European Union - The African Mirror

Dec

2020

UK’s Gove says Brexit trade talks could go on beyond Christmas

ONE of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior ministers has said that Britain hoped to reach a trade deal with the European Union but that talks might go on until after Christmas. "When we think about the real deadline, I hope that we can conclude an agreement as quickly as possible but talks may go on until after Christmas," Michael Gove told a parliamentary committee. "We will want to ensure that parliament has a say, and a chance to scrutinise any agreement that's reached, so realistically it's in the days just immediately after Christmas." Gove, who earlier said the chances of…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

EU delays 90 million euros in aid to Ethiopia over Tigray crisis

NEWS

THE European Union has postponed nearly 90 million euros in budget support payments to Ethiopia due to the bloc's concerns over the crisis in the northern Tigray region, according to an internal EU document seen by Reuters. The delay appears intended to reinforce the EU's request for a response from Ethiopian authorities over the bloc's calls for aid to be allowed into Tigray, where five weeks of war have led to a humanitarian crisis. The prime minister's spokeswoman directed requests for comment to the Finance Ministry, which did not immediately respond. There was no immediate response to a request for…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

EU unveils plans to avoid Brexit chaos as ‘no deal’ looms larger

WORLD

JOHN CHALMERS and ELIZABETH PIPER THE European Union's executive has laid out contingency plans for a 'no-deal' Brexit at the end of the year to minimise disruption to air traffic and road and rail travel after talks between British and EU leaders failed to break an impasse. The European Commission also proposed that Britain and the EU continue to offer reciprocal access to their fishing waters for up to a year, but London quickly rebuffed the idea. Agreement on fishing rights has been one of the most emotive sticking points in negotiations for a trade deal that has eluded the…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Brexit goes down to the wire: EU and UK say big differences remain

WORLD

GABRIELA BACZYNSKA and GUY FAULCONBRIDGE THE European Union and Britain said on Friday there were still substantial differences over a Brexit trade deal as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis. With just five weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU's orbit on December 31, both sides are calling on the other to compromise on the three main issues of contention - fishing, state aid and how to resolve any future disputes. The two sides will shortly resume face-to-face negotiations after…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

EU says won’t monitor Uganda election, limiting poll’s international scrutiny

NEWS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA THE European Union will not deploy an observer mission for Uganda's presidential election in January, an official has said, after complaints that advice from previous observers to make the polls fair went unheeded. In the Jan. 14 vote, President Yoweri Museveni, 76, will face off against youthful pop star and lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known by his music moniker Bobi Wine and who is seen as the incumbent president's closest competitor. In the same election, voters will also pick their lawmakers. "An EOM (election observer mission) will not be present in Uganda in 2021," Attilio Pacifici, EU ambassador…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Europe to provide Mozambique with $116 million in virus aid

COVID-19

THE European Union (EU) has agreed to provide Mozambique with 100 million euros ($116.30 million) in coronavirus-related aid, according to EU Ambassador Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar. The EU cut off direct budget support to Mozambique in 2016 after the country revealed the existence of hefty state-guaranteed loans that it had not previously disclosed. A number of other donors including the International Monetary Fund also halted aid to Mozambique. Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar told a press conference in the capital Maputo that the agreement had "different characteristics" to the direct budget support the EU used to provide and was focused specifically on helping with…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

EU cuts Tunisia from safe traveller list

COVID-19

THE European Union is set to cut Canada, Georgia and Tunisia from a "white list" of countries from which travellers can visit the bloc without COVID-related restrictions such as quarantines or mandatory tests while adding Singapore. A meeting of ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to remove the three countries because of sharp increases in COVID-19 infections there, whereas the situation in Singapore had improved. The proposal will be formalised by the end of the week as long as none of the 27 EU countries object, said two EU diplomats with knowledge of the meeting. After the changes, the…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

EU to offer Mozambique support in tackling insurgency

NEWS

THE European Union will offer Mozambique support in tackling a wave of militant attacks in the country's north by rebels with links to Islamic State, according to the EU's ambassador to the southern African nation. The rebel attacks in Cabo Delgado province date back to 2017 but the violence has gathered pace this year with insurgents seizing important towns for brief periods and hitting military and other strategic targets. Mozambique had asked the EU for help in training its armed forces to battle the insurgency, which has raised fears for stability and security in southern Africa. "The government of Mozambique…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

EU strikes down Hungary university reform, Soros wants EU to set example

WORLD

FRANSESCO GUARASCIO and MARTON DUNAI THE European Union's top court said on Tuesday that Hungary breached EU law with its reform of higher education rules, which forced a university founded by George Soros to move most of its activities out of the country. The ruling follows a complaint from the European Commission and is one of many issues in which the EU has clashed with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, accused in Brussels of a backslide on civil liberties, corruption and the rule of law. Hungary's justice minister said Budapest would implement the European Court of Justice ruling but reiterated…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

EU removes Libya’s powerbroker Saleh from sanctions list

NEWS

THE European Union has removed an east Libyan powerbroker from its sanctions blacklist to encourage peace efforts and ensure the EU plays a central role in any negotiated settlement in Libya. Aguila Saleh, leader of a rival parliament in eastern Libya, no longer faces EU travel bans and asset freezes imposed four years ago, the EU said, confirming a Reuters report on September 9 that the so-called de-listing was planned. "The de-listing of speaker Saleh was agreed in light of his recent constructive engagement in support of a negotiated political solution to the Libyan crisis," an EU statement said. After…