EU Commission proposes 2 trillion euro 7-year budget
EU Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said €300 billion would go to agriculture, €218 billion to less developed regions and €451 billion to a European Competitiveness fund.
The new budget also allocates €131 billion to defence and space, a fivefold increase over the current level, Serafin told the European Parliament.
An agreement on the new EU budget, which will run from 2028 to 2034, requires backing from all 27 member countries and sign-off from the European Parliament.
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The Journal
34 minutes ago
- The Journal
Debunked: Old video of a Belgian mosque claims to show 'what they're teaching kids now in school'
A VIDEO OF children bowing and prostrating themselves in a mosque has been shared by an Irish anti-migrant internet personality along with the false claim that the footage is evidence of what children are being taught in schools nowadays. The video is from the Belgian city of Antwerp and is almost seven years old. The children were there as part of a trip by a non-profit that aims to raise awareness of other religions, including Islam and Judaism. In a Facebook post, seen more than 171,000 times since being posted on 1 August, footage of a group of about twenty children shows them bowing before placing their foreheads to the ground in what appears to be a mosque. On the other side of a split screen, an Irish man speaks to camera saying, 'So this is what they're teaching kids now in school [...] indoctrination of Europe's children continues without objection. It's crazy isn't it?' A still from the video, reposted to the YouTube channel of Joods Actueel. The man, who goes by Michael McCarthy, frequently posts misleading arguments that migrants are bad or dangerous. The Journal has previously factchecked claims by him that footage of a woman being attacked in a church was from Europe, or that the majority of Irish people disagree with the EU , among other misleading statements. McCarthy appears to have taken the footage from the X account of David Atherton, who is quoted in McCarthy's video. Atherton writes for The European Conservative, a reactionary right-wing publication that receives funding from the Victor Orbán-led Hungarian government. Atherton's X post has been viewed more than 87,400 times, according to X's statistics. Advertisement McCarthy's video says that the footage is of something that is going on in schools 'now' (the video is seven years old) and that there has been no objection to it (there was). He says that what the video shows is being taught in schools, which is not the case either. Reading the comments under the video, it is also clear that some people believe that the footage is from Ireland (it's not) or perhaps the UK (which is also wrong). The footage has been online since at least November 2018, around the same time Belgian sources indicate that it was filmed. Reports from the time give conflicting locations of the mosque but agree that it is in the Antwerp region. Publicly available images indicate that it was in fact filmed at a mosque in the Seefhoek district. The trip to the mosque was organised by a non-profit group that seeks to connect people from diverse backgrounds. A local Jewish newspaper interviewed one of the organisers of the event, an iman, who said that a teacher had suggested that students could join in for a prayer and that none of the children were made to participate if they didn't want to. It is not part of a curriculum. The group that organised the trip had also visited a synagogue in Antwerp to promote mutual respect, the iman said. And rather than there being no objection to the video, it appears to have stirred considerable controversy (the man who initially posted the footage said he took it down after receiving death threats). Vlaams Belang, one of the largest political parties in the region, was, at the time the footage was filmed, objecting to Muslim events that it considered to be a form of indoctrination. The party would go on to campaign for stopping visits to mosques by schoolchildren. Want to be your own fact-checker? Visit our brand-new FactCheck Knowledge Bank for guides and toolkits The Journal's FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network's Code of Principles. You can read it here . For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader's Guide here . You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... It is vital that we surface facts from noise. Articles like this one brings you clarity, transparency and balance so you can make well-informed decisions. We set up FactCheck in 2016 to proactively expose false or misleading information, but to continue to deliver on this mission we need your support. Over 5,000 readers like you support us. If you can, please consider setting up a monthly payment or making a once-off donation to keep news free to everyone. Learn More Support The Journal
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Drink deal hopes for Irish firms with Harris confident of ‘space for engagement' between EU & US as 15% tariffs kick in
