Brazil's Lula urges Macron to back EU-Mercosur trade deal
PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday urged his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to support a long-delayed trade deal between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur.
"I will not leave the Mercosur presidency without having concluded the trade deal," Lula told a press conference alongside Macron in Paris, referring to the pro-tempore presidency of the bloc he holds for the second half of 2025.
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Return of Ukraine wheat and barley curbs gives small boost to EU farmers
PARIS/KYIV, June 6 (Reuters) - European farmers welcomed the European Union's re-introduction of quotas on Friday for Ukrainian wheat and barley as a small boost to their market, but they still face global price competition as Ukraine tries to export elsewhere. The European Union waived duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products following Russia's full-scale invasion three years ago. It later capped volumes on some Ukrainian produce, including sugar, following an outcry from farmers over the price competition it posed. It did not limit volumes of wheat and barley, however, and more than 4 million metric tons of Ukrainian wheat were imported into the EU since the start of the 2024/25 season last July. Friday's expiry of the waivers means the EU has restored a pre-war regime of trade quotas, pending the conclusion of a new longer-term trade deal with Kyiv. The re-establishment of the quotas was "a crucial first step" towards rebalancing the market, French wheat farmers' union AGPB said in a statement. It reinstates a duty-free quota of 1 million tons annually for wheat and 350,000 tons for barley. Adjusted for the seven months left in 2025, that represents about 583,000 tons of wheat and 204,000 tons of barley available for the rest of the year. European farmers, also concerned by a planned EU deal with South America's Mercosur bloc, blame Ukrainian competition for pushing prices below their production costs, which have also been inflated by higher energy and fertiliser bills since the war. The quotas should shift Ukraine's exports away from Europe and keep more EU wheat at home, though the price benefit for farmers may be limited, traders said. One trader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ukrainian grain that is not shipped into the EU will still find its way to the global market. Reduced access to the massive EU market was a setback for Ukraine, but it should be able to pivot more towards North Africa and Southeast Asia, First Deputy Farm Minister Taras Vysotskiy told reporters. "We were there in 2021, and logistically it is not difficult. The question is the price," he said. The EU and Ukraine, meanwhile, are working on a broader trade accord. The EU's agriculture commissioner told Reuters the future deal would set quotas somewhere between current levels and the waivers. Ukraine's trade representative Taras Kachka flagged the risk of market tensions. "There will be no problems with corn supplies, but there are issues with wheat and barley, but we hope to reach acceptable volumes," he told a grain conference in Kyiv on Friday. Ukrainian corn (maize) is subject to a pre-war 650,000 ton annual quota from Friday. But unlike wheat and barley, no impact is expected since the EU has a general zero tariff on corn.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
John Fetterman slams fellow Democrats for sudden love for Elon Musk after ditching Teslas
Sen. John Fetterman ripped his Democratic colleagues for immediately embracing Elon Musk amid the billionaire's raucous online feud with President Donald Trump. The Tesla owner has for days been posting an avalanche of negative critiques of the president and his landmark legislative package, the Big Beautiful Bill Act. The multi-trillion dollar bill includes tax cuts, border wall funding and a national debt limit increase. Musk, having just left work at the White House a week ago, has since turned on the president for the legislation, primarily sounding off on how the bill will allow the national debt to soar by trillions. The mercurial business leader also raked Trump over the coals by launching personal attacks against the Republican's character, saying the president is an Epstein-linked pedophile who never would have won the election without Musk's millions in donations. As the the world's richest man lambasted the world's most powerful man publicly on X, some Democrats began hatching plans to turn the two against each other. Though when liberal lawmakers began making overtures to Musk due to his explosive targeting of Trump over a GOP-backed budget bill, Fetterman rebuked his colleagues. 'The Dems, we've been dumping all over Musk and vandalizing Teslas or whatever, and now, suddenly, we might be more back into him,' the 55-year-old senator said. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told Politico that Democrats should be in a dialogue with the Tesla owner amid his rift with the president Fetterman warned his colleagues against ingratiating Musk back into the Democratic party, however. 'It wasn't that long ago that Tesla was like the virtue-signaling kind of accessory for Dems,' he said. 'I would never want to vandalize Teslas, and the 'big, beautiful bill' is wrong for America. So, from my perspective, I've just tried to be consistent through that.' Known for bucking his party in displaying a fervent allegiance to Israel and meeting personally with Trump, the Pennsylvania Democrat's warning against Musk stands in contrast to his typically contrarian policy posture. Meanwhile, California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna - who represents parts of Silicon Valley and has known Musk for decades - is of the mind that his party would benefit from brining the billionaire back into the party's fold. Democrats should be 'in a dialogue' with the billionaire, Khanna told Politico this week. 'If Biden had a big supporter criticize him, Trump would have hugged him the next day. When we refused to meet with [Robert Kennedy Jr.], Trump embraced him & won,' Khanna posted on X. 'We can be the party of sanctimonious lectures, or the party of FDR that knows how to win & build a progressive majority,' the Democrat's post continued. New York Democrat Ritchie Torres also has said that his party should reassess its relationship with the Tesla owner. 'I'm a believer in redemption, and he is telling the truth about the legislation,' he told Politico. Former Obama staffer and popular liberal podcast host Jon Favreau reposted one of Musk's posts calling for the Big Beautiful Bill Act to be 'killed.' 'Couldn't agree with Elon more: kill the bill,' he posted. The sudden embrace comes despite Democratic attacks against the business mogul for his work at DOGE. Many lawmakers, including Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., went as far as to sell their Tesla cars. 'When I bought this thing, I didn't think it was going to become a political issue,' Kelly said in a viral video about selling his Tesla, noting how he does not want to drive a car built by an 'a*****.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Quicker queues at EU passport checks? Simon Calder's assessment of claims that millions of Brits will win access to e-gates
