business

Britain expects EU to approve migration deal with France, says Cooper Yesterday Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron published a leaders’ declaration that implied the returns agreement would need EU sign-off. They were not very clear about this, but the Times led its main story on this on the suggestion that the EU might block the … Read more

Starmer confirms ‘ground-breaking returns pilot’ scheme will start operating in coming weeks Starmer moves to illegal migration. This is a global crisis, he says. But it is also “acutely” a crisis for UK and France. An enterprise run by criminals is leading hundreds of people to their deaths in the Channel. They have agreed “a … Read more

As Rishi Sunak prepared to meet Emmanuel Macron in March 2023, his migration minister wrote to him to propose some radical proposals that might persuade the French to crack down on small boat crossings. “We should be willing to make highly meaningful concessions such as offering to take one asylum seeker that has been successfully … Read more

European leaders gathered in Rome on Thursday for a conference on Ukrainian recovery, but endurance remains the priority. Russia has intensified its assault with punishing strikes far beyond the frontline – including a record 728 drones and 13 missiles one day before the conference. The UN said that civilian casualties last month were at their … Read more

When it comes to best-practice examples in the housing debate, Vienna is a common reference. Indeed, the Austrian capital features prominently in narratives about successful housing policies. An article in the Observer concluded that Vienna shows “decent homes for all” is not an impossible dream. And the New York Times even declared it “a renters’ … Read more

Three years ago, in Zurich for the first time, I crossed a bridge over the Limmat River and saw people floating down it in rubber rings on their way home from work, some casually holding beers. The Limmat is so clear that it almost begs you not only to jump in, but to drink it. … Read more

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/jul/08/ella-baron-emmanuel-macron-state-visit-uk-cartoon

Britain and France are so close that there’s a saying in Wimereux, a seafront resort on the north French coast, that if you can see England it’s going to rain, and if you can’t, it’s because it’s already raining. Despite – or perhaps because of – that geographical proximity, Europe’s two nuclear powers have historically … Read more

When Emmanuel Macron rides in a horse-drawn carriage to Windsor Castle this week, it will be to celebrate the return of close political relations between London and Paris, drawing a line under the damaging spats of the Brexit years. The French president’s office said the “shared interests” of the two countries were what mattered now, … Read more