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Spanish Euro 2024 Victory Marred by Controversial ‘Gibraltar is Spanish’ Chants

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At the victory celebrations in Madrid, players from Spain’s men’s Euro 2024 winning team led chants of “Gibraltar is Spanish.” Midfielder Rodri, who also plays for Manchester City, was among those participating. The Gibraltar Football Association formally complained to Uefa, calling the chants “extremely provocative and insulting.”

Gibraltar, a British territory since the 18th century, is located at Spain’s southern tip. Spain has long sought its return.

The chants occurred as tens of thousands of Spanish fans gathered in central Madrid to celebrate the team’s 2-1 victory over England in the final. Fans dressed in Spain’s red and yellow cheered as the players toured the city in an open-top bus. The parade concluded in Cibeles Square, where the European Championship trophy was presented. Rodri, alongside right-winger Lamine Yamal, was seen chanting “Gibraltar is Spanish” on stage, a chant later led by team captain Alvaro Morata.

The Gibraltar FA expressed its concern in a statement, condemning the Spanish team’s actions as having “no place in football.”

Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory with a population of just over 34,000, was ceded to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. Despite referendums confirming its people’s preference for British rule, Spain continues to claim the territory. Border policing disagreements have arisen since Gibraltar’s departure from the EU with Brexit.

Gibraltar, a Uefa member since 2013, fielded its own team in Euro 2024, finishing last in Group B with no points and a significant 14-0 loss to France, the former champions’ largest win.

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EU has taken new legal action against the United Kingdom over revisions to the post-Brexit accord

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The EU has threatened the UK government with additional legal action over its plans to cancel elements of the post-Brexit Northern Ireland deal. On Monday, ministers unveiled a bill aimed at unilaterally altering trade, tax, and governance structures in the 2020 agreement.

Both sides agreed to the pact, but the United Kingdom claims it has disrupted trade and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. However, the EU claims that overriding aspects of the agreement would violate international law.

“There is no legal or political rationale whatsoever for unilaterally amending an agreement,” stated Maros Sefcovic, vice-president of the European Commission.

Mr Sefcovic stated, “Let’s call a spade a spade, this is illegal,” adding that the UK’s decision “left us with no alternative” but to pursue legal action. The Northern Ireland Protocol is a specific agreement that allows Northern Ireland to remain in the EU’s single market for goods while also avoiding a hard border with the Republic of Ireland. The agreement insured that free trade could continue across the Irish land border, which is a sensitive topic given Northern Ireland’s history of war.

The European Commission said it would resume legal proceedings against the United Kingdom for delaying checks on some products arriving in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, which had been paused since March 2021.

The Commission has opened two fresh investigations into allegations that the UK failed to meet its responsibilities to share trade data and establish border inspection stations. These legal actions may result in a fine being imposed on the United Kingdom as part of a dispute resolution process overseen by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).The UK government has stated that it would prefer to work with the EU on revisions rather than acting unilaterally to repeal portions of the treaty.

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UK PM to visit India

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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, is set to visit the Asian country of India in the near future.

Mr. Johnson is expected to reach the Asian country in the coming January.

The visit has many angles. The visit is vital in many ways. The announcement has come at the time the UK is preparing to leave the European Union.

The visit is expected to decide the depth of the relation between the European powerhouse and the Asian superpower post the Brexit.

At this moment, there is no clarity about the topics that will be discussed in the scheduled meeting between the leaders of the two powerful countries. It is said that climate change, and trade and investment will be the main areas of the said discussion.

India is one of the close partners of the UK in the Asian region. It is vital for the UK to improve its relation with India to address the post-Brexit crisis brilliantly.

This is the first time Mr. Johnson has announced his decision to visit the Asian country since he was appointed to the seat of power.

Mr. Johnson is the successor of Theresa May, who lost her position as she failed to get her Brexit plan cleared in the UK Parliament.

It is yet to be seen how the UK will address the uncertainties of the post-Brexit Kingdom.   

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UK officially breaks tie with EU

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The United Kingdom has officially broken its tie with the European Union, the economic union of powerful – as well as advanced – European countries.

Several people have gathered in the streets across the country to express their feeling about the divorce.

Not all marches have been in support of the divorce. Scotland has been the epicentre of the anti-Brexit protest. Several protests have been organised across the country against the Briton’s move to ditch its decades-old relation with the powerful economic union.

Many are worried about the future of the divorced UK. Some anticipate even a serious economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has played a pivotal role in the exit of the country from the economic union, has assured to take the country forward to make its future brighter.

The Brexit has come at least three years after the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the economic union.

The UK’s relation with the EU was around 47 years old. It had several ups and downs. At the time of the exit, it was at its lowest point.

During the referendum, Scotland voted against the Brexit. It wanted to prevent the country’s exit from the union.

Unsurprisingly, Scotland is where the largest number of anti-Brexit protests has occurred.


