Tag: Angela Merkel

Iran nuclear deal not perfect but better than no agreement: Angela Merkel

The European Union (EU) has no intention to abandon the Iran nuclear deal after the US withdrawal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. “Although this agreement is not perfect, it is better than no agreement,” Merkel said on Friday at a televised press conference after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea …

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May 19, 2018

‘EU to defend interests against US trade measures

Leaders of Germany, France and Britain have agreed that the US should not take trade measures against the European Union and that the EU should be prepared to defend its interests. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron made a phone call on Saturday and Merkel called British Prime Minister Theresa May on …

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April 30, 2018

Hungarian Rhapsody

Continental nationalism has been reinforced this week. Given its democratic construct and inclusivity, the European Union, grappling with the migrants’ challenge for the past few years, will perhaps have to bolster its efforts to countenance xenophobia and hatred. Trends in the elections in Italy last month, the impressive performance of the far-right AfD in Germany, …

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April 16, 2018

Trump speaks with Western leaders on expulsion of Russian diplomats

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spoke with leaders of France and Germany on the expulsion of Russian diplomats. Earlier on Monday, he also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to coordinate stances on the issue. The White House said Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier on …

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March 28, 2018

Merkel threatens Trump with ‘unmistakable countermeasures’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Wednesday that EU would take unambiguous countermeasures against the US tariff surges if necessary. Speaking to lawmakers in the Bundestag, lower house of the parliament, Merkel mentioned that the US has just introduced punitive tariffs, reports Xinhua. “We will seek talks and if necessary, we will take unambiguous countermeasures,” …

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March 22, 2018

Modi makes congratulatory call to Merkel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to congratulate her on assuming office for the fourth successive term. An official release said Modi lauded “the strong leadership” provided by Chancellor Merkel to Germany, and the pivotal role played by Germany in European affairs during her tenure. “Prime Minister Modi reiterated his …

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March 22, 2018

Macron, Merkel pledge common roadmap on eurozone reforms

French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel have pledged to come out with a common ground on eurozone reforms by June this year. “For many years, Europe has waited for the Franco-German couple to move forward and make proposals. We are ready to do that,” Macron told reporters on Friday, Xinhua reported. …

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March 17, 2018

Merkel re-elected by German parliament to fourth term

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was on Wednesday elected by parliament for her fourth term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy. Bundestag lawmakers voted 364-315 for Merkel, with nine abstentions. Merkel is to be formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before taking the oath of office at 1100 GMT.

March 14, 2018

Team Merkel

Angela Merkel has regained her position as Chancellor of Germany and her tenure in that rarefied office in Europe will now stretch far beyond a decade. The new coalition of her Christian Democrats and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), that has been forged five months after the elections, is in itself a testament to the …

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March 9, 2018

Why Trump’s China jibe could be ominous

In one of the more startling twists of his meandering career, the serially bankrupt Donald Trump is trying to settle a debt. All the contractors he’s allegedly stiffed down the decades won’t be amused, but the debt he is currently paring down is the one to stand-up comedy. Politically, he owes it everything. It was …

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March 6, 2018

Patchwork in Germany

Considering that governance in Germany has been in suspended animation for the past four months, last Wednesday’s forward movement in Berlin will be welcomed both within the country and in Europe in the wider canvas. Not least because Brexit and the migrants’ issue are the major challenges confronting the European Union and crucially so in …

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February 13, 2018

Germany plans cabinet negotiations before February 4

Germany’s CDU/CSU conservative alliance and Social Democrats (SPD) want to complete coalition government negotiations before February 4, a media report said. Michael Grosse-Bromer, CDU/ CSU parliamentary group leader, made the announcement after the first round of the formal talks beginning Friday on a new “grand coalition” government. But he stressed a “time buffer ” after …

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January 27, 2018

Germany coalition talks: SPD backs talks with Merkel

Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) have voted for coalition negotiations with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, their former coalition partners. Earlier this month, the two groupings agreed a blueprint for formal talks. Merkel’s centre-right CDU and its Bavarian CSU ally have been unable to form a government since September’s inconclusive election, BBC reported on Sunday. The …

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January 22, 2018

Finland gives its first gender equality prize to Merkel

Finland has given its new international gender equality prize to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Announcing the prize in Brussels on Thursday, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila described Merkel as a defender of human dignity and human rights. Sipila praised Merkel’s commitment to women and girls globally, Xinhua news agency reported. “Equality is a core value …

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December 15, 2017

Asians can’t be followers

After German Chancellor Angela Merkel remarked that Europeans should think for themselves, after being criticised for German trade surpluses, Asians should truly ask whether we should also begin to think for ourselves? Hong Kong this week celebrated the breaking of the Hang Seng Index 30,000 level, poised to break the peak of 31,958 set on …

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December 8, 2017

No support to Trump’s decision on Jerusalem: Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Germany does not support US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. “The Federal Government does not support this attitude because the status of Jerusalem is to be negotiated within the framework of a two-state solution,” Xinhua news agency quoted spokesperson Steffen …

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December 7, 2017

Deadlock in Germany

Germany is in limbo, in itself a testament to the political turmoil that confronts Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) three months after the general election that had yielded a fractured mandate, if tilted in favour of the Chancellor. Negotiations to cobble a three-party coalition of the Christian Democrats, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens …

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November 24, 2017