Benjamin Fox
Brexit is ‘the ultimate test case of Europeanisation’
Brexit may have paralysed and, in equal measures, humiliated Britain’s government, parliament and political parties, but Anand Menon, director of an influential UK think tank, is fascinated by the impact of this "unique experiment" on the country’s politics.
May offers cross-party Brexit talks after surviving confidence vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May offered to immediately open cross-party talks to agree on a new Brexit deal after she narrowly survived a vote of no confidence late on Wednesday (16 January).
May to face confidence vote after Brexit deal suffers crushing defeat
Theresa May will face a no confidence vote after MPs rejected her Brexit agreement by a crushing 230 majority on Tuesday night (15 January).
‘No deal would be more Millennium Bug than Armageddon’, say Brexiteers
The EU may have repeated that the Withdrawal Agreement struck with Theresa May is the only deal on offer but plenty of British MPs do not believe them.
EU-Swiss talks hit impasse, causing Brexit confusion
Talks between Brussels and Berne have been running since 2014 in a bid to formalise the 120 separate accords that have been negotiated between the EU and Switzerland since a 1992 referendum in the Alpine state rejected joining the European Economic Area. But the draft agreement, which was made public in early December, now seems unlikely to become reality.
Rejecting my deal could lead to ‘no Brexit’, warns May
Political 'paralysis' in Westminster is more likely to lead to 'no Brexit' and the UK staying in the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May warned on Monday (14 January) as she launched a last-ditch attempt to save her Brexit deal.
May faces three-day deadline for new plan if she loses Brexit vote
If the UK Parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement next Tuesday (15 January), as is widely expected, she will be forced to present a new Brexit plan within three days.
MPs defeat May, urge her to rule out ‘no deal’ Brexit
UK MPs piled more pressure on Theresa May to rule out a ‘no deal’ Brexit on Tuesday (8 January) after inflicting another embarrassing defeat on her.
A year of blundering in the dark
A wasted year ended with the UK no clearer about its future relations with the EU but with the clock rapidly ticking down to the 29 March date when she will formally leave the bloc.
Who will speak for Africa with Brussels?
The African Union has ambitious plans to reconfigure its continent’s relations with the European Union. In 2018, led by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and the Chadian chair of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Addis Ababa-based AU moved...
UK confirms EU migrant clampdown post-Brexit
The UK government confirmed on Wednesday (19 December) that most EU workers will no longer enjoy the automatic right to live and work in the UK, as it laid down its plans to reform immigration policy after the country leaves the EU.
Kurz eyes Egypt’s El-Sisi as migration ally
This week’s Africa-Europe Forum in Vienna may have been officially focused on ‘digital policy co-operation’, but Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi used the opportunity to talk about migration control.
Demand grows to beef up EU’s religious freedom envoy
The fragile status of the EU’s special envoy on religious freedom is an unlikely topic of conjecture in the months leading up to next May’s European elections.
Warm words but no Brexit concessions, as May leaves Brussels empty-handed
EU leaders took turns to praise Theresa May on Thursday night (13 December) but the UK Prime Minister left Brussels empty-handed after promising her divided Conservative party that she would secure new concessions from EU leaders.
Doomed May wins confidence vote but at heavy cost
Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday night (12 December) but it came at a heavy price, as she lost the support of nearly 40% of her Conservative MPs and the opposition hinted it may soon mount its own challenge against her.
Tories call no confidence vote but May vows to fight on
The UK was poised for more political chaos on Wednesday (12 December) as Prime Minister Theresa May vowed to ride through a no-confidence vote with “everything I’ve got” after her own Conservative MPs formally launched a move to oust her.
May comes up empty-handed as she launches last ditch Brexit tour
Prime Minister Theresa May is set to emerge empty-handed from a whistle-stop tour of European capitals where she seeks further concessions from EU leaders to salvage her unpopular Brexit deal.
Theresa May buys one last chance after shelving Brexit vote
UK Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs on Monday (10 December) that she would return to Brussels to seek new concessions on the Irish ‘backstop’ as she postponed a vote in parliament to give herself one last chance to salvage her battered Brexit deal.
EU court offers Brexit way out as May moves to delay crunch vote
The European Court of Justice ruled on Monday (10 December) that the UK can unilaterally halt the Brexit process as Theresa May moved towards delaying a crunch vote on her EU Withdrawal Agreement in the UK parliament.
EU and France ramp up €1.3bn support for G5 Sahel
The EU and France ramped up their funding for the G5 Sahel anti-terror alliance to €1.3bn at a two day donor summit in Mauritania on Thursday (6 December).
May rejects plea to delay Brexit vote
Theresa May rejected calls to delay a vote by MPs on her Brexit deal but left open the possibility to give lawmakers a vote on whether to enter into the Northern Ireland backstop on Thursday (6 December).
UK could halt Brexit unilaterally, says EU’s top judge
The United Kingdom could unilaterally decide to revoke Article 50 and remain in the European Union, the European Court of Justice’s top legal adviser said on Tuesday (4 December).
EU still leads the way on animal testing alternatives, industry representative says
The EU continues to lead the world in balancing ethics with science, although the gap with other regions is "significantly" narrowing, Charles Laroche, industry co-chair of the European Partnership for Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing.