Tag: Europe

• Saturday, October 27th 2018 - 09:01 UTC

  S&P lowers Italy's outlook to negative; criticizes Rome's economic and fiscal policies

  

  Standard & Poor’s on Friday left Italy’s sovereign debt rating unchanged but lowered its outlook to negative from stable, saying that the new government’s policy plans were weighing on the country’s growth and debt prospects.

• Saturday, October 27th 2018 - 08:56 UTC

  Sunday regional vote in Germany could decide survival of a weakened Merkel coalition

  

  A Sunday regional election in Germany is closely scrutinized since the ruling coalition's survival much hangs upon the outcome of a state vote. Even before the first voters set foot in Hesse's polling stations, it is widely accepted that what happens in Hesse will have consequences in Berlin. For the German government and perhaps even for the German leader herself.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2018 - 09:16 UTC

  Germany urges responsibility on Brexit ahead of European Council summit

  

  Germany has urged UK's Theresa May to “take responsibility” for Brexit, as a crunch summit approaches with no sign of any breakthrough in negotiations. The Prime Minister was briefing senior ministers in an extended session of Cabinet ahead of Wednesday’s European Council meeting at which it had initially been hoped to conclude the UK’s withdrawal deal.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2018 - 08:18 UTC

  Brexit summit: “no ground for optimism”, says Tusk; “stand together and firm” PM May tells cabinet

  

  Donald Tusk has poured cold water on hopes of a Brexit breakthrough at Wednesday's EU summit, saying the Irish border was still a sticking point. The European Council president said he had “no grounds for optimism” it would be solved at the summit and called on Theresa May to come up with “concrete proposals” to break the “impasse”.

• Thursday, October 11th 2018 - 08:54 UTC

  International tourism industry remains robust with 6% increase in first six months of 2018

  

  According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s latest barometer, international tourist arrivals grew 6% in the first six months of 2018 after a record year of growth in 2017. All world regions enjoyed robust growth in tourist arrivals in January-June 2018. The increase was fueled by strong demand from major source markets, supported by an upswing in the global economy. It comes after record year-round growth of 7% in 2017.

• Monday, October 8th 2018 - 08:39 UTC

  Canada chairs meeting to reform WTO, but has not invited US or China

  

  Canada has not invited the United States or China to a high-level meeting on reforming the World Trade Organization (WTO). The country will host a “small group of like-minded” trade ministers in Ottawa in late October to discuss the global trade body. Officials say countries like the US and China will be included at a later date in the reforms discussion process.

• Friday, October 5th 2018 - 08:34 UTC

  Facebook facing potential £1.2bn fine for a data breach affecting 50 million users

  

  Facebook is facing a potential £1.2bn fine for a data breach which allowed hackers to access the personal information of 50 million users. The Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC), the lead supervising authority for Facebook in the EU, officially opened its investigation this week after the social media giant admitted hackers could have accessed the accounts of millions of users through a “vulnerability” last Friday.

• Thursday, October 4th 2018 - 08:23 UTC

  Juncker insists the EU wants a deal with the UK, despite all the bitter exchanges

  

  European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has issued a fresh warning to Theresa May that there must be agreement on the Irish border if she wants a Brexit deal.

• Thursday, October 4th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

  EU drafting new partnership terms with UK, including the Ireland border issue

  

  Unworkable”, “unacceptable”, “impasse”, are some of the words used to describe Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union do little to temper concerns that the two are heading for a chaotic divorce. But behind the scenes, both sides are preparing concessions as part of what one British official called “a constructive dialogue” that could yet lead to a deal.

• Wednesday, October 3rd 2018 - 18:15 UTC

  Against hunger and for peace, EU and FAO are “committed to build a sustainable future”

  

  The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reaffirmed today at an event held in Rome their commitment to jointly address the challenges they share at the global level, such as stopping the increase in hunger, promote prosperity and peace, and build a more sustainable future for all.