Terrorism has hit the UK’s economy harder than any other EU country in recent years, according to a study. Analysis found the UK lost an estimated 43.7 billion Euros (£38.3 billion) in GDP terms due to terrorist activity from 2004 to 2016, according to a report published by the Press Association.
Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has given 11 of his 17 cabinet posts to women, a higher proportion than anywhere else in Europe. A self-styled feminist, Sánchez' choice was in marked contrast to the male-dominated executives of ex-PM Mariano Rajoy, ousted last week.
The UK said it continued to work with Gibraltar towards a Brexit deal that “fully recognizes the priorities of the Rock”. The Department for Exiting the European Union made the statement after the seventh meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council between the United Kingdom and Gibraltar Governments, which took place in London at the Cabinet Office on Monday morning.
The European Union has proposed spending more on Italy and other member countries hit by the economic and migrant crises, but less on increasingly wealthy eastern states like Poland. The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, proposed the regional shift in the “cohesion” portion of the post-2020 multi-year budget as Italy faces political chaos.
Asian equities and the euro sank Wednesday as turmoil in Italy sparked a frantic dash for safety, while investors have also been spooked by fresh worries about the China-US trade row. Global markets have been sent into a tailspin as a political crisis unfolding in Rome has thrust the stability of the Euro zone and European Union back on to the agenda.
Senior Italian politicians on Tuesday called for EU budget commissioner Gunther Oettinger to resign over an absurd comment in which he voiced the hope that the country's poor economic situation will keep populist parties out of government.
Anti-Brexit billionaire George Soros has urged the EU to transform itself into an association that countries like Britain would want to join. Soros said in a speech that Brexit was an immensely damaging process for both sides that would probably take more than five years to sort out. He warned the EU was facing an existential crisis on several fronts.
Nicola Sturgeon has raised Scottish concerns over Brexit in a meeting with chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier. The first minister said they held a “constructive and positive discussion” during her trip to Brussels. She said she told Mr Barnier that the Scottish government believed the UK should remain within the customs union and single market after leaving the EU.
Italy's president set the country on a path back to fresh elections on Monday, appointing a former International Monetary Fund official as interim prime minister with the task of planning for snap polls and to pass the next budget. The decision to appoint Carlo Cottarelli to form a stopgap administration sets the stage for elections that are likely to be fought over Italy's role in the European Union and the euro zone, a prospect that is rattling global financial markets.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has criticized claims from European Union officials that Britain has a “fantasy” approach to Brexit negotiations. Mr Hammond insisted that talks with EU officials were “constructive” after reports from the continent that Britain was being “unrealistic” and little progress made in discussions in recent days.