After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel is to retire as chancellor after a general election on Sunday, leaving a gaping hole in German politics. Merkel announced in October 2018 that her fourth term in office would be the last. The decision marks the first time since 1949 that an incumbent chancellor has not run for re-election. Appointed chancellor for the first time on 22 November 2005, Merkel has been in office for almost as long as Helmut Kohl, Germany’s longest-serving leader, who was in power for just over 16 years
Category Archives: Europe
Carles Puigdemont freed after arrest in Sardinia, says lawyer
Former Catalan leader free to travel but must attend extradition hearing on 4 October
The former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who was detained in Sardinia on Thursday under an international arrest warrant issued by a Spanish court over his alleged role in the failed bid for regional independence, was released from custody on the Italian island late on Friday afternoon.
Puigdemont, now an MEP living in Belgium, could face extradition to Spain over his alleged involvement in the unilateral independence referendum and the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence in October 2017.
Continue reading...Furious French defence contractor to seek compensation over Aukus deal
Head of Naval Group attacks Australia’s ‘political’ decision to cancel €56bn contract with his firm
Australia has signed up to an empty promise by agreeing to a US nuclear powered submarine deal for which there is no clear delivery date or technology transfer agreement, the furious head of the French defence contractor Naval Group has warned.
Pierre Eric Pommellet also said his firm will be seeking compensation for Australia’s cancellation of a €56bn (£48bn) contract for 12 new Attack-class submarines, which he described as a purely political decision which came without warning.
Continue reading...EU fears citizens will be barred from flights to UK due to rules confusion
Airlines may turn away EU nationals with settled status due to complex residency rules, says Brussels
Concerns have been raised that EU citizens living in the UK may not be allowed to board flights into the country because of confusion created by new government rules over ID cards and passports.
From 1 October, EU citizens who do not have the post-Brexit right to live in the UK will not be able to use EU, EEA or Swiss national ID cards to enter the country.
Continue reading...Tell us: how will you be affected by France’s new vaccine passport rules?
From 30 September, people aged 12-17 visiting France from the UK must present a vaccine passport to access most public places in the country
From 30 September, people aged 12-17 visiting France from the UK must present a “passe sanitaire” (vaccine passport) to access most public places in the country. Previously, this was only required for people aged 18 years and older.
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) does not recommend that most 12 to 15-year-olds get vaccinated and, for the time being, is only backing offering a first dose to 16 and 17-year-olds. This may pose practical problems for many UK-based parents, whose only option would seem to be paying for PCR tests.
Continue reading...Biden recognises there could have been ‘more discussion’ with France says Psaki – video
During the White House daily press briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked for additional details about Joe Biden’s call with the French president Emmanuel Macron today, after which it was announced the French ambassador would return to Washington.
Psaki noted that the phone call between the two leaders lasted about 30 minutes, and she said it was a “friendly” conversation. “[Biden] acknowledged that there could have been more discussion,” she said.
Continue reading...‘Donnez-moi un break’: Johnson says France needs to ‘get a grip’ over submarine deal – video
Boris Johnson has said French officials need to 'prenez un grip' amid continued anger at the US and UK's recent submarine deal with Australia. France recalled its ambassadors from both countries in response to Sunday's announcement. On Wednesday the prime minister said: 'It is not exclusive. It is not trying to shoulder anybody out. It is not adversarial towards China, for instance. It is there to intensify links and friendship between three countries'
Continue reading...Top aide to Ukrainian president survives assassination attempt
At least 10 bullets hit car carrying Serhiy Shefir with driver in surgery after being struck three times
A top adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has survived an assassination attempt that officials suggest is tied to a political battle with criminal and corrupt interests, including the countries’ oligarchs.
At least 10 bullets struck the car of Serhiy Shefir, an aide and longtime friend of Zelenskiy, on Wednesday as he travelled through the village of Lesnyky toward the capital, Kyiv.
Continue reading...Four migrants found dead on Poland-Belarus border
Minsk accused of abandoning migrants at frontier in attempt to put pressure on EU
Four people stranded on the border between Poland and Belarus have died in recent days, officials have said, amid continuing allegations that Minsk is abandoning migrants at its frontier in an attempt to put pressure on the EU.
Polish authorities confirmed that three people, including an Iraqi man, were found dead, of hypothermia and exhaustion, on the Polish side of the border on Saturday, while the body of a woman was seen lying on the Belarus side on Sunday.
Continue reading...Brexit caused huge drop in Great Britain to Ireland exports in 2021
Irish government figures come days after M&S says it is scrapping 800 lines due to ‘excessive paperwork’
Exports from Great Britain to Ireland fell by almost £2.5bn in the first seven months of the year with Brexit emerging as a major factor, according to official Irish government data.
The figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) come just days after Marks & Spencer said it was scrapping 800 product lines from its stores in the republic of Ireland because of “excessive paperwork” and health controls on food.
Continue reading...Germans undecided on whether Merkel’s CDU heir can fill her shoes
Christian Democrat continuity candidate Armin Laschet is struggling to live up to his brief
Angela Merkel’s shoe size is 38, she revealed to a rain-sodden, momentarily confused audience at an election rally on the Baltic coast on Tuesday night. That is relatively small – 5.5 in UK sizes – which means her shoes should not be too hard to fill. “That’s manageable,” Merkel said.