British travellers to Europe have never had it so good: that is the narrative from the government ever since the UK-EU 'reset'. Ministers from Sir Kier Starmer downwards have been happy for holidaymakers to infer that they will have a better experience at European Union borders this summer – and that the UK government deserves credit for improving our travelling lives. Much of that optimism is based on British citizens being able use passport e-gates. But what is the reality? Some background: after the 2016 decision to leave the European Union, Boris Johnson's government negotiated for the 'Venezuela outcome' as far as British travellers are concerned. We chose to became 'third-country nationals' – a designation proudly shared with many others, including Venezuelans. The practical consequences for British holidaymakers crossing borders were clear, because the UK helped create the European rules. Previously only one check was necessary when travelling between the UK and the Schengen area (the rest of the EU minus Ireland, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland): that the passport was valid and that it belonged to the holder. E-gates are brilliant at this. They compare the information encoded in a passport with the traveller's face to verify that the document belongs to that individual. They are also linked to a central database to confirm the document's validity. The post-Brexit changes that the UK requested, and to which Brussels agreed, include: Having our passports stamped on the way in and out of Europe Giving up access to the fast track for citizens of the EU and wider Schengen area Having border guards check we have not outstayed our 90-day welcome Each individual border transaction therefore takes much more time, leading to extremely long queues if border resources are thin. The most recent half-term was miserable for thousands of families, whether flying in to the Spanish island of Tenerife or flying out of Faro in Portugal. New arrivals and homeward-bound passengers experienced two-hour waits at times. This was gruelling for new arrivals – and expensive for some departing travellers, who missed their flights despite having arrived in good time at the airport. Faro airport, at least, will improve – with British travellers now able to use e-gates. But that is only part of the story. These are the key UK government claims, and my assessment of each. 'Millions more Brits arriving in the Algarve are set to benefit from e-gates ahead of the summer holidays' Source: Cabinet Office press release. Assessment: Configuring e-gates at the Portuguese airport to connect to UK government systems will speed things up a bit for many British passengers. Border staff will no longer need to verify the traveller's identity. All good, then? Not quite. Families with young children will still need to queue to see an official. And after passing through the e-gate, every British passport must be stamped by a human border guard. In theory he or she should also check that the traveller has not been in the Schengen area for more than 90 days out of the past 180 days. The claims for Faro airport get increasingly ambitious: '[E-gate access] will speed up journeys for the approximately 10 million British travellers who use the airport each year' Source: Prime minister 's official spokesperson. Assessment: Complete tosh. Around 2.5 million UK citizens visit Portugal in a typical year. Counting flying in and out, that is 5 million border crossings – covering Lisbon, Porto and Madeira airports as well as Faro, plus those who arrive by land and sea. But let us generously assume that half of those British visitors are using Faro airport. That is still one-quarter of the figure given by No 10. I have told the Cabinet Office this, and asked to see its working. Now let us look at some wider assertions … 'British holidaymakers will be able to use more e-gates in Europe, ending the dreaded queues at border control' Source: Government announcement. Assessment: The first part of this claim is demonstrably true. Besides Faro allowing UK visitors to go through e-gates, many other European authorities are moving in that direction because, as mentioned, it is an extremely efficient way of handling part of the border bureaucracy. Each EU nation makes its own decisions on how to operate its borders. Some are choosing to introduce e-gates for third-country nationals in order to accelerate the arrival and departure process. The second part of the assertion is fanciful. While 'dreaded' is not quantified, it is reasonable to say anything longer than a half-an-hour is unwelcome. There will doubtless be squeezes in arrivals halls over the summer that result in hour-long queues. At Tenerife South airport, at times in summer nine inbound flights from the UK are scheduled within a single half-hour. If they keep to schedule, there will be a sudden influx of over 1,600 people – the vast majority of whom have British, rather than EU, passports. Resourcing to allow swift processing for peaks such as that would be unreasonably expensive for border authorities. 'The Prime Minister has been clear that there should be no reason why European countries cannot go further and faster on this now' Source: Foreign Office minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington, speaking in the House of Lords. That's a big claim. European countries may well have good reasons for not going 'further and faster' on rolling out e-gates for British holidaymakers. They may wish to commit money and effort to things that will benefit their citizens, rather than helping the UK clear up one of the many messes brought about by the British decision to leave the EU.
