Europe

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Canada has been "over reliant on the US for too long," and wants to forge closer ties with the UK and the EU, Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly said.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Wednesday he would call in the acting U.S. ambassador to Denmark for talks after the Wall Street Journal reported Washington had ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to step up spying on Greenland.

The European Commission referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union for not complying with EU laws on migrant smuggling on Wednesday, claiming in a statement that Hungary violated its obligations to impose effective sanctions for people smuggling offences.

US President Donald Trump's scrapping of a duty-free loophole has shattered Temu and Shein’s business model, choking their flood of cheap Chinese goods into the United States.

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Germany’s new Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters on Wednesday that he had instructed federal police to tighten border controls with the goal of turning back more irregular migrants, including those who intend to seek asylum.

Turkey's EU accession process, which has been at a standstill since 2018, cannot be relaunched in the current circumstances, despite Ankara's geopolitical and strategic importance, a European Parliament report says.

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Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Estonia rolling out offline card payment systems to provide a back-up if internet connections are lost, including due to sabotage, Bank of Finland board member Tuomas Valimaki said on Wednesday.

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday said he believes the war in Ukraine can't be stopped without the political and military involvement of the United States

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Meloni said the target will be reached through higher defense expenditure but also through reclassification of certain expenses as defense costs. She pointed out this is something “other countries are doing as well.”

Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the plan is “absolutely unacceptable” for Slovakia. He said that his government was ready to veto it and all Slovak representatives involved in the negotiations on the EU level would work to stop it.

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BERLIN, May 6 (Reuters) - Germany's parliament will hold a second vote on Tuesday on backing Friedrich Merz as chancellor after the veteran conservative failed to secure enough support in a first round, throwing politics in Europe's largest economy into disarray.

The government has proposed, starting this summer, to make it illegal for people in Sweden to pay someone to have sex or masturbate in front of a camera. One of the arguments for the bill is that platforms such as OnlyFans could become a gateway to prostitution. However, some of the platform's creators argue that this bill will put them in a difficult position and, in the worst case, could cause them to lose their livelihood. Story by Luke Shrago.

Recent data suggests that Europe might be in better shape to take on the global economic slowdown than many imagined with both growth and inflation holding steady. So in this video, we dive into the numbers and assess whether this can be sustained.

I have just realised that it is very easy to submit an EU petition.

Incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered an embarrassing setback when he fell short of a majority in an initial vote in the lower house of parliament, potentially delaying his swearing-in as head of government due to take place later on Tuesday.

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Average salaries differ widely across Europe. The cost of living does too. So, which countries offer the highest pay? And how do salaries compare when adjusted for purchasing power standards?

"What we are asking for is a differentiated regulation for smaller cars. There are too many rules designed for bigger and more expensive cars, which means we can't make smaller cars in acceptable profitability conditions," de Meo said.

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While attention in Central Europe has often centered on Russian propaganda, China has been quietly cultivating its own influence operations through unexpected channels – from Czech radio stations to TikTok influencers and all-expenses-paid trips to China. These efforts reveal a growing sophistication in Beijing’s strategy to shape perceptions abroad, leveraging entertainment, travel, and digital culture to mask deeper political objectives. What appears at first glance to be harmless cultural exchange may, in fact, form part of a broader, state-driven influence campaign with far-reaching implications for public discourse and (social) media integrity in the Czech Republic and beyond.

Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu stepped down after Crin Antonescu failed to reach the presidential election runoff, further fracturing the ruling coalition amid political turmoil.

The European Union launched a drive on Monday to attract scientists and researchers to Europe with offers of grants and new policy plans, after the Trump administration froze U.S. government funding linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

As the International Court of Justice takes its next steps on investigating and prosecuting war crimes in Israel’s war on Gaza, the top expert on Palestine at the United Nations is pushing for even more international accountability.

US Vice-President JD Vance accused "bureaucrats" of rebuilding the Berlin Wall, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed the designation as "tyranny in disguise".

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Germany’s domestic intelligence agency formally classified the Alternative for Germany as a right-wing extremist movement, meaning authorities will have enhanced powers to monitor the party as a potential threat to democracy.

Microsoft is responding to mounting "geopolitical and trade volatility" between the US administration and governments in Europe by pledging privacy safeguards for customers worried about using American hyperscalers, and vowing to fight the US government in court to protect Euro customers' data if needed.

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The European Commission has estimated Europe needs to invest $2.0-2.3 trillion in grids by 2050.

Brexit was supposed to bring freedom and opportunity—but for British businesses, it brought red tape, rising costs, and lost markets.

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French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot took the accusations to the UN Security Council, demanding that Russia, whose envoy was in the chamber, immediately halt the attacks.

Portugal’s caretaker government plans to expel some 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization, a minister said Saturday in the buildup to a national election.

The chief of Germany's Air Force has travelled to Israel to procure the first part of the Arrow 3 air-defence system

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/43362171

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Maurice Duverger's Law, one of the most important law of political science, may be on the verge of failure.

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Anticircumvention laws are the reason no one can sell you a “jailbreaking” tool so your printer is able to recognise and use cheaper, generic ink cartridges. It’s why farmers couldn’t repair their own John Deere tractors until recently and why people who use powered wheelchairs can’t fix their vehicles, even down to minor adjustments like customising the steering handling.

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European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said Brussels wants to increase purchases of goods from United States by 50 billion euros