Free Republic

President Enrique Peña Nieto told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday he wants a significant increase in trade with the European Union, vowing to complete a new trade deal by year’s end. Peña Nieto’s Mexican government has been actively seeking new trade opportunities since US President Donald Trump came to office with a threat to curb Mexico’s privileged access to American markets. Mexico is currently in negotiations with the European Union to modernize a free trade agreement they signed 20 years ago. Both Merkel and Peña Nieto vowed on Friday to conclude the expanded deal by the end of the...

George Soros has urged the European Union to continue pressing Poland and Hungary to preserve the rule of law. Speaking at the Brussels Economic Forum, the American billionaire financier said he welcomed the EU’s recent tough words on both countries which critics accuse of being increasingly authoritarian. Thousands of people have turned out for recent protest in support of Soros’ CEU university, which is under attack from the Hungarian government. “I am full of admiration for the courageous way the Hungarian people have resisted the deception and corruption of the mafia state the Orban regime has established,” Soros said.

Germany has delivered an ominous message to British negotiators in impending Brexit talks by insisting that even the worst-case scenario would be bearable for the EU. Germany’s Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said Friday that “even in the most adverse case,” Brexit would be “bearable for the EU economy and in particular for the German economy.” Zypries said that a new study by Germany’s ifo institute, commissioned by her ministry, pointed to “economic opportunities and risks.” While Zypries said Germany would seek “the best results” from talks, her appraisal of a bearable hard Brexit is bad news for hardline Brexiteers. They...

The European Union is in “existential danger” because of “dysfunctional” institutions, a persistent austerity policy and outdated treaties, American billionaire George Soros warned in Brussels on Thursday (1 June). The Hungarian-born philanthropist, who was speaking at the Brussels Economic Forum, said the EU should use the Brexit negotiations to introduce far-reaching reforms and be “radically reinvented”, otherwise it risks ceasing to exist. ”If the European Union carries on with business as usual, there is little hope for an improvement,” he said, adding that the bloc was surrounded by “hostile powers”, such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and, possibly US president Donald...

Two Republican U.S. senators slammed Wednesday a law recently passed by Egypt’s president as “draconian” for imposing heavy restrictions and effectively banning the work of non-governmental organizations — the latest among measures cracking down on dissent in the country. Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham urged President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to bring the law on NGOs in line with international standards and the Egyptian constitution. “Congress should strengthen democratic benchmarks and human rights conditions on U.S. assistance for Egypt,” they said in a statement. […] The law has triggered wide international backlash and raised concerns over human rights conditions in...

Billionaire financier George Soros said Thursday the European Union is in an "existential crisis" and needs to be reinvented in the face of growing threats. "The reinvention would have to revive the support that the European Union used to enjoy," the Hungarian-born Soros said at the Brussels Economic Forum. Such reinvention would have to review the past and explain to European citizens what went wrong and then make proposals to make things right. Soros welcomed a German idea to cut European funds aimed at reducing income inequalities at the regional level for those countries disrespecting the rule of law. Both...

... Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party and a leading Brexit campaigner, said in a surprise tweet that Corbyn came across in the broadcast as being "totally sincere", although he did not agree with him. "Saying 'no deal is better than a bad deal' 4 times will win May the election. But she is a weathercock who believes in very little," Farage said.

Europe “must take its fate into its own hands” faced with a western alliance divided by Brexit and Donald Trump’s presidency, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday. “The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days,” Merkel told a crowd at an election rally in Munich, southern Germany. “We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands,” she added. While Germany and Europe would strive to remain on good terms with America and Britain, “we have to fight for our own destiny,” Merkel...

