Georgian parliament backs ‘Russia-style’ foreign agent law despite major protests – POLITICO

While Ivanishvili devoted his speech to calling out the enemies attacking Georgia, he didn’t namecheck Russia, even though Moscow occupies 20 percent of Georgian territories, backing local proxies in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. He also vowed that the United National Movement, Georgia’s largest bloc of opposition MPs, would face “harsh political … Read more

Von der Leyen struggles to quell revolt over controversial business envoy pick – POLITICO

The European Parliament is planning to vote on a an amendment to rescind Markus Pieper’ s appointment on Thursday | European Parliament 99 problems The so-called “Piepergate” affair adds to a growing list of potential problems for von der Leyen as she seeks a second term. It comes just days after POLITICO revealed that the … Read more

EU warns candidate country Georgia over disputed ‘foreign agent’ law – POLITICO

The Georgian Dream party on Wednesday revived the so-called foreign agent law, a controversial proposal to brand charities, pressure groups and opposition media outlets receiving funding from overseas as agents of foreign influence. The Georgian government already attempted last year to introduce the law — which resembles similar legislation used by Moscow to crack down … Read more

Russiagate hits German far right – POLITICO

The AfD is just one of several parties in Europe with pro-Russian views. Others include Hungary’s Fidesz, France’s National Rally, Italy’s Lega and Slovakia’s Smer. In the run-up to the EU-wide election in June, Russia is ramping up its attempts to sway EU opinion and, where possible, infiltrate the bloc’s institutions. A Serbian national linked … Read more

European prosecutors take over Belgian probe into Pfizergate – POLITICO

Transparency campaigners and some political opponents have sought to put pressure on the Commission to discuss the case, but von der Leyen has so far avoided addressing it. In a reply to a direct question put to her by POLITICO about missing text messages, von der Leyen said: “Everything necessary about that has been said … Read more

Russian influence scandal rocks EU – POLITICO

Voice of Europe’s YouTube page throws up a parade of EU lawmakers, many of them belonging to far-right, Euroskeptic parties, who line up to bash the Green Deal, predict the Union’s imminent collapse, or attack Ukraine. There is no suggestion that those appearing on the network accepted cash. The website has its roots in the … Read more

EU lawmakers adopt media freedom law – POLITICO

The new regulation was introduced by the European Commission in 2022 in response to creeping state control over media organizations and attacks on press freedom. The new law will ban governments from going after journalists to reveal their sources by deploying spyware on their phones, though some exceptions to the ban apply. It will also … Read more

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tells states to join fight against CAA

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the Citizenship Amendment Act and related rules were “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory” under Article 14 of the Constitution and there was no clarity or transparency in the rules. She urged all states to get ready to fight against CAA. “The Centre notified CAA rules yesterday (Monday). I have … Read more

Keep calm and talk to me – POLITICO

But, he acknowledged that “the nature of the tension in the agricultural world” means it will take time to resolve. “The agricultural crisis cannot be solved in a few hours. It won’t be resolved during this fair,” the French president said. This comes after Macron on Friday evening canceled a debate scheduled to take place … Read more

Poland and Brussels to kiss and make up – POLITICO

The European Commission launched the so-called Article 7 sanctions procedure, which can see a country lose its voting rights in the European Council, in 2017 against Poland under the previous Law and Justice government. The move came after the government introduced reforms which the EU’s top court found violated rule-of-law standards. When Prime Minister Donald … Read more