deepen the existing Economic Partnership Agreement. Given the…

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Europe third-quarter earnings outlook deteriorates as trade war, Brexit bite

European companies are heading for their worst quarterly earnings in three years as revenue drops for the first time since early 2018, according to the latest Refinitiv data, underscoring concerns…

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Zagreb to See Over 160 Events During EU Presidency

The coordinator of Croatia's EU presidency, Gordan Markotić, said that during the country's chairmanship of the EU 161 events would be organised in the Croatian capital city and that around…

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Reports indicate no chance of Croatian Schengen entry for at least two more years

Croatian media is reporting that the Republic of Croatia will not be part of the Schengen area for at least another two years, despite the fact the European Commission is…

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Corporate Dispatch Europe Explained – The Week Ahead

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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European economy faces growing risks from Brexit

Economic growth in the European Union is slowing down as the bloc faces increasing risks from global trade tensions and the unclear outcome of Brexit, the EU’s top economic commissioner…

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MEPs reject Romanian and Hungarian nominees for European Commission

Members of the European Parliament on Thursday rejected the Romanian and Hungarian nominees for the next European Commission over concerns about potential conflicts of interest. The decisions by the Parliament's…

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Joint AU-EU-UN Taskforce tries to find a solution to the migrant and refugee situation in Libya

The AU–EU–UN Tripartite Taskforce on the Situation of Stranded Migrant and Refugees in Libya met this week in New York in the margins of the high-level General Debate of…

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Nantes is European Capital of Innovation 2019

The city of Nantes in north-west France is the European Capital of Innovation 2019, the Commission announced at the European Research and Innovation Days. The title was awarded to Nantes…

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English the most popular foreign language studied in the EU

The latest Eurostat figures show that English is, by far, the most popular foreign language to be studied in the EU. Nearly 98% of pupils learned English in lower secondary…

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Activist protest during Malta Ministerial Meeting on Migration at Fort St. Angelo

Activists set banners 'EU Get your Ships Together!' during a Ministerial Meeting on Migration at Fort St. Angelo in Vittoriosa, Malta, 23 September 2019. Interior ministers of Germany, France, Finland,…

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EU Council vote backs Romania’s Kovesi for European prosecutor job

COREPER, the executive body of the Council of the European Union, voted on September 19 in favour of Romanian Laura Codruta Kovesi’s candidacy for the position of chief prosecutor of…

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Fake and potentially dangerous goods worth nearly €740 million stopped at EU customs in 2018

New figures released by the European Commission show that the number of interceptions of fake goods being imported into the EU increased in 2018 due to many small parcels in…

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Britain shares partial plans with EU to break Brexit deal deadlock

Britain has submitted some written documents to the EU to try and break the Brexit deadlock. A UK government spokesperson confirmed the "confidential technical non-papers which reflect the ideas the…

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Apple takes fight against 13-billion-euro EU tax order to court

Apple will launch a legal challenge on Tuesday to a European Commission order to pay 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) in Irish back taxes in a landmark case in the…

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No 10 plays down hopes of Brexit breakthrough

Downing Street has played down the prospect of an early breakthrough in Brexit talks despite hopes of a compromise on the Irish backstop, as Boris Johnson prepares to meet the…

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The European Union continues to lead the global fight against climate change

The European Commission has adopted a Communication reaffirming the EU's commitment to accelerated climate ambition. Preparing for the Climate Action Summit by the United Nations Secretary General in New York…

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Serbia determined to join Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union in spite of EU warnings

Serbia’s plan to join a Russian-led economic union is drawing ire from the European Union, which the Balkan nation says it wants to be part of. The EU’s executive commission…

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EU countries lost €137 billion in VAT revenues in 2017, Malta registers large decrease in VAT losses

EU countries lost €137 billion in Value-Added Tax (VAT) revenues in 2017 according to a study released by the European Commission today. The so-called 'VAT Gap' - or the overall…

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Switzerland unlikely to sign own trade agreement with EU prior to Brexit

