Traian Băsescu Băsescu, a former sea captain and legendary dog-slayer, triggered an international outcry — including from film legend Brigitte Bardot — in 2001 when as Bucharest mayor he ordered hundreds of stray dogs to be rounded up and killed. At the time Bucharest had as many as 200,000 roaming stray dogs, according to media … Read more
The families urged Netanyahu to “withstand the international pressure” to halt the war in Gaza, the statement published by the Prime Minister’s Office said. U.S. President Joe Biden has said an invasion of Rafah would be a “red line,” though Netanyahu vowed to defy that. Israel has carried out regular airstrikes on the city since … Read more
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
The Commission president, who is running for a second term, made the remarks at a debate co-hosted by POLITICO in Maastricht. In response to a question about how she proposes to end the war in Gaza, von der Leyen said she has always defended Israel’s right to defend itself, while calling on Israel’s leaders to … Read more
This G7 will need to look for innovative models to accelerate investments, including private-public partnerships, Pichetto Fratin said. “We certainly need to revise the financial system, to find mechanisms that overcome the current voluntary system,” he said. While Italy, which currently holds the rotating G7 presidency, is in a leadership position at this weekend’s … Read more
“As a head of the country, which is rich with fossil fuels, of course, we will defend the right of these countries to continue investments and to continue production,” he said. “Petrostates are perfecting a sinister COP playbook,” said Patrick Galey, a fossil fuel investigator with Global Witness. “Just like the UAE, Azerbaijan is planning … Read more
Since the 2019 election this European Parliament has had to deal with various challenges, from Brexit and Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine and scandals such as Qatargate. At the same time it has managed to legislate on key issues such as climate change, AI and migration. In this episode we look back at the … Read more
In this episode we unpack the EU’s new buzzword and the main point of discussion at this week’s European Council summit: competitiveness. We also bring you another new buzzword from Brussels this week: Bolshewokism. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by POLITICO’s chief Brussels correspondent, Barbara Moens, to recap the leaders’ summit and their attempt to … Read more
EU leaders are in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday for a Special European Council. What’s so special about it? Well, the leaders will (after a trip to see the king of the Belgians) spend Wednesday evening talking about developments in Ukraine and EU-Turkey relations. In the wake of Iran’s drone and missile attacks against Israel, … Read more
“A big part of it is the arrogance of power,” the EU official continued. “She mistakenly thought she could get away with everything. So some smaller mistakes are now being used against her.” Like other officials quoted in this article, the EU official was granted anonymity to speak freely about the powerful German politician within the … Read more
