The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier expressed confidence at a closed-door meeting with member state envoys to the bloc last Friday that a new deal with Britain was possible, diplomatic sources have told Reuters. His comments after the latest round of EU-UK negotiations contrast with his downbeat public assessment that London’s rigid positions on fisheries and the “level playing field” guarantees of fair competition meant a deal was unlikely for now. More than four years after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the EU, and after tortuous divorce talks,…
Read MoreDay: July 28, 2020
Spain sees thaw in tensions between Europe and Turkey over Mediterranean drilling
Spain’s foreign minister said that talks in Turkey on Monday (27 July) had helped to reduce tensions between some EU members and Ankara over Turkish energy exploration in the Mediterranean, adding that a one-month pause in drilling was possible. Foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, at a news conference in Ankara with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, said an “inflexion point” had been reached on the dispute over drilling for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Turkey is at loggerheads with Greece and Cyprus over overlapping claims for offshore reserves…
Read MoreA new study finds trial “glimmers of hope” in the German business climate, but refers to these changes should carefully
The German business climate is improving, according to a new survey. However, this phenomenon should be treated with caution, because many companies still lack future prospects, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) warns. The German economy is becoming more confident again, at least according to the business climate index for July, which the Institute for Economic Research (IFO) presented on Monday (27 July). Since June, the index has risen from 86.3 to 90.5 points, suggesting that companies are not only taking a more positive view of…
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