BRUSSELS

Greece gets fresh cash on road to leaving bailout

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Eurozone finance ministers approved a fresh cash injection for Greece on Monday to put the country on the road to finally leaving its long and painful bailout program later this year. The 6.7-billion-euro tranche is the latest from Greece’s third financial rescue package since 2010, when its debt crisis brought the euro close to collapse. The current program agreedRead more

Instagram, Google+ join EU group

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Facebook's Instagram and the Google+ social network have agreed to join an EU-sponsored group of US internet giants to combat online extremism, EU officials said Friday. EU officials added that the existing members -- YouTube, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook -- have made progress toward meeting the code of conduct they signed up to in May 2016, promising to look at suspiciousRead more

Palestinians seek EU support as row with US persists

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will seek EU support in Brussels on Monday amid bitter acrimony with the United States, but he looks unlikely to get much the in way of concrete commitments. In an interview with AFP on Sunday in Brussels, Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki said Abbas would urge the European Union to officially recognise the state of Palestine “as aRead more

Eurozone approves 6.7-bln-euro bailout tranche for Greece

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Eurozone finance ministers approved another 6.7 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in bailout cash for Greece on Monday, after Athens pushed through controversial reforms that drew strikes and protests. "Green light to a new tranche of financial assistance of € 6.7 billion," the European Council said on Twitter, referring to the latest instalment from the third financial rescue package Greece hasRead more

Abbas urges EU countries to 'swiftly' recognise state of Palestine

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Monday urged EU member states to "swiftly" grant official recognition to the state of Palestine as he arrived to meet foreign ministers from the bloc in Brussels. "We truly consider the European Union as a true partner and friend, and therefore we call its member states to swiftly recognise the state of Palestine and weRead more

EU agrees to sanctions against Venezuelan officials

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

The EU agreed to add Venezuelan officials to its sanctions blacklist on Thursday, European sources said, the first time the bloc has targeted individual members of President Nicolas Maduro's embattled regime. Seven individuals have been blacklisted according to diplomats, making them subject to asset freezes and travel bans. Source: AFPRead more

EU to remove Panama, seven others from tax haven blacklist

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

The EU will remove Panama, South Korea and six other countries from its recently unveiled EU tax blacklist at a meeting of finance ministers next week, a European Union official said on Tuesday. "Barring a major surprise, EU finance ministers should remove eight countries from the blacklist of tax havens," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Read more

Belgian PM seeks EU help in row

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Thursday he would seek EU help to settle a row over his country's deportation of Sudanese who were allegedly tortured on their return home. Michel's coalition government has faced an uproar since his immigration minister Theo Francken invited officials from Khartoum in September to identify Sudanese migrants and then deported around a dozen ofRead more

Iran nuclear deal criticised by Trump 'is working'

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

The European Union's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Thursday insisted the Iran nuclear deal "is working", as US President Donald Trump mulls reimposing sanctions on Tehran. "The deal is working, it is delivering on its main goal which means keeping the Iranian nuclear programme in check and under close surveillance," Mogherini said after talks in Brussels with Iranian Foreign MinisterRead more