News Line
Ukraine reports 5,276 new COVID-19 cases Zelensky: Every third Ukrainian considers road construction one of greatest achievements of 2021 Ukraine ready to implement Minsk agreements, but Russia's desire needed - Yermak Michel: EU unanimously agree to roll over economic sanctions against Russia Actions by Ukraine's partners will help prevent worst-case scenario - Zelensky COVID-19 in Ukraine: Health officials confirm 8,899 daily cases as of Dec 17 Macron tells Zelensky he declared support for Ukraine in call with Putin Zelensky, Scholz discuss gas transit through Ukraine after 2024 Ukraine ready for any format of talks with Russia - Zelensky Ukraine’s only journalist in Russia facing extremism charges - lawyer PM Shmyhal: First two applications for investment projects worth $96 million filed Zelensky, PM of Italy discuss security situation around Ukraine President signs off State Budget 2022 London considering all options for responding to Russia's aggression against Ukraine Putin, Biden to hold another round of talks Some 260,000 Ukrainians “victims of human trafficking” over 30 years - prosecutor general Ukraine plans to create center to protect energy infrastructure from cyber attacks No clear idea so far when Normandy Four top diplomats set to meet - German Ambassador Ukraine receives EUR 600M in macro-financial assistance from EU Zelensky holds phone conversation with PM of Israel Ukraine sets new daily COVID vaccination record MFA: European Union has not yet removed Ukraine from list of safe countries Kyiv records 1,023 new COVID-19 cases, 29 deaths G7 ambassadors welcome adoption of law on NABU status Ukraine can increase Covid vaccination rates to 1.5M a week – Liashko

Brexit hung in the balance on Monday as Prime Minister Theresa May tried to coax the Labour Party into agreeing a divorce deal with a better chance of passage by parliament, ahead of a crisis EU summit where she will try to delay the April 12 departure.

Britain’s exit from the EU has already been delayed once but May is asking the bloc for yet more time as she courts veteran socialist Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour Party wants to keep Britain more closely tied to the bloc after Brexit.

May heads to Berlin and Paris on Tuesday to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron and will be phoning other leaders before setting out the case for another delay at Wednesday’s emergency EU summit in Brussels.

Nearly three years after the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting by 52 percent to 48 to leave the EU, May warned that Brexit might never happen, but said that she would do everything possible to make sure it did.

“We have been in touch with the opposition today and technical talks between officials will take place this evening,” a spokesman for May said.

Labour’s Brexit point man, Keir Starmer, said earlier that May’s government had so far not shifted from its red lines on Brexit and so no way forward had been agreed.

“Both us and the government have approached this in the spirit of trying to find a way forward. We haven’t found that yet. We will continue to do that,” Starmer said.

May’s spokeswoman said she wanted Britain to have an independent trading policy - something hard to reconcile with Labour’s demand to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU - and that both sides would need to compromise.

The deputy political editor of the Telegraph newspaper, Steven Swinford, said Labour and the Conservative government were still discussing both a customs union and the idea of holding a confirmatory referendum on any deal they agree.

Both ideas are anathema to many in May’s party, whose rebels have helped trigger three parliamentary defeats of the withdrawal deal she negotiated with the EU last year.

“We all hope that these talks will produce a positive outcome. I’ve said many times before, we can be more, much more ambitious in our future relationship with the UK,” EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told a news conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin.