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☆ EU debt fears hinder U.S. green subsidies riposte
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That ties von der Leyen’s hands. Since September, von der Leyen has been pushing a “solidarity fund” to offset the imbalances that could arise out of freer-flowing EU subsidies. To move ahead, von der Leyen will just have to scatter some seeds and see what grows. Follow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a Jan. 17 speech at Davos on her forthcoming green technology strategy. Von der Leyen has since September been advocating for a “solidarity fund” to help smaller countries keep up with their bigger, richer peers.

☆ Right-wing Quran burning in Sweden enrages Turkey and throws a new wrench in Nordics’ NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Rasmus Paludan holds a burning Koran outside of the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Gratzer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Saturday, far-right demonstrators burned a Quran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Several media outlets and independent journalist gather to see Rasmus Paludan stage a Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reportedly denounced the protest as an act of "sabotage" against the country's NATO membership bid. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

☆ Chinese ambassador says Ukraine crisis has hurt relations with EU -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put China in a "very difficult position" for its bilateral relations with the European Union, Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, was quoted as saying in an interview with the South China Morning Post published on Friday. Fu said one of his priorities in the new role was to "depoliticise" EU-China relations, SCMP reported. He said that China was not benefiting from the war, and did not have any interest in prolonging the conflict, the newspaper said. Fu added that China's position was "quite balanced" and that the country is ready to engage in peaceful efforts, the Morning Post said. European Council President Charles Michel urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use the country's "influence" on Russia over its war in Ukraine during a visit to Beijing earlier this month.

☆ EU-Ukraine summit set for Feb 3, location not decided
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The location of the summit has not been determined yet. "I can confirm the EU-Ukraine summit will take place on 3 February and there is an open invitation to President Zelenskiy to visit Brussels," said Barend Leyts, spokesman for the chairman of EU leaders. The spokesman said the invitation for Zelenskiy to visit Brussels did not mean that's where the summit would be held. Officials said the theme of the summit was likely to be how the EU can continue to support Ukraine against Russia. The leaders of the EU's two key institutions -- the Commission and the council of EU leaders -- would also assess Ukraine's path to membership in the bloc.

Feeling defiant, I told him, I will let the world know what you police are doing," said Pei, 27. He asked to be identified only by part of his name for fear of repercussions. China's Ministry of Public Security did not respond to a request for comment on the laws they might use against protesters. Zhang Dongshuo, a Beijing-based lawyer who has handled rights cases in the past, said the levels of punishment for protesting in China vary widely. "They just sprang up organically because people were driven by a sense of hopelessness and desperation about the never-ending COVID restrictions," Wu said.

☆ His power secure at home, China’s Xi Jinping goes on a charm offensive abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | Evelyn Cheng Is A News Associate With Cnbc. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING — Now that he has consolidated power at home, Chinese President Xi Jinping is stepping out onto the world stage to strengthen relations with the U.S. and other countries. Most recently, Xi hosted European Council President Charles Michel in Beijing on Thursday. In a speech at the party congress, Xi said the party has “safeguarded China’s dignity” in the face of international changes and warned of “dangerous storms” ahead. The following week, the countries’ military leaders met for the first time since Pelosi’s controversial Taiwan visit in August. Heads of Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia and Italy met with both Xi and Biden in the last several weeks, based on government announcements.

☆ China's Xi has met with more than 25 world leaders since consolidating power at home
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China's President Xi Jinping attends a session during the G20 Summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali on November 16, 2022. BEIJING — A month after consolidating power at home, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stepped out onto the world stage to strengthen relations with the U.S. and other countries. Most recently, Xi hosted President of the European Council Charles Michel in Beijing on Thursday. "He met with leaders of advanced industrial democracies for the first time since the pandemic began and amid fraught relations between China and the West. Most of Xi's meetings fueled a positive outlook for stabilizing relations."

Persuading households that hoarded $1.9 trillion this year to spend will be far more difficult. Cities desperately want budgetary relief from expensive testing and quarantine enforcement mandates, and revive business investment and consumption. The question is how much of a boost combined efforts to relax zero-Covid and prop up the real estate sector will have. Yet a shopping boom seems unlikely, especially if China experiences a major outbreak as a result of looser controls. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ China’s Xi Tells EU Delegation That Protests Reflect Covid Frustration
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( James T. Areddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s leader, Xi Jinping , told a visiting European Union delegation that recent protests in the country reflected frustration about Covid controls and suggested the pandemic has entered a less deadly stage, according to European officials familiar with the situation. The comments by Mr. Xi, during a three-hour meeting in Beijing on Thursday with European Council President Charles Michel , are the first known responses by China’s leader to last weekend’s demonstrations on college campuses and streets around the country.

