BRUSSELS: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave themselves until Sunday to decide on the future of post-Brexit negotiations, after a three-hour dinner left the two sides “far apart.”
Johnson came to Brussels on Wednesday in a last gasp effort to salvage trade talks that are teetering toward failure and the two leaders agreed that their negotiators should attempt one last push to bridge the divide.
“We had a lively and interesting discussion on the state of play across the list of outstanding issues,” Von der Leyen said in a statement after the dinner at her Brussels’ headquarters.
“We gained a clear understanding of each other’s positions. They remain far apart,” she added.
A senior UK source said the talks were “frank” and that it remained unclear whether the “very large gaps” between the two sides can be bridged.
The leaders agreed to further discussions by their negotiating teams “over the next few days” and that a “firm decision” should be taken by Sunday, the UK source said.
EU negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost have narrowed the gaps over eight months but London insists it will reclaim full sovereignty at the end of the year after half-a-century of close economic integration.
European sources said the two men and their teams would return to the talks on Thursday morning, just ahead of a summit of the EU’s national leaders that will once again be clouded by doubts over cross-Channel ties.
The prime minister had jetted over to the city where he made his name as an EU-bashing newspaper reporter and met Von der Leyen in the Berlaymont, headquarters of the EU Commission.
After posing for press pictures, they headed in for a meeting that was treated as the almost-final chance of a breakthrough before Britain leaves the EU single market at the end of the year.
Though prospects for a breakthrough were slight, Johnson “does not want to leave any route to a possible deal untested,” the source said, after the two ate a dinner of scallops and steamed turbot, two of the seafood varieties that European boats fish for in British waters.
Talks are mainly blocked over the issue of fair competition, with Britain refusing to accept a mechanism that would allow the EU to respond swiftly if UK and EU business rules diverge over time and put European firms at a disadvantage.
Fishing is another sore issue, with Europe eager to keep as much access as possible to the UK’s bountiful waters.
“A good deal is still there to be done,” Johnson had told the UK parliament before setting off for Brussels, while insisting Britain would “prosper mightily” with or without agreement.
If Britain leaves the EU single market in three weeks without a follow-on trade agreement, the damage caused by delays to travelers and freight at its borders will be compounded by import tariffs.
In Berlin, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said there was still a chance for a deal. But she warned: “We must not endanger the integrity of the common market.”
Merkel said Britain would have to accept that as UK and EU laws move apart after Brexit there must be a way to ensure a “level playing field for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”
“Otherwise we’d end up with unfair conditions for competition, which we can’t ask of our companies,” she said.
Merkel and the other EU leaders, including a skeptical French President Emmanuel Macron, are to meet in Brussels on Thursday for their planned EU summit, but Johnson was not invited.
Von der Leyen will update the member state leaders on her talks with the British premier and offer a clear indication of where she believes the talks are headed, diplomats said.
The dinner came after Johnson spoke by telephone to Von der Leyen on Monday when the latest round of negotiations between Barnier and Frost broke off without agreement.
The outcome of the dinner came as no surprise as both sides had expressed pessimism ahead of the encounter.
In recent weeks several member states, led by France, have expressed concern that Germany and Von der Leyen’s European Commission have been too ready to compromise with London.
EU and UK give each other until Sunday to save Brexit talks
https://arab.news/5tv33
EU and UK give each other until Sunday to save Brexit talks
Bulgarian parliament rejects president’s euro referendum proposal
The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro
SOFIA: The speaker of the Bulgarian national assembly Nataliya Kiselova has dismissed President Rumen Radev’s proposal for a national referendum on adopting the euro, saying it violated the constitution, the BTA news agency reported on Tuesday.
On Monday, Radev had suggested a referendum on Bulgaria’s plans to adopt the euro next year with the question: “Do you agree that Bulgaria should introduce the single European currency ‘euro’ in 2026?” His proposal was criticized by the government, with one minister saying it was an attempt to sabotage its efforts to join the single currency.
Sending back the proposal, Kiselova said it did not comply with several articles of the Bulgarian constitution and related European Union treaties, and was inconsistent with rulings from the country’s constitutional court.
The constitutional court has previously rejected a petition for a referendum on joining the euro.
The government aims to adopt the euro next January, pending confirmation from the European Commission and the European Central Bank in June that all membership criteria have been met.
Economists say that Bulgaria, whose lev currency has long been pegged to the euro, would attract more foreign investment if it adopted the single currency and would secure credit ratings upgrades that could cut its debt financing costs.
However, Bulgarians are split on the euro’s adoption, with concerns that it might lead to price hikes, similar to what occurred in Croatia when it switched to the euro in 2023.
Germany’s Merz: EU to tighten sanctions on Russia if no progress on Ukraine this week
- Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia
- “I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable“
BERLIN: The European Union is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if progress on ending the war in Ukraine is not made this week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday, adding a new package of sanctions was prepared.
“We are waiting for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s agreement and we agree that if there is no real progress this week, we want to work together at European level for a significant tightening of sanctions,” Merz said at a news conference with his Greek counterpart.
“We will be looking at other areas, such as the energy sector and also the financial market,” he said.
Merz said EU leaders had agreed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he could take part in talks with Russia in Istanbul this week on the condition that Russian bombardment and attacks on civilians in Ukraine must stop.
While saying he admired Zelensky’s willingness to compromise if it could help a ceasefire, Merz added:
“I believe more compromise and more concessions are no longer reasonable,” said Merz.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the EU must be at the center of any peace settlement.
Putin ‘doesn’t dare’ meet Zelensky in Istanbul: EU’s Kallas
- The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations
- Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks
COPENHAGEN: The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday she didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would turn up for talks in Turkiye this week with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The meeting set for Thursday in Istanbul would be the first direct negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian officials since the early months of Moscow’s invasion in 2022.