Britain’s foreign secretary says Brussels may have to pay Britain for its exit from the European Union, rather than the other way around. Boris Johnson says Britain’s share of EU assets is so valuable that the EU may have to end up paying Britain when it leaves the bloc. He spoke to The Telegraph newspaper. […] The outspoken politician called Brussels “ruthless in its negotiating techniques” and said “they are going to play dirty.” …

H.E. Ambassador Yang Yanyi is head of the Chinese Mission to the EU.(The Belt and Road Forum) has attracted broad participation of some 1,500 officials, scholars, entrepreneurs and people from financial institutions and media from more than 130 countries, principals and representatives from over 70 international organizations. […] At a time when the foundation for global economic recovery is not solid, trade investment remains weak, and growth impetus unstable, this Forum, with “Strengthening International Cooperation and Co-building the ‘Belt and Road’ for Win-win Development” as its central theme, will offer an excellent opportunity to take stock of what has been...

In Europe, Europe Day is an annual celebration of peace and unity in Europe. There are two separate designations of Europe Day: 5 May for the Council of Europe, and 9 May for the European Union (EU).[1] The latter is the EU's flag day and has a greater visibility. The Council of Europe's day reflects its own establishment in 1949, while the European Union's day is also known as Schuman Day and celebrates the historical declaration by French foreign minister Robert Schuman in 1950.[2] Europe Day is one of a number of European symbols designed to foster unity among Europeans.

Emmanuel Macron has beaten Marine Le Pen in Sunday's French election and taken more than 60 per cent of the vote, according to several early exit polls. Polling conducted by Ipsos, Ifop and BVA all gave Mr Macron, the pro-business candidate, a strong lead over Front National leader Marine Le Pen.

The bill for Britain’s Brexit divorce settlement is growing ever longer, with leaders in Brussels now saying that Britain should continue to pick up a portion of the tab for migrants living in Turkey beyond accession. Initial demands that Britain should pay into the European Union’s seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until it expires at the end of 2020 – a year after Brexit – have since expanded to include references to “issues resulting from” the budget, as well as those related to the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Development Fund (EDF). German representatives are now suggesting that “issues”...

Lloyds ​Banking Group has chosen Germany as its European base after Brexit and aims to apply for a licence in the country in a matter of months. It is understood that Lloyds has made a final decision to turn its Berlin branch into a subsidiary, to ensure it has a hub inside the European Union once the UK leaves.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asked European diplomats during a Tuesday meeting why American taxpayers should care about Ukraine, according to a Bloomberg Politics report. “Why should U.S. taxpayers be interested in Ukraine?” Tillerson asked the foreign ministers, known as the “Group of Seven," during what Bloomberg said was an offhand remark at meetings in Lucca, Italy.

A new report by the OECD reveals that Germany is second only to Belgium when it comes to high tax rates in developed countries worldwide. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Tuesday that Germany has the second highest tax rate after Belgium, when comparing 35 developed countries around the world. The OECD calculated each country’s tax wedge — the gap between what employers take home in pay and what it costs to employ them, including personal income tax and social security contributions. Germany had a tax wedge for single, childless workers of 49.4 percent, behind Belgium...

A group of 50 politicians from across Europe have signed a letter stating that an independent Scotland would be “most welcome” as a full member of the European Union. In the letter to Holyrood’s Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh and MSPs, the signatories pledge their support in ensuring the transition to membership is “as swift, smooth, and orderly as possible”. The cross-party group includes parliamentarians from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Greece, Hungary and Malta.

Spain said today it had stepped up border controls with Gibraltar under a scheduled move by the EU’s Schengen zone. The announcement comes amid rising friction over the British territory caused by Brexit. The interior ministry said it had intensified controls at the crossing point to Gibraltar, a rocky outcrop in Spain’s southern tip, in line with rules introduced on Friday for boosting security on the Schengen perimeter. […] The new rules coincide with a flare-up of tensions surrounding the rocky outcrop, which Spain ceded to Britain in 1713 but wants back. The European Union, reacting to Britain’s decision to...

The 28 Ambassadors--carrying their demarche between their tails - should be sent packing to Europe for a period of reflection and introspection Ambassadors to Israel representing 28 European Union States (EU) behaved most undiplomatically in ambushing the recently appointed Director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and former Ambassador to Australia - Yuval Rotem - at a meet and greet function Rotem had organised at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv last week.

Israel and several EU nations have pledged to move forward with a Mediterranean gas project, aiming to pump natural gas from Israel to Europe through the longest undersea pipeline ever built.