Turkey on Friday expressed disappointment after an EU summit ended with a critical statement about Ankara’s rights record and no clear progress on a customs treaty or commitment on aid. The EU in March held out a string of incentives to convince President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to make good on pledges to mend fraught relations. […]
EU
Ukraine seeks answers from Germany, France over Putin summit
Ukraine on Friday called on Germany and France to shed light on the reasoning behind their short-lived proposal for the European Union to restart meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. EU leaders said Friday they had rejected the proposal from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, which came after US President Joe […]
Kremlin ‘regrets’ EU rejection of proposed Putin summit
The Kremlin on Friday said it “regretted” a decision by EU leaders to reject a proposal by Germany and France to resume summit meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “President Putin was and remains interested in establishing working relations between Moscow and Brussels,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. EU leaders said Friday they had […]
EU diplomat Borrel calls Tigray situation ‘appalling’
The EU’s chief diplomat decried Wednesday the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as “appalling” and pleaded with the world to “wake up and take action”. Josep Borrell issued the statement following a strike that killed or wounded dozens of people at a market in the town of Togoga as reports emerged of rebel advances in […]
Eurozone economy booms at fastest rate in 15 years
Business activity in the eurozone jumped at its fastest rate in 15 years this month, a closely watched survey said on Wednesday, as a reopened economy unleashed pent-up demand. Economic data group IHS Markit said the “impressive progress” of vaccinations was jumpstarting the single-currency area, fuelled by eased restrictions that are at their lowest since […]
After Biden, Blinken back to Europe to shore up Western unity
Days after Joe Biden’s first presidential trip abroad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed back to Europe Tuesday to keep up the work of building Western unity against a rising China. Blinken left Washington late Tuesday afternoon for Berlin, and will continue on to Paris and Rome, meeting the European Union’s two key powerbrokers, German […]
EU launches antitrust probe against Google over online ads
The EU launched a wide-ranging antitrust probe against Google Tuesday over concerns that it is forcing out rivals in the lucrative online advertising market. The investigation will “assess whether Google has violated EU competition rules by favouring its own online display advertising technology services”, a statement said. The probe narrows in on an important slice […]
UK, US strike deal over Airbus-Boeing dispute
Britain and the US have suspended retaliatory tariffs levied during a 17-year dispute over state aid for European planemaker Airbus and US rival Boeing, London announced Thursday. The moves came in the wake of a similar long-term deal between the European Union and US unveiled Tuesday. The Airbus-Boeing dispute, the longest-running in the history of […]
EU, US agree to prolong Airbus-Boeing tariff truce
The EU and US have agreed to prolong a truce in their 17-year Airbus-Boeing row for five years, marking a diplomatic victory during the visit of US President Joe Biden to Brussels, European sources said Tuesday. “We have found a good agreement that gives us the time to find a long-term solution,” a European source […]
EU court raps Germany for dirty air in cities
The EU’s top court ruled on Thursday that Germany continually violated upper limits for nitrogen dioxide, a polluting gas from diesel motors that causes major health problems, over several years. Germany infringed air quality rules “by systematically and persistently exceeding” the annual nitrogen dioxide limit in 26 out of 89 areas from 2010 to 2016, […]