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European Union Tag

The European Union parliament has overwhelmingly voted to censure Hungary over alleged "breaches of the EU's core values." The vote triggered the "Article 7" procedure of the EU constitution, paving the wave for economic sanctions and other punishing measures. The EU parliamentarians voted 448 to 197 in support of a resolution that accused "Hungary of threatening the rule of law by hampering press and academic freedoms, cracking down on NGO funding and denying rights to minorities and migrants," European media reports said. Parliamentarians cheered and applauded at the read out of the vote. It is the first time the punitive article has been triggered by parliament against an EU member.

Sweden faces political impasse after ruling left-wing coalition and the opposition center-right alliance failed to win a clear majority in Sunday's election. The biggest winner of the night was the nationalist party, the Swedish Democrats, who won 18 percent of the vote, compared to 12 percent in the 2014 elections. "We see that we are this election's winner, but now we enter a new mandate period and now we are going to get influence over Swedish politics for real," Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the Sweden Democrats, told supporters Sunday night. “We strengthen our kingmaker role. We will will have an immense influence over what happens in Sweden in the coming weeks, months, years," he added.

The right-wing Sweden Democrats (SD) are surging in polls ahead of the Swedish general election on Sunday. The final YouGov poll suggests the party will win nearly 25 percent of the vote becoming the largest party in parliament, beating the ruling Social Democrats (SAP). So far, most polls show Sweden Democrats emerging as the second largest party.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has laid out an ambitious plan to counter the United State at the world stage. In an article titled "Making Plans for a New World Order," Minister Mass talked about forming a "counterweight" to the US and called on the the European Union to become "a cornerstone of the international order." "[W]here the USA crosses the line, we Europeans must form a counterweight," German Foreign Minister wrote on Wednesday. "The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe."

President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon's plans to launch a foundation aimed at supporting populist and nationalist causes in Europe has triggered a sharp repose from Germany's establishment politicians and the country's mainstream media.  "German politicians want to aggressively counter US right-wing populist Steve Bannon's plans to support like-minded parties in the [2019] European election," reported German weekly Der Spiegel.

Hungary has decided to quit the United Nations migration pact ahead of its final approval. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto slammed the UN-backed accord as a “threat to the world” and “entirely against” his country's national interests. “This document is entirely against Hungary’s security interests,” he said. “This pact poses a threat to the world from the aspect that it could inspire millions [of illegal migrants].”

President Donald Trump criticized Europe's open border policy, saying that mass immigration was permanently changing the continent for the worse. The UK is "losing" its culture as a result, he added. "I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way." Trump said in an interview with the British newspaper The Sun. The comments came on the first day of his visit to the UK.

The left and Resistance lost their minds when President Donald Trump had the nerve to say that because of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline "Germany is captive of Russia ". Former Secretary of State John Kerry lashed out at Trump for his "disgraceful" comments. Weird...only two years ago, Kerry expressed concern over this exact same pipeline as he sat with high-level European Union officials! Former Vice President Joe Biden made similar remarks around the same time.

Thousands of Turks took to the streets in Germany to celebrate Turkish President Recep Erdogan's election victory. Erdogan supporters waved Turkish flags, chanted the Islamic battle cry 'Allahu Akbar' and hailed the Turkish leader as their 'Führer,' German newspapers report. On Sunday, Erdogan declared victory in the presidential election, extending his 15-year reign in the Muslim-majority NATO member country.

Just three months into her fourth term, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel faces the biggest crisis of her career. Her Catholic conservative Bavarian ally, the CSU, has threatened to abandon the coalition government over immigration policy. Germany's Interior Minister and long-time CSU leader, Horst Seehofer, wants to push for tougher immigration laws, which will include refusing entry to illegal immigrants at the border. According to German newspaper reports, if the country's Interior Minister goes ahead with the new restrictions without Merkel's consent, she will be forced to fire him, putting an end to her freshly-baked coalition government. Her political future hangs in the balance, as CSU leaders meet on Monday to decide the future course of action.

The recently concluded summit in Singapore between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un provoked sharp responses from the mainstream media in Germany and France. The official European Union's response to the historic meeting was muted, with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, an avid Twitter user, refraining to comment on the meeting. The sharpest reaction came from Germany, where the country's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas took the opportunity to undermine the US President.

Italy’s new government has declared victory in a standoff over a German-owned rescue boat that brought hundreds of migrants to its shores. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini refused MS Aquarius, which carried 629 migrants on board, to dock over the weekend. Spain’s newly elected Socialist government accepted the boat, which ended the impasse. "Saving lives at sea is a duty, but transforming Italy into an enormous refugee camp is not," Minister Salvini wrote on Facebook. "Italy is done bowing its head and obeying. This time there's someone saying no."

The European Union has called on the U.S. not to punish European firms that trade with Iran, German daily Die Welt reported Thursday. In a letter to the U.S. officials, the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini "appealed to the U.S. not to undertake any action" against European companies likely hit by U.S. sanctions following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last month. The letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was also signed by foreign and finance ministers from Germany, France, and Britain, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle disclosed. According to media reports, President Trump is considering imposing secondary sanctions against foreign companies which continue doing business with Iran.

Islamist groups have adopted new strategies to gain influence in Germany, a report by the intelligence agency of the German state of Baden-Württemberg disclosed. Instead of taking on the powerful government establishment or law enforcement head on, they have adopted a 'legalistic strategy' to achieve their political objectives.