UK triggers Article 50: Here’s what happened BBC News | Europe | World Edition Formal proceedings to divorce the UK from the EU have begun. Moving determinedly towards the door: the UK’s Article 50 notification letter Ideas on Europe by PoliticsatSurrey Today’s an important one in the Brexit saga. With the submission of formal notification to begin … Read more
Berlin lorry attack: Man films chaos moments after truck hits BBC News | Europe | World Edition An eyewitness describes filming “horrible scenes” moments after a lorry ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin. Berlin Christmas market attack ‘affects all Europe’ EurActiv.com by Frédéric Simon French President François Hollande and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker sent … Read more
Commission won’t call Castro a dictator EUobserver.com – Headline News The EU executive says that a statement decribing the former Cuban leader as a “hero for many” is balanced and suggests that the use of the word dictator by a commissioner doesn’t reflect its position. France’s next President could be an Islamophobic “Thatcherite” who wants to dismantle … Read more
‘The system is a reflection of who we are’: an interview with Birgitta Jónsdóttir open Democracy News Analysis – by Ashish Ghadiali and Birgitta Jónsdóttir “It’s not only about us versus the system. The system is really us.” As Iceland’s radical Pirate party approaches the gates of power, we speak to its figurehead Birgitta Jónsdóttir. Birgitta … Read more
Once asylum beneficiaries in 1956, Hungarians now reject migrants EurActiv.com Sixty years ago, Soviet tanks crushed an anti-communist uprising in Budapest, sending 200,000 Hungarians – men women and children – fleeing across the border into Austrian refugee camps, then onwards into a welcoming Western world. A Progressive Political Alliance for Europe Project Syndicate by Kemal Derviş If … Read more
Czarny Protest: how Polish women took to the streets open Democracy News Analysis – by Kasia Narkowicz After two decades of feminist pressure, the people took to the streets. But why now? Polish women protest against a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion in Poland. PAimages/Geert Vanden Wijngaert. All rights reserved. Joy and despair in … Read more
Fraser of Allander report: Brexit could cost 80,000 jobs BBC News | Europe | World Edition Scotland could lose between 30,000 to 80,000 jobs as a result of Brexit, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute. Why Poland’s ‘Black Protest’ could be a potential game changer open Democracy News Analysis – by Tom Junes With its move … Read more
Bratislava EU meeting: Merkel says bloc in ‘critical situation’ BBC News | Europe | World Edition The EU is in a “critical situation”, the German chancellor says, as leaders meet to discuss ways to regain trust after the UK’s vote to leave the bloc. Debate: Can the Bratislava summit mend the EU? euro|topics The leaders of the … Read more
Turkey’s President Erdogan Fails to Silence German Publisher NYT > Turkey by By MELISSA EDDY A German court rejected a request by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an injunction against the chief executive of Axel Springer over his support for a comedian who lampooned the Turkish leader. Another Lawsuit by Erdoğan in Germany Bianet :: English President … Read more
German churches get wi-fi ‘Godspots’ BBC News | Europe | World Edition Wi-fi hotspots will be installed at 220 Protestant churches across the Berlin and Brandenburg region. Europe’s Destructive Spirals of Distrust SAPIENS by Thomas Hylland Eriksen On February 6, 2016, thousands of people protested the immigration of Muslims, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and other cities across Europe. … Read more
Turkish President Erdoğan slams foreign envoys at journalists’ trial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has severely criticized a group of Western diplomats who attended the trial of Cumhuriyet’s Can Dündar and Erdem Gül on March 25 Turkish Journalists Speak Out Before Trial NYT > Turkey by By REUTERS Can Dundar, editor in chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, … Read more
EU to lift visa regime by June, double financial aid to Turkey: Draft agreement Turkey and the European Union apparently reach a deal on refugees under which Ankara will receive 3 billion more euros in aid Resettling Syrians, aid and visa changes on table at EU-Turkey migration summit World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Jennifer Rankin in … Read more
Turkey faces criticism on press freedom at EU summit Turkey has faced criticism from EU officials and politicians over the seizure of the Zaman media group at a Brussels summit as part of efforts to implement a joint action plan on illegal migrants, while critics accuse the EU of turning a blind eye to Turkey’s worsening … Read more
Leaked Brexit summit text: Full annotated document Brussels Blog by Alex Barker We’ve got our hands on the final pre-summit draft of the UK’s “new settlement” deal, sent to member states by Donald Tusk, the summit’s host, in the early hours of this morning. There are not many changes from Tusk’s first version, published two weeks … Read more
Tusk warns refugees away from Europe EurActiv.com by Georgi Gotev Speaking in Athens on Thursday (3 March), Council President Donald made a pathetic appeal to ‘economic’ migrants not to come to Europe. EU asylum seekers ‘doubled in 2015’ BBC News | Europe | World Edition The number of people seeking asylum in the European Union in 2015 … Read more