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French plan to tax tech giants: US issues inquiry

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Donald Tump has raised an order for investigation on the planned taxation of tech giants, which would seriously affect the American tech companies. This could be a move that results in retaliatory tariffs.

Robert Lighthizer, the US representative said, “The United States is very concerned that the digital services tax… unfairly targets American companies”.

The unfair trade practices could pave the way for Washington to impose punitive tariffs. Trump had repeatedly done this since taking office.

The parliament of France would be approving the tax implementations on Thursday.

Reports said that the tech giants like Google and Facebook will be charged with a 3% levy on revenue made inside France.

An estimated amount of around half-a-billion euro a year would be brought in with the new tax rule.

The new tax rule insists that any digital company with a revenue of more than €750m – of which at least €25m is generated in France – would be subject to the tax.

Republican Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Ron Wyden, the senior Democrat on the panel have welcomed the latest inquiry.

In a joined statement, they said, “The digital services tax that France and other European countries are pursuing is clearly protectionist and unfairly targets American companies in a way that will cost US jobs and harm American workers”.

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europe times european daily trending world news Struggle to find next EU leader continues
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Struggle to find next EU leader continues

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Donald Tusk, European Council President said that the EU leaders are expecting to have their proposal for the next EU Commission president ready by the next summit on June 21st.

Brussels witnessed the presence of the leaders from the 28 member states for a summit which emphasized on the wrangling among member states in choosing the next European Commission president following the European elections.

“We did not discuss names tonight, only the process”, said Donald Tusk, regarding Tuesday’s informal dinner, however, no names were mentioned.

On Tuesday, the Council president said that, when it comes to Commission appointments, his “personal ambition” was gender balance. French President Emmanuel Macron have also highlighted Tusk’s preference. Macron have said that he needed two women and two men for the top four EU posts.

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Theresa May confirms resignation

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British PM Theresa May said that, she will resign from her position as Prime Minister on 7th of June. This leads to a situation for a contest to select a new prime minister.

She was delivering an emotional speech and said that she had done her best for the Brexit deal and it was a matter of “deep regret” the she could not achieve her goal. “It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit”, admitted Thersa May.

She said that her position as the British Prime Minister had been the “honour” of her life. May said that she will be continuing her services as the PM while a conservative leadership contest takes place for selecting a new Prime Minister.

Her statements shows that May will be in the position of PM at the time of Donald Trump’s UK visit, which is due to be on the starting of June.

She said that she would leave “with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love”. She was found to be emotional while delivering the speech.

She added that, for delivering the Brexit, the next PM would have to build agreement in Parliament. May said, “Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise”.

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India all set to be ruled again by PM Narendra Modi’s BJP Party

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PM Narendra Modi and his party BJP has won the world’s largest democratic election in India.

Earlier calculations and public opinion clearly showed the victory of Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP).

Results showed that BJP has won 282 seats, leading the NDA to a tally of 336 seats in the 543-seat Lok Sabha.

Narendra Modi also owns the title of third prime minister of India who has been able to retain power for a second term with full majority in Lok Sabha.

PM thanked the Indian people after confirming his victory. He said that the polls showed the world the commitment of Indian voter. In his speech, he said that it is the victory of people and democracy.

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Brexit: The “one last chance”

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Prime Minister Theresa May has said that the MPs have “one last chance” for backing to the Brexit’s “new deal”.

May said that a vote will be given to the MPs to decide whether to hold another referendum if they back the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill.

The bill mentions and promises on workers’ rights, environmental protections and the Northern Irish border.

“The Prime Minister’s latest proposals are worse than before and would leave us bound deeply in to the EU. It is time to leave on WTO terms”, said Jacob Rees-Mogg in his Twitter. “We can and must do better and deliver what the people voted for”, he added.

Theresa May said, “I have compromised, now I ask you to compromise too”. She also mentioned about her resignation that she offered. She said that, “ l offered to give up the job I love earlier than I would like”.

