Brexit shaming, climate strikes and fresh elections

Brexit shaming, climate strikes and fresh elections
Copyright REUTERS
Copyright REUTERS
By Joanna GillDarren McCaffrey, Paula Sendin
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This week was an embarrassing one for Europe's leaders - from a podium shaming for Boris Johnson, to ex-Italy PM Matteo Renzi quiting the ruling democratic party, rocking the new government. And, the Spanish prime minister was tongue-tied as he faces fresh elections for the second time this year.

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In Strasbourg it was another week dominated by Brexit,

With Boris Johnson being booed, bottling out a press conference amidst accusations of a badly behaved and undiplomatic Luxembourg

And as Luxembourg's prime minister Xavier Bettel stood next to that empty podium, he sounded furious and frustrated as I asked him if the Brexit negotiations might actually all be a sham.

"Now we speak about theatre, yesterday we spoke about Hulk. I think it's too serious a matter to speak about actors and a script. The fact is some people would give the blame to another...We did not decide to organise that Brexit. It was the unilateral decision of the UK government. We have to accept the result but it's not now in a unilateral way that the UK government will decide what will be the next relations with the EU...These are homemade problems, and we have now all to deal with those homemade problems and makes all ourselves into more general problems. So I won't accept any time to be responsible as Europe an leader, neither the Commission nor the 27 other countries, for, I'm sorry, the mess we are in at the moment."

And that view seemed to be shared on both sides among the view MEPs who turned up to the Brexit debate here.

But of course there's more to Europe than Brexit - here's a breakdown of the rest of the week - in numbers.

13 billion euros - is the sum up for grabs in a transatlantic tax dispute. Apple launched a legal challenge against the 2016 decision by the EU to slap the massive fine on the US tech giant.

The Commission said tax rulings by Ireland artificially reduced Apple's tax burden for over two decades.

14 seconds is the time Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took to answer to the question whether he should apologize to citizens for failing to form a government and force elections once again.

And 4 is the number of elections Spain has held in the past 4 years.

5000 + is the number of events which took place across 156 countries for the global climate strike.

The activists are calling Governments to act on climate change. The demonstrations come ahead the UN Climate Summit in New York.

Next Week

And that’s it for this week, next week is a bus one we have:

Another migration meeting this time in Malta

UN general assembly

And the final week of campaigning in Austria

You can find all the coverage you need here in Euronews.

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And finally...

I'd just like to leave you Matteo Renzi, the former Italian PM who this week has not only decided to set up his party but finally managed to shake off a comparison to Mr Bean only to be replace by another famous Brit - Boris Johnson, under #Renxit.

Politics can be a funny old business.

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