Author: staff
Blame game Brussels got the blame, with officials from Rome and Athens privately suggesting the EU team had let the rest of them down. Within the EU’s own institutions, some Commission insiders were also quietly critical of how it had been handled, with the finger of suspicion pointing at the bloc’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service. According to some involved, the risks of Haftar setting a trap were known but they decided to try their luck and hope to be able to work it out in person on the ground if anything went wrong. “Brussels and the rest…
The investigation was first reported by Le Monde. The National Rally did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Stérin confirmed to POLITICO in a statement that the billionaire had been questioned by police but denied any wrongdoing. “Pierre-Edouard Stérin never participated, directly or indirectly, in illegal campaign financing,” the statement read. “The loans in question, made in a personal capacity, were structured by an expert on political financing and declared.” Individuals may financially support political campaigns, but the practice is strictly regulated in France. A person may loan money to a campaign, but cannot do so…
A complaint that sparked the initial January inquiry accused X of spreading “an enormous amount of hateful, racist, anti-LGBT+ and homophobic political content, which aims to skew the democratic debate in France.” POLITICO has reached out to X for comment. The investigation lands as X is increasingly under fire from regulators in Paris and Brussels. Two French parliamentarians referred the platform to France’s digital regulator Arcom on Thursday following anti-Semitic and racist posts by Grok, the artificial-intelligence chatbot that answers questions from X users. The European Commission has separately been investigating the Musk-owned platform for almost two years now, on suspicion…
A three-judge panel handed her an immediate five-year ban on running for office — effectively barring her from standing in France’s next presidential election in 2027. Le Pen has repeatedly maintained her innocence and framed the verdict as an attempt to block her from the presidency. Le Pen swiftly appealed the lower courts’ decision. Shortly after, the appeals court took the unusual step of saying it will issue a decision on the appeal by summer of next year — so her fate is settled before the presidential election. Le Pen also sought to have her punishment lifted through an emergency appeal…
Published on 11/07/2025 – 21:55 GMT+2A divided US federal appeals court threw out an agreement on Friday that would have allowed the accused 11 September, 2001 terror attacks mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to plead guilty in a deal that would spare him the risk of capital punishment.The decision by a panel of the federal appears court based in the capital, Washington DC, undoes an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution plagued with legal and logistical problems.It signals that there will be no quick end to the long struggle by the US military and successive administrations…
The Commission will propose an EU-wide levy on tobacco products such as cigarettes and cigars. These goods are currently being taxed by individual countries, who keep the revenues for themselves. The EU’s idea comes amid a push to introduce new taxes on e-cigarettes and vapes that are opposed by Italy, Greece and Romania. | Tolga Akmen/EPA The EU’s idea comes amid a push to introduce new taxes on e-cigarettes and vapes that are opposed by Italy, Greece and Romania. While not opposing the proposed new taxes, Sweden said that handing part of its national revenues to the EU is “completely…
It began last year, when Milanese banking giant UniCredit angered Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government by attempting to take over crosstown rival BPM, which Meloni had hoped to merge with the partially bailed-out Tuscan lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena. In response, Rome deployed screening tools known as the ‘golden power’ — whose purpose is to prevent malicious foreign investment — to impose tough conditions on the bid, which UniCredit claims has effectively blocked it, prompting a court battle that unfolded earlier this week. But more broadly, Rome’s strong-arming has also come into conflict with the grand industrial vision of…
A French official briefed on the negotiations, granted anonymity to discuss the status of ongoing talks, said Paris had been in contact with Brussels about the legal approval of the deal before it was publicly announced and was hoping for a swift and positive outcome. In exchange for each migrant returned to France, Paris will transfer one asylum seeker to the U.K. ― generally someone with a family connection or other reason to seek sanctuary there. French border forces will also be able to take proactive measures to stop boats in shallow waters, subject to a review by the French…
“He’s not a computer guy,” Bélot said. “He didn’t notice any strange behavior on the computer because he doesn’t know how computers work.” A French court denied Kasatkin bail on Wednesday, and he remains in jail awaiting formal extradition notification from U.S. authorities, according to Bélot. Kasatkin had traveled to France to visit Paris with his fiancée and was detained shortly after arriving at the airport. He played collegiate basketball briefly at Penn State, then four seasons for the Moscow-based MBA-MAI team. Bélot said Kasatkin’s physical condition has deteriorated in jail, which he argued is harming his athletic career. Joshua…
Churches, memorials, libraries: Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 cultural sites in Ukraine, including 150 religious sites, in more than three years of its war, according to UNESCO.These include the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa and the Popov Manor House in the town of Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.A “deliberate”, “coordinated,” and “strategic” strategy on the part of Moscow, says the European Union’s Culture Commissioner.”Our enemies, the Russian aggressors, know that a nation is more than just a territory. A nation is its people, its histories, its traditions, its values, its culture,” Commissioner Glenn Micallef told Euronews.”That’s why we…