Brexit
Montchalin: €500 billion in budgetary allocations to ‘be maintained at all costs’
Ahead of tomorrow's EU summit (19 June), France's European Affairs Minister Amélie de Montchalin told EURACTIV's partner Ouest-France in an interview that the EU27, including the "frugal four", are moving towards accepting an EU recovery programme, but that it would not work without reforms and long-term investment.
UK’s Brexit election explained: ‘There will be one less pro-climate vote in the EU’
With Germany’s dwindling leadership on climate, Britain’s departure from the European Union could have “potentially huge” consequences for climate policy, says Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
Leave vote softens but UK still split down the middle on Brexit, says polling guru
The Leave vote may have softened, but most Britons would vote the same way again if the UK held another referendum on Brexit, says UK polling guru John Curtice.
Bullmann: May should put the Brexit question back to the people
UK Prime Minister Theresa May should stop wasting time and start working with the Labour Party for a closer EU-UK relationship, or put the question back to the British people, socialist chief Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Association chief: Portuguese textile industry likes to think Brexit will not happen
Portugal has strong links with Britain and Brexit is perceived as a challenge in the country, as it has affected trade since the time of the referendum in 2016. But many companies seem to believe that Brexit will not happen, Paulo Vaz told EURACTIV in an interview.
Moscovici: We are quite close to an agreement on the digital tax
The introduction of national digital taxes across Europe is not detrimental to the Commission's European proposal, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, told EURACTIV.com, adding that he believes an agreement on the issue is “quite close”.
OECD’s Gurria: ‘If you need time for a better Brexit deal, give it enough time’
The secretary general of the OECD, Ángel Gurría, believes that extending Brexit talks until July could be feasible in order to ensure an agreement is sealed. Speaking to EURACTIV.com in an exclusive interview in Davos, the Mexican diplomat and economist expressed his concerns about the paralysis spreading in many countries in Europe.
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.
Katainen on Brexit: We have to take Spain’s concerns very seriously
Member states share Spain's concerns over the future relationship with Gibraltar after Brexit, Vice-President of the European Commission for Jobs, Growth, Investment & Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen told EURACTIV.com in a long interview where he addressed all the pressing challenges the EU is currently facing.
Private sector ‘hasn’t done enough’ to stop extreme parties, says business leader
Businesses in Europe did not stand up to defend the system against the attacks of extreme parties and populist forces, says the president of Spain's Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet.
ECR chief: EU27 Brexit unity only on the outside
Some Central and Eastern European leaders are concerned that France and Germany are setting the Brexit agenda and might push for 'no deal', the head of the ECR group in the European Parliament told EURACTIV Slovakia.
Brexit: ‘Most difficult part is still to come’, warns Barnier
Progress is being made but 'the most difficult part is still to come', EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said in an interview with European press agencies including EURACTIV's partner Ouest-France, as well as La Repubblica, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Le Soir and El Espanyol.
UK has yet to see post-Brexit challenges, former Irish minister says
Britain, the former sick man of Europe, has seen its economy grow strongly in the EU. It is making a major mistake by leaving the bloc and the customs union and does not even realise what serious challenges it will face in the future, says former Irish minister Dara Murphy.
Trade expert: Jersey holds the key to unlock Brexit dilemma
Could the Channel Islands hold the key to unlocking the Brexit puzzle? Trade expert Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform tells EURACTIV that Jersey's 'strange relationship' with the EU could be an acceptable 'half-way house'.
British Council boss: Brexit won’t change the way we help the world
The British Council will continue to do the work it has always done, despite Brexit, and its priorities in areas like Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East remain as important as ever, said the organisation’s CEO in a wide-ranging interview.
McAllister: Brexit is a historic mistake
It is not clear whether the Council will be able to state in December that sufficient progress in Brexit talks has been made, David McAllister, who chairs the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, told EURACTIV.
British farmers’ boss: I hope outside the EU, decisions will be science-based
The leader of Britain's farming union, Meurig Raymond, hopes that the agriculture-related decisions made in London after his country leaves the EU will be more science-based and less emotional than is currently the case in Europe.
UK shadow minister: Britain needs a real food policy after Brexit
After Brexit, the UK should develop a real food policy focused on consumer health and self-sufficiency, while ensuring public money gets to the farmers who need it, David Drew told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Catalonia’s chief communicator: We will be independent and an EU member
EXCLUSIVE / The EU may be reluctant now but it will inevitably accept to mediate in the separation of Catalonia from Spain and the presence of the new Catalan state within the EU, Joan Maria Piqué told EURACTIV in an interview.
Stanley Johnson: In 50 years, Brexit may look like the right move at the right time
Former MEP Stanley Johnson, the father of the current UK foreign secretary, told EURACTIV.com that Brexit should not throw out the baby with the bathwater and maintain the best the EU has to offer.
Greek minister: EMA bid shows drugs are a social good
Athens’ decision to claim the European Medicine Agency's relocation from London sends a message that medicine is “not just a commodity but a social good”, Greece’s Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georgios Katrougalos, told EURACTIV.com.
MacShane: ‘We can leave the EU but not the single market’
To stop Brexit now would require another referendum and there is no public appetite for it, according to Denis MacShane. Instead, he argues the British government should push to remain in the single market and keep trade with Europe open.
Dublin’s man in Berlin: Confidence growing in Irish economy despite ‘Brexit challenges’
Ireland’s priority in the Brexit negotiations is to ensure 1998’s Good Friday Agreement is protected, as well as maintaining close as possible ties between the EU and the UK, explained Dublin’s ambassador to Germany.