Despite the new trade order kicking in, there is still huge uncertainty on how much companies in some key Irish sectors will have to pay into the future BEVIES LEVY Drink deal hopes for Irish firms with Harris confident of 'space for engagement' between EU & US as 15% tariffs kick in SIMON Harris is hopeful that a deal can be struck with the US to put tariffs on ice for Irish booze companies as Donald Trump's new trade taxes finally kicked in today. Companies across the globe that are importing goods into the US started paying new tariff rates today with the level of tax ranging hugely. Advertisement 2 Donald Trump's new trade taxes kicked in today Credit: Alamy Irish and other EU-based companies are paying 15 per cent tariffs thanks to a deal struck between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The rates change from country to country, with Mexico paying 25 per cent, China 30 per cent, Canada 35 per cent and 50 per cent for India and Brazil. The UK, Australia, Colombia, Chile and Singapore are all paying lower tariffs than the EU after securing 10 per cent deals. Despite the new trade order kicking in today, there is still huge uncertainty on how much companies in some key Irish sectors like pharma or alcohol will have to pay into the future. Advertisement Talks are ongoing between the US and the EU on specific sectoral carve outs where companies will be exempt from tariffs. This has been agreed for the aviation sector and the med-tech sector but Tanaiste Simon Harris has urged the EU to push for the booze industry to be exempt as well. This would see Irish whiskey and gin brands saved from tariffs which could make it very difficult for them to sell their products Stateside. Minister Harris said: 'There will be space for engagement between the US and the European Union in relation to that, and I've highlighted to the European Commission how important that is to Ireland, and indeed to many drink suppliers right across our country, but also not just in Ireland.' Advertisement A joint statement from the US and EU was expected to be released before the tariffs kicked in with the Tanaiste claiming it was 'quite peculiar' that it hasn't been published already. He expects this statement on the EU-US tariff agreement to be published at some point next week. 'Trump's new tariffs are outrageous', slams EU lawmaker after Don slaps 30% on Brussels & it readies to fight back One key area for Ireland that is still uncertain is the pharma sector. Donald Trump wants pharmaceutical companies to start making their drugs in the US and has specifically mentioned Ireland as he threatens heavy taxes on companies that export medicines to the States. Advertisement Tanaiste Simon Harris said that the 15 per cent tariff agreement covers the pharma sector and warned that higher taxes on medicines will disrupt the global supply chains. He said: 'What they have said in the framework agreement is that tariffs on pharma with the EU would be no higher than 15 per cent but again that's not the full story because the pharma sector operates on a global market. 'If he starts putting much larger tariffs on other parts of the world what impact does that have on global supply chains? "So there is a very significant way to go in this is the honest answer.' Advertisement
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Almost 9,000 people lost their jobs in Ireland last month as uncertainty over tariffs grows
There were 143,100 people registered unemployed last month, compared with 134,500 in June. The seasonally adjusted rate of 4.9pc in July was up from 4.6pc in June, and on an annual basis it was up from the revised rate of 4.5pc in July 2024. There was a particularly noticeable uptick in joblessness numbers within the 15 to 24-year-old age cohort, with the youth unemployment rate of 12.2pc in July up from the 11.3pc recorded in June. Andrew Webb, chief economist at Grant Thornton Ireland, said the rise in the headline rate to 4.9pc is a warning light on the economic dashboard. 'After three months of rate stability, this sharp increase, especially the spike in youth unemployment to 12.2pc, suggests that business confidence may be softening,' he said. 'Rising global uncertainty and the growing risk of tariffs are making firms more cautious. That hesitation is now showing up in the jobs data. Ireland's labour market remains strong by historical standards, but policymakers should take this signal seriously. If ignored, today's flicker could become a more persistent fault.' Tariffs of between 10pc and 50pc were imposed by the US today on dozens of countries, while the White House and European Commission continued negotiations on a joint statement intended to add detail to their headline trade deal. The document will not be legally binding. As US president Donald Trump threatened a 100pc tariff on computer chips, the commission insisted that a 15pc rate will still apply to EU exports. 'We have a commitment for a 15pc across-the-board tariff ceiling,' said commission spokesman Olof Gill. 'That captures all products.' Talks about exempting certain goods are continuing, according to Mr Gill, but European wine and spirits will not escape the 15pc tariff that hits most imports from the EU to America from tomorrow. ADVERTISEMENT With the US accounting for about one third of all Irish exports, the impact of a long-term 15pc tariff is likely to be substantial, particularly as it includes pharma. The drag on economic growth is likely to suppress inflation, as was seen in the decrease to 1.7pc last month, mainly caused by lower prices for clothes. The continuing growth in wages could put upward pressure on prices, however. The Central Bank of Ireland has forecast that Compensation Per Employee will rise by 3.8pc on average from 2025 to 2027. In its most recent Quarterly Bulletin, the bank also pointed out that firms could react to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs by adjusting working hours rather than laying off staff. Average hours worked already remain below pre-pandemic levels across many sectors. The hiring platform Indeed said job postings on its Irish website increased slightly to 11pc in July, but are still down from the 19pc seen at the start of the year. 'This confirms a gradual and ongoing, but by no means worrying, cooling of the labour market,' said Jack Kennedy, a senior economist with Indeed. 'Even though the level of Irish job postings has reduced, the unemployment rate has remained below 5pc with employers still struggling to recruit staff in certain categories. This month marks the 42nd month in a row that the unemployment rate has been below 5pc.'
