Emmanuel Macron accused the prime minister of the Netherlands of taking Brexit Britain’s obstructive role at EU summits, as marathon talks over stretched into a fourth straight day on Monday. The French President’s patience snapped as tempers flared in tough negotiations over the plans for a €750 bn stimulus package and bolstered €1.1 trillion EU Budget for seven years from 2021. The package is backed by France, Germany, Spain, Italy and others but resisted by the “frugal four” of the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark, who were joined by Finland on Sunday. Mark Rutte,...…Emmanuel Macron accused the prime minister of the Netherlands of taking Brexit Britain’s obstructive role at EU summits, as marathon talks over stretched into a fourth straight day on Monday. The French President’s patience snapped as tempers flared in tough negotiations over the plans for a €750 bn stimulus package and bolstered €1.1 trillion EU Budget for seven years from 2021. The package is backed by France, Germany, Spain, Italy and others but resisted by the “frugal four” of the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark, who were joined by Finland on Sunday. Mark Rutte,...WW…

The European Commission is under fire after its emergency relief fund gave Hungary more than double the amount of EU money than Italy, which is the worst hit country in Europe. Italy received €2.3bn (£2 bn) from the €37bn Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative but Hungary, which has a sixth of the population of Italy, got €5.6bn (just under £4.9bn).  An estimated 172 people have died from the virus in Hungary compared to a staggering 23,660 victims in Italy. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, was accused of exploiting the pandemic to give himself...…The European Commission is under fire after its emergency relief fund gave Hungary more than double the amount of EU money than Italy, which is the worst hit country in Europe. Italy received €2.3bn (£2 bn) from the €37bn Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative but Hungary, which has a sixth of the population of Italy, got €5.6bn (just under £4.9bn).  An estimated 172 people have died from the virus in Hungary compared to a staggering 23,660 victims in Italy. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, was accused of exploiting the pandemic to give himself...WW…

British cats, dogs and ferrets will need an EU pet passport to travel to Northern Ireland after the end of the Brexit transition period, it has been confirmed.The creation of an internal “pet border” in the United Kingdom from Jan 1 next year is a result of the Withdrawal Agreement Boris Johnson negotiated with Brussels. That deal effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s customs territory and moves the border between it and the Republic to the Irish Sea to prevent the need for inflammatory checks on the border after Brexit. The EU’s Pet Travel Scheme allows for the free...…British cats, dogs and ferrets will need an EU pet passport to travel to Northern Ireland after the end of the Brexit transition period, it has been confirmed.The creation of an internal “pet border” in the United Kingdom from Jan 1 next year is a result of the Withdrawal Agreement Boris Johnson negotiated with Brussels. That deal effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EU’s customs territory and moves the border between it and the Republic to the Irish Sea to prevent the need for inflammatory checks on the border after Brexit. The EU’s Pet Travel Scheme allows for the free...WW…

European Union governments will refuse to negotiate an agreement to take back illegal migrants crossing the Channel to Britain if the UK does not back down in the Brexit trade talks, diplomats in Brussels warned on Wednesday. Talks are deadlocked over fishing, the level playing field guarantees, the future role of the European Court of Justice and Britain’s refusal to promise to stay in the European Convention of Human Rights. Britain will no longer be covered by the Dublin regulation once the Brexit transition period finishes at the end of the year. The EU law means an...…European Union governments will refuse to negotiate an agreement to take back illegal migrants crossing the Channel to Britain if the UK does not back down in the Brexit trade talks, diplomats in Brussels warned on Wednesday. Talks are deadlocked over fishing, the level playing field guarantees, the future role of the European Court of Justice and Britain’s refusal to promise to stay in the European Convention of Human Rights. Britain will no longer be covered by the Dublin regulation once the Brexit transition period finishes at the end of the year. The EU law means an...WW…