EU

German court keeps ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont in custody

by Sebastian Bronst with Daniel Bosque in Barcelona Agence France-Presse NEUMÜNSTER, Germany – A German court on Monday kept former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in custody pending possible extradition to Spain to face “rebellion” charges. Puigdemont will “remain in detention for the time being, until a decision is made concerning the extradition procedure,” the regional court in Kiel, northern Germany, announced a day after Puigdemont was arrested. The former Catalan leader’s detention in Germany, which […]

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14 EU states expelling 30 Russian diplomats over UK spy attack

  VARNA, Bulgaria (AFP) — Fourteen European Union countries announced Monday they are to expel a total of 30 Russian diplomats in a coordinated international response to the nerve agent attack on a former spy in Britain. Germany, France and Poland led the way in Europe with four expulsions each, while across the Atlantic, the White House announced it was throwing out 60 alleged spies and closing the Russian consulate in Seattle. An EU source […]

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Turkey condemns ‘unacceptable’ EU comments on Greece, Cyprus

  ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Friday condemned a statement by European Union leaders bitterly critical of Ankara’s policies towards bloc members Cyprus and Greece, raising tensions just days ahead of a key summit. “The statement that was issued contained unacceptable comments against our country that serve the interests of Greece and the Greek Cypriots,” foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy told reporters in response to Thursday’s EU statement. EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission […]

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Macron reforms unleash strikes, protests

by Adam PLOWRIGHT and Joseph SCHMID Agence France-Presse PARIS, France – An estimated 200,000 protesters took to the streets of France on Thursday in a showdown between trade unions and President Emmanuel Macron that could be decisive for his reform agenda. Seven unions representing staff in the public sector led strikes and protests, and a third of railway workers walked out to join the demonstrations against 40-year-old Macron’s bid to shake up the French state. […]

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EU: new rules will make data breaches ‘very expensive’ for firms

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — EU justice commissioner Vera Jourova warned Wednesday that data protection scandals such as that currently engulfing Facebook would become “very expensive” for companies from May under new EU regulations. “If some company tried this in Europe after May 2018, very likely this drastic sanction will be applied,” said Jourova, who is in charge of consumer and personal data protection, at the end of a visit to Washington. Facebook is […]

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UK PM to urge EU to unite against long-term Russian threat

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May will urge EU leaders Thursday to unite against a Russian threat that could last for “years to come”, following the nerve agent attack in Britain. At a summit in Brussels, May will say that the attempt to kill former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in the city of Salisbury — which she has blamed on Moscow — could have happened anywhere. “The challenge of Russia […]

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Protest in Madrid after street vendor’s death sparks clashes

by Laurence BOUTREUX Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain – More than a thousand protesters took to the streets in central Madrid on Friday as tensions remained high a day after violent clashes over the controversial death of a Senegalese street vendor. The protesters gathered in a square in the Lavapies district of the Spanish capital in the early evening, many of them young, dressed in black and wearing bandanas. Some shouted “kill police”, an AFP journalist […]

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Merkel narrowly elected to fourth term as German chancellor

  by Frank Zeller Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, bruised by half a year of post-election coalition haggling, was Wednesday narrowly confirmed by parliament to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag voted 364-315 with nine abstentions for Merkel, who was then formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before taking the oath of office. The outcome of the […]

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Russia warns of reprisals if UK acts over spy attack

by James PHEBY with Anna SMOLCHENKO in Moscow / Alice RITCHIE with Anna Smolchenko in Moscow Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – Russia warned Britain on Tuesday to expect reprisals if it announces sanctions over the poisoning of a former double agent, as the US and other allies joined London in demanding answers on how a Soviet-designed nerve agent was used in the attack. British Prime Minister Theresa May says Russia was “highly likely” to be behind […]

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Trump presses EU on trade barriers in tit-for-tat

by Alex Pigman Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump renewed his demand Saturday that the European Union halts its trade barriers to US products in order to spare his allies new steel and aluminum tariffs. The American president made his comments after crunch talks in Brussels between EU negotiators and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in an effort to defuse a bitter row that many fear could turn into an all-out trade […]

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EU, Japan seek clarity from crunch US trade talks

by Alex Pigman © Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU and Japan held crunch talks with their US counterparts in Brussels on Saturday hoping to get “clarity” on President Donald Trump’s controversial new steel and aluminium tariffs. Trump’s announcement of duties of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminium has stung the European Union and triggered warnings of an all-out international trade war. Brussels has prepared a list of US products […]

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UK deploys military in Russia spy attack probe

by James PHEBY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – British soldiers were deployed on Friday to help a counter-terrorism investigation into a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy as speculation mounted over how London could retaliate if the Russian state is found to be responsible. The defence ministry said 180 soldiers were being dispatched to the normally quiet city of Salisbury in southwestern England, initially to remove “a number of vehicles and objects from the scene”. […]

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