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'Stupid Us': How US Retirees Lost Thousands to Fraud Linked to Ex-EU Official New York Times But before long, she and fellow investors learned that they had become victims of a Ponzi-like scheme one, it turns out, that leads back to a former high-ranking European Union official. The former official, John Dalli, 68, is a longtime power ... and more »

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'Stupid Us': How US Retirees Lost Thousands to Fraud Linked to Ex-EU Official - New York Times

BRUSSELS The European Union and China will hold a summit in Brussels on June 2, four EU officials said, the first since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump that has united the two economic powers against global warming and trade protectionism.

China's premier and the heads of the European Union's main institutions will aim to deliver a strong statement in support of the Paris climate deal that Trump has threatened to withdraw from, the officials said.

China asked that the annual the summit, normally held in mid-July, be brought forward to press home President Xi Jinping's defense of open trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, in response to Trump's protective stance.

While the date has not formally been announced, EU officials said it had been agreed with Beijing. The EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in mid-April and said afterwards that she had discussed the summit.

"The EU and China will send a very, very clear message that we will stick to the Paris climate agreement regardless of what the United States does," said one EU official. "Climate is a big part of the summit ... It is very high on the agenda."

The expected final summit statement will likely add to the pressure on Trump that other Group of Seven leaders will seek to apply at a summit in Italy on May 26-27, the officials said.

Trump, who openly doubts climate change is man-made and made a campaign pledge to "cancel" the 2015 Paris Agreement, has postponed a decision on whether to stick to or abandon the global accord.

He is expected to make a decision on that after returning from the Group of Seven summit, according to the White House.

China is looking to the European Union to fill what it sees as a leadership vacuum on a host of issues in the face of a more protectionist and inward-looking Washington.

China has also said it wants to see a strong, united Europe and has looked on with concern at the fallout of Britain's decision to leave the EU, nervous about losing London's support for free trade within the bloc and the economic damage that Brexit could cause to the EU, China's largest trading partner.

The European Union remains wary of its second-largest trading partner, concerned by China's massive steel exports, its militarization of islands in the South China Sea and a turn toward greater authoritarianism under China's President Xi.

"Without the United States, it is harder to stand up for human rights, but we will bring it up with China," a second EU official said, referring to freedom of expression, assembly and religion, as well as a crackdown on foreign non-governmental organizations in China.

But it does broadly agree with China on trade, despite a long-running spat with Beijing on what Europe sees as China's dumping of low-cost goods on European markets.

While Trump has pulled out of a multilateral trade agreement with Asia-Pacific nations and vowed to renegotiate the U.S. free-trade deal with Canada and Mexico, the EU as the world's biggest trading bloc welcome's China's commitment to trade.

(Writing by Robin Emmott; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

BRUSSELS EU nations agreed on Friday on new draft rules for car approvals despite opposition from Germany, EU sources said, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal.

MEXICO CITY Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote to Leonardo DiCaprio on Twitter on Thursday in a bid to reassure the Hollywood actor his government was taking steps to protect a rare porpoise in Mexican waters teetering on the brink of extinction.

TOKYO Japan's weather bureau said on Friday it sees a 50 percent chance of the El Nino weather pattern emerging by the beginning of autumn.

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EU and China to hold summit on June 2, focus on climate | Reuters - Reuters

Romania's membership in the European Union has brought "peace and stability to our continent," the European Commission's president said Thursday, adding there should not be a second-rate Europe.

Jean-Claude Juncker told the country's Parliament that Romanians are "a courageous and committed people."

Juncker said that Romania's EU membership in 2007 had extended the bloc's reach to the Black Sea that forms Romania's eastern border.

"In the EU, there have never been second-rate countries or countries that are left behind," Juncker said. However he said European countries could progress "with different rhythms. A Europe with several speeds is foreseen in treaties."

There is some sensitivity, even resentment, among Romanians about their place in the EU. A decade after joining, Romania still isn't part of the visa-free Schengen travel zone and the EU is still monitoring the government's progress on judicial reform and fighting corruption.

Juncker said Romania deserves to be a Schengen member as soon as possible.

His comments came days after Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told lawmakers that the country is "not a second-rate state in the EU," and urged citizens to "overcome an internal barrier that prevents us from manifesting our national capacity and limits us to unjustly considering ourselves a second-level state."

Juncker said when Romania takes over the presidency of the EU in 2019, it should no longer be monitored by the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism implemented when it joined the bloc.

"One cannot preside over the European Union while under the impression that one is controlled by the others," he said, noting he had personally promised this at the beginning of his mandate.