She asked the MPs to support the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at its first parliamentary hurdle and then “make the case” for another public vote when the bill was examined in detail later.

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Socialists wins the Spain election

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Spain’s ruling Socialists wins the election by collecting most of the votes. They failed to win a majority amid historic gains by the far-right. This was one among the crucial elections in decades.

29% of the votes were polled by PM Pedro Sánchez’s party. In order to form a government, they will need the help of either left-wing Podemos and regional parties, or the centre right, to form a government.

Since military rule ended in the 1970s, it is for the first time a far-right party is set to enter parliament. The Popular Party (PP) faced a collapse in support. The Popular Party had governed Spain until it was dumped from power in May 2018 in a no-confidence vote.

In this election, the Popular Party could just win 66 seats, down from 137 in the previous parliament.

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Comedian Zelensky wins the presidency of Ukraine

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Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian and TV show presenter have gained 73% of the Ukraine’s vote and elected as the Ukraine president. He had swept away the incumbent president, Petro Poroshenko, who conceded defeat. This result is a huge blow to Poroshenko and a rejection of Ukraine’s establishment.

Zelensky (41) is a comedian who plays the country’s president on a TV show, who does not have any political background. Zelensky declared his victory at a campaign party in a bar in Kiev, packed with hundreds of journalists.

To his supporters, Zelensky said, “I will never let you down”. “I’m not yet officially the president. But as a citizen of Ukraine I can say to all countries in the post-Soviet Union: Look at us. Anything is possible!”, he added.

This victory of Zelensky comes amid deep dissatisfaction among Ukrainians with their political establishment, and weariness with the war.

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“There is still a risk of no-deal Brexit despite delay” says EU’s Juncker

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The bloc’s chief executive said on Saturday that there is a still a concern that Britain may leave the European Union without a deal to smooth the way. He urged Britain to take advantage of a six-month delay to work out the details of its departure.

A week after EU leaders gave Britain six months more to exit the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission President had said this to the German newspaper FUNKE Mediengruppe.

Juncker mentioning the long-term negative impact on Europe’s economy said, “Nobody knows how Brexit will end. This is creating great uncertainty. There is still a fear that there will be a hard Brexit without any withdrawal treaty arrangements”.

The EU extension helps in giving a clarity on when, how or even if Brexit will happen. But, the time should be wisely used by Britain, said Juncker.

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Leftist party tipped to win vote in Finland Election

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In the Sunday’s election, Finland is tipped to turn left. The Social Democrats were leading in poll. Reports said that The Social Democratic party’s Antti Rinne could be next prime minister.

It have been two decades that Finland is having a leftist prime minister in parliamentary elections.

A survey conducted showed that the Social Democrats could win the elections with 19 percent of the vote, giving their leader, Antti Rinne, the first chance for forming a government. 

With a 16.3 percent support, the Finns are moving closer with second position, after scoring rapid gains since the start of this year when a series of cases of sexual abuse of minors by foreign men emerged. 

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Brexit delay agreed by EU until end of October

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European Council president Donald Tusk said that the UK and EU agrees to delay Brexit until 31st of October.

Mr Tusk, after speaking about 5 hours at an EU summit in Brussels has said that his “message to British friends” was “please do not waste this time”.

PM Theresa May said that UK will still aim to leave the European Union as soon as possible.

The deal of summit in Beussels in the early hours of Thursday meant Britain will not crash out on Friday without a treaty to smooth its passage. But, if got a clarity regarding when, how or even if Brexit will happen, as May struggles to build support in parliament for withdrawal terms agreed with the EU last year.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish Taoiseach said that UK must now hold European elections in May, or leave on 1 June without a deal.

Theresa May, had earlier told the leaders that she wanted to extend the exit date of UK from this Friday to 30 June, with the option of leaving earlier if her withdrawal agreement was ratified by Parliament.

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