As the German chancellor chuckled mischievously, she gestured towards the man on her left, a 33-year-old tax auditor who is running to inherit the north-eastern constituency she has held since it was created in 1990. But her comment also applied to the man on her right, Armin Laschet, who is meant to lead the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) into the post-Merkel era as her designated continuity candidate at Sunday’s national election.
Continue reading...Dan Tehan says EU free-trade negotiations are ‘business as usual’ despite tensions with France
Trade minister says Australia has a strong relationship with Europe and it is sometimes necessary to have ‘difficult conversations’
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The federal trade minister, Dan Tehan, insists Australia’s free-trade agreement negotiations with the European Union are “business as usual”, despite growing unease over Australia’s treatment of France during the finalisation of the Aukus deal.
Tehan’s trip to Europe early next month will now be partly spent trying to smooth over tensions with the European Commission which has asked for a “please explain” over Australia’s dealings with its key member state France, in both cancelling a $90bn submarine contract, and entering into a strategic Indo-Pacific agreement which excludes Europe.
Continue reading...Brexit made an unlikely hero of Angela Merkel for Britain’s remainers | Rafael Behr
The German chancellor’s record is mixed, but her exit brings home how adrift Europhiles in the UK now are
Angela Merkel is used to being unimpressed by British prime ministers. She was appalled by David Cameron’s casual surrender of influence in Europe, all to placate fringe elements in his party. She was stunned, on first sitting down with Theresa May, to discover that there was no plan and no substance behind the “Brexit means Brexit” platitudes.
With Boris Johnson there was no danger of disappointment. His style and methods were known in advance to be everything Merkel is not. He is a bumptious improviser; she is a systematic problem-solver. She sifts evidence and builds consensus. He tells lies and divides to rule.
Continue reading...Journalist who tracked Viktor Orban’s childhood friend infected with spyware
Dániel Németh’s phones infected with Pegasus software while reporting on one of Hungary’s richest men
Dániel Németh, a Budapest-based photojournalist, has tried to keep a low profile in his groundbreaking work investigating and documenting the luxury lifestyle of Hungary’s ruling elite.
While his name is not well known, the 46-year-old has managed to use his drone, and public flight and ship tracking data, to find and photograph politicians and pro-government business figures, exposing their hidden luxuries such as yachts in exotic locations.
Continue reading...Lava fills swimming pool as La Palma eruption continues – video
Drone footage captures the moment boiling lava seeps into a swimming pool on the Canary island of La Palma, as volcanic eruptions continue on the Spanish island forcing thousands to be evacuated.
The island had been on high alert after more than 22,000 tremors were reported within a week in Cumbre Vieja, one of the most active volcanic regions in the archipelago
Continue reading...How the refugee crisis created two myths of Angela Merkel | Daniel Trilling
The right says the German chancellor undermined EU security; Liberals say it was a triumph. But her legacy is far more mixed
When Angela Merkel steps down as chancellor after Germany’s elections later this month, the tributes will centre on her role as the figurehead of western liberalism; an island of stability, caution and openness in an era marked by turbulence and far-right reaction. She will be remembered “for serious work, stable leadership and having a gift for political compromise”, wrote Ishaan Tharoor in the Washington Post last week. When she faced off against Donald Trump after his inauguration in 2017, some newspapers dubbed her the new “leader of the free world”.
Fundamental to this image is the intervention she made in late summer 2015, at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis. “Wir schaffen das” – we’ll manage this – was Merkel’s public statement as thousands of people, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, were making their way through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans to western Europe. By declaring Germany – and, by extension, Europe – open to refugees, she was making a bold, pragmatic statement of intent.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson welcomes decision to open UK-US travel ‘in time for Thanksgiving’ – video
Boris Johnson has welcomed the US decision to lift Covid-19 travel restrictions to allow fully vaccinated passengers from the UK and most EU countries to travel into the country from early November. The move signals the end of a travel ban imposed by Donald Trump more than 18 months ago in the early stages of the pandemic, and comes after intense lobbying from Brussels and London
Continue reading...France tries to delay EU-Australia trade deal amid Aukus fallout
France seeks EU support to delay deal as punishment after Australia cancelled £48bn submarine contract
France is seeking to enlist European Union support to delay a planned EU-Australia trade deal, as part of a plan to punish Australia for what it regards as serial deceit and subterfuge by Canberra before it cancelled the contract for 12 attack-class French submarines.
The A$90bn (£48bn) submarine contract was the centrepiece of French-Australian cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, but the Australians have instead opted to form a US-UK-Australia pact dubbed Aukus, and build eight nuclear-powered submarines likely to be delivered between 2030 and 2040.
Continue reading...US to lift Covid travel ban for vaccinated passengers from UK and most of EU
US will lift Covid-19 travel restrictions starting in November, which will also affect travellers from China, Brazil, South Africa and India
The US will lift Covid-19 travel restrictions to allow fully vaccinated passengers from the UK and most European Union (EU) countries to travel into the country from early November, the White House has announced.
Related: Airline shares soar on US plans to relax Covid travel rules
Continue reading...Poland vows to keep coalmine open despite €500,000-a-day ECJ fine
Warsaw argues suspension of operations at Turów on Czech border would put its energy security at risk
Poland’s rightwing government has said it will continue to mine coal on its border with the Czech Republic despite being ordered to pay €500,000 for every day that it defies a European court of justice order to stop.
The fine was issued by the EU’s highest court on Monday after four months of Warsaw ignoring an earlier order to suspend extraction of lignite, a low-quality brown coal, at the Turów opencast mine in south-west Poland.
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