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  • China’s Xi to travel to the French Pyrenees and Serbia

    China’s Xi to travel to the French Pyrenees and Serbia

    Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Europe is scheduled to include an excursion to the French Pyrenees mountain range on Tuesday.

    The first day of talks in Paris focused on trade policy and Ukraine with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

    The Élysée Palace said a more personal aspect of the visit is planned for Tuesday.

    Xi and Macron plan to arrive at the Col du Tourmalet, one of the highest paved mountain passes in the Pyrenees, at around 1 pm (1100 GMT) and have lunch together.

    In the late afternoon, Xi plans to travel on to Belgrade, where he is to be the guest of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

    The Balkan country maintains cordial relations with China, which is investing in infrastructure projects and industrial sites there.

    French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony, at the hotel des Invalides. Loic Baratoux/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

    French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend an official welcoming ceremony, at the hotel des Invalides. Loic Baratoux/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

    French President Emmanuel Macron (L), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R), and China's President Xi Jinping (C) leave after attending a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace. Christophe Licoppe/European Commission/dpaFrench President Emmanuel Macron (L), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R), and China's President Xi Jinping (C) leave after attending a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace. Christophe Licoppe/European Commission/dpa

    French President Emmanuel Macron (L), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R), and China’s President Xi Jinping (C) leave after attending a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace. Christophe Licoppe/European Commission/dpa

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  • Von der Leyen warns China’s Xi on ‘market distorting practices’

    Von der Leyen warns China’s Xi on ‘market distorting practices’

    French President Emmanuel Macron (R) gestures as he greets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the Chinese President’s arrival at the Elysee presidential palace. Ludovic Marin/AFP/dpa

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned Chinese President Xi Jinping that the European Union will not tolerate Beijing’s “market distorting practices” ahead of a three-way meeting in Paris on Monday.

    Xi was scheduled to meet von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Monday morning. He arrived in the French capital on Sunday on a six-day European trip which will also include stops in Serbia and Hungary.

    Chinese state subsidies for its electric vehicle and steel industries pose a serious threat to European industries and could even lead to “de-industrialization in Europe,” von der Leyen said, in comments made public.

    “China is currently manufacturing, with massive subsidies, more than it is selling due to its own weak domestic demand,” von der Leyen said. “This is leading to an oversupply of Chinese subsidized goods, such as EVs [electric vehicles] and steel, that is leading to unfair trade,” she added.

    Von der Leyen said “current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and need to be addressed.”

    The European Commission announced last year that it would examine possible tariffs on electric cars from China. Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has signed a deal to begin manufacturing cars in Hungary, where Xi will end his European trip on Friday.

    Von der Leyen emphasized that the EU is not seeking to “decouple from China,” describing Europe’s relationship with China as “one of the most complex, but also one of the most important.”

    According to reports from Paris, Xi’s state visit will focus on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, economic issues and climate protection. Cooperation in the fields of culture, sport and science are also on the agenda.

    Following the meeting at the Élysée Palace, Macron and Xi plan to meet in the afternoon for one-on-one talks. A Franco-Chinese business meeting and a state banquet are scheduled for the evening.

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  • EU issues first joint demand for ceasefire in Gaza after October 7

    EU issues first joint demand for ceasefire in Gaza after October 7

    EU leaders issued their first joint demand for a humanitarian ceasefire and the release of all hostages in Gaza in joint summit statement on Thursday.

    The statement called for “an immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” and repeated condemnations of the attacks by Palestinian militant movement Hamas against Israel on October 7.

    In the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, EU leaders managed in October to only call together for “humanitarian corridors and pauses” in Gaza to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians.

    European Council President Charles Michel called the statement “strong and unified” on X, formerly Twitter.

    Ireland, Spain and Belgium pushed for the ceasefire at the summit in Brussels. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to the calls after previously opposing a ceasefire in October, citing Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks from Hamas.

    Pressure was building for the bloc to take a stronger stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

    “A ceasefire should have happened a long time ago,” said Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who announced on Wednesday that he will step down when a successor is in place.

    The EU leaders’ demand for a ceasefire in Gaza repeated a call from their foreign ministers that Hungary, viewed as sympathetic to the Israeli government, abstained on.

