Reacting to the latest Commission’s annual rule of law report, MEPs are deeply concerned that democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights across the EU are eroding, in a draft report adopted with 42 votes in favour, ten against, two abstentions. They also criticise specific countries where major problems are identified. Institutions under threat … Read more
The Kremlin has laughed off an attempt by the CIA to recruit spies from Russia via social media. “Somebody should tell the CIA that VKontakte is much more popular here than the banned X [formerly Twitter] and that VKontakte has a much larger audience,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, according to state-run news agency … Read more
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will open the solemn sitting at 11.30, followed by a musical interlude by bandoneon player Mr Marcelo Nisinman. After Ms Shashar’s speech, MEPs will observe a minute’s silence. The ceremony will close with a musical performance by Sheva Tehoval, soprano, and Mr Marcelo Nisinman of “Kaddish” by Maurice Ravel. Irene … Read more
If you want to join NATO, come and talk to me — that’s Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s latest message to his Swedish counterpart. “Today I sent an invitation letter to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson … for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession,” Orbán tweeted today. Orbán’s remarks come amid growing … Read more
HELSINKI — After seven years in the political wilderness, Alexander Stubb is closing in on a remarkable comeback and new top job: president of Finland. Ahead of a first round of voting this Sunday, Stubb has a 3-percentage-point lead in opinion polls over his nearest rival, Pekka Haavisto of the leftist Green League, who is in turn 6 points ahead of seven other candidates. In a likely runoff, surveys give Stubb of the … Read more
Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. TEL AVIV — As Israel presses on with its military campaign, one would be hard pressed to find reports of what Gazans are enduring or the dire conditions they face when scanning the country’s television channels and media. It lies in stark contrast to what the rest … Read more
LONDON — They might not be wearing MAGA hats, but some of Britain’s most prominent Conservatives are flirting with Donald Trump again. A steady stream of Tory politicians — and even former prime ministers — have recently been heaping cautious praise on, or even endorsing, the controversial former U.S. president as his bid to re-enter … Read more
BERLIN — Emmanuel Macron: French president, statesman and, er, German speaker. Macron impressed and surprised mourners in the German parliament on Monday by delivering a eulogy for Wolfgang Schäuble predominantly in German — for which he needed just a few hours of practice, according to his German teacher. The French president had been invited to the … Read more
Administration officials say it could take weeks, maybe months, to apply the necessary military, economic and diplomatic pressure to force the Houthis to change course. | Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. and U.K. conducted large-scale air and missile strikes on Houthi rebel facilities across Yemen on Monday, according to a U.S. and British … Read more
KRAKÓW, Poland — Elon Musk has upped his war on woke by saying that diverse hiring policies are “fundamentally antisemitic” and discriminatory, shortly after a private visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp. The controversial tech billionaire was speaking at a European Jewish Association (EJA) conference in the Polish city of Kraków, amid rising criticism that his social … Read more
