On Wednesday, Parliament approved the set of 26 commissioners, with 370 MEPs voting in favor, 282 voting against and 36 abstaining. Their confirmation marked the end of a monthslong transition process, which began with June’s European election and saw weeks of political infighting between the bloc’s left- and right-wing groups. Commissioners — one from each … Read more
RSF’s case came as U.K. newspaper The Guardian announced on Wednesday that it was leaving the “toxic” platform, citing Musk’s influence in the U.S. election and because of “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.” Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia also quit X, saying Thursday that X … Read more
Shortly after beginning his fourth term as prime minister last fall, Fico and his government ceased communicating with four respected independent media outlets that he deemed “hostile,” including TV Markíza — the nation’s most-watched station, with a 27 percent market share — as well as the dailies Denník N and SME and the news site Aktuality. … Read more
The pledge comes amid concerns over foreign meddling through disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks. Videos, photos and audio generated by widely accessible artificial intelligence tools to impersonate public figures, including politicians, have started spreading in Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States to manipulate voters. Parties in France and Poland have also used the technology … Read more
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
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
This includes issues in the awarding of public contracts, restrictions on academic freedoms, a “child protection law” widely viewed as homophobic and the treatment of asylum seekers. The row over the so-called child protection law has turned into legal action, as 15 member countries and the European Parliament have joined a lawsuit brought by the Commission … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. BRUSSELS — One year into the biggest corruption scandal ever to hit the European Parliament and the Qatargate questions keep coming. Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday spent an hour discussing the cash-for-influence allegations during a debate in Strasbourg, with many suggesting they’re … Read more
