Tag: European Union

EU to give financial assistance to illegal drug campaign in the Philippines

QUEZON City, Philippines – The European Union is considering giving financial assistance to the anti-drug campaign of the Philippines. EU Ambassador to the Manila Franz Jessen said that EU is conducting a study into funding the drug rehabilitation of drug dependents in the country. EU was one of the earlier critics of the anti-drug campaign in the Philippines due to the numerous cases of extra judicial killings.  

Britain’s EU ambassador quits before Brexit trigger

by Robin MILLARD with Danny KEMP in Brussels Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Britain’s ambassador to the European Union resigned on Tuesday, adding uncertainty to the Brexit process less than three months before the UK is due to trigger its departure negotiations. Ivan Rogers, a highly-regarded diplomat who had been due to end his four-year stint in October, stepped down as London prepares to invoke Article 50, which starts a two-year countdown to […]

Brexit deal needed by October 2018, says EU negotiator

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – by Danny KEMP Britain must broker its deal to leave the EU by October 2018, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday, warning that time for talks was running out. Frenchman Barnier added that an interim deal to soften the blow of Britain’s departure was “difficult to imagine” unless it quickly told Brussels what it wanted from a Brexit deal. Despite the tight new timeline Prime Minister Theresa […]

Eurosceptics delight as Italy’s Renzi quits

ROME, Italy (AFP) – by Ella IDE Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi prepared to hand in his resignation Monday after suffering a ruinous referendum defeat cheered by populist leaders but sparking fresh jitters in Europe. “My experience of government finishes here,” said a downcast Renzi after acknowledging a defeat of almost 60-40 percent over his constitutional reform bid, which threw the future of one of the eurozone’s biggest economies into turmoil. Renzi, 41, will meet […]

Schulz to quit EU parliament chief post for German politics: media

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German politician Martin Schulz plans to quit his post as European Parliament chief to join next year’s election campaign at home, where he may mount a challenge against Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to media reports Thursday. Schulz, 60, “will make a switch to Berlin”, reported Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, which said the German veteran politician will not seek a third term as European Parliament chief. Spiegel Online also said he “will make […]

Family of murdered British lawmaker pledge love not hate as killer convicted

ENGLAND, United k=Kingdom (AFP) — The family of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox spoke of love, not hate after a man obsessed with Nazis and extreme right-wing ideas was sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday (November 23). Cox was killed in a frenzied street attack which stunned Britain a week before the European Union referendum on June 16, 2016. Thomas Mair, 53, shot Cox three times and repeatedly stabbed the 41-year-old mother of two […]

Brexit to spark UK slowdown, blow hole in public purse

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – by Roland JACKSON Ben PERRY Brexit will spark an economic slowdown and ravage public finances, forcing a multi-billion-pound spike in state borrowing over the next five years, a gloomy mini-budget revealed Wednesday. Britain is predicted to borrow an extra £122 billion ($152 billion, 143 billion euros) in the period to 2021, according to official forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. About half of that budget black hole — or […]

Far-right loner jailed for life in murder of British MP

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – by Edouard GUIHAIRE James PHEBY A far-right extremist was sentenced on Wednesday to life imprisonment without the possibility of release for murdering British MP Jo Cox a week before Britain’s EU referendum in a “politically motivated” attack. “Because she was a member of parliament your crime has an additional dimension that calls for particular punishment,” judge Alan Wilkie told Thomas Mair, 53, as he issued the rare “whole life term” […]

Obama in Europe urges ‘course correction’ on globalization

  by Jerome Cartillier with John Hadoulis in Athens Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) –  US President Barack Obama arrived in Germany on Wednesday on the final leg of a European tour aimed at reassuring key allies about transatlantic ties under his successor Donald Trump. Obama touched down in Berlin for a visit due to last until Friday, during which he will hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as the leaders of Britain, […]

EU split on defence plans after Trump win

  by Bryan McManus BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – Sharp differences surfaced Monday as EU foreign ministers debated ambitious plans to boost the bloc’s military role, amid fears Donald Trump’s election jeopardises Washington’s historic security guarantee. US president-elect Trump has shocked Europe by casting doubt over US commitments to NATO unless European allies increase defence spending, sparking calls for the European Union to press ahead on its own. Britain has long opposed any such plans as […]

Obama on farewell tour to Europe fearful of ‘Trump effect’

by Jerome CARTILLIER WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Barack Obama will travel Monday to Greece and Germany in a final official visit designed, in a strange bit of political contortion, at reassuring worried Europeans about a man he once warned was “unfit” for the presidency: Donald Trump. The irony is cruel: In the name of a peaceful transition, the American president, having thoroughly denounced the billionaire Republican during the recent campaign, must now do his […]

Remaining Jungle migrants relocated after two days in limbo

CALAIS, France (AFP) – by Gina DOGGETT and Baptiste BECQUART Most of the migrants left wandering the Calais “Jungle” as it was being demolished were relocated Friday, including dozens of minors over whom France and Britain had traded barbs. After being left to fend for themselves for two days in the deserted burnt-out shantytown, around 100 stragglers boarded buses for shelters around the country. Around 50 minors, mostly Sudanese, were taken to a centre for […]