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Europe Tag

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 26, 2017 25 Comments
In what should be a new low for women rights in Europe, Austria's leftist President Alexander van der Bellen has called on "every woman to wear headscarf" in order to fight growing "Islamophobia," Austrian media reported today. Going by the Austrian media coverage, the otherwise perpetually-offended feminist groups in Austria and Europe have failed to respond to this outrage. "[I]f it goes on like this, with the rampant Islamophobia, a day will come when we will have to ask every woman to wear a headscarf," President Van der Bellen, Austria’s recently elected Head of the State could be seen saying in a video clip addressing young students.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 23, 2017 19 Comments
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron and Front National's Marine Le Pen have qualified for the second round in the French presidential election securing 23.7 and 21.7 percent of votes respectively, French news agency AFP reports. Conservative François Fillon conceded defeat after getting 19.5 percent of the votes. Fillon endorsed Macron and called his supporters to vote for his rival in the final round. A fact that should cheer liberals and feminists alike: with today's result, France is just one step away from getting its first female president.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 18, 2017 7 Comments
As France heads to the first round of presidential elections on Sunday, Front National's candidate Marine Le Pen vows to put an end to the Open Borders Policy for illegal migrants. "Mass immigration is not an opportunity for France, it's a tragedy for France," Le Pen told her supporters. "The French sometimes have fewer rights than foreigners -- even illegal ones." Defending her campaign promise to take France out of the European Union, Le Pen said, "France has the right to regain its national sovereignty, its freedom to decide for itself."

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 18, 2017 11 Comments
British Prime Minister Theresa May stunned many British politicians on Tuesday morning when she called for a snap election on June 8 as a way to help her negotiate through the Brexit process with the European Union. May had said before that she would not hold a general election, but opposition from within the government over Brexit negotiations forced her hand. The London Times reported:
“The country is coming together but Westminster is not,” she said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 17, 2017 5 Comments
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared victory after a referendum vote gave him even more power with a slim 51% victory. But he has already received backlash from opposition groups and international monitors who found problems with the election. Erdogan even warned people not to fight the referendum outcome because "it's too late now."

Posted by Mary Chastain on April 07, 2017 15 Comments
A man plowed a truck into a shopping center in Stockholm, Sweden, killing at least five people and injuring many more. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has called it a terror attack:
"Sweden has been attacked. Everything indicates an act of terror," PM Stefan Löfven said at a press conference on Friday afternoon. "The government is informed and doing everything to help authorities with it."

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on April 06, 2017 16 Comments
The government of Angela Merkel has approved draft legislation that seeks to combat certain content on the social media. The proposed law will force social media companies to remove content that German government may find offensive or 'false'. In its broadly defined parameters the law wants social media companies to act against hate speech, and other contents that may be "in breach of German laws", Bonn-based public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported. Companies could face up to €50 million, or $53 million, in fines if they fail to remove 'criminal content'. All the major social media providers are based in the U.S. and by enacting this law Merkel government clearly wants to circumvent the free speech rights granted under the U.S. Constitution.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 30, 2017 8 Comments
Back in October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande warned British Prime Minister Theresa May that the United Kingdom might face a tough time leaving the European Union. Those warnings have come to fruition a day after the UK delivered the official Brexit letter to the EU. Merkel and Hollande demanded to May "that Brexit negotiations must deal with how Britain will leave the bloc" before the countries even think about future negotiations.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 29, 2017 10 Comments
The divorce between the United Kingdom and the European Union has officially begun. Tuesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which allows a member to leave the union. Wednesday morning, British Ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Burrow handed the letter to Tusk. The UK now has two years to leave the EU.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 21, 2017 10 Comments
The Department of Homeland Security has banned electronics larger than a smart phone on flights from eight countries: Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Officials said the ban comes from intelligence about terrorism risks:
“We’re concerned about ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation,” a DHS official said. The official cited terrorist attacks on airports in Brussels and Istanbul as part of a pattern or attacks that justified the ban
Some people have lashed out at President Donald Trump, thinking its another slap in the face towards Muslims. However, the United Kingdom has also adopted this same rule and Canada may follow.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 21, 2017 5 Comments
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's challenger, Social Democratic Party's (SPD) candidate Martin Schulz kicked off his election campaign by bashing U.S. President Donald Trump. Schulz denounced, what he called, U.S. President's "misogynistic, anti-democratic and racist" rhetoric. These latest comments follow SPD candidate's earlier remarks in January when he called President Trump "un-American". Schulz was speaking at the SPD party convention on Sunday that unanimously confirmed him as party's Chancellor candidate. Long-time E.U. insider Schulz is running on the slogan "Make Europe[-an Union] Great Again". He served from 2012 to 2017 as the President of E.U. Parliament.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 20, 2017 2 Comments
British Prime Minister Theresa May will activate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the Brexit process on March 29, which will start the two year negotiations for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. From The London Times:
Britain is keen to seek a comprehensive free-trade deal with the EU as part of the exit process. However, the European Council wants to sort out Britain’s “divorce bill” from the bloc before any future relationship is agreed. The status of EU nationals already in the UK is another issue that both sides want to deal with early on.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 16, 2017 12 Comments
According to final vote count tallies, Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centre-right VVD has scored a commanding lead over his main rival Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV). With 95 percent of votes counted, PM Rutte's VVD won 33 seats in the 150-place legislature, down from 41 at the last vote in 2012. Wilders came second with 20 seats, Reuters news agency reports.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 14, 2017 11 Comments
The top European Union court has ruled that employers can ban the Islamic headscarf from the workplace. From the BBC:
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), ruled on Tuesday morning that employers are allowed to ban workers from the "visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign" including headscarves. The ruling was prompted by the case of a receptionist who was fired from security company G4S in Belgium for wearing a headscarf to work.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 13, 2017 10 Comments
As Brexit looms around the United Kingdom, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she may ask for approval to have another independence referendum. From CNN:
Sturgeon said it was clear that the UK was heading for a "hard Brexit" to the detriment of Scotland, and that Scottish voters deserved a choice of remaining in the European Union as part of an independent nation.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 12, 2017 14 Comments
A diplomatic dispute between the Netherlands and Turkey has led to rioting by Turks in Rotterdam and a diplomatic crisis that could influence the Dutch elections that are just a few days away.

Thousands of Turkish immigrants rioted in the streets of Rotterdam early Sunday following the Dutch government's decision to bar two Turkish ministers from entering the country.

The Mayor of Rotterdam issued emergency orders late Saturday in an attempt to contain a demonstration supporting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan outside the Turkish consulate in the city which has turned into a rallying point for Turkish immigrants.

Today morning, pro-Erdogan rioters vandalised the consulate of the Netherlands in the Turkish city of Istanbul and took down the Dutch flag replacing it with a Turkish flag, French news agency AFP reports.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on February 24, 2017 14 Comments
With less than 3 weeks before Dutch Election, Frontrunner Geert Wilders has suspended his campaign after a major security breach. A Moroccan-origin Dutch police officer working on Wilders security detail was arrested for passing on his movements to Moroccan criminal gangs. Wilders, campaigning on the promises of de-Islamising the Netherlands and taking the country out of the European Union, is leading in polls ahead of the election. Wilders' Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) is expected to come out as the single largest party in March election and set to play a key role in the formation of the next government. Following Wilders-led PVV’s strong showing in the polls many commentators have started taking the 53 year-old Dutch politician as a serious contender for the post of Prime Minister.
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