All posts tagged: MEPs

Sánchez seeks to rally global left against rise of far right – POLITICO

Sánchez seeks to rally global left against rise of far right – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The two-day event aims to build a counter to advancing authoritarian and far-right forces, from the nationalist right in Europe — including parties aligned with the Patriots for Europe bloc — to global politics in the age of U.S. President Donald Trump. “This is not an isolated trend,” Löfven said. “It’s a shared challenge that requires a coordinated global response.” The Barcelona program includes a leaders’ dinner on Friday followed by a day of events featuring Socialist group chief Iratxe García and European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera as well as Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum. The gathering also gives Sánchez — the event’s host — a platform to elevate his international profile as a central figure of a renewed global socialist movement. “He’s not just acting as a Spanish leader,” said a senior European Parliament official, granted anonymity to speak freely. “He’s trying to exercise European leadership.” Sánchez could be eyeing a future role in Brussels, potentially challenging European Council President António Costa when the post …

Fraud accusations fly as Hungarians vote in contentious election – POLITICO

Fraud accusations fly as Hungarians vote in contentious election – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Magyar’s Tisza party has made available its own system for voters to report fraud. Fidesz has followed suit by enabling a hotline and a dedicated email address. “The overwhelming majority of these violations are tied to Tisza. They cry fraud — but they are the ones committing it,” Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör said Sunday morning. “Based on Fidesz submissions, 639 cases of electoral violations have been established, with 74 police reports currently underway,” Dömötör said. Opposition leader Magyar said early Sunday that he would accept the results as long as there is no serious electoral fraud, urging voters to report any irregularities they see, HVG reported. Magyar said that if the election is fair and free then Tisza will win; and he accused Orbán’s government of preparing false flag actions to invalidate results in Tisza-led districts. Orbán’s international spokesman Zoltán Kovács, meanwhile, posted a message on X Sunday morning accusing Tisza of preparing the ground to storm government buildings if they lose.   “Location matters — and this one speaks volumes,” Kovács said about the …

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“There was little concern from the European Commission or affiliated organizations and think tanks when progressive NGOs in Europe received substantial support from the United States (including via USAID and other programs),” he said. “Only now, when funding may reach their political opponents, is it being framed as ‘foreign interference.’” Broader cuts Zuleeg, the EPC chief, said the non-renewal of the CERV money, which amounts to around €250,000 per year, would mean the organization cuts back on work related to topics such as democracy and citizens’ participation. And while he made a distinction between think tanks, which organize events or commission research, and NGOs, which do the same but tend to advocate for a specific cause, Zuleeg said that the CERV grant cut “does also reflect in part, the controversy around funding going to advocacy organizations.” Flags from the 27 countries of the EU in front of the European Parliament in Brussels in April 2025. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images That’s a reference to increased scrutiny from the same right-wing groups, as well as conservative politicians, …

French MEP Rima Hassan files lawsuit over leaks following arrest – POLITICO

French MEP Rima Hassan files lawsuit over leaks following arrest – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The French daily Le Parisien reported — as Hassan was questioned by police — that “a few grams of synthetic drugs” had been found in her handbag. On Wednesday, French outlet Le Canard Enchaîné reported that a justice ministry spokesperson, Sacha Straub-Kahn, had been in contact with members of the press during Hassan’s questioning, “discussing with them the details of her detention.” Straub-Kahn and his office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment about the allegations contained in the report. He told Le Canard Enchaîné that he had only discussed journalists’ questions about Hassan’s parliamentary immunity. During questions in parliament Wednesday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin announced that Straub-Kahn had filed a complaint for defamation following the publication of the report. Darmanin also said he had requested an internal audit at the justice ministry to verify if any leaks had occurred. Hassan’s lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, wrote in a statement Wednesday: “In light of the very serious revelations … regarding the massive, real-time disclosure in the press of information covered by the confidentiality of legal …

MEP Rima Hassan hits back after police detention – POLITICO

MEP Rima Hassan hits back after police detention – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

She was again questioned by the police on Friday morning as part of an investigation into a social media post she wrote last week expressing solidarity with Japanese terrorist Kōzō Okamoto. Okamoto was convicted of a terrorist attack that killed 26 people at Ben Gurion International Airport in 1972. In her post on Friday, Hassan, who is an MEP with the hard-left France Unbowed party, said she had two types of CBD, a chemical that is found in the cannabis plant but does not have the same intoxicating effects as THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The first type complied with legal norms, but the second, she wrote, contained “traces of synthetic drugs,” according to investigators. “I told them where I had legally bought this CBD. Simple checks are ongoing into the origin of the CBD,” Hassan added. Hassan also criticized the probe into her now-deleted post on X, accusing the “pro-Israeli lobby in France” of targeting her “political opinions on the genocide in Gaza and Palestine.” She said that 13 out of 16 …

