Author: staff
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to work with the Syrian opposition groups that took power in Damascus “on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities,” Berlin said in a statement Monday. The decision came during a phone call the French and German leaders held Monday. It comes after rebel forces ousted dictator Bashar Assad and took control of Syria on Sunday, following 13 years of bloody civil war in which over half a million people were killed. Western capitals are debating how to engage with the Syrian…
The public sector “has just come to a complete and abrupt halt,” said U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Adam Abdelmoula, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies had been put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. Syria’s Prime Minister said on Monday that most cabinet ministers were back at work after rebels overthrew President Bashar Assad. However, a UN official said the country’s public sector had come “to a complete and abrupt halt” with some state workers reportedly failing to return to their jobs. The public sector “has just come to a complete…
Freund, a German Green politician, wrote to the Commission last week asking for them to clarify whether the police investigation into Reynders touched on any of his official duties as Commissioner. Juhansone said they did not because money laundering and financial crime fell under the Commission’s finance directorate, not the justice section until recently run by Reynders. “Obviously, the Commission stands ready to cooperate in case the Belgian authorities would ask,” Juhansone added. Von der Leyen learned about the suspicions only after reporters from Le Soir and Follow the Money reported the raids. The Commission had not opened its own…
Merz said he backs launching a new so-called contact group of Ukraine’s European allies who are able, if necessary, to act independently of the United States in coordinating a peace plan, and would include France, the United Kingdom and Poland. Sitting across from Merz, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, voiced support for the German leader’s proposal, and suggested Denmark — a robust military backer of Ukraine — also join the new contact group. A dedicated grouping of Ukraine’s major European allies could work at finding “a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” said Zelenskyy. As Donald Trump prepares to return to…
“The idea that the UK, or indeed the EU, must choose between those allies, that somehow we’re either with America or the EU, is completely wrong,” she told the Eurogroup. “We want to and we will seek a deeper, more mature relationship with our European neighbours too after too many years of actively looking to move away.” In her pitch to Brussels, Reeves called for trade barriers between the EU and U.K. to come down — warning the dent to exports was hurting economies on both sides of the English Channel — and pushed the City of London as a…
By contrast, France’s government under Prime Minister Michel Barnier, which was toppled last week after losing a confidence vote, got EU approval for its 2025 budget and its longer-term plan. Barnier did not win political support for the measures from the far-right and left-wing blocs in parliament, which hold the balance of power. Both the Dutch and the French need to take extra steps to cut spending, Heinen said. “This is not only in the interest of France but in the interest of Europe as a whole,” he added. Despite France having deficit and debt levels higher than those in…
Plus de 13 millions de Syriens ont été déplacés de force par le conflit, dont 6,2 millions ont fui à l’étranger. La guerre a créé les conditions nécessaires à la montée en puissance du groupe djihadiste particulièrement barbare de l’Etat islamique. La question de savoir si les Syriens ordinaires sont gagnants dépend de la suite des événements et de la capacité du pays à éviter de nouvelles violences et à se développer de manière pacifique. Certains craignent qu’il y ait une vacance du pouvoir et que les différentes factions politiques et groupes religieux du pays s’affrontent. Il y a des…
He added: “At the moment the focus has to be on talking to our allies, making sure that this is an opportunity for Syria, and therefore we have to work to make sure that it’s a peaceful opportunity.” Britain would, he said, concentrate on “making sure that civilians are protected, making sure minorities are protected, and being absolutely clear in that red line in relation to terrorism and violence.” “So we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves here in terms of what happens next.” Starmer’s Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden set hares running Monday morning when he promised a “relatively swift decision”…
The decisions to revise asylum policies across European countries come as anti-immigrant far-right parties have surged in popularity across the European Union in recent months. Germany, for example, faces snap elections in February, with far-right parties currently topping the polls. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) said it will freeze asylum applications for more than 47,000 people, a spokesperson for BAMF told German media. Syria was the top country of origin for asylum seekers in Germany this year, according to BAMF. Belgium also announced the applications of more than 3,000 Syrians have been put on hold. “We decided…
Britain has previously sanctioned a number of Israelis responsible for settler violence on Palestinians in the West Bank, and has called for a cease-fire in Gaza amid Israel’s continued bombardment of the territory in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Barber already works for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer as an unpaid advisor on “effective delivery,” a gig he will continue to carry out alongside the envoy position. Barber has held advisory roles under the Conservatives too, and carried out reviews on government efficiency for prime ministers including Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. Starmer announced the appointment…