Tag Archives: Brussels

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on Thursday the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia that they will not be part of the next round of EU enlargement if they fail to normalize relations. Speaking to reporters after meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Borrell …

By destroying ties with Russia, Brussels is playing into the hands of London and Washington, Russia’s deputy foreign minister says A senior Russian diplomat has accused the EU of falling victim to a US-UK ploy in Ukraine, and losing the chance to become an independent player in a multipolar world. …

Syria has strongly denounced as “theatrical” an international conference in Brussels to purportedly raise funds for the victims of last month’s devastating earthquake, stating that the United States and its Western allies would instead lift sanctions on the crisis-hit country than organize such sham events. “Any improvement in the living …

The Cooperation Council between the European Union (EU) and Iraq will hold its third meeting in Brussels on Sunday, an EU statement said. According to the statement released today, the meeting will be chaired by EU High Representative Josep Borrell. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, …

Greek MEP Eva Kaili, a vice president of the parliament, is among four charged amid the investigation into suspected influence peddling involving a Gulf country. Belgian media have linked the probe to World Cup hosts Qatar; Doha has denied the accusations. Kaili was arrested after Belgian police staged 16 raids …

Belgium will shut all seven of its nuclear reactors by 2025 but will not close the door on new-generation nuclear technology, according to a deal reached by the coalition government yesterday. A government source said the all-night negotiations included an agreement of “investments of around 100 million euros (US$113 million) …

Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Sunday to disperse protesters pelting officers with cobblestones and fireworks as a demonstration in Brussels over government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions turned violent. A few thousand protesters marched peacefully through the centre of the Belgian capital to the neighbourhood which hosts the headquarters of …

NATO has expelled eight Russian diplomats over espionage allegations, with Moscow lambasting the extraordinary decision for undermining efforts to normalize ties between the US-led military alliance and the Kremlin. In a press conference on Thursday, NATO head Jens Stoltenberg announced that the military alliance withdrew the accreditation of eight Russian …

Belgian customs officers arrested 45 people on Wednesday as part of the country’s biggest operation into cigarette counterfeiting. The country has become a hub for cigarette trafficking to neighboring countries. Officers arrested 17 people of Ukrainian and Bulgarian nationality during a pre-dawn raid on a sweatshop in an industrial area …

Hundreds of undocumented immigrants, on hunger strike in Brussels for the last two months to demand residence rights, have begun refusing water, putting themselves close to death and the Belgian government in danger of collapse. Around 400 migrants, many of whom have been in Belgium for years, are already emaciated …

A top Polish court will rule on Tuesday on whether the country’s constitution or European Union treaties take precedence, the first of two rulings this week that could bring Warsaw’s conflict with Brussels over the rule of law to a head. Warsaw aims to hit back at what it says …

After meeting US president, the Turkish leader says no Turkey-US issue cannot be resolved, despite months of animosity. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he held a “fruitful and sincere” meeting with his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels. “We believe …

After talks in London ended without a breakthrough, European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic said patience with the UK was wearing “very, very thin” The EU has threatened to launch a trade war against the UK if it fails to implement checks on goods entering Northern Ireland under the terms of …

The leaders of the European Union and the United States are set to commit at a summit in Brussels next week to ending their transatlantic trade disputes and to call for a new study into the origins of COVID-19, according to a draft communique. The seven-page draft, seeks to show …

The European Commission warned the decision will erode EU-Swiss relations. Switzerland on Wednesday canceled talks to salvage a long-delayed cooperation agreement with the EU, saying that it could not accept Brussels’ demands on issues like citizen’s rights and wages. “Taking into account [domestic] consultations and based on the results of …

Belgium’s King Philippe expressed deep regret on Tuesday for the “suffering and humiliation” inflicted on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during its 75-year period under Belgian rule. It is the first such expression of regret for Belgium’s colonial past by a reigning monarch, the royal palace said. It …

The European Union’s Brexit trade demands will not change under UK pressure, Michel Barnier’s senior advisor has said – with just one month to go to agree on an extension. Stefaan de Rynck told an online conference that member states had again backed the “maximalist” negotiating mandate this week in …

It is rare for Donald Trump to credit other countries with world records, but at a press briefing last month the US President unveiled a list that put Belgium at the top. Unfortunately for Belgium, it was a ranking of deaths from the coronavirus. According to numbers collated by the …

After half-of-century of sometimes awkward membership, the UK will leave the EU at midnight Brussels time on Friday. Britain’s departure from the European Union was set in law on Wednesday as London returned a signed treaty and MEPs prepared to vote to ratify the divorce. After half-of-century of sometimes awkward …

With only a couple of days to go before a Brexit deal on Britain’s scheduled date of departure (October 31) from the European Union (EU) becomes impossible, there is much confusion about the outcome. In the latest development, the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Leo Varadkar, has said there are “many …