PM meets Simon Harris at Chequers on eve of European Political Community gathering
Keir Starmer is hoping to reverse almost a decade of strained relations with Ireland over dinner with the taoiseach, Simon Harris, at Chequers on Wednesday on the eve of the biggest summit of European leaders in the UK.
Greeting Harris, Starmer said he was “very pleased to have this very early opportunity to, what I see as resetting, strengthening and deepening our relationship”.
Continue reading...Fifteen people forced to flee hours after erecting makeshift camp as tents reportedly slashed and thrown in river
People with knives and pipes have reportedly attacked 15 asylum seekers sheltering in tents in central Dublin, forcing them to flee.
The attack happened at about 11.30pm on Tuesday night, three hours after asylum seekers from Somalia and Palestine had erected a makeshift camp on City Quay in the Irish capital, local media reported on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Petr Fiala says Hungarian PM’s trip to Moscow recalls appeasement of Hitler and is not in Europe’s interests
Viktor Orbán’s efforts to style himself as a high-level peacemaker by meeting world leaders including Vladimir Putin are “wrong” and “not in the interest of Europe”, the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, has said, recalling lessons from attempts to appease Adolf Hitler before the second world war.
The Hungarian prime minister has stoked controversy in recent weeks for embarking on what he has termed a “peace mission” while his country holds the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency. The international trips have involved meetings with Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
Continue reading...Speaking to German media ahead of Munich concert residency, singer says she ‘wants to do other creative things’ and has no plans for new material
Adele has announced she intends to go on hiatus from music after a forthcoming concert residency in Munich.
The British singer told German broadcaster ZDF: “My tank is quite empty from being on stage every weekend in Las Vegas. I don’t have any plans for new music, at all.
Continue reading...Anne Hidalgo fulfils pledge after cleanup operation makes water quality safe enough to host events at Games
It has been the dream and promise of Paris mayors for decades and a nightmare for Olympic organisers: could the Seine be cleaned up enough to swim in and hold triathlon and other events?
For the last 100 years and up until a few days ago, the answer seemed to be no.
Continue reading...Once seen as the world’s most powerful woman, the former German chancellor is now immersed in the arts – and not only as an admirer
At the peak of her career, she was hailed as the world’s most powerful woman and the de-facto leader of the EU.
But as Angela Merkel turns 70 today, there will be no gathering of dignitaries to pay tribute to her legacy. Instead, she will celebrate entering her eighth decade “in private”, a spokesperson for her office told the German news agency dpa.
Continue reading...Driver and passenger had been shot dead after car had reportedly been driven from Copenhagen to Malmö
Swedish police are investigating a double shooting after two bodies were found in a burnt-out car rented by a British citizen.
The driver and passenger, who had driven across the Denmark-Sweden border into the southern city of Malmö, were shot on Sunday, according to the daily newspaper Aftonbladet.
Continue reading...The Gibraltar government has criticised the “rancid remarks” members of Spain’s Euro 2024-winning side made at a victory rally in central Madrid on Monday night. The territory’s football association is to make a formal complaint to Uefa over the matter.
The controversy, which follows Spain’s 2-1 victory against England in the final on Sunday, erupted after the Spain captain, Álvaro Morata, and the midfielder Rodri chanted “Gibraltar es español” [“Gibraltar is Spanish”] while on stage in front of a massive crowd in the Spanish capital’s Plaza de Cibeles.
Continue reading...AfD-supporting publication has fed racist and far-right nationalist conspiracy theories
The German government has banned the rightwing extremist magazine Compact, accusing it of whipping up “unspeakable” hatred of Jews, Muslims and foreigners while undermining the country’s constitutional democracy.
In what she called a “hard blow” against the far right, the interior minister, Nancy Faeser, ordered dawn raids in four German states at properties linked to the publication, which is ideologically close to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and promotes its drive for power.
Continue reading...‘Likely outcome’ of Trump victory means EU should reopen diplomatic talks with Moscow, says Hungarian PM
Viktor Orbán has claimed that Donald Trump has “detailed and well-founded” plans for peace between Russia and Ukraine in a letter to a top EU body that is likely to inflame tensions about the Hungarian prime minister’s diplomatic freelancing.
Orbán, who met Trump at his Palm Beach compound last week, said in his letter to the president of the European Council, who organises meetings of the bloc’s 27 national leaders, that the Republican presidential nominee was ready to act as peace broker “immediately” after his election.
Continue reading...Lancashire teenager disappeared after attending music festival on the island four weeks ago
An autopsy has confirmed that a body found by Spanish rescuers in Tenerife on Monday is that of the missing British teenager Jay Slater.
