German foreign minister Heiko Maas again took aim at president Donald Trump’s foreign policy in a speech on Monday, branding his policies towards Europe “irritating”.
“Obviously it irritates us when President Trump describes Europe as an enemy of the USA in the same breath as Russia and China or calls Nato into question almost as a throwaway remark,” Mr Maas told a gathering of Romanian diplomats in Bucharest.
“It seems absurd that we in the European Union have to worry about reacting to US tariffs that are justified on national security grounds,” Mr Maas said, before going on to note that this “absurdity” may simply be the reflection of a new geo-political reality.
“‘America First’ was a wake-up call. Our answer to that must be: ‘Europe United!” Mr Maas said.
Last week the minister used an article in the Handelsblatt newspaper to call on Europe to consider a "new world order" more independent of the US, prompting chancellor Angela Merkel to make clear that this was only Mr Maas's personal opinion.
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In his speech on Monday, Mr Maas called on the EU to develop a “common foreign and security policy worthy of the name”, as well as a “defence union”, and added that the principle of unanimity had too often led to the policy of the “lowest common denominator”.
“We must be able to find areas in which majority decisions are conceivable for all member states,” he said.
Mr Maas also expressed concern over “polarisation” evident in Romania over alleged government corruption and controversial judicial reforms.
Earlier this month more than 450 people were hurt, including 30 police, during clashes at anti-government protests.
“It’s not the discussion as such that worries us, as that has to take place. It is the harshness of the debate, which has led to violent confrontations,” Mr Maas said.
He called for a “compromise” to be found over judicial reform which would preserve the balance of powers while bringing together Romanian society.
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars
Company profile
Name: Belong
Based: Dubai
Founders: Michael Askew and Matthew Gaziano
Sector: Technology
Total funding: $3.5 million from crowd funding and angel investors
Number of employees: 12
Islamic Architecture: A World History
Author: Eric Broug
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Pages: 336
Available: September
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Director: Nag Ashwin
Starring: Prabhas, Saswata Chatterjee, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Shobhana
Rating: ★★★★
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.