About: UK
UK, Dutch spy agencies curb intel flow to Austria over Russia ties
British and Dutch spy agencies have heavily restricted the amount of intelligence they share with Austria, mainly because of ties between the ruling far-right Freedom Party and Russia, an Austrian opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday (9 April).
UK will become ‘Trojan horse’ inside EU, British MP threatens
The UK will become a “trojan horse” inside the EU should the country fail to withdraw from the bloc, prominent Pro-Brexit MP Mark Francois has claimed.
Gibraltar is a ‘colony,’ MEPs say
MEPs in the European Parliament's justice committee have backed a regulation that refers to the British Overseas Terrority Gibraltar as a 'colony.' The main purpose of the text put forward by the EU member states is to offer visa-free access to the EU for UK citizens after Brexit, but has caused controversy over its choice of language.
EU tells Britain to reclaim illegal tax breaks offered to multinationals
A preferential UK tax scheme designed to attract multinational companies partially violated EU state aid rules, the European Commission concluded on Tuesday (2 April), calling on British authorities to recover the undue tax breaks, only a few days away from Brexit.
May gets ‘legally binding’ assurances on backstop from last-ditch Strasbourg trip
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has secured "legally binding" assurances to her Brexit plans in a bid to win over Brexit rebels in the House of Commons, a day before a meaningful vote takes place amongst MPs.
UK agrees WTO procurement membership post-Brexit
The UK agreed its first major post-Brexit trade pact on Wednesday (27 February) when the World Trade Organisation confirmed that the UK will join the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) as an independent member if it leaves the EU without a Brexit agreement.
Allies fume at German ban of arms exports to Saudi Arabia
Germany said Wednesday (20 February) it would hold firm on its decision to halt weapons exports to Saudi Arabia, shrugging off British warnings that the embargo could hurt European credibility and efforts to bring peace in Yemen.
‘Small platforms’ are the target of online terrorist content regulation, MEP says
The EU is taking regulatory measures to clamp down on the dissemination of terrorist content online. In the European Parliament, the file is being dealt with by the Civil Liberties Committee, with MEP Daniel Dalton leading the report. EURACTIV sat down with Dalton to discuss the finer details of the plans.
‘Digital gangsters’: UK parliament slams Facebook on data protection, disinformation
A UK Parliamentary report has singled out Facebook for failing to effectively protect user data and stem the spread of disinformation across its platform, saying that the tech giant "is unwilling to be accountable to regulators around the world."
North Macedonia takes big step toward NATO accession at London summit
NATO signed the accession protocol with North Macedonia on Wednesday (6 February). The military alliance also decided to hold a summit in London in December, when North Macedonia could officially join the alliance.
Russia, Turkey back Venezuela’s Maduro, while West turns up heat
Russia accused the United States on Thursday (24 January) of trying to usurp power in Venezuela and warned against military intervention, putting it at odds with Washington and the EU which backed protests against one of Moscow’s closest allies.
2019 LOOKAHEAD: New brand of social upheaval takes shape ahead of EU elections
The yellow vests in France and Belgium may be only the tip of the iceberg of a major social upheaval ahead of the European elections, with a common denominator: people protesting their worsening living standards do not want to be represented by the existing political forces.
Avoid Brexit-style ‘chaos’ Dutch PM tells his people
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, has issued a stark warning to the Dutch public, telling them to learn from the mistakes of the British government while the Brexit negotiations continue to be dogged by setbacks in the UK for Prime Minister Theresa May.
Europe speeds up plans for no-deal scenario as Brexit chaos grows
EU leaders will discuss late on Thursday (13 December) how to address the UK's concerns about its withdrawal agreement from the EU, but discussions on contingency plans are gathering pace as the chances of an orderly divorce continue to wane.
UK intelligence services: We don’t disclose every cyber vulnerability
In a landmark move, the UK intelligence services unveiled on Thursday (29 November) the process by which they decide to disclose security vulnerabilities to technology firms. Not every weakness discovered in a system is always disclosed to the company in question, they revealed.
Brexit: Gibraltar article came ‘out of nowhere,’ Spain says
Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell voiced frustration with the UK's EU withdrawal agreement on Monday (19 November), complaining that the Spanish authorities had not been briefed on the details of Article 184 of the agreement.
UK cabinet chaos as May tries to steady the ship
UK Prime Minister Theresa May was defiant on Thursday (15 November), as she dismissed claims from government ministers that her draft withdrawal agreement does not deliver the Brexit that the British public voted for.
London has become a hotbed for Russian spies, report reveals
The scale of Russian espionage in London has been revealed in a new report endorsed by the former head of MI6 on Tuesday (6 November), as Washington is eyeing a second round of US-coordinated sanctions over the Salisbury attack.
EU’s troublemakers find comfort in Chinese arms
Cornered by their EU partners, Italy, Hungary and the UK were welcomed with open arms by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his landmark trade event held in Shanghai this week, where around 3,000 companies from more than 130 countries are taking part in the first China International Import Expo (CIIE).
Ecuador no longer to intervene with UK for WikiLeaks Assange – foreign minister
Ecuador does not plan to intervene with the British government on behalf of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in talks over his situation as an asylee in the South American country’s London embassy, Ecuador’s foreign minister said on Tuesday (23 October).
With Brexit looming, Germany and Britain ramp up defence cooperation
Britain signed a military cooperation agreement with Germany on Friday (5 October), emphasising London's commitment to helping shield Europe from future security threats at a time when negotiations over its own exit from the EU are reaching a crunch time.
Britain says Russian military intelligence behind host of global cyber attacks
Britain accused Russian military intelligence on Thursday (4 October) of directing a host of cyber-attacks aimed at undermining Western democracies by sowing confusion in everything from sport to transport and the 2016 US presidential election.
British intelligence services make dramatic admission in spying case
The UK intelligence agencies GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 unlawfully captured private data from the UK-based rights charity Privacy International, legal documents published on Tuesday (25 September) reveal, in a move likely to spark fury amongst civil rights campaigners.