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Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again'

Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again' Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again'
Germany's Bundesbank has taken a significant step in addressing the Nazi legacy of its predecessor, unveiling new research that delves into...
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Commission declares Bosnia and Herzegovina prepared for EU accession talks

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Romanian President and Austrian Chancellor confer on Schengen during Bucharest meeting

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NATO unveils 'Nordic Response' with massive military exercises

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Far-right Vlaams Belang surges in Belgian polls

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Sweden officially joins NATO as Hungary grants approval

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Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine

Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine
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Dutch NATO contribution could double without U.S., says Defense Minister

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Latest News

Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again'

Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again' Germany's Central Bank confronts Nazi past and pledges 'never again'
Germany's Bundesbank has taken a significant step in addressing the Nazi legacy of its predecessor, unveiling new research that delves into...
Read More...

Belgium secures eleventh victory in World Student Diplomacy Championship

Belgium secures eleventh victory in World Student Diplomacy Championship Belgium secures eleventh victory in World Student Diplomacy Championship
  On March 14, 2024, Belgium clinched victory in the World Student Diplomacy Championship, a prestigious competition simulating the workings...
Read More...

Commission declares Bosnia and Herzegovina prepared for EU accession talks

Commission declares Bosnia and Herzegovina prepared for EU accession talks Commission declares Bosnia and Herzegovina prepared for EU accession talks

On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged EU member states to approve the start of accession negotiations with...
Read More...

Romanian President and Austrian Chancellor confer on Schengen during Bucharest meeting

Romanian President and Austrian Chancellor confer on Schengen during Bucharest meeting Romanian President and Austrian Chancellor confer on Schengen during Bucharest meeting
In the backdrop of the European People's Party (EPP) congress, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis engaged in discussions with Austrian Chancellor...
Read More...

NATO unveils 'Nordic Response' with massive military exercises

 NATO unveils 'Nordic Response' with massive military exercises NATO unveils 'Nordic Response' with massive military exercises
In a display of strength and solidarity, NATO has launched its largest military exercises since 1952, marking the first participation of new...
Read More...

Far-right Vlaams Belang surges in Belgian polls

Far-right Vlaams Belang surges in Belgian polls Far-right Vlaams Belang surges in Belgian polls
With Belgian elections looming in June, the far-right party Vlaams Belang is witnessing a historic surge, polling just under 28 percent in...
Read More...

Sweden officially joins NATO as Hungary grants approval

Sweden officially joins NATO as Hungary grants approval Sweden officially joins NATO as Hungary grants approval
In a significant geopolitical development, Sweden has gained approval to become the 32nd member of the NATO military alliance, marking a blow...
Read More...

Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine

Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine Munich Security Conference: Netherlands and US reaffirm support for Ukraine
  During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Munich Security Conference, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte...
Read More...

Dutch NATO contribution could double without U.S., says Defense Minister

Dutch NATO contribution could double without U.S., says Defense Minister Dutch NATO contribution could double without U.S., says Defense Minister
Outgoing Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren warned that the Netherlands might need to double its defense spending if the United States were to...
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Will it be business as usual or a summer of stalemate? 

Ursula von der Leyen learns on Tuesday whether the European Parliament is ready to approve her bid to become the first female president of the European Commission.

Eurosceptics often deride the Strasbourg assembly as a rubber stamp body, but this week there is genuine suspense over the 60-year-old German

defence minister's fate.

If she is to succeed Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels' top job, she will need an absolute majority of 374 lawmakers voting by secret ballot.

She, of course, has the backing of most of the national leaders who agreed to nominate her at a three-day emergency summit at the start of July.

But she has struggled to win over the parliament's political clans and will be weakened from the outset if she has to rely on eurosceptic support. 

"It'll be very difficult for her. It's very complicated to have a reliable political balance," warned analyst Eric Maurice of the Schuman foundation.

The new head of the European Commission is due to take power on November 1, immediately after the latest deadline for Britain's departure from the bloc.

He or she will have to manage the Brexit aftermath, Italy shirking its debt targets and efforts by Poland and Hungary to flout the EU mandated rules of liberal democracy.

For that, the commission president will need a reliable majority in Strasbourg, but May's European election threw up a more fragmented EU parliament than ever. 

At the same time, the pan-European political groups that came together after the vote are frustrated by the way von der Leyen's candidacy was foisted on them.

Under the EU Treaty, the head of the commission is nominated by member state leaders, if necessary by a qualified majority vote.

But many in parliament and in the Brussels EU institutions wanted the 28 heads of government to choose one of the parliamentary groups' lead candidates.

- The leaders' choice -

Instead, they cast aside those names and -- after intense closed-door negotiations -- chose to poach Germany's defence minister for the role.

France's President Emmanuel Macron had insisted on the leaders' prerogative to choose, and Germany's Angela Merkel was happy to find a role for an ally.

But this left von der Leyen with a perilously narrow window in which to build ties with a grumpy parliament in a series of aggressive hearings last week.

The biggest single group, her and Merkel's conservative European People's Party (EPP), will back her, despite seeing the candidacy of their leader Manfred Weber cast aside. 

But the centre-right's 182 votes do not get her over the line, and the socialist S&D with 154 members and the liberal Renew Europe's 108 are unconvinced.

The Greens, meanwhile, say she will not get their 74 votes, and the hard-left GUE/NGL will also withhold their 41. 

The far-right Identity and Democracy, which includes Italy's League, France's National Rally and Germany's AFD, says it is "unlikely" they will back von der Leyen.

Which leaves the right-wing eurosceptic ECR, weakened by the loss of many British Tories but still 62-strong thanks mainly to Poland's PiS governing party.

The ECR has promised to be "pragmatic" and concerned officials admit it might be members hostile to closer EU integration that get von der Leyen over the line. 

Juncker began his term with the backing of 422 members of a less fragmented parliament and governed with a comfortable EPP and S&D centrist coalition.

Von der Leyen might scrape in but, as Maurice says, "less than 400 votes would be very weak" -- and a defeat for efforts to build a pro-Europe coalition. 

If the German candidate is facing defeat the vote might yet be postponed, but if she is defeated Europe will need to nominate a new champion. 

And that could only come after a summer of bitter Brussels infighting.afp

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