All posts tagged: Ursula von der Leyen

Hungary’s Tisza party widens parliamentary majority as final votes are counted – POLITICO

Hungary’s Tisza party widens parliamentary majority as final votes are counted – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Orbán’s Fidesz party came in a distant second with only 52 seats in the parliament. “Here are the results of the 2026 parliamentary election: an unprecedented majority, an unprecedented mandate — and, at the same time, an unprecedented responsibility,” Magyar wrote in an X post on Saturday. He added that he could be officially sworn in as prime minister in mid-May. Magyar’s supermajority could facilitate the swift approval of democratic reforms necessary to unlock €17 billion of EU funds that were frozen over rule-of-law shortcomings under Orbán’s tenure. Under the current rules, the Hungarian government has to fulfill 27 EU-mandated conditions — officially known as “super milestones” — that will reform the country’s procurement rules, and increase judicial independence and academic freedom as a precondition to claim any funding. Over the weekend, Magyar and his future ministers held talks in Budapest with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Bjoern Seibert, and several director-generals. The goal was to outline a roadmap to release the money and discuss a €90 billion loan to Ukraine that was …

New merger rules are no free ride for European champions, says Teresa Ribera – POLITICO

New merger rules are no free ride for European champions, says Teresa Ribera – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Ribera, who as executive vice president ranks second to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, enforces antitrust policy across the 27-nation bloc. Her comments contrast with her boss’ calls to nurture European business “champions” that can hold their own against China’s world-beating exporters and U.S. tech titans. The Spanish commissioner said that the industrial restructuring of sectors like telecoms was impeded by the fragmentation of national markets, and not the bloc’s merger rules. “It needs to be proven that there are benefits we will be enjoying in the time to come. And not just: I want to be big,” she said. Ribera also issued a pointed warning to member countries tempted to use the guidelines’ new resilience and security exceptions to pick domestic winners. “We also invite national competition authorities and national governments to make a very self-restrained understanding of what this could mean,” she said. Her remarks follow Italy’s intervention in Milan-based UniCredit’s bid for local rival Banco BPM, and the conditions set by the Spanish government on BBVA’s attempts to acquire Sabadell. Both …

EU to ‘play its part’ to restore energy and trade flows from Middle East – POLITICO

EU to ‘play its part’ to restore energy and trade flows from Middle East – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called fully reopening the strait “an urgent, shared priority,” adding the EU could contribute by “reinforcing Operation Aspides,” the EU’s naval mission in the Middle East. The mission’s mandate covers the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman but stops short of the Strait of Hormuz. EU leaders rejected expanding it at a summit in March and Kallas and von der Leyen did not say Friday whether doing so now was in the cards. Tehran said Friday it was “completely” opening the strait in response to a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, allowing gas and oil tankers to transit through it once again. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the news on his social media platform Truth Social, adding a full ceasefire was close to being agreed. “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!” the American leader wrote. Markets reacted euphorically, with the price of oil falling sharply amid hopes …

EU eyes tougher penalties for single market rule-breakers – POLITICO

EU eyes tougher penalties for single market rule-breakers – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Eliminating the ‘Terrible Ten’ The EU’s goal is to eliminate by March 2027 the main barriers to the EU single market — the so-called “Terrible Ten.” These include complex EU rules, overlapping national legislation and complicated business establishment laws. Brussels already launches legal proceedings against countries that obstruct trade across the single market. But these cases often drag on for years before fines are imposed. Commission officials have long encouraged quicker and more biting sanctions. In a further attempt at increasing delivery by EU countries, the EU executive plans to link payouts under its next €1.8 trillion long-term budget to executing reforms to strengthen the single market.  The document also opens the door to smaller groups of countries joining forces to push forward reforms if there is no unanimous agreement among the bloc’s 27 states.  The plan highlights simplification as the first of five pillars that member countries should work on together with the EU institutions. These will include favoring agile legislative instruments and keeping tabs on rules that are making slow progress or not …

Online age checks are coming in Europe – POLITICO

Online age checks are coming in Europe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Gaining momentum Von der Leyen’s announcement — although technical — is indicative of the huge momentum behind social media bans to keep kids and teenagers away from platforms and their addictive algorithms. Seven countries that had already been working on their own apps in coordination with the EU will deploy their versions by the end of the year, the senior Commission official said: Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Ireland and Spain. The app gives people three ways to prove their age: passports, national IDs and a third way dubbed a “QR code” under which a trusted provider such as a school or a bank can attest to a user’s age. The application will then store the information as to whether the user is over 13, 15 or 18 years of age without retaining other data, the Commission official said. Online services, like adult content sites or social media, can then call on the app to check if a user is over a certain age. Von der Leyen will present the solution to EU leaders on …