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Donald Tusk advises the UK not to leave EU

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European Council President Donald Tusk has advised the United Kingdom not to leave the European Union.

He opined that the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union would mark the actual end of the Great British Empire.

Mr. Tusk is going to step down from the post in the near future itself, as his term is expected to end next month.

The warning of the European Council president has come at the time the UK government is trying to convince its parliament to approve the deal it reached with the EU in the matter of the proposed exit of the European country from the most powerful economic union in the world.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently asserted that he would try his best to convince the parliament to approve the Brexit deal.

He even criticised the parliamentarians for standing against the verdict of the people of the country.

He, it seems, is of the opinion that the parliamentarians have noting much to do in the matter of the Brexit and are supposed to give their assent as early as possible to the decision taken by the people of the country.

Will the EC president’s comment make any impact is yet to be seen.


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UK, EU negotiators reach new deal on Brexit

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The representatives, who were sent by the European Union and the United Kingdom, have reached a new Brexit deal. UK President Boris Johnson has called the deal as great.

The deal needs the assent of both the European Union parliament and the United Kingdom parliament.

The DUP, the party based in the Ireland region of the UK, has expressed its disagreement with the new deal.

It has declined to give its support to the bill. The party is likely to vote against the bill in the British parliament.

The UK is nearing a deadline given to reach a Brexit deal with the EU and get it passed its parliament.

Day by day, the pressure over the present UK government is increasing. The UK PM is very keen to reach a deal with the EU over the matter of Brexit as soon as possible.

The DUP has a considerable amount of strength in the British parliament. But, it is not as powerful as to get the deal defeated singlehandedly.


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Xavier Bettel
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Luxembourg prime minister describes Brexit as a ‘nightmare’

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Current Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel reportedly said that the Brexit process has turned into a “nightmare”. The PM’s comment came after holding talks with UK PM Boris Johnson.

Bettel said that the UK PM had failed to take any serious decisions to allow a deal by 31 October.

Boris Johnson is facing a severe protest and was forced to cancel his press conference. He said, “there’s been a lot of work” and “papers have been shared”.

PM said that his joint press conference was cancelled due to the fear that the two leaders would have been “drowned out” by pro-EU protesters.

Mr. Johnson said, “I don’t think it would have been fair to the prime minister of Luxembourg”.

“I think there was clearly going to be a lot of noise and I think our points might have been drowned out”, he added.

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europe times
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UK will reject any Brexit delay offer, Boris Johnson to tell Juncker

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UK will not be accepting any more Brexit delay offer, beyond the current 31 October deadline, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to tell European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at talks on Monday.

Since Boris Johnson came into authority as PM, the lunchtime meeting in Luxembourg will be the first time the pair have met.

Reports says that the Prime Minister will stress he wants to secure a deal by 18 October, after a key EU summit.

But, if this is not possible, Mr Johnson will “reject any delay offered” and leave with no deal.

The PM “would make clear that he would not countenance any more delays”, said the source.

Reports said that “Any further extension would be a huge mistake. It is not just a question of the extra dither and delay – it is also the additional long months of rancour and division, and all at huge expense.”

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europe times
News Politics

Boris Johnson loses Brexit votes

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The opposition MP’s and Tory rebels have attempted to pass a law designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit, and they have defeated the government in its first stage.

Commons votes have been reported as 328 to 301 to take control of the agenda. This allows them to put forward a bill asking to delay the exit date of the US.

At this stage, Boris Johnson said that he would put forward a movement for an early general election.

Before the occurrence of any election, the bill should be passed, said Jeremy Corbyn in a statement.

Referring to the next European Union summit, Boris Johnson said, “I don’t want an election, the public don’t want an election, but if the House votes for this bill tomorrow, the public will have to choose who goes to Brussels on Oct. 17 to sort this out and take this country forward”.

21 Tory MPs, including some of the ex-cabinet ministers have stood with the opposition parties to defeat the government.

Ken Clarke, ex-chancellor told bbc that he was still “a mainstream Conservative” but he didn’t recognise his party any more. He added that the PM’s “knockabout character” had “the most right-wing cabinet a conservative government has ever produced”.

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europe times
International Trade News

No deal Brexit: Pound falls on currency markets

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As the government insists that the UK is prepared to leave the EU without a deal, the value of Pound continued to fall on currency markets. On Thursday, Sterling continued to slide on the foreign exchanges. Sterling hits a fresh two-year low of $1.2120 against the dollar.

The currency of Pound also slid against the euro, falling to €1.0881 at one point. As the pound value falls, UK tourists heading abroad could face a “horrendous summer”, said one currency expert.

Reports said that the government under the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has strengthened its stance on a no-deal Brexit, which it has said is “now a very real prospect”.

Before EU referendum in June 2016, the Pound was trading at about $1.50 against the dollar. It has now dropped by 2.4% since Monday, as a spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the UK would not enter talks with Europe unless the so-called Irish backstop is scrapped.

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