Author: staff

Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, warned last weekend that he expects America’s 10 percent tariff on U.K. goods is “here to stay” despite the U.K.’s efforts. | Pool photo by Bonnie Cash/EPA When the U.S. raised tariffs on the metal imports to 50 percent at the start of June, the U.K.’s tariff rate remained at 25 percent thanks to the trade deal Trump struck with Starmer in May. But further tariff relief for the sectors, promised in the deal, is yet to materialize. Getting Trump to cut both reciprocal and steel and aluminum tariffs will be difficult, said…

BRUSSELS — The European Commission made its opening play in what will be two years of haggling over the bloc’s spending plan for the seven-year period from 2028. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen insisted the €1.8 trillion plan would make the EU’s cash pot “larger,” “smarter” and “sharper,” and that the budget was “the most ambitious ever proposed.” But, in a sign of the heated negotiations to come, disappointed lawmakers were quick to contradict von der Leyen’s claims, saying the Commission has misleadingly represented adjustments to the — major — inflation in recent years as an increase in the…

They said “anything that gets more U.S. weaponry into Ukraine faster is good news,” confirming the U.K.’s support for the plan, in common with Germany, but in contrast to France, which was not on an early list of backers. Merz and Starmer will be able to pore over the nitty-gritty, such as who pays for what and in which framework, along with more specific details like whether Europeans will buy U.S. weapons to be delivered to the battlefield, or whether they will give Ukraine weapons from existing stockpiles and buy replacements from the U.S. Limited movement While the two countries…

To the annoyance of MEPs and parliamentary officials, Serafin arrived four hours late. The presentation was riddled with confusion about what the numbers exactly meant and how they’d be calculated, and lawmakers were outraged for not having received the figures beforehand. “We hope you brought some document with you as well, as this distinguished house has not been informed,” lawmaker Siegfried Mureșan sniped at Serafin, who hails from the same center-right group. In fact, even von der Leyen’s team of commissioners weren’t aware of the overall figures until a few hours earlier. Explaining the murky process, one official close to…

The plan says that the sectors covered by linked emissions trading should include “electricity generation, industrial heat generation (excluding the individual heating of houses), industry, domestic and international maritime transport and domestic and international aviation.” It would also create a procedure to “further expand the list of sectors” in the future. The agreement would “require that the cap and reduction pathway of the United Kingdom are at least as ambitious as the cap and reduction pathway followed by the Union” but also “not constrain” the EU and U.K. from “pursuing higher environmental ambition, consistent with their international obligations.” Under the…

European Council President António Costa expressed concern Wednesday about Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian defense ministry in Damascus. “Very concerned by the Israeli strikes on Damascus today. Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity need to be respected. I call on all parties to refrain from violence and to de-escalate,” he wrote on X. Earlier in the day the Israel Defense Forces had bombarded the defense ministry during a live Al Jazeera broadcast, with video showing a massive impact on government buildings. One person was killed and 18 were injured, Syrian officials said. Israel said the attack was a response to a clash…

A Turkish criminal court sentenced jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to one year and eight months in prison for insulting and threatening Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, Turkish media reported on Wednesday.  İmamoğlu has been in jail since March in relation to a separate corruption case and denies all charges against him. This latest conviction stems from his criticism of Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek, who he accused of targeting opposition figures. In March, İmamoğlu’s arrest sparked massive protests, which Ankara suppressed with thousands of arrests. Since then, Turkish authorities have arrested…

New rule of law conditions for payments in the next budget cycle proposed on Wednesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen could impact Hungary and threaten to cut off more funding channels from Brussels, according to draft rules seen by Euronews. “The rule of law must be respected unconditionally, and this is binding on all the bases of the EU budget. But with the next multiannual financial framework we will go further,” said von der Leyen.”In the National Regional Partnership Plans, we are making the rule of law and fundamental rights a condition for investment and a focus…

En juin, le Parlement a désinvité de hauts cadres de la société à une audition sur les conditions de travail dans les entrepôts, les élus estimant que les intervenants proposés n’occupaient pas des postes assez élevés pour répondre de manière crédible aux accusations visant l’entreprise. L’audition était censée ouvrir la voie à une trêve, après que l’institution a observé une série d’absences similaires, et était une chance pour Amazon de récupérer ses badges pour ses lobbyistes, selon des communications internes vues par POLITICO. Amazon avait proposé d’envoyer Stefano Perego et Lucy Cronin, respectivement vice-présidents des opérations et de la politique…

Her pro-neutrality and often anti-Western agenda could prove a point of attack for her opponents, given how she often has traveled in the jet stream of Ireland’s far-left fringe, most controversially in a 2018 visit to Syria that featured zero criticism of the dictator then in charge, Bashar al-Assad. The outcome of Ireland’s presidential election — which the government could schedule at any time between September and early November — will depend on whether Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin decide to field their own candidates. Martin, the great survivor of Irish politics currently serving his second term as taoiseach, has…