All posts tagged: proEU

Pro-EU Ruling Party Wins Armenia Election In Landslide, Kremlin Blasts Western Interference

Pro-EU Ruling Party Wins Armenia Election In Landslide, Kremlin Blasts Western Interference

Published by Jenni Sidey

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party has won parliamentary elections, according to Monday’s result, after a vote which has signified the small Caucasus nation’s major pro-Western shift. His Civil Contract party secured 49.81 percent of the vote, while the main opposition party Strong Armenia – seen as pro-Moscow, finished a distant second with 23.29 percent. National turnout in the country of three million people was close to 60%. Pashinyan claimed a “historic victory that will ensure Armenia’s eternity and development” while also vowing to “continue the course of rapprochement with the West” – but while balancing the pursuit of positive relations with Russia. Anadolu/Getty Images: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared victory in the parliamentary elections early Monday morning. Prime Minister Pashinyan has made known his intentions for his country to eventually join the EU. However, Strong Armenia party is claiming that the winning side in reality mounted a campaign of interference and intimidation:  The second-placed Strong Armenia bloc is led by Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is under …

Norway’s pro-EU voices sense their moment – POLITICO

Norway’s pro-EU voices sense their moment – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“We have this summer to reach a critical mass regarding the EU question,” said Trine Lise Sundnes, a Labor lawmaker and chair of the pro-EU European Movement — an association campaigning for Norway to join the bloc for 80 years now. Letting her gaze sweep across the restaurant, she added: “If we want to achieve that, we need every single one of you.” Norway and Iceland enjoy a similar relationship with the bloc: Deeply integrated into the single market but without full membership — a position many of its citizens are happy with. But if Reykjavik were to pivot toward Brussels, it would not only affect established institutions and trade frameworks, it would leave Oslo much more isolated in its position than before. Norway’s pro-EU camp thinks this will provide a rare window of opportunity. “If Iceland votes yes, it will also trigger a discussion in Norway about whether we should join,” said Sundnes in an interview with WELT — which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network. “We must be …

Romania’s pro-EU coalition government collapses after prime minister loses no-confidence vote

Romania’s pro-EU coalition government collapses after prime minister loses no-confidence vote

Published by Sam Flores

Romania’s parliament on Tuesday voted to oust liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan in a motion of no confidence initiated by the Social Democrats and the far right, deepening political turmoil in the EU and NATO country bordering Ukraine. The move by the left wing Social Democrats (PSD), Romania’s biggest party, to join with the far right to file the motion drew criticism that they were legitimising a surging far right. The motion received 281 votes in the 464-seat parliament. Bolojan’s liberals (PNL) and his USR allies were present, but did not vote. The PSD quit the government last month and teamed up with the AUR, Romania’s main far-right party, for the motion. The AUR has passed the PSD in surveys since the last parliamentary elections, sitting at around 37 percent. Read moreViktor Orban’s vampiric presence in Transylvania By joining with the AUR, the PSD has turned it “into a significant political player, from a party that was isolated, ostracised and kept on the margins of the political system”, political scientist Costin Ciobanu told AFP. AUR …

Pro-EU Hungarian PM-elect Magyar vows to bring in ‘new era’

Pro-EU Hungarian PM-elect Magyar vows to bring in ‘new era’

Published by Sam Flores

From Madrid to Helsinki, many hope that Hungary’s premier-elect Peter Magyar’s win will help unshackle the 27-nation European Union as it faces hybrid warfare attacks from Moscow, an antagonistic Washington and Beijing’s economic pressure. EU leaders had been increasingly frustrated with Orbán over his takeover of democratic institutions and vetoing of strategic action like a 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine. It remains to be seen whether those hopes will be fulfilled, as FRANCE 24’s Europe Editor Armen Georgian reports. Source link

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, …