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Jury to start deliberating in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex trafficking trial
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European defence and 'the will to fight': NATO countries must 'beef up' forces and political unity
Europe
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France 24
25 minutes ago
- France 24
EU to unveil long-delayed 2040 climate target
Brussels is making the 2040 announcement as much of Europe roasts in an early summer heatwave -- which scientists say are becoming more intense, frequent and widespread due to human-induced climate change. The target is a key milestone towards the European Union's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The bloc says it has cut climate-warming emissions by 37 percent compared to 1990 levels. After months of tough negotiations with EU capitals, the European Commission is finally set to stick to the objective it announced last year of cutting emissions by 90 percent by the year 2040. But in a bid to appease more sceptical member states, the EU's executive arm will introduce some flexibility into the calculation, much to the chagrin of environmental defenders. From 2036, the commission could allow the bloc's 27 member states to count carbon credits purchased to finance projects outside Europe towards their emission cuts, for up to three percent of the total, according to a draft document seen by AFP. But climate groups are fiercely opposed to such a measure. Backed by scientific studies, they question the impact of such credits -- given for things like tree-planting or renewable-energy projects -- on reducing overall CO2 emissions. "Three percent is not insignificant. These are potentially considerable sums that will be spent abroad instead of financing the transition" in Europe, said Neil Makaroff, an expert at the climate-focused Strategic Perspectives think tank. "But there's a political compromise to be found," he said. "The challenge will be for the EU to establish a standard so that these international credits truly help cut emissions and not leave individual states to their own devices." 'Don't strain ourselves' EU environment ministers will discuss the objective at a meeting in mid-July before an expected vote on approving the measures on September 18. It will only become law after EU lawmakers also sign off on the target. The commission's hope is that the 2040 objective will be approved before the UN climate conference (COP30) in November in the northern Brazilian city of Belem. But that gives little time for negotiations, which have been complicated by a rightward shift and rising climate scepticism in many European countries. The EU's climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, has spent months travelling across the bloc trying to find a compromise. For some states, including the Czech Republic, the 90-percent target is unrealistic. Meanwhile, others including Italy and Hungary worry about the burden of decarbonising heavy industry at a time when Europe is working to strengthen its industry in the face of fierce competition from the United States and China. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suggested a target of 80 or 85 percent, while France has expressed doubts over how the EU will reach its objective. French President Emmanuel Macron wants guarantees for the decarbonisation of industry and support for nuclear energy, the largest source of power in France. But the commission can count on the support of other countries including Spain and Denmark, which took over the rotating EU presidency this week. And the three-percent "flexibility" -- which mirrors demands made in the new German government's coalition agreement -- should help keep the economic powerhouse on board. When it comes to Europe's international commitments, Macron has also stressed that the bloc is only bound to present a midway target for 2035 at COP30 in Belem, and not the 2040 objective. "Let's not strain ourselves," Macron told reporters last week. "If we have (a 2040 target) for Belem, great, but if it takes longer, let's take the time," he said.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Deal or no deal: What happens with Trump's July tariff deadline?
