Tusk's Coalition Closes Ranks After Polish Election Defeat
Poland's ruling coalition sought to turn the page on the crisis sparked by the defeat of its candidate in presidential elections, vowing to rejuvenate the pro-European Union alliance halfway through the parliamentary term.
'The coalition is in good shape,' Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the leader of the Polish Peasants Party, told reporters Thursday following a meeting of leaders from the ruling alliance. 'Emotions were high but we found common ground.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Grey list for Moscow: EU plans to make transactions with Russia more difficult
The European Commission is considering adding Russia to its "grey list" of countries with inadequate money laundering controls. Source: Financial Times Details: The decision could have been announced as early as this week, but the European Commission postponed its approval at the last minute for "administrative/procedural reasons". The document is expected to be updated early next week. The addition of a country onto the list entails reputational losses and additional checks by financial institutions when processing transactions related to the relevant jurisdiction. This increases costs and complicates international cooperation. Typically, the EU's grey list is based on the one compiled by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog. Although Russia's membership in the FATF was suspended a year after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a number of countries are still blocking its inclusion on the FATF list itself. The previous version of the EU list, seen by the FT, included Algeria, Angola, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, and Venezuela. The exclusions of Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, Senegal, Uganda and the UAE were also planned. However, the vote did not take place: the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals opposed the exclusion of the UAE, and the Spanish conservatives opposed lifting oversight of Gibraltar. MEPs say that the inclusion of Russia on the list could help to pass the document as a whole. The European Parliament can only support or reject the list in its entirety, without amendments. Meanwhile, the UAE authorities say that the issue of money laundering should not affect trade negotiations with the EU, which began in May. Brussels is under pressure as the UAE has an 18-month deadline to complete the negotiations. Spain, in turn, insists on keeping Gibraltar on the "grey list" to strengthen its position in negotiations with the UK over the territory's post-Brexit status. Background: At the FATF's meeting on 21-25 October, they upheld their decision to suspend Russia's membership in the organisation. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Britain's biggest steelmaker warns it faces Trump tariffs hit
The Indian owner of the Port Talbot steelworks has warned that a carve-out from Donald Trump's tariffs is 'critical' to its business. Tata Steel's UK operations are at risk of falling foul of American import tariffs even if a pending agreement between London and Washington is formalised, because of a reliance on steel made in India and elsewhere. This is because of American demands that UK steel products can only be exempt from tariffs if they used metal that was 'melted and poured' domestically. Ministers are trying to secure an exemption for Tata, which is Britain's largest steel producer, but the business otherwise faces being hit by Mr Trump's 50pc tariffs on foreign steel. The company closed the last blast furnaces at Port Talbot, south Wales, last year and is currently in the process of building an electric arc furnace at the site, which will recycle domestically-sourced scrap metal. In the meantime, Tata has resorted to importing steel melted in India and Europe for processing into products that are then shipped onwards to America. The temporary measures mean the company risks running afoul of Mr Trump's 50pc tariffs on foreign steel, which are currently scheduled to be imposed on the UK from July 9. British steel products already face tariffs of 25pc, like those from much of the rest of the world, but the trade deal in principle struck by Mr Trump and Sir Keir Starmer would see the tax rate fall to zero. However, despite four weeks of talks, the deal has yet to be implemented. When Mr Trump imposed 50pc steel tariffs on the rest of the world, he gave Britain a reprieve until July 9 – and negotiators are now racing to conclude something before then. Even this poses a problem for Tata, as the deal's framework stipulates that steel products sent from the UK to the US must use steel that was 'melted and poured' domestically to qualify for tariff relief. The Government is seeking to obtain a temporary carve-out for Tata and has reportedly said it is confident of success, but the warning from Tata signalled nervousness within the company on Friday. It is understood that being hit by 50pc tariffs would force Tata to either try to pass some costs on to customers or absorb them itself. If it could not absorb them, production cuts may have to be considered. Rajesh Nair, the chief executive of Tata Steel UK, said: 'Tata Steel UK will need to import steel substrate until Electric Arc Furnace steelmaking is operational in Port Talbot from late 2027 onwards. 'It is therefore critical for our business that melted and poured in the UK is not a requirement to access the steel quotas in any future trade deal. 'Even though we are not currently melting steel in the UK, we remain the largest steel producer in the country and our mills continue to transform imported steel coil and slab into high-value, specialist products which are not available from US producers and are therefore essential to our US customers. 'We urge the Government to secure a deal as soon as possible, and we would be happy to provide the US government with any needed assurances on the provenance and processing of the steel we supply.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Britain ‘faces up to £30bn of tax rises' to hit Nato defence target
Britain faces tax rises of up to £30bn in the autumn Budget to fund greater defence spending, economists have warned. Analysts said higher taxes looked inevitable as without them Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, would struggle to meet promises to increase defence spending while still meeting her self-imposed fiscal rules. Sir Keir has pledged that the UK will spend 3pc of GDP on defence by the next parliament and Nato is expected to demand even higher commitments later this year. Michael Saunders, of consultancy Oxford Economics, said the Prime Minister was likely to ramp up spending gradually over this parliament to make the 3pc and above target easier to meet in future. Mr Saunders said: 'To establish a more credible path to defence spending 'considerably north of 3pc' next decade, the Government may decide in the autumn Budget that it needs to add some extra spending within the five-year OBR forecast horizon. It's not hard to see pressures for extra fiscal tightening of £15bn to £30bn.' Nato is expected to require members to lift defence spending to 3.5 pc of GDP in the coming years. The military alliance is likely to set a new increased target at its June summit, piling additional costs on to the Chancellor. Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, recently said: 'We know that the 2pc pledge – agreed way back in 2014 – just doesn't cut it any more. So in 2025, we are finalising a plan to dramatically increase defence spending across the Alliance.' The demand for additional defence spending comes as Ms Reeves is already under pressure as a result of the recent about-turn on winter fuel payments for pensions and adverse moves in financial markets. Labour pledged not to increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT in its election manifesto last year. However, Mr Saunders and other economists warned that the Chancellor might have to break one or more of these promises as spending commitments mounted. Mr Saunders said: 'The need to raise revenues may require the Government to revisit its manifesto commitments, which seemed to rule out increases in most major taxes.' Earlier this week, the Chancellor repeatedly refused to rule out further tax rises. 'I'm not going to say that I'm not going to take any tax measures in the next four years,' she told an audience of business leaders at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual dinner. It follows record increases of £40bn in last year's autumn Budget. Ms Reeves has promised not to repeat a raid on this scale. The Chancellor left herself a margin of £9.9bn to meet her fiscal rules, a wafer-thin buffer that forced her to rip up spending plans in the spring to repair her budget. Ms Reeves also has to grapple with mounting costs from the Government's pledge to restore winter fuel payments and review the two-child benefit cap. There are also concerns that a downgrade to the UK's economic growth by the OBR and increased government borrowing costs caused by rising gilt yields could wipe out Ms Reeves's narrow fiscal headroom. The Treasury was contacted for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
