Ethiopian Airlines black boxes found and Theresa May to face new Brexit defeat | Europe briefing

Copyright Reuters

Published on 11/03/2019 - 06:09•Updated 14:15

Here are the top stories from across Europe this morning that you need to know about.

1. Ethiopian Airlines crash: black box recorders found

Ethiopian Airlines said the black box flight recorders were both recovered from the scene after Sunday's crash, which killed all 157 people on board - including dozens of European citizens.

The crash raised fresh concerns over the safety of the Boeing Co 737 MAX, with China, Ethiopia and Indonesia suspending the aircraft's operations on Monday.

In October 2018, another 737 MAX operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air crashed 13 minutes after take-off from Jakarta on a domestic flight, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board.

2. Brexit vote: May faces new defeat on Tuesday

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces another Brexit humiliation after two major eurosceptic factions in parliament warned they would vote down her divorce deal.

Nigel Dodds, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Steve Baker, a leading figure in the large eurosceptic faction of the Conservative party, said May's Brexit deal would be defeated on Tuesday because she had failed to win concessions from the European Union.

On Monday, Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier said the bloc had made proposals to end the Brexit deadlock and that negotiations were now between the British government and the parliament.

3. Belgians renounce ISIL but are losing hope of returning home

Two Belgian women who joined the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) in Syria said on Sunday they were losing hope they will ever go home after a Belgian court overturned a ruling to repatriate them with their six children.

Tatiana Wielandt and Bouchra Abouallal, each 26, said that as much as it pains them, they would send the children to Belgium for a better life and stay behind if it came to that.

European nations are wrestling with how to handle militants and their families seeking to return as the self-declared caliphate crumbles.

4. Japan court blocks ex-Nissan boss Ghosn from attending board meeting

A Tokyo court rejected ousted Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn's request to attend a board meeting this week.

The court's decision came as French automaker Renault SA, Nissan's top shareholder, confirmed it was in talks with Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors about setting up a new alliance body to improve their collaboration.

"Nissan's strong opposition to Ghosn's attendance is very regrettable," Ghosn's lawyer Junichiro Hironaka told reporters. The defence team has launched an appeal, according to media reports.

5. German conservative leader sees "no rift" with France over EU vision

The leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) has responded to French President Emmanuel Macron's ideas for a "European renaissance" by offering some overlap with his vision, while also warning against too much centralisation.

Under the title "Doing Europe Right", Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer echoed Macron by calling for a reform of the European Union's migration policy, but rejected his idea for a European minimum wage and cautioned against collective debts.

But on Monday the CDU leader played down her differences with the French President. "There's no rift," Kramp-Karrenbauer told Welt television when asked how deep the divisions were between France and Germany.