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Ex-UK leader Truss to urge tougher China stance in Tokyo
Read full article: Ex-UK leader Truss to urge tougher China stance in TokyoFormer British Prime Minister Liz Truss will join the former leaders of Australia and Belgium at a conference in Tokyo later this month to call for a tougher international approach to China.
Polish legal body rejects prosecutor request to arrest judge
Read full article: Polish legal body rejects prosecutor request to arrest judgeA controversial disciplinary body within Poland’s Supreme Court has rejected a prosecutor’s request to arrest a judge who has become a symbol of resistance for those who believe judicial independence is threatened in the country.
EU leaders fail to solve political fight blocking big budget
Read full article: EU leaders fail to solve political fight blocking big budgetThe deal for the budget and recovery fund looked well on track to enter into force in January — until Hungary and Poland vetoed it this week. The Polish parliament passed a resolution Thursday backing the government’s plan to veto the EU budget if it included the rule-of-law condition. The resolution calls it unacceptable and inconsistent with the EU treaty to apply “different standards” to different members. The EU has opened legal procedures against the two countries over what it considers systemic threats to the rule of law. ___Frank Jordans in Berlin, Raf Casert in Brussels, and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
EU hit by new crisis, this time over money and values
Read full article: EU hit by new crisis, this time over money and valuesThe European Union still hasn't completely sorted out its messy post-divorce relationship with Britain but it has already been plunged into another major crisis. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)BUDAPEST – The European Union still hasn't completely sorted out its messy post-divorce relationship with Britain — but it has already been plunged into another major crisis. Ahead of Thursday's virtual EU summit, where leaders hope to end the stalemate, here is a look at the budget battle. At the heart of the crisis is the question of what the EU is — primarily a zone of free trade made up of independent nations or a union that shares common democratic values? In 2018, the EU agency that investigates how the bloc’s money is spent carried out more investigations in Hungary than in any other EU country.