Eurosphere agenda: Merkel faces more failures at home…

Merkel faces home truths

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It is Angela Merkel’s home state. There aren’t even many refugees there (23,000 in 2015 to be precise). But on Sunday rural Mecklenburg-Vorpommern earned a small footnote in post-war history, becoming the first state where the CDU has ever been outflanked by a party of the right. Just three years old, the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany upstart is steadily gaining electoral ground. It may be far from seizing power, even at local level. But the warning to Ms Merkel is clear.

EU chiefs called on global leaders to increase their support to deal with the 65 million refugees in the world as the bloc’s capabilities are “close to the limits”, warned European Council President, Donald Tusk on 4 September.

AfD delivers another shock, but don’t rush to write Merkel off

Poll: British public heavily in favour of burqa ban

Twice as many British people support a ban on women wearing a burqa than oppose one, with a majority also in favour of outlawing the burkini, according to a poll published Thursday (31 August).

Migrants in Calais turn violent as population rises

Violent, desperate gangs and a rising tide of robberies, vandalism and assaults – that has been the latest depiction of the camp known as the Jungle on the edge of the northern French port of Calais.

Paris restaurant ‘refuses to serve Muslim women’

A video showing a French restaurateur apparently calling all Muslims terrorists and refusing to serve two Muslim women sparks anger and calls for protests.
Germany and other European Union countries turned a blind eye to the refugee crisis building on its external borders for too long, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a German newspaper interview published today (31 August).

German women more anti-Muslim than men

German concerns about the country’s Muslim population are growing, especially among women. Researcher Daniela Krause spoke to EurActiv Germany about the issue, the anti-Muslim course of the AfD party and possible ways to reverse the trend.
Austria has taken its next, albeit small, step towards introducing tougher rules on immigration that will allow it to turn away asylum seekers at its borders within an hour and also to cap the number of asylum requests it accepts
A state funeral for 37 victims of the Italian earthquake is held in Amatrice, the town that bore the brunt of the disaster.
The UK and France have pledged to work together and “step up” efforts to improve the migrant situation in Calais
The far right is ahead in Austria’s presidential race, according to opinion polls which predict a win for the anti-immigration candidate that would be a watershed for populists across Europe who have capitalised on the migration crisis.
The German, French and Polish foreign ministers vowed Sunday (28 August) to increase ties between their countries when Britain leaves the EU to secure a safer and more effective union.

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