Speaking later at a reception at the Cotroceni presidential palace, Iohannis underscored the European credentials of Romanians, calling them "the most pro-European citizens of the union,"

Iohannis said the country could "reinvigorate and consolidate" the European project. "In a region marked by complex challenges, Romania has the advantage of being a source of stability."

Juncker warmly greeted former Romanian prime ministers, and tightly hugged Traian Basescu, president from 2004 to 2014, kissing him on the forehead.

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EU official: Romania's membership brings peace, stability - ABC News

PRISTINA, Kosovo The Latest on the no-confidence vote on Kosovo's government (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

The U.S. embassy in Pristina has called on Kosovo's outgoing Cabinet to continue to "to serve Kosovo's citizens - all of them - who are their employers."

A statement issued Wednesday assured Kosovo that the U.S. will "continue in our steadfast support for Kosovo, its citizens, and its path to full Euro-Atlantic integration."

Washington has continuously pressed Kosovo to pass a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro which remains the last obstacle before the European Union accepts to let Kosovar citizens travel visa-free in its Schengen member countries.

Kosovo's government failed a no-confidence vote, and an election is expected within 45 days.

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6:20 p.m.

Kosovo's president has invited leaders of the political parties to join in consultation on the date for the parliamentary election.

Hashim Thaci on Wednesday sent letters of invitation proposing to start talks the next day.

Kosovo's government failed a no-confidence vote, setting the scene for an early election.

Thaci dissolved the parliament and is now expected to set a date for a parliamentary election within 30 to 45 days.

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5:32 p.m.

The speaker of Kosovo's parliament is blaming Prime Minister Isa Mustafa for the no-confidence vote that has resulted in the failure of the country's governing coalition.

The political party that Speaker Kadri Veseli leads, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, was coalition partners with Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo.

Veseli posted a video message on Wednesday informally launching a parliamentary election campaign less than two hours after lawmakers expressed no-confidence in the existing government.

He accused the prime minister of "not taking the country ahead with the proper rhythm."

The debate before the vote clearly showed the two governing partners were not getting along.

Veseli also spoke negatively of opposition parties and said voters should support the Democratic League to give the country "a new beginning."

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4:31 p.m.

Kosovo's president has formally dissolved the country's parliament after lawmakers voted no-confidence in Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's coalition government.

President Hashim Thaci issued a decree dissolving the parliament on Wednesday just hours after the government lost the no-confidence vote in a 78-34 vote.

The move means the Balkan country is likely to have a parliamentary election about a year before one was scheduled to take place.

Thaci is expected to set an election date within 30-45 days.

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4:13 p.m.

The speaker of Kosovo's parliament is supporting the collapse of the country's Cabinet in which his political party was a partner.

Kadri Veseli posted a tweet after the government lost a no-confidence vote on Wednesday that the country needs a new beginning.

Veseli says the 78-34 vote "is needed for Kosovo to open exciting new chapters of our history."

The vote sets the scene for an early election, about a year before it was due. The president is expected to set an election date within 30-45 days.

It also revealed disagreements between Veseli's Democratic Party of Kosovo and Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's Democratic League of Kosovo.

Each currently holds 69 seats in the 120-member parliament.

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2:43 p.m.

Kosovo's government has lost a no-confidence vote, setting up the possibility of an early election.

Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's government lost in a 78-34 vote Wednesday, with three abstentions. Opposition parties had blamed his Cabinet for being unable to carry out its program and pass important laws.

The government had been hobbled by its inability to secure a majority in parliament over a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, despite pressure from the U.S. government.

The government hasn't had enough lawmakers to pass the deal, which was signed in 2015, and Mustafa withdrew the draft bill last year. The opposition has claimed that Kosovo would lose territory under the deal, an accusation denied by the government and local and international experts.

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US pledges support for Kosovo, European Union hopes - Fox News

New York Times

European Union Exhorts US to Continue UN Funding and Stand by Climate Pact New York Times UNITED NATIONS The European Union's top diplomat on Tuesday urged the Trump administration not to cut funding to the United Nations, nor to withdraw from a global accord intended to combat climate change. In urging the United States to remain ... European Union Indispensable Partner of United Nations, Ready to Build Cooperative New World Order, Its Top ...ReliefWeb European Union criticizes US for $640 million cut to UN agenciesThe Indian Express EU an 'indispensable' UN partner, working for rules-based international order, Security Council toldUN News Centre Voice of America -Reuters all 19 news articles »

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European Union Exhorts US to Continue UN Funding and Stand by Climate Pact - New York Times