Von der Leyen opens the door to Europe’s hard right – POLITICO

The choice In her campaign pitch on Monday night, she told the audience, which included people tuning in to the livestream online and via about 100 “watch parties” around the world, she wanted to fight for a strong Europe for the sake of her children and grandchildren. Von der Leyen portrayed herself as a unifying … Read more

MEP Krah accessed ‘sensitive’ documents, EU Parliament trade committee chair says – POLITICO

Lange denied that Krah’s office had retrieved documents with the classification level “restricted” via the trade committee. The “limited/sensitive” classification refers to sensitive content that is not necessarily subject to confidentiality. “Maximilian Krah has never received any EU Restricted documents” in the trade committee, Lange said. But Lange said the full extent of the scandal … Read more

Salvini’s last hope rests on building a bridge to Sicily – POLITICO

Salvini is pushing to launch the project by June, when European elections will be held that could make or break his leadership of the League.  The timing will be critical. As electoral support for the League shrinks, Salvini’s party colleagues are running out of patience. All 15 members of one local party association in Lombardy, … Read more

Far-right AfD reels as German lawmakers slam party over espionage and corruption allegations – POLITICO

Dirk Wiese, a lawmaker belonging to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), accused to the AfD of “feigned patriotism,” adding: “Maybe it’s not your own country that you love so much. Maybe it’s not dictatorships like China, Russia and Belarus.” The scathing criticism of the AfD comes after revelations on Wednesday that German … Read more

Germany probes claims far-right MEP took payments from Russia, China – POLITICO

The German judiciary launched two preliminary investigations on Wednesday against MEP Maximilian Krah from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over alleged payments from Russia and China for his work in the Parliament. “On 18 April 2024 the public prosecutor’s office in Dresden initiated a preliminary investigation against MEP Dr Maximilian Krah for alleged … Read more

The MEP unAwards 2024 – POLITICO

Not the entire European Parliament class of 2024 is graduating with honors. As the 705 members of Parliament’s ninth term close their books and head home to hit the campaign trail to regain their seat in June’s election — or pursue more dignified interests — they’re leaving behind a voluminous record of legislative work, roll-call … Read more

Von der Leyen castigates far-right AfD over Russiagate scandal – POLITICO

Czech authorities in March sanctioned the Prague-based Voice of Europe website over claims that European politicians had engaged with the outlet, using their influence to discourage support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Two of the channel’s executives — including Viktor Medvedchuk, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin — were hit with sanctions. … Read more

EU Parliament delays approval of Council budget to press for military aid to Ukraine – POLITICO

Verhofstadt’s move is widely seen as parliamentary theatrics, since the legislature has no power to force the Council to provide weapons. Both institutions have been in a long-running budgetary dispute anyway because the Council refuses to engage with the Parliament’s audit checks, and the Parliament has not signed off on the Council’s budget discharge in … Read more

Von der Leyen picks campaign team for run at second term as EU Commission chief – POLITICO

Von der Leyen’s campaign spokesperson will be Alexander Winterstein, currently a senior civil servant in the Commission’s communications directorate-general — a sharp transition into party politics that could raise some eyebrows. Winterstein was promoted to his present role in the EU executive from an earlier position at the directorate-general for competition policy when the center-right … Read more

Russian propaganda network paid MEPs, Belgian PM says – POLITICO

De Croo’s spokesperson told POLITICO the prime minister was referring in his remarks to the Czech government’s decision to sanction the news site Voice of Europe, which Prague said was part of a pro-Russian influence operation. The Czech foreign ministry announced Wednesday it had sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Russian President Vladimir … Read more