Britain will suffer more than the European Union if it quits the bloc with no deal next year, a Brussels chief warned on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen, who has taken over from Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president, also stressed the timetable to reach an agreement was “extremely challenging” after London decided to put into law that the UK must leave by the end of December 2020.
Brazil on Thursday handed over the six-month rotating presidency of the Mercosur trade bloc (Southern Common Market) to Paraguay. During a ceremony at the bloc's 55th summit in Bento Goncalves, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro expressed confidence in his Paraguayan counterpart Mario Abdo Benitez and his leadership skills.
The European parliament joined the United States on Thursday in condemning Cuba's detention and reported mistreatment of leading dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer, whom the Communist government in Havana calls a US-backed counter-revolutionary.
Fires that destroyed Indonesian rainforests pumped out more carbon dioxide than the blazes in the Amazon this year, according to the European Union's atmosphere observation program.
European members of the UN Security Council hit out on Wednesday at the US decision to no longer consider Israeli settlements illegal but stopped short of naming the United States. The Vatican also expressed that the search for peace between Israelis had been put at risk.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson set out plans on Sunday to end preferential treatment for European Union migrants, as opinion polls showed his Conservative Party has the highest level of support since 2017 ahead of next month's election.
Countries including Australia have asked for trade compensation from the UK and the EU over Brexit disruption. Fifteen countries, including the US, India and New Zealand, have been setting out Brexit concerns at a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Geneva.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled a planned campaign visit to a bakery in southwest England on Thursday after protesters gathered outside, the BBC reported.
Britain will lose influence in international affairs and become a second-rate player after it leaves the European Union, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
The European Commission fielded questions on Friday over a Twitter gaffe by its next foreign policy chief, current Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who posted a sensitive extradition-related document from UK authorities on his feed.