Author: staff
The complaint referred to minutes from a meeting in May between the cabinet of Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and the European Round Table for Industry, which read: “ERT inquired about the proposals regarding the first omnibus proposal. Head of Cabinet gave an overview of the state of play.” Lots of lobbying The Ombudsman wrote in its response to the NGO that the Commission’s “implicit refusal” to provide any follow-up documents on the meeting after it requested them justified an inquiry, which it opened earlier this month. The NGO argued that it was particularly important to access the information given the…
His blunt intervention comes the day after another Antwerp judge published an anonymous letter decrying that Belgium was on the verge of becoming a “narco-state.” De Wever, prime minister since February this year, spent more than a decade as mayor of Antwerp demanding more federal money to address narcotics-related issues, but Willocx notes action hasn’t been forthcoming since he ascended to the Belgian premiership. “He was the mayor and now he is the prime minister. I’m sure that safety and security and these kind of things are very important to him, but we ask his government to invest more, to…
The numbers reveal highly volatile voter support, with undecided voters likely to play a decisive role. According to Ipsos I&O, about 13 percent of voters are undecided, but even those who indicated a preference are still highly uncommitted; only 26 percent of those interviewed were sure of their choices. Meanwhile, the polling company’s researchers found that about half of voters who declared support for Timmermans’ GL-PVDA are still considering voting for D66, while 37 percent of D66 voters say they could still back GL-PVDA. Other parties are also still competing for undecided voters, with D66, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)…
By Euronews Published on 28/10/2025 – 17:17 GMT+1 The family of a pregnant British teenager who was arrested in Georgia on drug smuggling charges earlier this year have paid more than €157,000 in a plea deal that could lead to a two-year jail sentence, her lawyer said on Tuesday. Bella May Culley, 19, was arrested in May at Tbilisi Airport and accused of attempting to smuggle 12 kilogrammes of marijuana and 2 kilogrammes of hashish into the country. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years or life imprisonment, but a plea bargain intended to reduce her sentence is currently being…
Green-Left Labor, led by veteran politician Frans Timmermans, is also in the mix. But as the Dutch say: Don’t sell the hide before the bear is shot. In the last election, most voters didn’t make up their minds until the final moments. This means that for Wilders especially, turnout will be critical. No matter what his result, he is expected to be frozen out of coalition talks, having burned too many bridges in The Hague. If he wins the most votes but is still sidelined from government, he’s likely to use it as ammunition to argue his followers are being ignored…
Published on 28/10/2025 – 19:04 GMT+1 Lawyers for Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro have filed an appeal to reduce his pirson sentence for attempting a coup after his 2022 electoral defeat. Judges convicted Bolsonaro of trying to overthrow democracy in September and sentenced him to 27 years and three months in jail. He has been under house arrest since August. In an 85-page document sent to the Supreme Court on Monday and shared with the Associated Press on Tuesday, lawyers said that the conviction and sentence entailed “profound injustices.” Lawyers argued there were “ambiguities, omissions, contradictions and obscurities” in the…
Lawmakers oppose the Commission’s “national plans,” an idea to pool funds for farmers and regions — which make up around half of the total EU budget, worth €1.8 trillion — into single pots managed by the bloc’s 27 governments. This is a change from the current system, where regions play a crucial role in handling the funding. “As the current proposal on the [national plans] does not take our core requests into consideration, it cannot constitute a basis for negotiations,” the draft says. “We therefore look forward to seeing our key requests meaningfully reflected in an amended proposal of the European…
Published on 28/10/2025 – 18:19 GMT+1 Voters in the Netherlands are gearing up for a snap parliamentary election expected to be a knife-edge race on Wednesday. As party leaders do their final stretch of campaigning, many voters have signalled they haven’t made up their mind yet. Speaking to Euronews from The Hague, one voter explained he wants to be “very precise,” weighing his options before making a final decision, but wants his vote to “make a positive change to society”, mentioning the housing crisis as a major problem he hopes the next government will tackle. Another voter said “I am…
Reform voters, however, think Andrew should lose that title too due to his alleged behavior. Two-thirds of Reform voters (68 percent), Green voters (69 percent) and Liberal Democrat voters (63 percent) reckon he should have the honorific title of prince “officially removed,” according to a survey by the More in Common think tank. That compares with just 51 percent of mainstream Conservative and Labour Party voters. Officially removing Andrew’s prince title would require either an act of parliament, or could be done using the legal powers of the royal prerogative, but that would likely need to be done on the…
In Douala, barricades burned and gunfire echoed through the streets as security forces clashed with protesters denouncing what they called a stolen vote. At least four people were killed and more than a hundred arrested as anger swept through major cities. Opposition supporters, led by Issa Tchiroma Bakary, claimed the election was rigged and demanded transparent results. The unrest left neighbourhoods paralysed and fear spreading fast, with residents describing scenes of chaos. Although tensions have eased in recent days, the situation remains fragile, with sporadic clashes still reported on 28 October.