Switzerland is unlikely to sign its own trade agreement with the EU prior to Brexit, according to Economy Minister Guy Parmelin. In a statement to Sonntags Zeitung, Parmelin expressed pessimism…

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Michel Barnier ‘not optimistic’ about avoiding no-deal Brexit

The European Union's top Brexit negotiator has said he is not optimistic about avoiding a no-deal scenario as he cannot meet Britain's demands to scrap the Irish backstop. Michel Barnier…

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The US, the EU, Iceland, and Norway Sign Agreement To Remove Time Constraints on Air Carrier Leases of Aircraft with Crew

The United States, the European Union, Iceland, and Norway signed an agreement to remove one-sided time constraints on U.S. air carrier leases of aircraft with crew in the lucrative U.S.-EU…

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EU against Russia’s return to G7

The European Union is against making any unconditional invitation to Russia to let it rejoin talks among the G7 world leaders, a senior official with the bloc said. This week…

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EU plans sweeping regulation of facial recognition

The European Commission is exploring ways to impose strict limits on the use of facial recognition technology to stamp out creeping public surveillance of European citizens. The European Commission is…

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IMF recommends scrapping age limit for Georgieva

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said its executive board recommended the removal of the age limit for its managing director, a move needed for European nominee, the Bulgarian Kristalina…

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Free movement for EU citizens will end on day one of a no-deal Brexit

Free movement for EU citizens will end on day one of a no-deal Brexit, under new Home Office plans – despite warnings of chaos and of people trapped in legal…

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French and Dutch seem to block Albania’s EU accession talks – Ambassador

Albania is at the "end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end" of its accession to the European Union, the bloc's ambassador to Albania has said and reported…

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Jeremy Corbyn asks for Boris Johnson to be blocked from forcing no-deal during an election

Jeremy Corbyn is demanding a block on Brexit during an autumn general election campaign, accusing Boris Johnson of plotting an abuse of power to force no deal. Corbyn has urged…

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Powerful films explore European identity at Malta’s Summer Cinema

The Summer Cinema is showing two original films inspired by the European identity. Directed by established filmmakers, the new films present incisive and stirring interpretations of the worldviews adopted by…

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Europeans upbeat about the state of the European Union, immigration remains the main concern

A new Eurobarometer survey released today shows a strong increase in citizens’ positive perception of the European Union across the board – from the economy to the state of democracy.…

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New EU – US deal to sell more American beef to Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump announced a deal on Friday to sell more American beef to Europe. The European Commission has stressed that any beef deal will not increase overall beef…

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Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva selected by EU for IMF top job

Kristalina Georgieva, the Bulgarian chief executive of the World Bank, has been picked as Europe's choice to lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a divisive 14-hour round of voting…

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Money laundering failures signal policy headaches for new Commission

In the twilight of its five-year administration, Jean-Claude Juncker's Commission on Wednesday released a package of reports that reveal how and why the EU failed to prevent a slew of…

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French parliament approves controversial EU-Canada trade deal CETA

France’s lower house of parliament approved a huge EU-Canada trade deal after a heated debate about its environmental impact and a rebellion by some ruling party members. In a vote…

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Luxembourg has the most cars per inhabitant in the EU

According to research by the European statistics office, Eurostat, Luxembourg has the most cars per inhabitant in the European Union. Among the EU Member States with the highest ’motorisation…

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EU warns that Boris Johnson ‘faces challenging times’, Trump congratulates Johnson

Incoming UK PM Boris Johnson faces "challenging" times, the EU has warned, as it reacted to his election as new Conservative leader. The European Commission's newly elected President, Ursula von…

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EU expresses concern over Israeli demolition of Palestinian buildings

The European Union expressed concerns on 22 July over Israeli demolition of ten Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem, containing some 70 apartments. “Israel’s settlement policy, including actions taken in that…

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Turkey plans to deploy fourth drill ship off Cyprus

Turkey is set to deploy a fourth ship to explore for gas and oil off the coast of Cyprus in defiance of EU sanctions imposed to end Ankara’s illegal operations…

