PARIS, France | Xinhua | The deputies of the French National Assembly voted on Wednesday evening in favor of a no-confidence vote, forcing French Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign and his government to collapse. A total of 331 deputies, mostly from left-wing parties alliance New Popular Front (NFP) and …
Read More »Macron nominates former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as new PM
PARIS | Xinhua | French President Emmanuel Macron has nominated former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as the new prime minister, the Elysee announced on Thursday. Macron has tasked Barnier with forming a unified government to serve the country and the French people, the Elysee said in a press release. Born …
Read More »UK, EU to resume trade talks later this week in London
London, UK | XINHUA | Britain announced on Wednesday that it will resume talks on future relationship with the European Union (EU) later this week in London, a few days after Downing Street said the post-Brexit negotiations were over. “We are ready to welcome the EU team to London to …
Read More »Senior EU official says UK-EU trade deal “difficult but still possible”
Brussels,Belgium | XINHUA | It is “difficult but still possible” for the European Union (EU) to reach a new trade deal with the United Kingdom (UK), said European Commission Vice-President for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Maros Sefcovic on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of ministers for …
Read More »UK, EU set timetable for crunch talks in bid to beat October deadline
Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | The British government and the European Union (EU) confirmed Friday a new timetable of meetings aimed at reaching a post-Brexit deal on a future relationship before the end of 2020. A series of meetings between negotiating teams from both sides will meet in London and …
Read More »Round Four: UK and EU back in the Brexit ring
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Trade negotiators from Britain and the EU embark on a fourth round of post-Brexit negotiations Tuesday but no-one in London or Brussels expects a breakthrough. Instead, once the latest cross-Channel video conferences are over, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will …
Read More »Barnier and Johnson clash over post-Brexit ties
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU and Britain open hostilities in Brexit’s next bruising chapter on Monday, laying down red lines for a post-divorce future following the UK’s dramatic exit from the bloc. Europe’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier will formally announce his ideas for new ties in Brussels, with trade …
Read More »EU’s Barnier warns of inevitable Brexit ‘damage’
Belfast, United Kingdom | AFP | The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Monday warned Britain that its departure from the bloc later this week would have “negative consequences” and only ever be an exercise in “damage limitation”. In a speech at Queen’s University Belfast, the Brussels diplomat charged …
Read More »Brexit’s new chapter: the ‘impossible’ trade deal
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | With just days to go before Brexit, European diplomats are already hard at work for the next phase: negotiations to hammer out a future with Britain after its EU divorce. In the words of EU negotiator Michel Barnier, during the next phase of Brexit, Brussels and …
Read More »EU chiefs sign Brexit deal ahead of parliamentary vote
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Brussels’ two top officials, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, signed off on Britain’s EU divorce agreement Friday. With Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel’s formal endorsement, the text will now go to the European Parliament on Wednesday, January 29 for …
Read More »