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Cracks in the Union: elections reveal rising democratic strain in the EU

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Across Europe, the democratic fabric of the European Union is under strain as populist and nationalist movements gain momentum, challenging...
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MEPs support new tariffs on Russian and Belarusian agricultural imports

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  The European Parliament's International Trade Committee has voted to impose new tariffs on agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus,...
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Metsola urges to "re-launch Europe as a global power"

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  In a keynote address at the Europe at the Crossroads event on Tuesday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola laid out her vision...
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Belgian Minister launches Moldova visit to dissuade asylum seekers

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  Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), will visit Moldova on Sunday as part of a campaign aimed...
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France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says

France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says   France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says
  French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and Germany are working closely to support Ukraine and are actively pursuing a...
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Germany labels far-right AfD party as extremist, earning praise from Jewish leaders

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  Germany has officially classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist organization, granting intelligence...
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Bardella poised to run for French Presidency in 2027 if Le Pen is barred

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Church of Norway sees surge in membership, driven by young families and a sense of community

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After years of declining numbers, the Church of Norway is experiencing a surprising revival. Membership is on the rise, especially among young...
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Border security: MEPs approve gradual roll-out of Entry-Exit System

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  The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee has given the green light to gradually roll out the new Entry-Exit System (EES)...
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EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns

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The European Commission plans to classify Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia as "safe third countries of origin,"...
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Latest News

Cracks in the Union: elections reveal rising democratic strain in the EU

Cracks in the Union: elections reveal rising democratic strain in the EU Cracks in the Union: elections reveal rising democratic strain in the EU
Across Europe, the democratic fabric of the European Union is under strain as populist and nationalist movements gain momentum, challenging...
Read More...

MEPs support new tariffs on Russian and Belarusian agricultural imports

MEPs support new tariffs on Russian and Belarusian agricultural imports MEPs support new tariffs on Russian and Belarusian agricultural imports
  The European Parliament's International Trade Committee has voted to impose new tariffs on agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus,...
Read More...

Metsola urges to "re-launch Europe as a global power"

Metsola urges to "re-launch Europe as a global power" Metsola urges to "re-launch Europe as a global power"
  In a keynote address at the Europe at the Crossroads event on Tuesday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola laid out her vision...
Read More...

Belgian Minister launches Moldova visit to dissuade asylum seekers

Belgian Minister launches Moldova visit to dissuade asylum seekers Belgian Minister launches Moldova visit to dissuade asylum seekers
  Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), will visit Moldova on Sunday as part of a campaign aimed...
Read More...

France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says

France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says   France and Germany collaborate on 30-day ceasefire plan for Ukraine, Macron says
  French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France and Germany are working closely to support Ukraine and are actively pursuing a...
Read More...

Germany labels far-right AfD party as extremist, earning praise from Jewish leaders

Germany labels far-right AfD party as extremist, earning praise from Jewish leaders Germany labels far-right AfD party as extremist, earning praise from Jewish leaders
  Germany has officially classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist organization, granting intelligence...
Read More...

Bardella poised to run for French Presidency in 2027 if Le Pen is barred

Bardella poised to run for French Presidency in 2027 if Le Pen is barred Bardella poised to run for French Presidency in 2027 if Le Pen is barred
  Jordan Bardella, president of France’s far-right National Rally party, has announced he plans to run for president in 2027 if Marine...
Read More...

Church of Norway sees surge in membership, driven by young families and a sense of community

Church of Norway sees surge in membership, driven by young families and a sense of community Church of Norway sees surge in membership, driven by young families and a sense of community
After years of declining numbers, the Church of Norway is experiencing a surprising revival. Membership is on the rise, especially among young...
Read More...

Border security: MEPs approve gradual roll-out of Entry-Exit System

Border security: MEPs approve gradual roll-out of Entry-Exit System Border security: MEPs approve gradual roll-out of Entry-Exit System
  The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee has given the green light to gradually roll out the new Entry-Exit System (EES)...
Read More...

EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns

EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns EU to name seven ‘safe’ countries for asylum returns
The European Commission plans to classify Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia as "safe third countries of origin,"...
Read More...

Must Read

Most Popular Stories

Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo Salvini and Nigel Farage.

As up to 400 million Europeans prepare to vote for the EU parliament, the populist challenge to the Brussels consensus has been disrupted by scandal.

Four prominent leaders of Hong Kong’s democracy movement were jailed on Wednesday for their role in organizing mass pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralyzed the city for months and infuriated Beijing.

