The EU said it would response “swiftly” to trade threats made by Donald Trump (European Commission•Getty)
THE EUROPEAN UNION will retaliate ”swiftly and appropriately” if Donald Trump imposes tough trade sanctions on the bloc, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said.
Mr Schinas said trade can and should be “win-win” as he responded to threats made by US President Donald Trump. Continue reading
Spanish Guardia Civil guards drag a man (AFP/Getty Images)
CATALAN independence protesters are holding strikes to bring swathes of the region to a standstill today in anger at the Spanish government’s refusal to accept the result.
Catalan trade unions and associates called for the action due to “the grave violation of rights and freedoms” seen when heavily armed Spanish officers clashed with voters on Sunday.
Madrid, which deemed the referendum illegal, deployed hundreds of officers in a last desperate attempt to stop the ballot from going ahead. Continue reading
The Greek proposal “doesn’t meet the criteria agreed upon in the Eurogroup on Monday,” German Finance Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said in an e-mailed statement. “In truth, it aims at bridge financing without meeting the requirements” of the rescue program. European Commission Spokesman Margaritis Schinas moments earlier had said the Greek letter could be the basis for a “reasonable compromise.”
With the Greek state and its banks shut out of financial markets and dependent on emergency aid to stay afloat, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is retreating from his pledges to end austerity as the country’s creditors tighten the financial vise. While he’s not yet gone far enough to satisfy Germany, Greek bonds held on to earlier gains as a spokeswoman said Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble still plans to meet his euro-region counterparts in Brussels on Friday.
Global Geopolitics 