Almaghribtoday - Tag

EU

Salvini probe dossier sent to Palermo

Palermo - ANSA

A dossier of charges against Interior Minister Matteo Salvini including kidnapping, illegal arrest and abuse of office in the Diciotti migrant case was sent from Agrigento to Palermo on Friday. Salvini kept the 177 Eritreans aboard the coast guard ship for 10 days saying they could not land until the EU agreed to take them in. In the end theRead more

Scholz plays down Italy-EU tensions

Berlin - ANSA

German Finance Minster Olaf Scholz on Friday urged people not to dramatize tensions between Italy and the EU over migrants and the budget. "Europe is still made up of 28 States," he said. "We mustn't get panicked every time there is a change of government". "I urge calm. I can recall that the president of the Italian republic has clarifiedRead more

France's Macron proposes EU collective defence plan

Helsinki - AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that Europe adopts a form of collective defence on Thursday as he strengthens calls for EU integration in the face of concerns over the United States' security commitments. Macron, who has called on the bloc to stop its reliance on Washington as a military backstop, said Europe should seek "strategic autonomy" in defence, during aRead more

Economists call for overhaul of eurozone fiscal rules

Berlin - Al Maghrib Today

Leading economists from France and Germany on Wednesday called for new fiscal rules for the eurozone and the creation of an independent watchdog to help to make the single currency more resilient against crises in the future. Their intervention comes as Germany and France seek to inject new momentum into stalled EU reform efforts, and on the same day thatRead more

Belgian PM seeks EU help in row

Brussels - Al Maghrib Today

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Thursday he would seek EU help to settle a row over his country's deportation of Sudanese who were allegedly tortured on their return home. Michel's coalition government has faced an uproar since his immigration minister Theo Francken invited officials from Khartoum in September to identify Sudanese migrants and then deported around a dozen ofRead more

Bulgaria pushes to enter euro 'waiting room'

Sofia - Al Maghirb Today

Bulgaria, the EU's poorest member state, on Thursday said it wants to enter the "waiting room" to join the euro as it marked the start of the bloc's presidency. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has called for the eurozone to expand beyond its current 19 members. But any country that, like Bulgaria, wants to gain access to the single currencyRead more

Bulgaria's EU presidency start drowned by protest shouts

Sofia - Al Maghrib Today

Bulgaria's six-month EU presidency stint Thursday got off to a noisy start as anti-corruption protesters blocked streets in heavily-guarded capital Sofia. More than 1,500 people shouted "Mafia!", "Resign!", "Save Pirin" and "We want nature, not concrete" to slam plans for the country's Pirin national park they say would open to construction almost half of the UNESCO world heritage site. ManyRead more

EU seeks 'urgent' response

Brussels - Al Maghrib Today

The EU's top official for the euro single currency on Wednesday pressed European regulators to urgently update financial rules in order to face bitcoin's dizzying volatility. Crypto-currency bitcoin has soared almost 20-fold since the start of the year and this month saw it move into the mainstream as two major US exchanges began trading futures in the unit. "The developmentsRead more

EU approves Lufthansa buyout of Air Berlin assets

Brussels - Al Maghrib Today

German carrier Lufthansa clinched EU approval on Thursday for its scaled back bid to snap up assets of bankrupt Air Berlin, a European Union statement said. "Lufthansa has put forward improved remedies that make sure the effects of its (Air Berlin subsidiary) LGW acquisition on competition are limited," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. Source: AFPRead more

Greek parliament approves 'final bailout' budget

Athens - Al Maghrib Today

Greece's parliament on Tuesday approved the 2018 budget, described by the government as the last under the country's multi-billion bailout, which nominally ends in August. "After eight years...this is the final bailout budget parliament is called to approve. We leave behind a period nobody will want to remember," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told the chamber. "We have regained credibility inRead more