Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU warned Britain on Thursday that time is running out to reach a divorce deal by the end of the month, a necessary step to guarantee moving the Brexit process on to trade negotiations. As Brexit talks resumed in Brussels, concerns are growing among EU …
Read More »EU summit to throw Britain a Brexit bone
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | EU leaders are set to extend an olive branch to British Prime Minister Theresa May at a summit in Brussels this week in a bid to break a deadlock in Brexit negotiations. The Europeans will announce that there has not been enough progress on divorce …
Read More »Brexit talks in ‘disturbing deadlock’, EU’s Barnier says
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU are stuck in a “disturbing” deadlock over the Brexit divorce bill, though a breakthrough remains possible in the next two months, EU negotiator Michel Barnier said Thursday. In a gesture to London, EU leaders are set at a summit next week …
Read More »Beauty is skin deep for Benin’s pineapples
Allada, BENIN | AFP | From his chair in the middle of a pile of pineapples, Jean-Xavier Satola supervises cutting and packaging, as Benin — Africa’s fourth-biggest exporter of the fruit — starts trading again after an eight-month self-imposed absence. The fields of Allada in southern Benin are a hive of …
Read More »MEPs urged to probe Monsanto influence on research
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | A US firm pursuing a lawsuit against Monsanto is urging the European Parliament to examine its claims that the agro giant has hidden the dangers of its weedkiller, according to a letter obtained by AFP on Thursday. The letter from the Los Angeles-based firm comes amid …
Read More »EU hammers Amazon, Apple over taxes
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU turned the screw on US tech giants Wednesday, ordering Amazon to repay Luxembourg 250 million euros in back taxes and taking Ireland to court for failing to collect billions from Apple. Europe’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager accused tiny Luxembourg of an illegal deal with …
Read More »EU says ‘time to talk’ in Catalonia crisis
Strasbourg, France | AFP | The European Commission said Wednesday it was “time to talk” to resolve the escalating political crisis in Catalonia, while defending Madrid’s right to use “proportionate” force to maintain law and order. “It’s time to talk, finding a way out of the impasse, working within the constitutional …
Read More »Mishaps disrupt UK PM as she tries to rally party
Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May urged her party Wednesday to back her to deliver bold change for Britain, but her attempt to move past Brexit splits was marred by a protest, a collapsing set and a coughing fit. The Conservative leader used her closing speech to …
Read More »EU breaks cover to urge Catalonia crisis dialogue
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | EU leaders on Monday called for dialogue to solve the crisis over Catalonia’s banned independence referendum and urged an end to violence in a cautious first reaction to a thorny subject for the bloc. Breaking weeks of virtual silence on the subject after scores were …
Read More »EU leaders look to digital future
Tallinn, Estonia | AFP | EU leaders will look to the bloc’s digital future at a summit in Tallinn on Friday, a day after debating wider plans unveiled by French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen the union. Macron is expected to seek to persuade sceptical counterparts to overhaul tax rules so …
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