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Austria confirms Hahn as its European commissioner

Austria confirmed that it wants Johannes Hahn, the current European Commissioner for enlargement, to stay on as its member of the next commission, headed by Ursula von der Leyen. The…

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Ursula von der Leyen warns hard Brexit would be massive blow for both sides

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian and four other European newspapers the European commission’s new president has said a hard Brexit would have “massively negative consequences” for both Britain…

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EU interior ministers fail to find compromise on Mediterranean refugee rescue

European Union interior ministers meeting in Finland on Thursday failed to strike a stopgap deal to address ongoing disagreements about the bloc's migration policies, particularly issues of who should take…

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EU foreign ministers meet to discuss Iran nuclear deal

EU foreign ministers are meeting on Monday to discuss the latest developments concerning the Iran nuclear deal. They will try to flesh out a plan to convince Iran and the…

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EU’s satellite navigation system Galileo suffers service outage

Europe's satellite-navigation system, Galileo, has suffered a major outage. The network has been offline since Friday due to what has been described as a "technical incident related to its ground…

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Latvia warns that European leaders fail to grasp ‘hardening’ of UK view on Brexit

Edgars Rinkēvičs, Latvia's Foreign Minister has warned that a hard Brexit could be made more likely because European Union leaders have failed to grasp the hardening of opinion…

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Romano Prodi urges Europe to stick together

In an interview with The South China Morning Post, former European Commission President and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said that if France, Italy fail to maintain unity, Europe will…

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EU Foreign Affairs Council to address topical issues, Iran, Iraq and the Central African Republic

The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union will meet in Brussels on 15 July 2019. The meeting will be chaired by the High Representative of the Union for…

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Golden visa investment scheme in Portugal falls 23%

Investment in so-called “golden” visas, the process whereby non-EU citizens can “buy” residence visas in Portugal, fell 23 percent in the first half of the year. A total of 7,583…

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Germany calls for EU migrant redistribution ‘coalition’

Germany's foreign minister says willing EU countries should redistribute migrants saved in the Mediterranean Sea. Some EU countries have vehemently opposed any form of redistribution in recent years. Foreign Minister…

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New EU Council Horizontal Working Party established to counter hybrid threats

The Permanent Representatives Committee, Coreper, decided on 11 July 2019 to establish a new dedicated working party on countering hybrid threats. The mission of the working party is to…

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EU signals sanctions on Turkey over Cyprus drilling

The European Union will put on hold high-level talks with Ankara and negotiations on an air transport agreement, as well as freezing funding for Turkey next year, over “illegal” drilling…

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World Population Day: EU registers more deaths than births

As the world commemorates World Population Day, an annual event, observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues European Union statistic paint a…

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Photo Story: New sarcophagus for Chernobyl

The European Union (EU) has officially passed the keys to the New Safe Confinement (sarcophagus), constructed atop the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant’s reactor number four destroyed in 1986, to Ukraine…

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EU’s 2018 bank stress test considered too mild

Last year’s European Union bank stress test did not appropriately reflect systemic risks, EU auditors said on Wednesday, a shortfall that may have produced misleading results for some lenders,…

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CDU leader warns against blocking von der Leyen nomination

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, head of Merkel's Christian Democrat party (CDU), warned her junior coalition partners against blocking the appointment of a German, Ursula von der Leyen, to head the European Commission,…

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Poland criticises the way EU is dealing with North Macedonia and Albania accession

Polish President Andrzej Duda scolded the European Union on Friday for delaying accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia, days after the EU’s current eastern European members lost out in…

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Juncker complains about von der Leyen nomination

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the process to appoint his successor, Germany's Ursula von der Leyen, was not transparent and marked an unwelcome break with the practice of choosing…

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Opposition grows in Germany for Ursula von der Leyen’s nomination for EU President

Only one third of Germans believe their defense minister, Ursula von der Leyen, is a good choice to lead the EU Commission, according to a Deutschlandtrend survey, organized by Germany's…

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