The prison terms are the latest hammer blow to city’s beleaguered democracy movement, which has seen key figures jailed or banned from standing as legislators since their civil disobedience movement shook the city but failed to win any concessions.

Nine activists were all found guilty earlier in April of at least one charge in a prosecution that deployed rarely used colonial-era public nuisance laws over their participation in the Umbrella Movement protests, which called for free elections for the city’s leader.

Their trial renewed alarm over shrinking freedoms under an assertive China, which has rejected demands by Hong Kongers for a greater say in how the financial hub is run.

Two key leaders of the mass protests — sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 60, and law professor Benny Tai, 54 — received the longest sentences of 16 months in jail, sparking tears in court and angry chants from hundreds of supporters gathered outside.

Two other leaders — activist Raphael Wong and lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun — received eight month sentences while the rest either had their jail terms suspended or received a community service order. One defendant, lawmaker Tanya Chan, had her sentencing adjourned because she needs brain surgery.

The jail terms are the steepest yet for anyone involved in the 79-day protest, which vividly illustrated the huge anger — particularly among Hong Kong’s youth — over the city’s leadership and direction.

As Wong was led away by guards he proclaimed: “Our determination to fight for democracy will not change.”

Tai and Chan founded a civil disobedience campaign known as “Occupy Central” in 2013 alongside 75-year-old Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming, who was one of the defendants to have his jail term suspended. AFP, photo by Mk2010, wikimedia.

 

Facebook has closed 23 mostly pro-government pages in Italy which were spreading fake news and anti-immigrant content, after an investigation by Avaaz, the civil rights group said on Monday.

More than half of the pages, which had a total of almost 2.5 million followers, supported the far-right anti-immigrant League party or the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which form the ruling coalition, Avaaz said in a statement.

The most active page translates as "We want the Five Star Movement in government" which had shared a quote wrongly attributed to anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano that he would "prefer to save migrants than Italian earthquake victims."

Saviano was forced to publicly deny having said it.

A pro-League page shared a video which it wrongly said depicted migrants smashing up a police car.

The footage was in fact filmed for a movie, but was viewed almost 10 million times, days ahead of next week's European parliament elections in which Italian populist parties hope to do well.

"This is more proof that lies designed to sow hate and division in our societies are being spread deliberately on social media ahead of the EU elections," said Avaaz's Christoph Schott.

"Facebook has done a good job in taking these pages down, but it says a lot that a multi-billion dollar company is relying on a crowd-funded Avaaz investigation to defend Europe’s democracy. Facebook need to do more, and they need to do it fast."

Avaaz also noted the practice of "recycling followers" used by some supporters of the two ruling parties, whereby a page with non-political content changes its name to become political or partisan, retaining likes and followers.

One such page "was started as an agricultural breeders’ association of the Messina province and eventually became a League-supporting local chapter. The change was made one word at a time, gradually, using the ambiguity of the word 'League' to avoid the automatic checks carried out by Facebook," Avaaz said.

Facebook and other social networks are regularly accused of not doing enough to eliminate fake news from its platform.AFP

 

Organizers canceled a conference at a Paris university featuring an address by Jewish philosopher Alain Finkielkraut following the threat of protests.

 “Security is our top priority and it’s preferable to take no risks,” organizers of the event at Sciences Po university wrote Tuesday.

The conference on Europe’s future was to include other speakers, but they were not named in the letter threatening protests. Finkielkraut was accosted recently on a Paris street for being a “Zionist.”

In their statement, the authors of the call to demonstrate outside the conference at Sciences Po wrote: “We cannot accept Finkielkraut’s ‘modern Europe’ and his islamophobic, racist, sexist and homophobic rhetoric.”

The university recently canceled an event on “Israeli apartheid,” which the protesters alleged as showing a pro-Israeli bias by faculty.

Finkielkraut is a centrist thinker who has criticized the far right, as well as Muslim communities and far-left activists, for failing to integrate. A best-selling author, Finkielkraut entered the pantheon of French academia in 2016 when he was admitted into the Academie Francaise, a council of 40 greats elected for life.

A Zionist supporter of Israel, he is a member of the dovish J Call group styled after the J Street lobby in the United States.JTA

In February, police extracted Finkielkraut from a hostile crowd after he was recognized on the street by participants of so-called yellow vests demonstrations over the cost of living. His assailants called him a “dirty Zionist” and told him to “go back to Tel Aviv.” photo by Maxou-44/wikimedia

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