Chief-Exec.com

Trump tells EU to buy US oil and gas or face tariffs
US president-elect Donald Trump has warned the EU that it must commit to buying “large scale” amounts of US oil and gas or face tariffs. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday. Trump’s threat follows overtures already made by Brussels offering to buy more US liquefied natural gas, which has been a lifeline for the bloc after Russia squeezed supplies of fossil fuels following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in November that the EU would consider buying more gas from the US. “We still get a lot of LNG from Russia and why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” she told reporters. “It seems odd as a ‘threat’ given that von der Leyen alluded to the possibility of doing precisely this,” one EU official observed. Financial Times, December 20

US diplomats in Syria to meet new authorities
US diplomats are in the Syrian capital Damascus where they plan to meet representatives from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group now in charge but which Washington still designates as a terrorist organisation. The visit follows those of delegations in recent days from the UN and other countries including the UK, France and Germany. This is the first formal American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade. It is a further sign of the dramatic shifts under way in Syria since the fall of the President Bashar al-Assad's regime more than a week ago, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, also leaning on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance. BBC news, December 20

Thousands of US troops are in Syria
Two thousand American troops are in Syria, more than twice the number that officials had cited for months, according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. They are there on a “temporary” basis, he said, to support the “core official deployed forces” involved in a mission to keep Islamic State militants from taking advantage of Syria’s shifting situation. General Ryder said the troop increase was unrelated to the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad by rebels this month. Since the Assad government’s collapse, Israel and Turkey have launched military operations in Syria, and the US has conducted dozens of strikes against Islamic State targets. New York Times, December 20

Trump-backed spending deal fails to clear US House, shutdown looms
A Republican spending bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump failed in the US House of Representatives on Thursday, leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown that could disrupt Christmas travel. By a vote of 174-235, the House rejected the spending package, which was hastily assembled by Republican leaders after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk scuttled a prior bipartisan deal. Government funding is due to expire at midnight on Friday. If lawmakers fail to extend that deadline, the US government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border enforcement to national parks and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers. France 24, December 19

Budget has caused economy to stagnate, Bank of England says
The Bank of England has warned that the economy is stagnating after Rachel Reeves’s budget as businesses have responded by raising prices and cutting jobs. Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank, said that there would be a gradual approach to cutting interest rates because of concerns over the impact of tax rises and a higher minimum wage. Officials at the Bank downgraded their forecasts and said that they now expect “zero growth” in the final three months of 2024. The monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates, voted to hold them at 4.75 per cent and said that there was “heightened uncertainty in the economy”. The Bank highlighted the impact of the chancellor’s decision to increase the employers’ rate of national insurance in her budget, and the national living wage. The Times, December 19

Peter Mandelson to be announced as UK’s next US ambassador
Peter Mandelson is set to become Britain’s next ambassador to the US, the first time a politician has been appointed to the role for almost half a century. Keir Starmer is about to announce that Lord Mandelson, a former Labour minister and European commissioner for trade, has been given the role. The Guardian understands he will take over as Donald Trump begins his second term as president. The news comes as the UK prepares for challenging changes in trade relations with the US under the president-elect. The prime minister believes that Mandelson, a former Labour MP who now sits in the House of Lords, has the trade expertise and networking abilities to bolster the UK’s interests during this “delicate period” for its relationship with the US, according to the Times. The Guardian, December 19

Putin: Russia has right to use nuclear weapons when countries threaten Moscow
In his end of year address, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to a question about the nuclear doctrine amendment. As a reminder, the Kremlin leader approved changes last month that set out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal. The doctrine now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia. Today he was asked whether "the message has been received from the west". "I don't know, you should ask them," Putin replied. The changes to the doctrine, Putin explains, are that "we talk about the emerging military threats … like the emergence of anti-missile systems". He said if countries create a threat to Russia, Russia believes it has the right to use nuclear weapons against them. BBC news, December 19

Al-Assad’s former soldiers are lining up for the future
Hundreds of soldiers and police officers who served under Bashar al-Assad heeded the call of Syria’s new rulers to formally relinquish their ties to his ousted regime. More than 600 people showed up on Sunday when a so-called reconciliation centre opened in the city of Latakia. Many more came throughout the day, hoping for a chance at amnesty. Temporary IDs were created, and photographs were taken. The men answered questions about what they had done while in al-Assad’s service, and many handed in weapons. The rebel coalition has promised to hunt down senior officials implicated in the regime’s crimes but to spare rank-and-file conscripted soldiers. It will be some time before any of the men who showed up on their own know their fate. New York Times, December 19

Ukraine's Zelensky meets with key European leaders ahead of Trump's return to White House
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Nato chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels on Wednesday to strategise over Russia's war ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Addressing reporters alongside Rutte, Zelensky called it a "very good opportunity to speak about security guarantees for Ukraine, for today and for tomorrow". The pair were to be joined later in the evening at the NATO's chief's official residence by leaders from Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands and the European Union's main institutions. French President Emmanuel Macron and British premier Keir Starmer were to miss the gathering due to schedule clashes - sending their foreign ministers instead - but Macron met Zelensky for bilateral talks just beforehand. The huddle came just over a month before Trump reclaims the US presidency, having pledged to bring a swift end to a conflict that Nato says has left more than one million dead and wounded since Russia's 2022 invasion. There are fears that Trump could pull US support for Kyiv and force it to make painful concessions to Moscow. France 24, December 19

Global shares fall after Fed signals slower pace of rate cuts
Global stocks and emerging market currencies sank on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve indicated it would cut interest rates more slowly next year to guard against any renewed threat of inflation. The quarter-point reduction in interest rates the Fed delivered on Wednesday, at its final meeting before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, was overshadowed as officials trimmed projected cuts in 2025. Signs the Fed remains concerned over lingering inflation - and the threat that Trump’s economic plans could add to price pressures - sent the dollar index, a gauge of the US currency against six peers, up to its highest level since November 2022, although it later gave up some ground. European and Asian stocks fell following a steep sell-off on Wall Street on Wednesday, as investors were jolted by the prospect the Fed would lower borrowing costs less rapidly. Financial Times, December 19