Author: staff

BERLIN — Le plan de dépenses historique de Friedrich Merz pour l’Allemagne repose sur la coopération d’un parti que nombre de conservateurs ont souvent tourné en dérision. Ce sont les Verts — arrivés en quatrième position lors des élections du 23 février — qui ont le pouvoir de contrecarrer les grands projets de celui dont l’alliance conservatrice est arrivée en tête des élections. Le parti semble vouloir soit arrêter Merz, ce qui serait un acte de vengeance politique stupéfiant, soit, ce qui est plus probable, utiliser ce nouveau levier inattendu pour le forcer à accepter bon nombre de mesures portées…

He called on MPs to vote “for stability” over partisan concerns. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to dissolve the country’s parliament as soon as this evening and call a snap election that will likely be held in mid-May.  The prime minister has been under fire since the Portuguese media began reporting on Spinumviva, a consultancy Montenegro founded in 2021 before becoming active in politics. Montenegro insists he has no role in the management of the firm, which is currently owned by his wife and sons. Opposition parties, meanwhile, have accused him of benefiting from the company, which…

The email didn’t provide any reason for the document destruction. The building is being emptied out after mass layoffs, which may have disrupted routine document destruction timetables. Customs and Border Protection is planning to move into the USAID facility, having rented 390,000 square feet of office space in the building last month. The effort also underscores the tumultuous way in which the Trump administration is dismantling an agency that once managed a $40 billion annual budget and had more than 10,000 staff around the world. Efforts by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency last month to access secure computer systems at USAID — including information…

“Member states can explore whether it’s going to be possible or not, whether we find third countries,” he said. “That’s a question of negotiation, agreements and arrangements.” Brace for a Parliament fight Borrowing heavily from the far-right’s playbook, the returns bill is one of the key EU election campaign promises of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), the political family of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in an effort to draw voters back from European populist movements.  With the Parliament gearing up to start negotiations, questions linger over whether a centrist coalition comprising the EPP, the Socialists and Democrats…

The high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia were the first between top U.S. officials and the Ukrainian leadership since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in front of journalists at the White House on Feb. 28. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was joined on the U.S. side by national security adviser Mike Waltz and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; the Ukrainians were represented by Zelenskyy’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have been fragile since the televised Oval Office spat, with…

But Johnson advised Ukraine to take the deal as a step in the right direction — you know, figure out the details later, stop being so stubborn about holding on to your minerals, take the “win.” I found this a rather flippant approach. I was Lithuania’s foreign minister when Putin launched his so-called “special military operation” in 2022. So, I had three years of up-close experience of Western politicians misjudging Putin, talking down to Ukrainians, underestimating them over and over again. I understand why this Dunning-Kruger orientalism still goes on, but it needs to stop. It shouldn’t be hard to…

Polls opened on Tuesday for Greenlanders to elect their 31 lawmakers who will shape policy on the strategic island in the North Atlantic. Greenland opened its polls for parliamentary elections on Tuesday, with all eyes set on the North Atlantic island for weeks as US President Donald Trump seeks to take control of it “one way or the other”.Home to 56,000 people, the autonomous region of Denmark occupies a strategic location halfway between the US and Russia and contains rare earth minerals key to driving the 21st century’s global economy. Unofficial election results are expected soon after 11 pm CET,…

Recent violence in Syria has sparked fears of further instability as leaders call for lifting sanctions to ease economic woes. Violent clashes broke out last week in the Syrian coastal governorates of Tartus and Latakia between government forces and “non-state armed groups” loyal to the ousted former President Bashar al-Assad. The two governorates have a high population of Alawites, a minority group from which the al-Assad family hails.As government forces announced they had “neutralised” the opposition, the independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) group reported 40 massacres had killed 973 mostly Alawite civilians, as well as hundreds of government…

Proposals to water down passenger flight delay compensation rules are being discussed in Brussels, risking Europe’s claim to having the most passenger-friendly skies in the world. Air passengers in Europe enjoy some of the best consumer protections in the world. But the European Union is contemplating watering down these passenger-friendly measures, which could leave travellers out of pocket.The current regulation, known as EU261, has been in place since 2005, providing passengers with compensation and support in the event their trip doesn’t go to plan. A revision to these rules has been debated since 2013, but has resurfaced this week as…

European Union leaders want to double down on cutting back red tape, lowering energy prices and unlocking private savings to jumpstart the bloc’s economy, according to a draft joint statement dated March 10 and obtained by POLITICO. They will convene in Brussels March 20-21 as part of the next European Council. “2025 should mark a step change in the EU’s action to boost competitiveness,” the document reads, urging the European Commission to cut red tape by 25 percent — and by up to 35 percent for SMEs — and to “stress-test” existing legislation for simplification. Leaders are also expected to call…