In the coming weeks, the citizens of Turkey, both in Turkey itself and those abroad, will vote in the constitutional referendum that will determine the future of the country. While referendums in most countries are on fairly mundane subjects, the upcoming one in Turkey has the potential to change the country from a modern democracy into a backwards dictatorship, say… Read more »
(Reuters) German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States “vast sums” of money for defense. “There is no debt account at NATO,” von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that it was wrong to link the alliance’s target for members to spend 2 percent… Read more »
(France24) Investigators are probing whether Fillon and his wife Penelope forged documents to try to justify around 700,000 euros ($757,000) she earned for a suspected fake job as a parliamentary assistant, according to the source. The news came as Socialist Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux resigned after revelations that he had hired his two teenage daughters as parliamentary aides, prompting… Read more »
(Reuters) President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Europeans would not be able to walk safely on the streets if they kept up their current attitude toward Turkey, his latest salvo in a row over campaigning by Turkish politicians in Europe. Turkey has been embroiled in a dispute with Germany and the Netherlands over campaign appearances by Turkish officials seeking… Read more »
(The Independent)Terror returned to the streets of London on Wednesday when a black-clad assailant, armed with two long knives, drove his car through a crowd of people on Westminster Bridge before stabbing a police officer to death on the grounds of Parliament. Five people died in all, including the attacker himself, in the worst terrorist incident to hit the UK… Read more »
Donald Tusk, the council president of the European Union, was recently elected to a second term. Though he is widely popular in most European countries, his own country of origin, Poland, are much more critical of him. Poland is currently ruled by the Law and Justice party, a further-right group that is considered to be Eurosceptic. Despite Tusk’s popularity, the… Read more »
(Al Jazeera) In less than two months, French people will elect their new president. This vote will be one of three elections scheduled for this year in Western Europe – after the Dutch and before the German ballot – which will shape the future of the European Union. All three countries were among the six nations that founded the European… Read more »
(BBC) The legislation was approved by a large majority of lawmakers. Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it was a response to recent terror attacks in Europe carried out by migrants. Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for 450 new border police, he said Hungary was “under siege”. “The migration flow has only slowed, but it is not over,” Mr Orban said…. Read more »
(BBC News) French presidential candidate Francois Fillon is facing a fresh allegation that he failed to declare a €50,000 (£43,340; $52,900) interest-free loan. Le Canard Enchaine newspaper said he was given the loan by businessman Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere in 2013. Mr Fillon’s lawyer told the weekly the loan did not need to be declared and had been repaid in… Read more »
(Politico) Members of the House of Lords on Tuesday voted in favor of giving parliament a “meaningful vote” on the outcome of divorce talks with the European Union. In a blow for U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, peers voted 366 to 268 in support of an amendment giving parliament the option to send the government back to the negotiating table if it does not support any… Read more »