Category: Ursula von der Leyen

Hong Kong Activists Urge EU Not to Sign China Investment Deal

Twenty-four Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have written to European Union leaders and lawmakers urging them to block the EU-China investment deal unless the Chinese regime repeals its National Security Law for the former British colony. Thirteen of the co-signatories of the letter are now living in exile as a result of Beijing’s increasingly brutal crackdown…


EU Top Official Regrets ‘Mistakes’ Over Vaccine Export Gaffe

BRUSSELS—The European Union’s top official expressed regret for creating a row with Britain last month when the bloc briefly considered applying an emergency restriction on exports of COVID-19 vaccines also to the UK’s Northern Ireland. Amid a dispute with Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, the EU introduced tighter rules on exports of COVID-19 vaccines that could hit…


UK Demands Release of Putin Critic Alexei Navalny

The UK government on Monday joined international calls for Russia to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who was detained on Sunday. Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was detained on arrival at a Moscow airport after he flew home to Russia from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer. Navalny could…


EU Approves Moderna CCP Virus Vaccine

The European Commission on Wednesday authorized the CCP virus vaccine developed by U.S. company Moderna, the second COVID-19 jab approved by the EU. The authorization follows a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which reached the decision after an assessment of the vaccine’s quality, safety, and efficacy. “We are providing more COVID-19 vaccines…


Senior US Security Adviser Slams EU-China Investment Deal: Report

The White House deputy national security adviser has reportedly slammed a major business investment deal that was made “in principle” between the EU and China on Wednesday. On Thursday, Matthew Pottinger said that the deal, made despite China’s “grotesque human rights abuses,” has shocked American politicians on both sides of the aisle at a time…


Johnson Signs Brexit Trade Deal After Approval by UK Lawmakers

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed the UK–EU agreement on post-Brexit trade and cooperation on Dec. 30, after it got parliamentary approval. “I want everybody to understand that the treaty that I’ve just signed is not the end, it is a new beginning, and I think the beginning of what will be a wonderful relationship…


EU Reaches Investment Pact With China Amid Human Rights Concerns

The European Union said on Dec. 30 it had concluded a business investment agreement with China after the Communist regime made commitments to improve market access. The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, which was seven years in the making, was concluded “in principle” at a video conference attended by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, European Commission President…


EU Leaders Formally Sign Post-Brexit Trade Agreement

Top European Union officials on Wednesday formally signed the EU-UK agreement on post-Brexit trade relations, which will come into effect after the Brexit transition period ends on Dec. 31. The 1,240-page agreement, reached on Christmas Eve, was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, president of the European Council, an…


EU and UK Will Continue to ‘Stand Shoulder to Shoulder’, EU Chief Says

The European Union and the UK will still “stand shoulder to shoulder” on global issues despite Brexit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday after the two sides reached agreement on future trade relations. The UK and the EU clinched a deal early on Thursday, just seven days before the Brexit transition…


UK, EU Strike Deal on Post-Brexit Trade

The UK and the European Union have clinched a deal on post-Brexit trade relations, just seven days before the Brexit transition period is set to end on Dec. 31. “The deal is done,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote on Twitter shortly after 3 p.m. GMT. “We’ve taken back control of our laws and our…