European Union

IMF Calls on US, EU to "Negotiate a Deal"

The United States and the European Union need to "de-escalate" and "negotiate a deal" to help boost lackluster growth on the continent, the International Monetary Fund's Europe director said Friday. "In our discussions with European leaders, I don't sense any difference of views with regard to the importance of that relationship," IMF Europe ...

Tesla's EU Sales Plunge as Musk Takes Flak

Tesla electric car sales in Europe plunged in the first three months of the year, industry data showed Thursday, in a fresh blow to its boss Elon Musk who has been criticised for his work in US President Donald Trump's administration. Sales of the sleek machines fell 45 percent to just over 36,000 units in the first quarter of 2025 in the ...

Celebrating European Cinema in Lebanon: 29th European Film Festival

The European Film Festival returns to Beirut for its 29th edition, to be held at Metropolis Cinema (Mar Mikhael) from April 30 to May 11, 2025.  The European Film Festival, which is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, in partnership with the Metropolis Cinema Association and in cooperation with the European Union Member ...

EU Slaps Fines on Apple and Meta, Risking Trump Fury

The EU on Wednesday slapped Apple and Meta with 700 million euros in fines for breaking digital competition rules, risking the wrath of US President Donald Trump. The penalties threaten to cause more tension in the already fraught relationship between the bloc and Trump, as the two sides discuss a deal to avoid his sweeping tariffs on the ...

Iranian Foreign Minister to Visit China on Tuesday

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit China on Tuesday, the ministry said, ahead of a third round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. The visit to China, which was a signatory to a since-abandoned 2015 nuclear agreement that reined in Tehran's nuclear programme, was announced by foreign ministry spokesman ...

The Dollar Slides, Lebanon Worries

The US dollar is weakening against major global currencies amid heightened geopolitical tensions and a tariff escalation spearheaded by President Donald Trump. This open trade war is undermining the dollar’s status in global markets. Can the American currency still maintain its dominant role in international trade? The question is especially ...

Iran: Diplomacy on the Edge of Collapse

Speaking from Tehran on Thursday, April 17, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, warned that “time is running out” to reach a new agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. His visit comes at a tense moment, with European diplomatic efforts largely sidelined and fears of military confrontation ...

EBRD Launches New SME Support Programs in Tripoli

The Lebanon office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Tripoli and the North, and the Business Incubation Association in Tripoli (BIAT), held a session this week to present its latest consulting programs for small and medium-sized enterprises ...

Europe Seeks to Break its US Tech Addiction

With President Donald Trump more unpredictable than ever and transatlantic ties reaching new lows, calls are growing louder for Europe to declare independence from US tech. From Microsoft to Meta, Apple to Uber, cloud computing to AI, much of the day-to-day technology used by Europeans is American. The risks that brings were hotly debated before ...

Aoun Reaffirms Anti-Corruption Drive and State Sovereignty

President Joseph Aoun conducted a series of high-level visits to key security and military institutions on Tuesday, underscoring his administration’s firm stance against corruption and its commitment to asserting the sovereignty of the Lebanese state. Early in the day, Aoun visited the General Directorate of State Security in Ramlet el-Bayda, ...

London Hosts Talks to Find 'Pathway' to End Sudan War

Senior officials gather in London on Tuesday aiming to chart a pathway to peace for Sudan on the second anniversary of its brutal civil conflict, but without the presence of the warring parties. Dubbed the "forgotten war", the conflict which erupted on April 15, 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in ...