☆ The U.S. wants the EU to be strict with China. But Europe can't afford it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The United States has stepped up its heavy rhetoric against China, and wants Europe to follow suit. Reports suggested that American officials had told European counterparts to consider using export control restrictions on China. "While the U.S. is trying to pull the EU into its direction to distance itself from China, the EU is keen to maintain economic ties to China. This comes at a time when the relationship between the EU and U.S. is turning a little sour. The EU said this challenges international trade rules and is a threat to European companies.

☆ China's Xi told EU less lethal Omicron opens way for fewer COVID restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The senior EU officials, who asked not to be named, recounted the main points of a visit to Beijing by European Council President Charles Michel, who met Xi along with other senior EU officials on Thursday. The handling of the COVID pandemic and the protests against pandemic restrictions in recent days across more than 20 Chinese cities were among the topics raised by the EU. "I think that as a way out ... President Xi said that now COVID in China was mainly Omicron. EU officials said Michel told Xi that in Europe the focus of the first phase of the pandemic was very much on isolation, quarantine and testing, but it later shifted to vaccination. He added that Xi told the EU delegation that vaccination rates in China were high except for among the elderly, which was a challenge that caused the COVID restrictions.

☆ China hopes for fair, transparent environment for companies in EU - Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/7] European Council President Charles Michel attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China December 1, 2022. European Union/Handout via REUTERSBEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China will strengthen strategic communication and coordination with the European Union, President Xi Jinping told the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, on Thursday. "China will remain open to European companies, and hopes the EU can eliminate interference to provide a fair and transparent business environment for Chinese companies," Xi told Michel. Xi said China and the EU should strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and complementary advantages, jointly create new growth engines and ensure safety, stability, and reliability of industrial supply chains. His visit comes after European leaders expressed concern at a meeting in October about economic reliance on China.

☆ Huge trade partner and ‘systemic rival.’ Europe has a China problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tit-for-tat sanctions between China and EU lawmakers have strained relations since. The total value of the goods trade between China and Europe hit €696 billion ($732 billion) last year, up by nearly a quarter from 2019. China was the third largest destination for EU goods exports, accounting for 10% of the total, according to Eurostat data. Even so, the United States may exert more pressure on Europe to pull away from China, Borges de Castro noted. EU investment into China has also become more concentrated.

☆ Azerbaijan cancels Armenia talks, says Macron cannot take part
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Aliyev said Macron had "attacked" and "insulted" Baku and should not act as a go-between. Each side accused the other of triggering the latest bout of fighting, in which Armenia said Azerbaijan had seized settlements inside its borders. "Macron ... attacked Azerbaijan and accused us in what we haven't done," Aliyev said, speaking in English at a conference with international representatives in Baku. "It is clear that under these circumstances, with this attitude, France cannot be part of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia." A spokesperson said Azerbaijan's assertion that Yerevan was trying to disrupt peace talks "has nothing to do with reality," the Interfax news agency reported.

BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - European Council President Charles Michel will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in China on Dec. 1 to discuss a range of global challenges including the war in Ukraine, tensions over Taiwan and EU concerns about imbalanced economic ties. The visit comes after European leaders jointly expressed concern at a meeting last month about economic reliance on China. Michel was likely to stress the need to rebalance the EU-China economic relationship and the importance of abiding by global trading rules. Since 2019, the European Union has regarded China more warily, describing it then as a partner, an economic competitor and a system rival. Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine, Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Alex Richardson, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden says it's 'unlikely' the missile that hit Poland was fired from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden said it is unlikely that the missile that hit Poland and killed two people was fired from Russia, but the United States and allies unanimously agreed to support the country's investigation. "There is preliminary information that contests that," Biden said when asked if the missile was fired from Russia. Biden didn't address whether the missile could have been fired by Russia from Ukraine or elsewhere. Participants included G-7 members and allies: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Spainish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and European Council President Charles Michel. "The moment when the world came together at the G-20 to urge de-escalation, Russia continues to escalate in Ukraine," Biden said.

☆ G20 starts in Bali as Ukraine war, raging inflation top agenda
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Angie Teo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/10] China's President Xi Jinping greets Indonesia's President Joko Widodo as he arrives for the G20 leaders' summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, November 15, 2022. "We hope the G20 summit can deliver concrete partnerships that can help the world in its economic recovery," President Joko Widodo said after a bilateral meeting with Biden. But Xi and Putin have grown increasingly close in recent years, and reaffirmed their partnership just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. A statement from the Chinese foreign minister said Xi told Biden nuclear weapons cannot be used and nuclear wars cannot be fought. G20 leaders will denounce the use of, or any threat to use, nuclear weapons, according to an early draft of a G20 statement seen by Reuters.