    Varadkar said at the start of the summit that Austria and the Czech Republic were preventing the EU from making a joint call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

    Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer countered that the EU must recognize the sexual violence carried out by Hamas during the October 7 attacks on Israel.

    The statement from EU leaders later said it was “appalled by the sexual violence” during the October 7 attacks, noting UN reports on the issue and declared support for independent investigations.

    EU leaders also called on Israel not to go ahead with a planned ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah on the Egyptian border, where 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

    United Nations Secretary General António Guterres joined talks in Brussels and urged the EU to support a ceasefire. He warned that civilian casualties in Gaza like in Ukraine must be condemned “without double standards.”

    EU leaders also agreed that the revenues of Russian assets frozen in the EU should be used for the benefit of Ukraine as it resists the Russian invasion. Their declaration provides for “the possibility of funding military support” using the seized revenues.

    But ahead of the meeting, Nehammer had said he wanted reassurances that if neutral countries like Austria endorse using the seized profits, the money will be used to rebuild Ukraine and not to arm it. Every EU leader has the power to veto such declarations.

    “There was originally discussion that it should be invested in reconstruction in Ukraine,” Nehammer said earlier on Thursday. “That seems like a reasonable suggestion to me.”

    At a press conference after the decision was announced, Michel said the declaration left room for the “specificities” of neutral countries.

    EU leaders’ declaration on the use of the seized revenues is essentially a political green-light. But the legal details still need to be agreed by foreign ministers, based on a plan prepared by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.

    “I am confident that we can act very quickly and put in place this mechanism,” Michel said.

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen added: “if we are swift now in concluding the proposal, we could disburse the first billion on the 1 July.”

    Borrell’s plan would see 90% of the appropriated revenue from frozen Russian assets go to an off-budget EU military aid fund.

    The other 10% would be added to the EU budget and used to strengthen Ukraine’s industrial capacity to produce armaments of its own, according to Borrell.

    Leaders also endorsed a proposal from the commission to strengthen the EU’s armaments industry by allocating €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) to joint procurement of military equipment is also set for scrutiny.

    Michel said there was “broad support” among EU leaders for working with the independent European Investment Bank to maximise investment.

    EU leaders also backed the conditional opening of EU membership talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

    Von der Leyen said that the commission has “prepared a proposal to increase tariffs on Russian and Belarussian imports of cereals, oil, seeds and derived products.”

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and President of the European Council Charles Michel speak during a press conference after the EU summit in Brussels. Alexandros Michailidis/European Council/dpa

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) and President of the European Council Charles Michel speak during a press conference after the EU summit in Brussels. Alexandros Michailidis/European Council/dpa

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  • Nuclear power can help cut carbon, EU’s von der Leyen tells summit

    Nuclear power can help cut carbon, EU’s von der Leyen tells summit

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday told world leaders that nuclear energy can help them cut carbon emissions, at a first Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels.

    “In countries that are open to the technology, nuclear technology can play an important role in clean energy transitions,” von der Leyen told the assembled leaders in Brussels. “After the global energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many countries are giving a fresh look to [sic] the potential role that nuclear might play.”

    Von der Leyen was speaking at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) first ever Nuclear Energy Summit, attended by the leaders of over 30 countries. The summit’s purpose is “to highlight the role of nuclear energy in reducing the use of fossil fuels,” the IAEA’s event page says.

    Nuclear energy divides EU member states. While some – such as France and Hungary – are planning new nuclear plants, others are phasing out nuclear energy entirely.

    Von der Leyen’s native Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants on April 15 of last year. Belgium, where von der Leyen was born to German parents, is also in the midst of a nuclear phase-out.

    “There are different views across the European Union on nuclear power,” von der Leyen acknowledged. But she pointed out that worldwide, nuclear power is “the second-largest source of low-emission electricity after hydro-power.”

    A protester holding a sign bearing the logo of pressure group Greenpeace, which opposes nuclear energy, was filmed abseiling from the roof of the conference venue. The sign said: “nuclear fairytale.”

    European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen speaks at a press conference during the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels. Aurore Martignoni/European Commission/dpa

    European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen speaks at a press conference during the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels. Aurore Martignoni/European Commission/dpa

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