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Ireland’s EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan has resigned after claims he broke coronavirus lockdown rules by attending a controversial golf dinner. He has already apologized for attending the event in the west of Ireland, but the government said it was clear he also breached self-isolation guidelines on a trip home from Brussels. Mr Hogan has denied breaching any of Ireland’s coronavirus rules.
The US has said it will hold off on a threatened hike in tariffs on $7.5bn (£5.75bn) worth of European and UK goods that it imposed as punishment for subsidies for plane-maker Airbus. The move comes as the two sides wrestle to put to an end their 16-year trade battle over state aid for Airbus and American rival Boeing.
Marathon talks among EU leaders to agree an unprecedented £1.68tn budget and coronavirus recovery fund have been extended into a third day. The bitter negotiations have underscored the deep divides within the 27-nation bloc, with the traditional Franco-German alliance struggling to get its way. German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that the discussions could still end without a deal.
The EU has named 14 countries whose citizens are deemed “safe” to be let in from 1 July, despite the pandemic – but the US, Brazil and China are excluded. Those named include Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco and South Korea. The EU is ready to add China if the Chinese government offers a reciprocal deal for EU travelers, diplomats say.
The European Union could block incoming travelers from the United States even after it partially reopens its borders because the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is still too high, two E.U. diplomats said Wednesday. The E.U. has drawn up a draft list of countries whose citizens would be allowed to enter the bloc after June 30 as the continent attempts to reopen amid the pandemic.
A plan for injecting billions of euros of emergency aid into Europe’s battered economies has been agreed by EU heads. Meeting via video, they agreed to set up a massive recovery fund, closely tied to the bloc’s seven-year budget. They also confirmed that €540bn (£470bn) of financial support would be released through existing mechanisms from 1 June. The fund would mobilize €1 trillion of investment.
Leaders in the European Union have agreed to close the bloc’s external borders to most non-EU citizens for 30 days to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As well as shutting external borders, EU leaders have agreed to set up fast-track lanes at countries’ internal frontiers to keep goods flowing across the continent. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said it would be up to European nations to enforce the closures.
The European Union will close its borders to all non-essential travel as it attempts to contain the ongoing spread of the coronavirus on the continent. “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday following a video conference between G7 leaders. She appeared confident that the European Council would sign off on the restriction in a Tuesday vote.
The European Union assembly voted on Tuesday to scrap as of 2021 the decades-old practice of capitalizing on natural daylight by putting clocks forward by 60 minutes between late March and late October. Under the legislation approved by the 28-nation Parliament in Strasbourg, France, governments that want to be permanently on summertime would adjust their clocks for the final time on the last Sunday in March 2021.
Following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, EU leaders agreed Wednesday to keep the deal going and maintain their reviving economic cooperation with Tehran. EU Council President Donald Tusk sharply criticized Trump at the meeting. French energy company Total warned they may exit Iran, casting doubt on continuing the nuclear deal.