Ministers of ‘core’ Europe plan EU’s future
The foreign ministers of the six founding member countries of the European Union are meeting for a discreet dinner on Tuesday in Rome to discuss setting up a very informal group of “core” countries...
View ArticleCore European Union nations want UK to leave ASAP
BERLIN — The six founding countries of the European Union, including Germany and France, will push for negotiations with the U.K. about its exit to start as soon as possible, foreign ministers said in...
View ArticleLuxembourg foreign minister: Hungary should leave EU
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign affairs minister, said Hungary should be kicked out of the EU over its stance on the refugee crisis, Die Welt reported. “We cannot accept the founding principles of...
View ArticleLuxembourg’s Asselborn: Turkey is using Nazi-era tactics
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, in an interview with Deutschlandfunk Monday, compared the Turkish government’s dismissal of civil servants to methods used by the German Nazi regime, and...
View ArticleTheresa May: EU citizens offer ‘very fair,’‘very serious’
EU citizens won’t have to worry about whether they can stay in the U.K. after Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated Friday. “I want to reassure all those EU citizens who are in the...
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Mogherini defends Kosovo border change talks
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini defended on Friday discussions between the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia about border changes even as Germany warned they would “tear open too...
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Boris Johnson says Theresa May has UK heading for ‘car crash Brexit’
UK The Daily Telegraph focused on Boris Johnson’s latest attack on Prime Minister Theresa May. In an op-ed for the paper, Johnson called the PM’s Chequers plan “a disaster,” writing that if...
View ArticleLuxembourg foreign minister: Salvini spreading language of ‘hate and division’
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said an emerging front between Italy and Hungary is sowing “the language of hate and division,” after a video of his altercation with Matteo Salvini over...
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Citizens’ rights for Brits in the EU if there’s no Brexit deal
With Brexit day less than two months away and no deal still a possibility, uncertainty looms for the roughly 800,000 U.K. citizens living elsewhere in the EU. Under the Withdrawal Agreement...
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Brussels awaits London move in Brexit talks
The Brexit talks remain locked solid, but Brussels expects London to make a move — potentially in the next week and with a new text laying out changes to the controversial Northern Ireland backstop....
View ArticleMichel Barnier: No-deal Brexit ‘never’ the EU’s decision
LUXEMBOURG — A no-deal Brexit will “never be the decision of the EU,” the bloc’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Tuesday. His statement, made after briefing EU ministers attending the General...
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EU plays it cool on Iran nuclear threat
LUXEMBOURG — The European Union sought to play down Iran’s warning Monday that it would soon breach uranium stockpile limits set out in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. “Our focus is to keep...
View ArticleLuxembourg: US-Iran tensions risk causing ‘giant refugee wave’
Iran should refrain from pursuing its uranium enrichment plans and escalating tensions with the United States, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn said, warning that deteriorating relations...
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EU finds agreement on Turkey (but only just)
LUXEMBOURG CITY — The European Union found unity on Turkey on Monday — but the U.K. needed a lot of persuading to join in. The bloc’s foreign ministers pledged to suspend weapons exports to Turkey in...
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Michel Barnier: ‘Narrow path’ to Brexit deal still open
LUXEMBOURG CITY — Michel Barnier thinks a Brexit deal is difficult but still possible this week. The EU’s chief negotiator told ministers on Tuesday the U.K. and the EU are yet to resolve the issue of...
View ArticleEU ministers defend NATO after Macron ‘brain death’ comment
NATO might be history’s most successful defensive pact, but if statements at a gathering of EU foreign minister are anything to go by, it’s the alliance itself that now needs defending. The summit on...
View ArticleHungary clashes with other EU members in rule-of-law hearing
Hungary’s government on Tuesday dismissed EU members’ concerns about rule of law in the country at a stormy meeting that resulted in a formal request for clarification about a Hungarian official’s...
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Germany under pressure to lift coronavirus border closures
Pressure is mounting on Germany to end coronavirus-related border restrictions, with neighboring countries warning that the measures threaten European unity. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer this week...
View ArticleGermany eases border closures but checks remain until mid-June
Berlin has announced plans to relax border restrictions as of Saturday, but said coronavirus-related checks will remain in place until at least June 15. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told reporters...
View ArticleCoronavirus carrier at EU trade council triggers top-level quarantines
An Irish staffer with coronavirus at Monday’s informal meeting of trade ministers in Berlin has forced EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier to put themselves in...
View ArticleThe case for renewed transatlantic cooperation
Sophie Wilmès, Jean Asselborn and Stef Blok are the foreign affairs ministers of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands respectively. The American people have spoken. Viewed from Europe, their choice...
View ArticlePompeo non grata, or just too busy? Secretary of state cancels Europe trip
After refusing to recognize Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is suddenly so dedicated to a smooth and orderly transition that he canceled a trip to...
View ArticleGermany threatens sanctions ‘spiral’ unless Belarus frees prisoners
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday warned Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko his authoritarian-leaning regime would face a barrage of sanctions if it did not start releasing political...
View ArticleEU to sanction Belarus economy, seeking to bring Lukashenko regime ‘to its...
LUXEMBOURG — The EU on Monday finalized a fresh set of sanctions against the Belarusian regime, with foreign ministers pledging the move would cripple Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian-leaning...
View ArticleEU plans big cash offer for Afghanistan’s neighbors to host refugees
EU countries vowed Tuesday to dole out an unspecified amount of funds to significantly beef up financial support for Afghanistan’s neighbors to manage the refugee crisis at their borders. But they...
View ArticlePolish ruling puts Ursula von der Leyen under pressure
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday vowed to unleash the full arsenal of treaty powers to force Poland to adhere to the EU’s legal order. But her tough talk seemed merely...
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The EU’s real refugee policy: Division and delay
When it comes to refugees, the European Union’s treatment of those fleeing the war in Ukraine is the exception — to a dark and deadly rule. The millions of Ukrainians who have sought refuge in the EU...
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‘Nazi’ talk: Orbán adviser trashes ‘mixed race’ speech in dramatic exit
Barbed warnings of “Nazi” rhetoric went flying Tuesday as the controversy over Viktor Orbán’s “mixed race” remarks breached rare territory — the Hungarian prime minister’s own circle. Just four days...
View ArticleIt’s time for more majority decision-making in EU foreign policy
Annalena Baerbock is the federal minister for foreign affairs of Germany. Hadja Lahbib is the minister of foreign affairs, European affairs and foreign trade, and the federal cultural institutions of...
View ArticleLuxembourg PM used Depeche Mode’s jet to fly into NATO summit
Luxembourg’s NATO summit delegation jetted into Vilnius on the plane recently used by Depeche Mode on their world tour — and covered in the band’s logos. When Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Foreign...
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EU U-turns after halting Palestinian funding following Hamas attack
The EU’s united front on Israel’s war with Hamas is already showing its first cracks. On Monday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced the Commission would put €691 million in aid to...
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