Latest Ursula Von Der Leyen News
Middle East latest: Israel plans an extended occupation of Syrian buffer zone
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future. Israel’s recent capture of the buffer zone has sparked condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in...
Europe's economy needs help. Political chaos in France and Germany means it may be slower in coming
BRUSSELS (AP) — Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe’s economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the U.S. and China. An auto industry that's struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump...
The EU and a South American trade bloc reach a giant trade deal after 25 years of talks
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — The European Union reached a blockbuster free trade agreement Friday with Brazil, Argentina and the three other South American nations in the Mercosur trade alliance, capping a quarter-century of on-off negotiations even as France vowed to derail the contentious accord....
EU chief in Uruguay for final talks on a huge trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Uruguay Thursday for the final stages in years-long negotiations to clinch a trade deal between the 27-nation EU and the South American Mercosur trade bloc that would create a trans-Atlantic market of some 700 million...
European nations vote to lower protections for wolves after farmers push to allow culls
BRUSSELS (AP) — European nations approved plans Tuesday to scale back the protection for wolves in a victory for farmers over environmentalists. The European Union proposal was adopted by the 50 parties in the Bern Convention to protect wildlife and habitat. It sets up looser...
Massive EU-South American free trade pact would reduce tariffs, but some farmers are opposed
PARIS (AP) — After more than 20 years of negotiations, the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur — a South American trade bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia — are still trying to finalize a major trade agreement that is sparking protests by European farmers. ...
EU lawmakers seal a deal to rubber-stamp one of the bloc's most right-leaning executives
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers on Wednesday ended a week of bickering to rubber-stamp a new team of policy commissioners that will head one of the most rightward-leaning executive branches ever chosen in the bloc for the next five years. The main centrist pro-European...
Russia's Gazprom stops the flow of natural gas to Austria, OMV utility says
VIENNA (AP) — Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early Saturday, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award. The official cutoff of supplies before dawn...
EU top jobs hearings stalled by political infighting over hard right alliances
BRUSSELS (AP) — The process of vetting candidates for some of the European Union’s most important jobs bogged down in acrimony on Wednesday as the biggest political faction in the bloc’s parliament was accused of collaborating with the hard right. Since Nov. 4, senior lawmakers...
French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal that will increase South American imports
PARIS (AP) — French farmers protested Tuesday against a trade deal that would increase agricultural imports from South America, saying it hurt their livelihoods. The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, reached...
