Europe politics

Europe politics

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.

Housing Minister James Browne has been accused of 'fleeing the country' and 'running scared' instead of defending the Government's new plan to tackle the spiralling crisis.

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.

House prices in the Netherlands have doubled in the past decade, and a new-build home costs 16 times the average salary. Across the EU, affordability is not just a life-limiting problem in notoriously expensive property markets such as Lisbon, Madrid or Dublin. Speculative investment and a chronic supply shortage have also led to soaring prices in emerging areas where bigger, faster returns are attainable.

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.

The focus is on the bilateral conversation with Mr. Erdogan. That was all Deputy Government Spokesperson Steffen Meyer offered at this week's press conference in Berlin when asked about the chancellor's upcoming two-day visit to Turkey, which begins on Wednesday. Meyer described it as an "inaugural visit" to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, noting that "a small program would surround it." Since taking office, Merz has had brief encounters with Erdogan on the international stage, including one in Tirana, Albania, in May.

The Latvian Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, commissioned by Jānis Dripe and curated by Liene Jākobsone and Ilka Ruby, explores the impact of military defense on the country's border landscape. The exhibition was designed by SAMPLING and Nomad Architects to highlight how geopolitical tensions shape both territory and daily life. In times of escalating international warfare, the curatorial team poses the question of what it means to live on NATO's external border in times of geopolitical conflict.

European leaders are meeting on Thursday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Brussels to reaffirm support for Kyiv. The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, welcomed Zelenskyy, addressing him as future member of the European Union. The meeting comes as the 27 member bloc formally adopted a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.

Catherine Connolly has still failed to answer the question of who organised her 2018 trip to Syria. She rehashed the same lines about it being a "fact-finding" mission. But she has still not said who put her in touch with Fares Shehabi - someone who was named on EU sanctions as funding the Assad regime, who she did not simply bump into but sat in meeting rooms and was shown around Aleppo by.

Catherine was working for UK banks... and they were repossessing houses. I was working in the credit union, and I was actually helping people to stay in their houses, through what was an extremely, extremely difficult financial situation. Catherine needs to come out and say exactly who she was working for and how many homes were repossessed.

A year ago, Fine Gael minister Heather Humphreys shocked many with her decision to retire from political life. Fast forward 12 months, she is now looking to become Ireland's next president and currently trails behind Independent Catherine Connolly in the most recent poll taken. The road to the Áras hasn't been plain sailing for the Humphreys campaign with the opposition taking aim at her. Today on the Indo Daily, Fionnán

"Voting 'no' in relation to a treaty is not a negative thing," Ms Connolly said. "'It's indicating the concerns that I and lots of people had. And, in fact, in voting 'no' we had to vote a second time on Nice and on Lisbon and we were given absolute, solemn promises in relation to our neutrality that seem to mean nothing at the moment.'"},{

Hungary's EU commissioner has denied any knowledge of alleged attempted spying by the Hungarian government during his time as the country's top diplomat in Brussels, a commission spokesperson said. Oliver Varhelyi sat down with European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Sunday to discuss the allegations reported by a consortium of investigative journalists last week. On Monday, the commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, said: