Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain formally launched the process to leave the EU on Wednesday, handing a letter to EU president Donald Tusk formally notifying the bloc, an AFP journalist said. Tim Barrow, Britain’s ambassador to the European Union, personally delivered the letter signed by British Prime Minister Theresa May …
Read More »Brexit job fears stalk Britain’s financial centres
Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Worries are whirring in Britain’s smaller financial centres — which together employ far more people than the glamorous City of London — that the looming EU departure will lead to heavy job losses. In Manchester’s buzzing finance district of Spinningfields, a worker at an …
Read More »Erdogan says would be ‘easier’ if EU rejects Turkey bid
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday lashed out again in the diplomatic row with the European Union saying it would be “easier” if the EU just rejected Turkey’s bid to join the bloc. Turkey and Europe are locked in a bitter dispute after Germany …
Read More »Troubled EU renews vows on 60th anniversary
Rome, Italy | AFP | European Union leaders renewed their vows at a special summit in Rome on Saturday, celebrating the troubled bloc’s 60th anniversary with a commitment to a common future without Britain. With British Prime Minister Theresa May absent, the other 27 countries signed a new declaration on …
Read More »Scotland takes a step towards new independence vote
Edinburgh, United Kingdom | AFP | Scotland’s announcement on Monday that it will begin preparations for a new independence bid raised the spectre of one of Brexit’s most feared consequences — the break-up of the United Kingdom. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would seek the semi-autonomous Scottish parliament’s authority …
Read More »Shuttered: EU ditches summit ‘family photo’
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU has ditched the traditional “family photo” of leaders at Brussels summits as it seeks a more modern image for the bloc, European sources said. Until the end of last year, the 28 European Union leaders gathering for their regular meetings would pose together …
Read More »ANALYSIS: What is ‘multi-speed’ Europe Union?
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The idea of a so-called multi-speed European Union is not new, and some might argue that it already describes the bloc in its current form. But as 27 EU leaders without Britain discuss their post-Brexit future, the concept has come to dominate debate on what …
Read More »May sacks top Conservative over Brexit rebellion
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Theresa May has sacked Michael Heseltine, a senior figure in her Conservative Party, from various advisory roles for rebelling against the government in a Brexit vote in the House of Lords. Heseltine, 83, a former deputy prime minister nicknamed “Tarzan” for his …
Read More »Lords defy May for a second time on Brexit
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May suffered her second defeat in a week over Brexit Tuesday when the House of Lords voted to give parliament the final say on how Britain leaves the European Union. Peers voted by 366 to 268 to amend the bill empowering …
Read More »Scottish leader presses case for independence vote
Edinburgh, United Kingdom | AFP | Scotland’s nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday pressed on with calls for a new independence referendum, saying it might be the only way to protect the country’s interests as Brexit approaches. “Proposing a further decision on independence wouldn’t simply be legitimate, it would almost …
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