PARIS — In a state ceremony held over Jacques Delors’ coffin on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to “an honest European man” and touched upon more personal aspects of the EU statesman’s life, including his Christian faith and his love of football and “loud jazz.” Placing himself firmly in the mold of the … Read more
BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to get to a deal on new Ukraine aid “as quickly as possible,” she said on Friday. The issue of the €50 billion aid package for Ukraine landed back on her plate at the occasion of the start of the Belgian presidency of the Council … Read more
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is confident Sweden will join the military alliance by July at the latest, he told German news agency DPA this week. The next NATO summit will be held in Washington from July 9-11 and the Nordic country will be a fully-fledged member by then, he said. Sweden and Finland abandoned decades … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. Is 2024 the year when democracy hits a tipping point and slides toward autocracy? It may seem like an odd question to ask at a time when countries representing nearly half the world’s population, or an estimated 3.8 billion people, are sending their voters … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. This article is part of the Belgian Presidency of the EU special report. BRUSSELS — Ceci n’est pas une campagne électorale. As Belgium gears up for its six-month stint at the helm of the Council of the European Union from January 1, the country’s … Read more
The foreign affairs committee of the Turkish parliament on Tuesday gave its approval for Sweden to join NATO, reported Turkey’s Anadolu news agency. This brings Sweden a step closer to joining the Western military alliance. It also comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delayed action on Sweden’s bid for a year, arguing the country … Read more
Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. Best performance by a German pretending to be president of Europe. Winner: Ursula von der Leyen Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images Poor Ursula von der Leyen. Try as she might not just to project power, but to wield it, the European Commission president runs … Read more
The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee will once again take up the issue of Sweden’s NATO accession Tuesday, according to a parliamentary statement cited in media reports. Turkey is one of two NATO countries, along with Hungary, that has yet to approve Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance following Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine. … Read more
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns. Orbán said the blackmail is “a fact,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament. “In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and … Read more
Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever You Listen Sign up to receive our twice-weekly News & Politics newsletter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for more aid from the United States got a frosty reception from many Republicans on the Hill this week. It’s the most recent expression of the American far … Read more