☆ Six dead, at least 81 injured in Istanbul blast and Turkish President Erdogan says it 'smells like terrorism'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

View of ambulances at the scene after an explosion on busy pedestrian Istiklal street in Istanbul, Turkey, November 13, 2022. Six people were killed and 81 others wounded on Sunday when an explosion rocked a busy pedestrian street in central Istanbul in what Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called a bomb attack that "smells like terrorism." Some four hours after the blast, Vice President Fuat Oktay and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu visited the site of the explosion. "We will resolve this matter very soon," Oktay told reporters. Vice President Oktay said, "We are evaluating it as an act of terror".

☆ Factbox: G20 summit: Which leaders will attend Bali summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It will also mark the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping since Biden became president. CHINA'S PRESIDENT XI JINPINGXi's visit to Southeast Asia will be only his second foreign trip since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY (VIRTUAL)Indonesia invited Zelenskiy to attend the summit as an obsever, although the Indonesian foreign ministry has said he will appear at the summit virtually. INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODIModi is due to symbolically take over the G20 presidency from current chair Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali. He also committed to work closely with the Indonesian president to help deliver a successful summit.

[1/2] European Council President Charles Michel speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Chinese President Xi Jinping via video conference during an EU-China summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium April 1, 2022. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING/BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities behind a major trade expo in Shanghai pulled an opening ceremony address by the European Council president that was set to criticise Russia's "illegal war" in Ukraine and call for reduced trade dependency on China, diplomats said. "President Michel was invited to address 5th Hongqiao Forum/CIIE in Shanghai," Barend Leyts, a spokesman for Michel told Reuters. Europe has been over-dependent on Russia for fossil fuels, leading to a trade imbalance, Michel was to say. Michel was also set to call for China to do more do put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.

☆ What to watch on Tuesday at COP27
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 8 (Reuters) - World leaders will take the stage again on Tuesday as the COP27 climate summit enters its second full day. Among the expected speakers are outspoken advocates for measures to compensate poor, climate-vulnerable countries for damage already being wrought by global warming. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, will also speak on Tuesday, along with European Council President Charles Michel, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and dozens of others. U.S. President Joe Biden won't arrive until next week, but his delegation will open its pavilion at the COP27 venue on Tuesday and Special Envoy John Kerry and John Podesta, Biden's senior adviser on clean energy innovation will be there. Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Sarah McFarlane, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian assets seized in Ukraine may be used for reconstruction - minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian individuals seized by Ukraine could be used for the country's massive post-war reconstruction effort, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was quoted on Friday as saying. The government has frozen Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine worth some 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21 billion) since the start of Moscow's invasion on Feb. 24, according to the Economic Security Bureau, a state agency. "Money seized on the territory of Ukraine from Russian and Belarusian citizens can be involved in this fund," he added, without elaborating. The European Union is also looking at using Russian assets frozen under Western sanctions against Moscow in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said at an EU summit last week. Moscow said on Thursday it would retaliate if the EU moved to confiscate assets belonging to the Russian state or its citizens.

The 27 are expected to back an alternative price benchmark for liquefied natural gas and joint gas buying, after earlier agreeing to cut consumption and introduce levies on windfall profits in the energy industry. But they remain as split as they were months ago on whether and how to cap gas prices to stem high inflation and stave off recession, after Russia cut gas flows following its invasion of Ukraine. They will also discuss emergency spending to mitigate the effects the acute energy crunch has on their economies and 450 million citizens. But given EU countries' diverse energy mix and interests, the meeting risks falling short on concrete action, with other concerns being whether a gas cap would enable Britain to buy cheaper energy or compromise stability of supplies. EU energy ministers meet again next week but another senior EU diplomat said they did not expect more detailed decisions before November.

POSITIONS FAR APART1/6 European Council President Charles Michel attends the European Union leaders' summit in Brussels, Belgium, October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman Read MoreThe most contentious issue facing the leaders is whether and how to cap gas prices. The leaders will also discuss emergency spending to cushion their economies and 450 million citizens from the energy crunch. Given EU countries' diverse energy mix and interests, the meeting risks falling short on short-term action to tackle high energy prices ahead of winter. EU energy ministers meet again next week and aim to agree on joint crisis measures in November.

☆ EU leaders will discuss gas price cap for power generation, Michel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will discuss putting a cap for the price of gas used to generate electricity - over which member states are divided - when they meet for a summit at the end of this week, European Council President Charles Michel said on Tuesday. "We must intensify our three lines of action: reducing demand, ensuring security of supply and containing prices," Michel said in his invitation letter to leaders for the Thursday-Friday meeting in Brussels. "This includes: jointly purchasing gas, developing a new benchmark that more accurately reflects conditions on the gas market, and examining a temporary dynamic price limit," Michel said. "I also expect us to address other short and long-term market interventions, such as an EU framework to cap the price of gas for electricity generation." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Bart Meijer and John ChalmersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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