The tariffs taking effect July 9 are part of a package Trump imposed in April citing a lack of "reciprocity" in trading ties. He slapped a 10 percent levy on most partners, with higher customized rates to kick in later in countries the United States has major trade deficits with. But these were halted until July to allow room for negotiations. Analysts expect countries will encounter one of three outcomes: They could reach a framework for an agreement; receive an extended pause on higher tariffs; or see levies surge. 'Framework' deals "There will be a group of deals that we will land before July 9," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last Friday on CNBC. Policymakers have not named countries in this group, although Bessent maintains that Washington has been focused on striking deals with about 18 key partners. "Vietnam, India and Taiwan remain promising candidates for a deal," Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) vice president Wendy Cutler told AFP. Without a deal, Vietnam's "reciprocal tariff" rises from the baseline of 10 percent to 46 percent, India's to 26 percent and Taiwan's to 32 percent. Josh Lipsky, international economics chair at the Atlantic Council, cited Indian negotiators' extension of their US trip recently in noting that it "seems like a frontrunner." "Japan was in that category, but things have set back a little," Lipsky said, referring to Trump's criticism Monday over what the president called Japan's reluctance to accept US rice exports. The deals, however, will unlikely be full-fledged trade pacts, analysts said, citing complexities in negotiating such agreements. Since April, Washington has only announced a pact with Britain and a deal to temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China. Extended pause Bessent has also said that countries "negotiating in good faith" can have their tariffs remain at the 10 percent baseline. But extensions of the pause on higher rates would depend on Trump, he added. "With a new government, (South) Korea looks well positioned to secure an extension," Cutler of ASPI said. Lipsky expects many countries to fall into this bucket, receiving an extended halt on higher tariffs that could last until Labor Day, which falls on September 1. Bessent earlier said that Washington could wrap up its agenda for trade deals by Labor Day, a signal that more agreements could be concluded but with talks likely to extend past July. Tariff reimposition For countries that the United States finds "recalcitrant," however, tariffs could spring back to the higher levels Trump previously announced, Bessent has warned. These range from 11 percent to 50 percent. Cutler warned that "Japan's refusal to open its rice market, coupled with the US resistance to lowering automotive tariffs, may lead to the reimposition of Japan's 24 percent reciprocal tariff." Trump himself said Tuesday that a trade deal was unlikely with Japan and the country could pay a tariff of "30 percent, 35 percent, or whatever the number is that we determine." Lipsky believes the European Union is at risk of having tariffs snap back to steeper levels too -- to the 20 percent unveiled in April or the 50 percent Trump more recently threatened. An area of tension could be Europe's approach to digital regulation. Trump recently said he would terminate trade talks with Canada -- which is not impacted by the July 9 deadline -- in retaliation for the country's digital services tax, which Ottawa eventually said it would rescind. This week, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic is in Washington in a push to seal a trade deal, with the EU commission having received early drafts of proposals that officials are working on.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
USAID closes its doors after six decades amid Trump crackdown
After six decades of operations, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been ended by US President Donald Trump. The closure is part of the administration's crackdown on the federal government and was one of the prime targets of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which sought to eliminate 'wasteful' government spending. In 1961, US Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act, and the then President John F. Kennedy set up USAID as an independent agency through an executive order, merging other agencies into the new federal body. It's mission over the years has been to partner with countries to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies. The Trump administration however says that there is 'little to show' for the agency's six decades of work. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered USAID and its remaining programmes to be absorbed into the State Department by Tuesday. 'Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,' Rubio said in a social media post on Tuesday. With only a tiny fraction of the 13,000 staffers and institutional contractors who ran USAID slated to keep their jobs, some said they were labouring to push out what promised funding they could before their systems went offline to the small slice of programmes worldwide that have survived the administration's purge of foreign assistance. 'That ends today,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media posting Tuesday. American taxpayers would no longer 'pay taxes to fund failed governments in faraway lands," Rubio vowed. Trump moved to dismantle the agency within weeks of assuming office for his second tenure as president. He and Musk accused the agency, with little evidence, of fraud, waste and promoting a leftist and liberal agenda. Supporters say USAID has fundamentally improved health systems and humanitarian networks around the world, promoted democracy and boosted countries and people out of poverty in a way that has saved lives, stemmed refugee crises and wars, and built markets and trading partners for Washington. The Trump administration's new slimmed-down aid system would cut bureaucracy to respond more quickly to crises, empower diplomats out in the field at a reduced number of regional bureaus, and emphasise US trade, not aid, stressed Rubio. Asked for comment about the last days of USAID as an independent agency, the State Department said it would be introducing this week its foreign assistance successor, America First. 'The new process will ensure there is proper oversight and that every tax dollar spent will help advance our national interests,' the department said.
