Jennifer Rankin

Brussels, Guildford

Brussels Correspondent at The Guardian

Brussels correspondent @guardian Like ≠ always like.

Articles

EU-UK security deal will not be tied to fishing rights, both sides insist

2 days ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin |Jessica Elgot

The European Commission and UK government are moving closer to a defence deal that will open the door to British arms firms being able to reap bigger potential rewards from a €150bn (£129bn) EU fund, but both sides insisted it was not tied to fishing rights. An EU-UK defence pact is likely to be the highlight of the first post-Brexit summit in May, but has been dogged by questions over how far member states will insist on linking security to a separate agreement on fisheries.
Ukraine war live: Trump denies being ‘played’ by Putin as Russia launches overnight attack

5 days ago | theguardian.com | Daniel Lavelle |Amy Sedghi |Jennifer Rankin |Andrew Roth |Tory Shepherd

Nobody 'playing me', says Trump, amid frustration over progress in peace talksPresident Donald Trump has said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war.
MEPs call for EU court to suspend Hungary’s Pride ban

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

A delegation of EU lawmakers visiting Hungary has called on Europe’s top court to suspend a new law banning Budapest Pride, as they criticised a “very hostile atmosphere” for LGBTQ+ people in the country and urged a return to “real democracy”. Tineke Strik, a Dutch Green politician who led a cross-party group of MEPs to investigate democratic standards in Hungary, said developments were going “rapidly in the wrong direction”.
EU could end penalties for companies that break Russian gas contracts

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

The European Commission is considering plans that would allow European companies to break long-term Russian gas contracts without paying penalties to Moscow, it has been reported. Citing three officials with knowledge of the plan, the Financial Times reported that the commission was studying the possibility of allowing companies to declare force majeure, which would absolve importers of their obligations to pay penalty fees for ending contracts.
EU will struggle to fill gap left by USAID as European countries cut their budgets

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has captured headlines, but “very regrettable” reductions in European aid budgets are also contributing to a void in support for some of the poorest people in the world’s most fragile states, according to MEPs and NGOs.Isabella Lövin, a deputy chair of the European parliament’s development committee, said USAID cuts would have “very dramatic consequences around the world”.
EU will not rip up tech rules for trade deal with Trump, senior official says

1 week ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

The EU will not rip up its tech rules in an attempt to reach a trade deal with Donald Trump, the bloc’s most senior official on digital policy has said. Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission vice-president responsible for tech sovereignty, indicated the EU was not going to compromise on its digital rulebook to reach an agreement on trade with the US – a key demand of Trump administration officials.
EU suspends retaliatory 25% tariffs on US goods after Trump U-turn

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin |Sam Jones

The EU has suspended its retaliatory 25% tariffs on US goods for 90 days after Donald Trump’s dramatic climbdown in his trade war. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU would put on hold for 90 days the countermeasures – 25% tariffs on €21bn (£18bn) of US goods – that it had agreed on Wednesday. “We want to give negotiations a chance,” she said.
Trump pauses plans to hike US tariffs on most countries except China

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Callum Jones |Jennifer Rankin |Helen Davidson |Rowena Mason

Donald Trump shelved plans to hike tariffs on most countries except China, unveiling a 90-day pause and pulling back from his global trade war after days of market turmoil and warnings of recession. After insisting for days that he would hold firm on his aggressive trade strategy, Trump announced that all countries that had not retaliated against US tariffs would receive a reprieve – and only face a blanket US tariff of 10% – until July.
EU to impose retaliatory 25% tariffs on US goods from almonds to yachts

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

The EU has agreed to impose retaliatory tariffs on €21bn (£18bn) of US goods, targeting farm produce and products from Republican states, in Europe’s first act of retaliation against Donald Trump’s tariffs. The EU plans to introduce 25% tariffs on scores of goods from almonds to yachts, with the first duties being collected from 15 April, while the bulk apply from 15 May and the remainder from 1 December.
EU to build AI gigafactories in €20bn push to catch up with US and China

2 weeks ago | theguardian.com | Jennifer Rankin

The EU has revealed details of a €20bn (£17bn) plan to create new sites equipped with vast supercomputers in Europe to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence models, while opening the door to amending its landmark law that regulates the technology.