The gifts worth over £50,000 offered to Executive ministers in first year of Stormont return
The Assembly returned in February 2024 following a two-year hiatus after DUP ministers withdrew over objections to the NI Protocol arrangements for the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
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Belfast Telegraph
an hour ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Stormont confirms Winter Fuel Payment reinstated for Northern Ireland
Minister Gordons Lyons confirmed the news following a statement to the Assembly, with the necessary legislation being in place by the end of July. A payment of at least £200 a month will be restored to pensioners who earn under £35,000 a year and rising to £300 for those aged 80 or over. Speaking in the Assembly today, Mr Lyons said: 'I know that many of our pensioners are still anxious and worried about what yesterday's statement means for them. 'Therefore, I have acted quickly, to provide clarity and certainty about what will happen to the Winter Fuel Payment in Northern Ireland. 'Since yesterday's announcement my officials have been engaging with officials in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to understand the impact for Northern Ireland. 'I also met with Torsten Bell MP, Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary (DWP) along with the Finance Minister John O'Dowd. 'Today I have engaged with Executive ministers on the re-instatement of the Winter Fuel Payment in Northern Ireland.' He added: 'My officials are continuing to work with DWP and HMRC officials to determine the number of NI pensioners impacted by this announcement, particularly the number of pensioners who exceed the £35,000 threshold.' It comes after around a quarter of a million pensioners were dropped from the support scheme last year following the Labour Party's Autumn Budget announcement. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who announced the cuts last October, made the U-turn yesterday which will see around nine million pensioners across England and Wales reinstated with the Winter Fuel Scheme. Calls have been made in Westminster for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to apologise for the cuts which saw more than 10 million pensioners UK-wide dropped from the scheme. Independent MLA Claire Sugden welcomed the renewal of the scheme and described it as a relief for pensioners. 'This will bring comfort to a lot of older people who have been anxious about the winter ahead,' the East Londonderry MLA said. 'Heating your home isn't a luxury – it's essential. I'm really glad to see this support confirmed and, more importantly, that it will be available up front when people need it most.' Following the announcement in October, OAPs in Northern Ireland were offered a one-off payment of £100 after the Executive secured an additional £17m in funds. While the Stormont funding provided some relief for pensioners, Mr Lyons acknowledged that many 'remained anxious' throughout the winter season. 'Almost 250,000 payments were issued, as promised, to most Northern Ireland pensioners by the end of March 2025,' the Communities Minister continued. 'While this one-off payment helped to support pensioners last winter, I know that many of them remained anxious and worried about their energy bills this winter and beyond. 'I therefore welcome Treasury's announcement yesterday to reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment to everyone over State Pension age with an income of, or below, £35,000 a year. This increased threshold means that no lower or middle-income pensioners will miss out.' The DUP MLA also issued a warning against potential scams and advised that no personal details will be requested throughout the renewal process.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
EU seeks to lower a price cap on Russian oil and discourage Nord Stream pipeline investors
The European Union wants to lower a cap on the price of Russian oil to deprive the Kremlin of extra profits to fund its war in Ukraine as part of a new raft of sanctions aimed at forcing Moscow to the negotiating table, senior officials said on Tuesday. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc is 'proposing to lower the oil price cap from $60 to $45, which is lower than the market price, and lowering the oil price cap will hit Russia's revenues hard.' Kallas said the EU also wants to impose 'sanctions on the Nord Stream pipelines to prevent Russia generating any revenue in the future. In this way, it sends a clear signal we are not going back to business as usual.' All 27 EU member countries must all agree for the sanctions to enter force. In 2023, Ukraine's Western allies limited sales of Russian oil to $60 per barrel but the price cap was largely symbolic as most of Moscow's crude — its main moneymaker — cost less than that. Still, the cap was there in case oil prices rose. Oil income is the linchpin of Russia's economy, allowing President Vladimir Putin to pour money into the armed forces while avoiding worsening inflation for everyday people and a currency collapse. