Tag Archives: Europe

TODAY: Sweden Formally Joins NATO In DC Ceremony

Reuters reports: Sweden is expected to formally join NATO in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced a complete rethink of its national security policy and the realisation the alliance offered the best guarantee of safety. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington to hand over the final documentation, with the White House saying in …

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France Enshrines Abortion Rights In Its Constitution

Reuters reports: France on Monday enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups as historic and harshly criticised by anti-abortion groups. MPs and senators overwhelmingly backed the move, by 780 votes against 72, in a special joint vote of the two houses of parliament, under the gilded ceilings of Versailles Palace, just …

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German Lawmakers Vote To Legalize Recreational Weed

Courthouse News reports: A divided Bundestag on Friday voted to make Germany the first major European Union country to legalize the possession and purchase of small amounts of cannabis for recreational purposes. Starting April 1, people 18 and older will be able to grow up to three marijuana plants and possess up to 25 grams (about 1 ounce) of cannabis …

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Tens Of Thousands Protest Hungary’s Viktor Orban

Reuters reports: Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Friday at the biggest rally against Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government for years, after a sex-abuse case pardon by President Katalin Novak caused public uproar and led to her resignation. Conservative Orban, who has been in power since 2010, has sought to defuse the week-old scandal that brought down …

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Greek Parliament Votes To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Reuters reports: Greece’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children and comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBT community …

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Polish State TV Apologizes For Anti-LGBTQ Propaganda

The Associated Press reports: An LGBTQ rights activist in Poland said Tuesday that he believes it’s a “new beginning” in Poland after a host on state television apologized on air for the homophobic propaganda aired by state media in recent years. “It took me by surprise,” said Bart Staszewski, one of two activists invited on air Sunday evening when the …

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NATO Chief: Members’ Defense Budgets Are Rising

Bloomberg News reports: A record 18 out of NATO’s 31 countries are expected to meet the alliance’s defense spending goal this year, a commitment Donald Trump has been pushing for in his White House reelection campaign. “European allies are spending more” toward the bloc’s target to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told …

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EU Warns Hungary: New “Sovereignty” Law Is Illegal

Reuters reports: Hungary’s new law on “protecting national sovereignty”, which the ruling Fidesz party said was necessary to protect against foreign political interference, violates European Union law, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The Commission said it had sent Hungary a formal notice that it would open an infringement procedure over the law, passed in December, which it said violated …

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Gay Candidate Makes Runoff For Finnish President

ABC News reports: Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round of Finland’s presidential election Sunday and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto [photo] in a runoff next month. The vote largely centered on the Nordic nation’s new role as a NATO front-line country with Russia, and the security situation in Europe, particularly Russia’s assault on Ukraine. With …

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Hungarian Far-Right Lays Claim To Section Of Ukraine

Reuters reports: Hungary’s far-right Our Homeland party would lay claim to a western region of Ukraine that is home to about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians if Ukraine loses its statehood due to Russia’s invasion, the party’s leader said late on Saturday. Our Homeland leader Laszlo Toroczkai made the remarks at a conference where the party, which has six lawmakers in the …

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Turkish Parliament Approves Sweden Joining NATO

The Washington Post reports: After 20 months of demands, obstruction and delay, the Turkish parliament on Tuesday night voted in favor of Sweden joining NATO, clearing one of the final hurdles for a major expansion of the military alliance set in motion by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still needs to sign the ratification document. Assuming …

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Greek Govt Vows To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

The Associated Press reports: Greece’s center-right government said Thursday it would fulfill a commitment to legalize same-sex marriage, sidestepping staunch opposition from the country’s influential Orthodox Church. The legislation would be brought to parliament during the house’s current term, which ends in 2027. The statement comes after the Church’s governing Holy Synod issued a 1,500-word opinion late Wednesday, expressing strong …

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LIVE VIDEO: Volcano Erupts On Iceland’s Coast

The BBC reports: A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity. About 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed. The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October. Images and …

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New Polish PM Declares End To Right Wing Nationalism

The Washington Post reports: In a cathartic moment for many in Poland, centrist political veteran Donald Tusk got the nod on Monday to be the country’s next prime minister, marking the end of eight years of right-wing nationalist rule and a dramatic shift in the European political landscape. Tusk’s alliance secured a majority in October elections with a promise to …

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Far-Right Geert Wilders Possibly Elected Dutch Leader

The New York Times reports: The Netherlands on Wednesday took a startling turn in national elections with the potential to ripple through Europe, as Dutch voters threw most support behind the party of a far-right icon with an incendiary reputation who had campaigned on an anti-immigrant platform. Geert Wilders, a political provocateur long known for his anti-Islam and anti-Europe stances, …

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Portuguese PM’s Home Raided In Corruption Probe

Politico Europe reports: Portuguese police raided Prime Minister António Costa’s official residence and detained his chief of staff, Vítor Escária, as part of a corruption investigation, Portugal’s attorney general said Tuesday. The probe is linked to lithium exploration schemes in the north of the country and a green hydrogen mega-project in Sines. Police searches of the prime minister’s residence and …

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Family Values Italian PM Ditches Partner Over Remarks

Reuters reports: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday she had separated from her television journalist partner Andrea Giambruno, who has drawn criticism in recent weeks for sexist comments. The split comes as the 46-year-old prime minister celebrates her first year in office at the head of a right-wing coalition government that has defended the traditional family as one …

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Opposition Leader Declares Victory In Polish Election

The Associated Press reports: Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country after opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s parliamentary election to oust the governing nationalist conservative party. That party, Law and Justice, has bickered with allies and faced accusations of eroding rule of law at home in its …

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Gay Man Elected To Lead Greek Opposition Party

Bloomberg News reports: Members of Greece’s leftist Syriza party elected Stefanos Kasselakis to head the country’s second-largest political party after the resignation of former leader Alexis Tsipras in June following a free fall in support for his party in two general elections earlier this year. Syriza’s new president also becomes the first openly-gay person to lead a Greek political party …

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Prime Minister Of Andorra Comes Out As Gay

The Objective reports: The head of the Government of Andorra, Xavier Espot, has made his homosexuality public: “I am gay and I have never hidden myself.” The statements took place during an interview on the country’s public radio, in which the Andorran leader assured that he had never spoken about his sexual orientation because he had not been asked, but …

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