How Viktor Orbán laid traps to stop his successor from running Hungary – POLITICO

How Viktor Orbán laid traps to stop his successor from running Hungary – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The constitutional court is a prime example of how Orbán can make life difficult for Magyar, as Fidesz has appointed all of its 15 justices, including a former Fidesz defense minister. The Curia, Hungary’s supreme court, is headed by András Varga, who was appointed by the Fidesz-controlled parliament. Any laws a Magyar government attempts to pass could fall foul of the top courts. “Because of the partiality of the Supreme Court or at least its president, and the constitutional court, this will be a very difficult battle for Tisza,” said Adrienn Laczó, a former judge who resigned in November 2024 in protest over the lack of judicial independence. Additionally, Orbán’s lawmakers in December strengthened the veto power of President Sulyok, who was appointed in 2024 for a five-year term. Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok (center) inspects a military honour guard during a flag-hoisting ceremony in front of the parliament in Budapest, on March 15, 2026. | Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images “Orbán has been worst-scenario planning in case he’s defeated,” said Kim Lane Scheppele, a constitutional …

The inside story of how France clinched the EU’s new customs authority – POLITICO

The inside story of how France clinched the EU’s new customs authority – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The delegation toured the white tower that was to host the authority, visited the Flemish old town, and interrupted lessons at the European school, named after late Commission President Jacques Delors. At the end of the day, several guests acknowledged that being the first to declare was an advantage in itself. In reality, the behind-the-scenes lobbying had started far earlier, with France assuming the role of thought leader on how to cope with the exponential growth in e-commerce packages flooding into the EU from online retailers like China’s Shein and Temu. Paris sounded the alarm on unsafe products months before making waves with a unilateral move to impose its own handling fee on inbound parcels. An official in the European Parliament with direct knowledge of the vote said French officials had tested the waters on Lille’s chances during a visit to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport last May. “Most other candidates only really started in January, which was simply too late,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely on the day of …

Preparing for a Covid-style crisis  

Preparing for a Covid-style crisis  

Published by Sam Flores

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Amazon Music An energy shock that once felt distant is starting to look very real as the war in Iran spirals … and the EU is considering a Covid-style crisis response. From emergency meetings to talk of jointly purchasing energy — host Zoya Sheftalovich and Senior EU Politics Editor Ian Wishart explain how some of the strategies being floated are straight out of the pandemic-era playbook. Also on the pod, Péter Magyar is ahead in the polls in the lead-up to the Hungarian general election, but it’s by no means a slam dunk. According to some experts, years of  gerrymandering and media capture by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party mean the opposition leader still faces an uphill challenge. Finally, if you’re looking to buy a ticket to the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you might be disappointed: Prices are soaring. In fact, MEPs have asked the Commission to look into FIFA’s opaque ticket-sale tactics. If you have questions or comments, you can reach us on our WhatsApp by clicking here or dialing +32 491 05 06 29. Source …

Former French PM best placed to beat far right in 2027 presidential race, poll shows – POLITICO

Former French PM best placed to beat far right in 2027 presidential race, poll shows – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The various scenarios polled by Elabe showed Philippe netting as much as 25.5 percent of the vote depending on which other candidates feature in the race, far better than any leftist candidate or Philippe’s centrist and center-right rivals. The survey shows the National Rally retaining its place as France’s most popular political party and its candidate on track to comfortably qualify for the runoff in the country’s two-round voting system. Both Bardella and Le Pen come in ahead of the second-place finisher in all scenarios tested, often by double digits. The poll also tested voter intentions for the second round of the vote, which showed a potential tight race. Philippe defeats Le Pen in a head-to-head matchup 53 percent to 47 percent. If he were to face Bardella, that shrinks to 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent — within the margin of error. In the last survey taken of second-round scenarios in November, Bardella was seen beating all his challengers from the center-right to the hard left. Far-right figures have publicly dismissed the poll, and with …

Why Europe’s social democrats can’t stop losing – POLITICO

Why Europe’s social democrats can’t stop losing – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Tobias Cremer, a German social democratic lawmaker in the European Parliament, said the announcement was spurred by the poor results in the regional elections, and showed the party was serious about delivering “on the bread and butter issues.” “It’s about economic growth, it is social justice, but it’s also [about] reforming our economy in a way that it’s for us to determine how we work, not for the White House, not for the Kremlin, not for China,” he added.  The Trump bump One unlikely boost for Europe’s center left has come from U.S. President Donald Trump, whose provocations have helped mobilize some voters. One unlikely boost for Europe’s center left has come from U.S. President Donald Trump. | Alex Wong/Getty Images MEP Cremer said Denmark’s Social Democrats, who have been in power since 2019, would likely have suffered an even worse defeat in the election had it not been for the voter sympathy generated by Frederiksen’s refusal to give in to Trump’s threats to annex Greenland. “Our comrades in Denmark did an outstanding job, they …