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Producers say the labelling could add £250m a year to their costs, further fuelling inflationFood industry trade bodies are discussing whether to take legal action against the government over post-Brexit plans that will require all meat and dairy products sold in the UK to be labelled as “not for EU”.Food producers say the labelling could add £250m a year to their costs, further fuelling...

Ombudsman says papers show EU agency made four offers to help Greece with surveillance of boat that sank, but got no responseOpinion: Emily O’ReillyThe rules governing the EU’s border and coastguard agency Frontex must be urgently revised if Europe is to avoid a repeat of last year’s tragedy off the coast of Greece in which about 600 people are thought to have died, an...

Exclusive: Shift in sentiment requires EU politicians to focus on defining an acceptable peace, say authorsSupport for Ukraine among Europeans remains broad, but nearly two years after the full-scale invasion barely 10% now believe it can defeat Russia, according to an EU-wide survey – with some form of “compromise settlement” seen as the most likely end point.The shift in sentiment – this time last...

Exclusive: Data shows costs have contributed to value of meat exports falling by 17% since 2019Food businesses sending products to the EU have had to fork out an extra £170m in export costs because of Brexit red tape, with the changes described as being “catastrophic” for some exporters.Data shared with the Guardian shows that in the three years since leaving the single market, exporters...

Diplomatic search for ceasefire in Gaza gathers pace as threatened ground offensive in Rafah draws nearIn New York at the UN, in Brussels at the EU, in The Hague, in Cairo, in Rio and even at Westminster, a set of subtle and interrelated diplomatic dances are under way.Israel’s foremost supporters are attempting to apply the squeeze on their ally while avoiding making undiluted calls...

Video platform under scrutiny over potential breach of Digital Services Act in areas such as age verificationThe EU has launched a formal investigation into whether TikTok has broken online content rules including the safeguarding of children.The European Commission said it had opened official proceedings against the Chinese-owned short video platform over potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Continue reading...

European Commission investigates Spotify complaint that tech giant blocked users from cheaper subscriptions outside app storeApple is reportedly facing a €500m fine from the EU over restrictions on access to music streaming services, in what would be a landmark blow to the US tech company.The European Commission is investigating whether the US company blocked music streamers from telling users about cheaper ways to subscribe...

With ongoing US support far from guaranteed, Ukraine urges Europe to back fight against Russia, for its own sakeOn the top floor of Literaturhaus in Munich, the Ukrainian veteran Yuliia Paievska was asked to speak to the elite of the transatlantic security and political establishment, including Hillary Clinton and the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, as they lunched on a three-course meal, served with...

Outrage over jailed opposition leader’s death grows with detention of over 350 people in Russia who attended vigilsAlexei Navalny – obituaryAlexei Navalny’s allies have accused the Kremlin of “covering their tracks” as, two days after the imprisoned opposition leader’s death in custody, uncertainty continued to surround the whereabouts of his body and what it may reveal about how he died.Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and...

British producers to back EU’s proposed regulations to stop trade in adulterated honeyBritain’s beekeepers are backing ­proposed new rules to combat fraud in the supply chain, ensuring a jar of honey can be traced on its journey of up to 5,000 miles from the beehive to the shop shelf.The European parliament has agreed new labelling rules and a project to establish a traceability system...

Move comes after Swedish court rules that informing webmasters about delisted content is breach of privacyGoogle has quietly stopped telling publishers when it has removed websites from its search results under European “right to be forgotten” rules after a ruling in a Swedish court which the search engine is applying globally.Previously, when an individual applied to have records about them expunged under EU data...

Foreign secretary wants an increase in European defence output and to give profits from seized Russian assets in Europe to KyivDavid Cameron will discuss strengthening Ukraine’s defences and finances against further Russian aggression with European partners in light of the continuing threat of the US Congress refusing to provide further financial support.The foreign secretary is due to visit Bulgaria and Poland before meeting a...

Lawyers see Basir’s case as test of European policies that fail to provide safe routes to sub-Saharan asylum seekers For 25-year-old Basir, it was a ray of hope after fleeing Sudan more than a decade ago. For his lawyers, the asylum request he made from Morocco was the ultimate test of whether Spain – and more broadly the EU – was willing to provide...

Authority weighs up legal action against government over new checks on imported meat taking place 22 miles inlandThe Port of Dover could become a target for criminals smuggling illegal and diseased meat into the country under new post-Brexit plans that will involve lorries from the continent being checked 22 miles inland, the port’s health authority has warned.The Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) is now...

EU diplomat Johan Floderus’s sister calls on Sweden to start speaking up loudly to demand his releaseThe family of a Swedish EU diplomat imprisoned in Iran for more than 663 days fear he will be given a death sentence or life imprisonment within the coming days after prosecutors sought the maximum sentence in his case.“I ask how can this be happening? He is my...

More than 7,000 people used route between west Africa and Canary Islands last month, up from 500 in January last yearThe head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, have flown to Mauritania to sign a series of deals on migration and energy, as data reveals there has been a surge in people-smuggling operations to the...

The latest protest comes less than a day after Ursula von der Leyen met with farming groups in a bid to appease themHundreds of tractors choked Brussels city centre on Thursday and angry farmers pelted the European parliament with eggs. Although agriculture was not on the agenda for EU leaders meeting just up the road, politicians may find that they ignore these grievances at...

Meeting in Brussels as heads of state try to persuade Hungarian leader to back €50bn packageAs leaders prepare for the summit, last-minute talks are ongoing to convince Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to sign off on a funding package for Ukraine.Charles Michel, the European Council president, posted a photo of talks with Orbán. Continue reading...

Member states hope to persuade Hungary to remove its block on funding at Brussels emergency summitEU leaders have returned to Brussels for a second showdown in two months with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán over his refusal to sanction a new €50bn assistance package for Ukraine.A mixture of frustration and anger prevailed in the city as leaders arrived for dinner on Wednesday night on the eve...

‘UK internal market’ to be created to ease unionist fears over de facto border in the Irish SeaNew rules to smooth post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been unveiled by the government as part of a deal with the Democratic Unionist party that will restore the Stormont executive and install a Sinn Féin first minister.A command paper titled Safeguarding the Union...

French agriculture minister set to hold takes in Brussels as around 10,000 protesters turn outValérie Hayer, a French politician and president of the Renew Europe group in the European parliament, has spoken out about the impact of Brexit.“Four years ago, the United Kingdom left us,” she wrote, adding:Purchasing power, social security, global influence, border protection: nothing, absolutely nothing, has been a success. The populists...

Andrea Leadsom says businesses experiencing ‘some friction’ should ‘adapt’ to changes in trade rulesBusiness live – latest updatesBritish businesses experiencing “some friction” when trading with the European Union after Brexit is the “price you pay” for “being a sovereign state again”, a government minister has said.On the fourth anniversary of Britain officially leaving the European union, the health minister and Brexiter Andrea Leadsom said...

French president says future security architecture of Europe could no longer be settled by the US and RussiaThe European Union has to make bold decisions to defend Ukraine, pre-empting any US decision to withhold or reduce its military support, Emmanuel Macron has said.In a speech in Sweden, which hopes to be the next country to join Nato, the French president also said the future...

Requirement for importers to give 24 hours’ notice of deliveries described as ‘unfeasible’ by suppliersNew Brexit border rules could cut the shelf life of fresh food from mainland Europe by a fifth and leave some deliveries from the EU unsaleable, major food bodies have warned.The SPS Certification Working group, which represents 30 trade bodies covering £100bn of the UK’s food supply, has said new...