Downing Street has asserted its right to set tax rates after an EU leader warned Britain against “aggressiveness” in slashing business levies during Brexit talks. A Number 10 spokeswoman said it is up to each member state how they set their taxes, following the comments made by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven. Source Independent
Under nationalist pressure, Bulgaria’s government looks set to oppose any move to deprive Hungary of its voting rights in the EU, due to fears of democratic backsliding. Bulgaria’s government, led by Boyko Borissov, will soon draft a position opposing a pending vote to initiate the Article 7 process that could take away Hungary’s right to vote in the Council of the EU. Source Balkan Insight
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent U.S. military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Poland’s concerns about possible Russian aggression. Source: Reuters
The U.S.-China trade war deepened as Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods and the Trump administration threatened duties on virtually all Chinese imports. Source: Bloomberg