Zelensky has urged Putin to personally attend the talks that the Kremlin leader himself suggested, but Moscow has so far declined to respond to the invitation.
“I think it’s a good move if they sit down,” Kallas told a democracy conference in Copenhagen, adding: “But I don’t think he dares, Putin.”
“It has been over two months since Ukraine agreed to an unconditional ceasefire,” she said.
“Russia is clearly playing games, trying to find time, hoping that time is on their side. We haven’t seen any good efforts or good signs from their side.”
Ukraine said Tuesday that a Putin no-show would be a clear sign that Moscow is not serious about peace.
“If Vladimir Putin refuses to come to Turkiye, it will be the final signal that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said in a statement.
How Western aid cuts deepen Afghan women’s crisis
- Foreign aid empowers Afghan women through funding, training, market access
- Entrepreneurs say sudden cuts force women-led businesses to close
KABUL: Afghan women entrepreneurs who have carved out spaces of independence for themselves and others, despite sweeping Taliban restrictions, are facing the collapse of their businesses as Western donors abruptly cut the aid they once pledged.
The rights of Afghan women have been curtailed since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Barred from secondary schools and higher education, restricted in public places and not allowed to take up most of the jobs, women have been turning to private entrepreneurship to empower themselves and others.
Aid from Western countries, which have been pressuring the Taliban to uphold women’s rights, has been especially vital in sustaining these female-led initiatives.
The sudden reduction in funding, which started with massive US aid cuts since January, has already affected Afghan healthcare and essential services and is now taking a toll on the very group the West once vowed to support.
“Women’s economic activities have been severely affected by the reduction in international aid. Reduced financial support has led to fewer training and development opportunities, and in some cases international partners that previously provided resources or markets have suspended or ceased their activities,” Behnaz Saljoqi, head of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Herat, told Arab News.
International humanitarian aid has played a key role in empowering women entrepreneurs by providing not only direct support but also training, networking opportunities, microfinance, access to foreign markets, and sponsorship for exhibitions.
“This support not only helped women acquire technical and managerial skills, but also gain greater confidence to participate in the labor market and society. Without this support, many women would not even consider starting a business,” Saljoqi said.
“If the situation continues or worsens, the working environment for women will become increasingly difficult … The empowerment process that began in previous years will be reversed.”
Bahar Anwari, who runs Bahar Canvas Art Gallery in Kabul, is already observing a decline in her business as her usual customers — women — are no longer placing orders.
“With the reduction of development projects, things changed in the country,” she said.
“The purchasing power of people, especially women, has become very low. Employment opportunities became scarce, and most women lost their jobs, and poverty is growing every day. We will have to shut down our workshops and sit at home doing nothing.”
For Afghan women entrepreneurs, doing business means not only helping to sustain their own households but also contributing to society and creating opportunities for others like them.
International support has played a key role in making it possible.
“Women in Afghanistan largely depend on financial support from family and international organizations. While establishing my company, I also received some funds from a development organization, without which it would have been very difficult to set up the business,” said Parisa Elhami, director of fashion brand Watan Collection.
“Being in business as a woman gave me the strength and confidence to maintain my social standing despite the limitations. Business allowed me to be independent and provide employment opportunities for other women.”
The foreign aid cuts, especially from Afghanistan’s main donor, the US — which invaded the country in 2001 and spent billions of dollars on two decades of military and development operations — have already disrupted basic services such as healthcare, education, and food distribution.
Women, whose social role US humanitarian agencies earlier promoted, face losing their place in society, together with the collapsing businesses.
“The presence of women in economic and social spheres is vital. It not only contributes to economic growth, but also contributes to social justice and the overall progress of society,” Elhami told Arab News.
“The decline in international aid, especially from the US, has forced many women-run companies to close or reduce their staff … If the economic situation and global aid levels continue at the same pace or worse, the future of women’s business will be seriously threatened. Many businesses will disappear and women’s access to economic, health and educational opportunities will be severely limited.”
UN chief pleads with countries to pay their share for peacekeeping, points to financial problems
- UN’s peackeeping department currently leads 11 operations, in countries including Lebanon, South Sudan, Congo others
- “Peacekeeping operations have been facing serious liquidity problems,” said Guterres
BERLIN: UN Secretary-General António Guterres told countries that the world body’s peacekeeping operation is “only as strong as member states’ commitment to it” as he pleaded with them Tuesday to pay their share.
The United Nations’ peackeeping department currently leads 11 operations, in countries including Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Kosovo.
The budget for nine of those operations during the fiscal year that ends on June 30 totals $5.6 billion, 8.2 percent lower than a year earlier. Each of the UN’s 193 member countries is legally obliged to pay its share toward peacekeeping.
Guterres argued that, with a budget “representing a tiny fraction of global military spending — around one half of one percent — UN Peacekeeping remains one of the most effective and cost-effective tools to build international peace and security.”
“But it’s only as strong as member states’ commitment to it,” he added at the opening of a two-day, German-hosted conference of ministers to discuss the future of peacekeeping.
“Unfortunately, peacekeeping operations have been facing serious liquidity problems. It is absolutely essential that all member states respect their financial obligations, paying their contributions in full and on time.”
Guterres didn’t offer details of the problems, but acknowledged that “these are tough times for the financing of our work across the board.”
More broadly, the UN has been scrambling to respond to funding cuts for aid operations from its biggest donor, the United States, under President Donald Trump’s administration.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that his country, like many others, “is prepared to pledge additional resources” for peacekeeping. But he said there should also be an effort to make missions “more efficient and more focused” through clearer mandates, cutting back on bureaucracy and avoiding duplication.
