But the intensity of the rainfall that hit areas around Spain’s third-largest city, Valencia — in some places, roughly a year’s worth of rain in a single day — exposed the country’s unreadiness and led the Socialist-led national government to slam the center-right regional authorities for failing to pass on early warnings to people in … Read more
“The EPP Group prides itself in extending its full cooperation” to legal authorities, a spokesperson for Weber and the EPP groups said in a statement to POLITICO said, adding that no external auditors “currently have any open cases of alleged misuse of funds.” Layered inquiry EPPO is in charge of investigating serious crimes affecting the … Read more
“The total value of business in China for Finnish companies is estimated to be more than 20 billion euros per year,” a 2023 report from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs said, which labeled China as “one of our most important trade partners.” “Chinese investments play the largest role in Finland compared to any other … Read more
The meetings, first reported by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, come as the fear of former U.S. President Trump returning to the White House permeates the highest echelons of power in Europe’s capital. Small groups of the 27 EU countries’ ambassadors met Thursday and Friday with Brussels’ top officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s … Read more
“Rather than new legislative proposals, we can achieve our objectives by better implementing and enforcing existing legislation while using incentives and new market-based tools to promote change,” Hansen said in reply to a question on whether the EU’s executive would propose the framework next year. Costas Kadis Cyprus’ Costas Kadis, the commissioner candidate for fisheries … Read more
Germany arrested a Libyan citizen suspected of plotting an attack against Israel’s embassy in Berlin, the federal prosecutor’s office said on Sunday. The authorities identified the man only as Omar A. and said he is “strongly suspected” of supporting the terror organization Islamic State (IS) and intended to carry-out an attack with firearms on the … Read more
“A new wind is blowing in Europe,” said the Dutch anti-Islam, anti-immigration, populist Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders in Brussels on Thursday after a meeting of far-right leaders. Migration has been at the forefront for Europe’s politicians since 2015, when more than a million migrants, many of them Syrians fleeing war, made their way to … Read more
Now the balance of power has reversed. Macron has lost influence in Brussels following defeats in European and national elections, while Barnier’s government faces an immediate challenge to rein in the public debt and could be toppled by Marine Le Pen of the far right at any time. The freshly-reappointed von der Leyen is, meanwhile, … Read more
By radically changing the rules, the Commission wants to address “strategic dependencies” on foreign countries and boost the kind of pan-European industrial revival championed by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi in his landmark competitiveness report. The third and fourth pillars focus on enlargement and funding to foreign countries, and personnel costs, but there are … Read more
Asked by POLITICO whether Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is a green champion, Thunberg shook her head and replied “no.” The 21-year-old founder of the Fridays for Future movement was later detained as Belgian authorities moved in to break up the demonstration. Among the demonstrators gathering at a simultaneous demonstration outside the Parliament on … Read more
