Europe politics

Europe politics

Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, for emergency talks on Friday as the EU races to save its sorely needed financing plan for Ukraine. The three leaders will dine in private in Brussels, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday, as Belgian officials continued to express strong opposition to the scheme, which involves the unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets.

The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc's supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector. These projects cover rare earths a group of 17 heavy metals that are actually abundant but difficult and costly to extract as well as the elements gallium, germanium and lithium, used in batteries for electric vehicles.

Belgian police have arrested three people including the EU's former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and raided the headquarters of the EU foreign service and the elite College of Europe as part of an investigation into suspected fraud. The three were detained as part of a probe into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats, the European public prosecutor's office said in a statement, without naming individuals.

When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and their two cabinets meet in Berlin for intergovernmental consultations on Monday, the intention is that talks will focus above all on present-day problems and future solutions, especially in relation to Russia's war in Ukraine, NATO's eastern flank, migration, security and infrastructure. But the heavy burden of the past will be the ever-present elephant in the room.

Verona Murphy says she was misled about intentions of photo, but MEP says impartiality was compromised and excuse is 'inadequate' Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has said it is "hard to accept" the explanation from Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy about her decision to pose for a photograph with Sinn Féin TDs and senators. Dublin MEP Ms Doherty, who is a former government chief whip, ­added that

Ryanair is shutting its frequent flyers members' club after only eight months because customers exploited its benefits too much. The budget airline said on Friday it was closing the scheme, which offered benefits including flight discounts, free reserved seating on up to 12 flights a year and travel insurance. It said 55,000 passengers had signed up to Prime, generating 4.4m (3.5m) in subscription fees but customers had received more than 6m in benefits, making it a lossmaker for the company.

Simon Harris has accused Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson of being "a hypocrite" for saying the party is on "the side of the working people" after a group which raises money to aid Sinn Féin accepted donations from US construction firms.

EUAU Summit Shows West now Taking Africa Quite Seriously

Lagarde argued that Europe was vulnerable because of a dependency on third countries for our security and the supply of critical raw materials. She cited China's control of the supply of rare earth metals that are crucial in electric motors and wind turbines, as well as the choke point of power chips made by Nexperia in China that threatened to shut down production across the global car industry.

I am often left scratching my head in confusion over some of the opinions held by people in this fine country of ours, most frequently when in relation to the Irish language. There are so many contradictions, such rampant self-shaming, and a severe under-appreciation of the beauty of it. This was made particularly evident during President Catherine Connolly's campaign and inauguration.

Slovenia's government has been accused of turning Roma neighbourhoods into security zones after the passing of a law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in so-called high-risk areas. At midnight on Monday, the country's parliament backed the Sutar law, named after Ales Sutar, who was killed in an altercation with a 21-year-old Romany man after rushing to a nightclub following a distress call from his son. The incident outside the LokalPatriot club in Novo Mesto, in south Slovenia, last month led to a huge street protests, police being stationed in Roma neighbourhoods and the resignation of two ministers.

Before 2015, refugees in Denmark were initially allowed to stay for between five and seven years, after which their residence permits would automatically become permanent. But 10 years ago, when more than a million people arrived in Europe fleeing conflict and repression, largely from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, the Danish government dramatically changed the rules.

Speaking at a summit in Rome alongside Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Meloni said her right-wing government was determined to forge ahead with its scheme of sending migrants and asylum seekers outside the EU while their claims are processed. Certainly, the protocol will work when the new [EU] migration and asylum pact comes into effect, Meloni said on Thursday, citing a legal framework slated for 2026. When the migration and asylum pact comes into effect, the centres will operate exactly as they should have from the beginning.

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Bloomberg, published this morning ($), that the country's survival relied on getting more funds from allies. I hope, God bless, we will get this decision, he told Bloomberg Television. If not, We will have to find an alternative, it's a question of our surviving. That's why we need it very much. And I count on partners.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium's busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liege airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions. Meanwhile, the mayor of the Flemish town of Diest reported that police and army officers had spotted four drones at the nearby Schaffen military airbase on Tuesday.

“no viable path to the EU at this stage unless conditions change dramatically.”

Minister of State with responsibility for Road Safety, Seán Canney, today signed regulations that mean learner drivers who have held a category A, A1, A2, AM, B or W permit for four years will have to sit a full driving test before being allowed to renew their permit. A loophole in the law that was repeatedly highlighted by road safety activists means that currently, learners can renew their permits repeatedly if they can show they have booked or scheduled a driving test - but not necessarily sat it.

Carlos Mazon, the embattled president of the eastern Spanish region of Valencia, has bowed to public fury and political pressure by resigning over his botched handling of the deadly floods that killed 229 people in the area just over a year ago. Mazon, a member of the conservative People's party (PP), had hung on despite calls for him to stand down after it emerged that he spent more than three hours having lunch with a journalist as the floods hit and people were drowning in their homes, garages and cars.

Spain's two main right-wing parties PP and Vox have publicly endorsed the idea of national stats bodies differentiating between foreigners and Spaniards when it comes to data collection in a bid to ascertain their contributions to the country. Spain's main opposition party - the centre-right People's Party (PP) - continues to push its new 'tough on migration' stance, this time supporting the idea of separate data collection for foreign residents and Spanish nationals, something which doesn't currently exist in some public administrations.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin insisted he still intends to lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election despite the recent turmoil within the party over its Presidential election debacle.