The EU's outright ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 is poised to be watered down, a senior European parliament politician has said. The decision, expected to be unveiled by the European Commission on Tuesday in Strasbourg, would be a divisive move, angering environmental campaigners who argue it would amount to the gutting of the EU's flagship green deal.
Lawmakers in Austria have voted overwhelmingly to ban headscarves in schools for girls under the age of 14, despite concerns the legislation will deepen societal divisions and marginalise Muslims. The law could also be struck down by the country's constitutional court. The ban was proposed earlier this year by Austria's conservative-led government, which took office in March after a far-right party came first in the elections but failed to form a government.
The European Commission president was in Serbia as part of her tour of the Western Balkans to discuss EU enlargement with candidate countries in the region. That day, she invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to come to Brussels a month later so that the two could "take stock together." That was October; this is December. According to multiple sources who spoke to DW, the meeting was postponed because Serbia had no progress to report.
A new bill aims to make it significantly harder to obtain - or keep - Italian citizenship, with proposals ranging from testing knowledge of Italian culture to making it possible to leave people stateless. The hard-right, anti-immigration party presented the bill to the Chamber of Deputies on Monday, saying it believed Italians wanted tighter limits after a failed referendum in June on easing citizenship requirements. "Citizenship is a serious matter and must be treated as such," said Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the League's leader.
Germany's chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will meet the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, and Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, for emergency talks on Friday as the EU races to save its sorely needed financing plan for Ukraine. The three leaders will dine in private in Brussels, a German government spokesperson said on Thursday, as Belgian officials continued to express strong opposition to the scheme, which involves the unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets.
The ReSourceEU programme will seek to de-risk and diversify the bloc's supply chains for key commodities with a funding initiative to support 25-30 strategic projects in the sector. These projects cover rare earths a group of 17 heavy metals that are actually abundant but difficult and costly to extract as well as the elements gallium, germanium and lithium, used in batteries for electric vehicles.
Belgian police have arrested three people including the EU's former top diplomat Federica Mogherini and raided the headquarters of the EU foreign service and the elite College of Europe as part of an investigation into suspected fraud. The three were detained as part of a probe into suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats, the European public prosecutor's office said in a statement, without naming individuals.
When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and their two cabinets meet in Berlin for intergovernmental consultations on Monday, the intention is that talks will focus above all on present-day problems and future solutions, especially in relation to Russia's war in Ukraine, NATO's eastern flank, migration, security and infrastructure. But the heavy burden of the past will be the ever-present elephant in the room.
Verona Murphy says she was misled about intentions of photo, but MEP says impartiality was compromised and excuse is 'inadequate' Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty has said it is "hard to accept" the explanation from Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy about her decision to pose for a photograph with Sinn Féin TDs and senators. Dublin MEP Ms Doherty, who is a former government chief whip, ­added that
Ryanair is shutting its frequent flyers members' club after only eight months because customers exploited its benefits too much. The budget airline said on Friday it was closing the scheme, which offered benefits including flight discounts, free reserved seating on up to 12 flights a year and travel insurance. It said 55,000 passengers had signed up to Prime, generating 4.4m (3.5m) in subscription fees but customers had received more than 6m in benefits, making it a lossmaker for the company.
Simon Harris has accused Sinn Féin's finance spokesperson of being "a hypocrite" for saying the party is on "the side of the working people" after a group which raises money to aid Sinn Féin accepted donations from US construction firms.
Lagarde argued that Europe was vulnerable because of a dependency on third countries for our security and the supply of critical raw materials. She cited China's control of the supply of rare earth metals that are crucial in electric motors and wind turbines, as well as the choke point of power chips made by Nexperia in China that threatened to shut down production across the global car industry.
I am often left scratching my head in confusion over some of the opinions held by people in this fine country of ours, most frequently when in relation to the Irish language. There are so many contradictions, such rampant self-shaming, and a severe under-appreciation of the beauty of it. This was made particularly evident during President Catherine Connolly's campaign and inauguration.
Slovenia's government has been accused of turning Roma neighbourhoods into security zones after the passing of a law giving police powers to raid and surveil homes in so-called high-risk areas. At midnight on Monday, the country's parliament backed the Sutar law, named after Ales Sutar, who was killed in an altercation with a 21-year-old Romany man after rushing to a nightclub following a distress call from his son. The incident outside the LokalPatriot club in Novo Mesto, in south Slovenia, last month led to a huge street protests, police being stationed in Roma neighbourhoods and the resignation of two ministers.
Before 2015, refugees in Denmark were initially allowed to stay for between five and seven years, after which their residence permits would automatically become permanent. But 10 years ago, when more than a million people arrived in Europe fleeing conflict and repression, largely from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea, the Danish government dramatically changed the rules.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Bloomberg, published this morning ($), that the country's survival relied on getting more funds from allies. I hope, God bless, we will get this decision, he told Bloomberg Television. If not, We will have to find an alternative, it's a question of our surviving. That's why we need it very much. And I count on partners.
