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 …
Read More »EU profits as Trump turns away from trade
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | The United States’ new hostility to free trade deals under President Donald Trump is benefiting the European Union, the bloc’s top trade official said Tuesday. After Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal in late January, “many countries are now turning to …
Read More »COMMENT: Three surprises in 2017
The world could be caught off guard by these potentially transformative developments Economic pundits traditionally offer their (traditionally inaccurate) New Year predictions at the beginning of January. But global conditions this year are anything but traditional, so it seemed appropriate to wait until US President Donald Trump settled into …
Read More »EU to give ‘virtually bankrupt’ Gambia 225 mn euros
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The European Union announced aid worth 225 million euros ($240 million) for The Gambia on Thursday as President Adama Barrow warned that the nation was “virtually bankrupt” due to economic mismanagement by the former regime. The EU froze assistance to The Gambia in December 2014 …
Read More »Magufuli, Museveni hatch Economic Partnership EPA plan
President Museveni, Magufuli to discuss EPA, Burundi Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania’s President Dr. John Magufuli will meet February to agree on East Africa’s way forward on the controversial Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The EPA is supposed to be negotiated between the EU and member states of the East African Community (EAC). Kenya …
Read More »South Africa and EU spar over chicken meat ‘dumping’
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s poultry industry says it is on the brink of collapse due to hotly-denied accusations that the European Union is dumping cheap chicken in the country in a dispute over free trade. Workers, former workers and company managers from the South African poultry …
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