A court spokesperson has reportedly confirmed that fingerprints taken from the body matched those of the missing 19-year-old from Lancashire. He disappeared after attending a music festival four weeks ago and was last seen walking alone in a remote area in the north of the island, near the village of Masca.
Continue reading...For some it was harmless banter but others say Mary Lou McDonald’s post on X was an example of obnoxious trolling
It’s a venerable football equation: English defeat = Irish glee.
Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin leader, reflected this tradition when she posted “Olé, Olé, Olé” and celebrated Spain’s victory over England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday. “Felicidades! Comhghairdeas to the champions of Europe,” she added, using the Irish word for congratulations.
Continue reading...Party’s advances in Northern Ireland contrast with slump in Ireland, while new Labour government is keen to bury issue
Sinn Féin has completed a historic hat-trick for Irish nationalism by becoming Northern Ireland’s biggest party in local government, the Stormont assembly and Westminster.
On 4 July it increased its majorities in several constituencies and whittled those of opponents, teeing up potential gains in the next general election. Meanwhile, the party’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, has made history as the first nationalist first minister.
Continue reading...New business secretary set to tell international counterparts at G7 meeting ‘Britain is back on world stage’
Britain is taking its first steps towards forging closer trading links with the EU in meetings between the new business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and international counterparts in Italy.
In his first overseas visit since Labour’s election landslide, Reynolds will tell a G7 meeting of trade ministers in the Italian city of Reggio Calabria that the new UK government wants to foster a “closer, more mature relationship with our friends in the EU”.
Continue reading...Six million Roma people living across the EU will have no direct voice as new parliament sits, activists say
From influencers to activists, hailing from Spain to Slovakia, the more than 700 newly elected members of the European parliament will gather on Tuesday for their inaugural session. Their ranks, however, will not include any MEPs who identify as Roma, according to Roma rights organisations, who describe it as a tremendous blow to Europe’s largest ethnic minority.
“We’re facing an unprecedented situation,” said Ismael Cortés, an associate professor at the Unesco Institute of Philosophy for Peace. “Out of 720 seats in the European parliament, zero are going to be dedicated to Roma people.”
Continue reading...Bloc sources say ball firmly in UK’s court regarding reset of ties as leaders prepare to meet at Blenheim for EPC forum
European leaders are “open-minded” about how to reset relations with Britain and are not ruling rule out a UK-EU summit in the future, a senior EU official has said before a meeting of European leaders in Oxfordshire on Thursday.
But they have indicated the ball is firmly in the UK’s court and they expect an offer from London on issues such as youth mobility and citizens rights to get things rolling.
Continue reading...A week after election, unity in NFP has fractured with LFI suspending talks with other alliance members
The leftwing coalition that won most seats in France’s snap general election is facing division after its leading party said it was suspending negotiations with the others over a failure to agree on a prime minister.
Just one week after the election, the fragile unity within the New Popular Front (NFP) fractured on Monday when France Unbowed (LFI) accused the Socialist party (PS) of “unacceptable methods” in vetoing suggestions over who should lead any new administration.
Continue reading...Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, initially given life over killing of a police officer, to be detained at his grandmother’s home
An American tourist convicted and jailed for the murder of a police officer in Rome has been moved to house arrest, in a decision that has left the victim’s widow “totally shocked”, her lawyer said.
Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth and his friend Finnegan Lee Elder were given life sentences for the 2019 murder of Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, a Carabinieri police officer who was stabbed to death after a botched drug deal.
Continue reading...MPs approve cull of 481 bears this year, up from 220 last year, to control ‘overpopulation’ of protected species
Romania’s parliament has approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in an effort to control the “overpopulation” of the protected species after a deadly attack on a hiker sparked nationwide outcry.
The country is home to 8,000 brown bears, according to the environment ministry, Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.
Continue reading...Home secretary to host meeting of government’s Defending Democracy taskforce after reported rise in harassment during election campaign
More in Common, the group that campaigns to reduce polarisation in politics, published a good slideshow presentation last week, based on polling it carried out, giving an analysis of the general election results. It has followed that up today with the publication of a 129-page report on the election, based on the same polling and on what it learned from focus groups.
One of the main interesting points it makes is that the government will be judged, above all, on whether it can bring down NHS waiting lists and the cost of living, polling suggests. The report says:
How does the public plan to judge the government on its delivery of change and what benchmarks will they use to evaluate progress?
First and foremost, the public will look to NHS waiting lists and the cost of living to judge Labour’s success or failure. These are top performance indicators for every segment, with the elderly tending to be more concerned than average about waiting lists and younger generations more so about the cost of living. As inflation falls and interest rates seem set for a summer cut, waiting lists are arguably the new government’s key challenge in maintaining public support.
Continue reading...