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she assumed that the price cap would be discussed and agreed among the leaders of the Group of Seven major world economic powers when they meet in Canada on June 15-17. She said the United States and its G7 partners realize 'that the oil price has lowered so much that the effectiveness of the cap is to be questioned, and therefore we all want to lower the oil price from $60 per barrel down to $45 per barrel.' The Nord Stream gas pipelines were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany but are not in operation. They were sabotaged in 2022, but the source of the underwater explosions has remained a major international mystery. The Commission has said that it wants to impose sanctions on the operating consortium to discourage investors from trying to use the pipelines in future. The blasts happened as Europe attempted to wean itself off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and contributed to tensions that followed the start of the war. Von der Leyen noted on Tuesday that at the beginning of the war in 2022, 'Russia had 12 billion euros ($14 billion) of energy revenues from fossil fuels" from Europe per month. "And now we're down to 1.8 billion (euros).' The new EU sanctions would also target Russia's banking sector, with the aim of limiting the Kremlin's ability to raise funds or carry out financial transactions. A further 22 Russian banks will be hit with measures, von der Leyen said. An export ban worth some 2.5 billion euros would also be imposed, and the assets frozen of more than 20 Russian and foreign companies alleged to be providing support to the Kremlin's war machine. Von der Leyen said the sanctions are aimed at forcing Russia into serious talks about peace with Ukraine. 'We need a real ceasefire, and Russia has to come to the negotiating table with a serious proposal,' she told reporters. The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia since Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Around 2,400 officials and 'entities' – often government agencies, banks and organizations – have been hit. It's last raft of sanctions, imposed on May 20, targeted almost 200 ships in Russia's sanction-busting shadow fleet of tankers, and tightened trade restrictions to stop produce that could be used for military purposes from reaching Russia's armed forces.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Romanian president could nominate a prime minister this week
BUCHAREST, June 10 (Reuters) - Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Tuesday he could nominate a prime minister this week provided pro-European parties reach an agreement on measures needed to lower the European Union's highest budget deficit and prevent a ratings downgrade. Centrist Dan, who won a divisive presidential vote in May that saw the far right gain ground, must form a ruling majority that has until the end of June to approve deficit cutting measures to avoid a downgrade to below investment grade. The European Commission, ratings agencies and analysts have said Romania cannot reduce its shortfall over seven years to the EU's 3% threshold as agreed without hiking taxes, but Dan and the four pro-European parties have proved reluctant to enforce unpopular measures, focusing instead on cuts to state spending. "There is a hierarchy of priorities, first cutting useless state spending, then merging some institutions, rescheduling some investments to 2026 and lastly possible tax hikes," Dan said during a visit to neighbouring Moldova. "I hope we will reach to the tax side as least as possible." Dan said the parties had identified a list of 60-80 possible measures, but had yet to agree on any. The president, who has a semi-executive role, added that pending the talks he could nominate a PM this week. Two sources told Reuters ratings agencies had told a London panel in May they were ready to downgrade Romania from the last rung of investment grade unless they saw convincing measures including tax hikes. The next rating review is in August. Earlier this month the European Commission opened the possibility of freezing some EU funds for Romania next year. Brussels, ratings agencies and the IMF have said hikes to value added tax or changes to Romania's flat 10% tax on income would be the most effective. "It needs to be a solid plan, two big measures that everyone can price are better than 50 that nobody can evaluate," one of the London sources said. "How can anyone trust you that you'll do what's needed in the 7-year adjustment plan?" Claudiu Nasui, a lawmaker from the centre-right Save Romania Union, one of four pro-EU parties engaged in talks, is a strong proponent of state spending cuts inspired by Argentinian President Javier Milei. He told Reuters that he had identified 34 billion lei ($7.73 billion) worth of cuts that could be made in the second half of the year without cutting healthcare, education and defence. However, they included cutting state-funded investment schemes that were easier to tap than EU funds with little oversight, a political instrument for mayors that parties were unlikely to approve cutting. "Any measure to cut the deficit will make parties unpopular, spending cuts or tax hikes, you just need political will," Nasui said. "I often look at a street trash bin outside my office, there are always people rummaging in it. Hiking taxes will not hit us, but it will hit those poor people." ($1 = 4.3977 lei)
