Author: staff

Zusammen mit Rasmus Buchsteiner liefert Gordon Repinski die Blitz-Analyse der ersten ausführlichen Rede von Friedrich Merz als Kanzler vor dem Bundestag. Merz schlägt in seiner Regierungserklärung einen betont versöhnlichen Ton an. Wie der Kanzler viel von „eigener Kraft“ spricht – und es gleichzeitig schafft, vom ganz großen Bild bis ins Detail zu gehen – hört ihr in diesem Update. Außerdem gibt es eine Einschätzung, warum die Rede beim Koalitionspartner SPD nicht überall gut angekommen ist. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es morgens um 5 Uhr. Gordon Repinski und das POLITICO-Team bringen euch jeden Morgen auf den neuesten Stand in…

Hahn’s appointment “underlines the Commission’s commitment to the reunification of Cyprus, with the aim of ensuring a functional and viable comprehensive settlement in accordance with the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and in line with the principles, values and legislation of the EU,” the Commission’s statement said. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides welcomed Hahn’s designation, noting that it constitutes “tangible proof that the EU stands firmly and resolutely with Cyprus and its people.” Multiple attempts to find a compromise settlement over the years have failed, most recently in 2017 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and formal talks have not resumed since then. This…

France vowed to expel an unspecified number of Algerian diplomats from its territory on Wednesday in response to Algiers’ decision to send back 15 French officials on Sunday.This latest instalment in the diplomatic tug of war between the two nations comes after Algeria expelled 12 French officials in mid-April, which led France to expel 12 Algerian diplomats and consular officials while recalling its ambassador.France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told broadcaster BFM that a number of Algerian officials who hold a diplomatic passports but who do not currently have valid visas to work in France would be sent back to their country.…

According to his job description, Calleja y Crespo oversees all proposals with legal implications and “sits in at all Commission meetings in his capacity as legal adviser to the Commission … The Commission generally follows his legal advice.” Speaking to POLITICO, three EU officials insisted the move was unrelated to the “Pfizergate” scandal, and that the Spaniard was simply being reassigned after nearly four decades of roles in Brussels. “It looks like a reward, not a punishment,” said one, granted anonymity to speak frankly about internal decision-making. A spokesperson for the Commission did not immediately respond to a request for…

Updated: 14/05/2025 – 16:31 GMT+2Perched on a cliffside above the Aegean Sea, the Monastery of Simonos Petra is home to one of Orthodoxy’s most diverse monastic communities. … More Founded in the 13th century on Greece’s Mount Athos, the monastery houses monks from more than a dozen countries, including France, China, the United States, and Lebanon.Also known as Simonopetra, or “Simon’s Rock,” the monastery is part of the autonomous, all-male monastic peninsula in northern Greece. While only Orthodox men can join the brotherhood, male visitors of other faiths are welcome.Its abbot, Archimandrite Eliseos, says the monastery reflects a centuries-old ecumenical…

The Council of Europe has just adopted an international treaty which will help member countries to tackle serious environmental crime. This 46-member international organisation upholds human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. It adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law at the Committee of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Wednesday, 14 May, alongside other key environmental objectives. But legal experts say the Committee missed the chance to legally protect the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all in Europe.How will the Convention help countries to fight serious environmental crime?This legally binding…

Amazon representatives will likely be grilled in the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) at the end of June as part of a precondition to grant the Tech Giant access to the Parliament’s premises again, sources familiar with the matter told Euronews. Amazon lost its 14 long-term Parliament access badges in February 2024 following a call from the EMPL committee. The lawmakers asked for the measure after the company failed to attend a series of hearings and factory visits in 2021 and 2023 about workers’ rights. The EMPL committee is likely to confirm the hearing date as well as the…

“This ruling is about more than transparency: it is about reinstating the institutional accountability the European Commission has been sorely lacking,” said Shari Hinds, policy lead on EU political integrity for NGO Transparency International. So where does that leave doing politics by WhatsApp? The case underscores a major gray zone in EU transparency rules: Are text messages official documents? “Documents are any content, whatever its medium, concerning the policy of the European Union so from this point of view … it’s hard to argue that SMS messages are not documents,” Couronne said. “This ruling could encourage European elected representatives and…

Rising to the bait: Like a stuck record, Starmer repeated his greatest hits by laying into Badenoch for the “disastrous Liz Truss mini-budget.” Labour will not let that one go. In return, the Tory leader stressed there was “no point blaming everyone else” and sung her party’s praises in power. Shutting up shop: Badenoch’s questions went from the general to the specific, highlighting department store Beales’ last shop bringing down the shutters with a “Rachel Reeves closing down sale.” “What does the prime minister have to say to all the people who have lost their jobs?” Badenoch probed. While the…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly rebuked French President Emmanuel Macron, stating he “once again chose to stand” with Hamas.”Instead of supporting the Western democratic camp fighting the Islamist terrorist organisations and calling for the release of the hostages, Macron is once again demanding that Israel surrender and reward terrorism,” Netanyahu said in a post on X Wednesday.”Israel will not stop and will not surrender,” he added.The Israeli PM’s words came in reaction to a televised three-hour interview with Macron on Tuesday night, when the French president said Europe should consider sanctioning Israel, where hundreds of thousands are thought…