En Europe, les fonctionnaires contraints de quitter WhatsApp – POLITICO

En Europe, les fonctionnaires contraints de quitter WhatsApp – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Rien n’indique que des applications comme Signal et WhatsApp, qui utilisent le chiffrement de bout en bout, l’étalon-or de la sécurité des messageries, soient moins sûres que leurs alternatives. Cette évolution s’explique en grande partie par le besoin de fonctionnalités, telles que les contrôles d’accès, la possibilité de n’autoriser les discussions qu’entre des personnes spécifiques et le contrôle des métadonnées, qui indiquent où et quand les appels et les messages sont passés et envoyés. L’utilisation d’applications grand public pour les grandes organisations est “vraiment une démarche risquée”, a alerté Benjamin Schilz, directeur général de Wire, une application de communication sécurisée utilisée par le gouvernement allemand. Elles ne sont “tout simplement pas faites pour”. Certaines de ces fonctionnalités auraient permis de se défendre contre une récente opération d’espionnage russe menée via WhatsApp et Signal, a souligné Brandon De Waele. “Chez nous, comme il s’agit d’environnement fermé avec seulement des employés du gouvernement, on peut aussi éviter cela.” Pour les défenseurs de la transparence, le passage à des applications contrôlées par l’Etat aurait dû être fait il …

Commission delegation heads to Budapest to negotiate release of EU funds – POLITICO

Commission delegation heads to Budapest to negotiate release of EU funds – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Magyar’s landslide victory has given Tisza a supermajority in parliament, with which it can pass sweeping reforms aimed at restoring judicial independence, academic freedom and media pluralism, reversing years of democratic backsliding. The prime minister-elect’s ultimate goal is to unlock more than €30 billion in EU funds that Brussels froze due to rule-of-law concerns. He is under particular pressure to release around €10 billion in Covid-19 recovery funds that expire at the end of August this year. The Budapest meeting follows a phone call between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Magyar on Tuesday, where the two discussed “immediate priorities,” the commission chief said on X. “There is swift work to be done to restore, realign and reform,” she wrote. “Restore the rule of law. Realign with our shared European values. And reform, to unlock the opportunities offered by European investments.” After the call, Magyar said both had “agreed that unlocking the EU funds earmarked for the Hungarian people” and that “the Commission will work closely with us to meet the extremely tight deadline …

Former von der Leyen aide’s new role reflects EU competition policy shift – POLITICO

Former von der Leyen aide’s new role reflects EU competition policy shift – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Speaking with POLITICO, Whelan denied that his role was to build a bridge between von der Leyen and the competition department. “I don’t think the president and the EVP are in need of bridges,” he said. Ribera — who as the top socialist in the Commission is a foil to Christian Democrat von der Leyen — also framed the department’s future mandate through a philosophical lens, calling for enforcement grounded in fairness and protecting the vulnerable.  “In these uncertain times, our responsibility is more important than ever: to enforce rules firmly, to remain free from any distorting pressures, to act with integrity,” Ribera wrote. European Commission Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera arriving at the European Pulse Forum in Barcelona on April 10. | David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images Bridge builder or not, competition bubble insiders say Whelan has the bureaucratic and political chops to both manage that relationship and execute on the new competition agenda. “Highly intelligent, politically savvy, pragmatic, open-minded, and a strong believer in vigorous enforcement,” is …

Fear of populists is pushing governments to oppose expanding the EU – POLITICO

Fear of populists is pushing governments to oppose expanding the EU – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Enlargement must remain demanding and merit-based to ensure its success and credibility,” France’s minister delegate for European affairs, Benjamin Haddad, told POLITICO. The biggest concern among governments is fear of political blowback against any leader who brings new EU members into a national debate, three of the diplomats and one senior EU official involved with the enlargement process said. Like others in this article, they were granted anonymity to discuss talks that are largely confidential. A repeat of the “Polish plumber” debate that gripped many EU countries before Warsaw’s admission in 2004, when some politicians argued that cheap Polish labor would replace highly paid jobs in Western Europe, is among the worries in capitals. “The same semi-populist, semi-xenophobic arguments we heard about the Poles, we are likely to hear with the Ukrainians and any other candidate,” said a diplomat from a mid-size EU country. “Who are these people? What are they going to be doing in our club? Will they be coming to take our jobs? No appetite This concern is particularly strong in France, …

Europe cheers Orbán defeat – but Hungary’s future remains contested

Europe cheers Orbán defeat – but Hungary’s future remains contested

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images The ousting of Hungary’s conservative nationalist leader Viktor Orbán is being hailed as a victory for liberal democracy and the European Union. The leaders of Poland, France and Germany, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, were among the major EU figures to congratulate Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar on Monday, after he won a decisive victory in the country’s election on Sunday. The ousted Prime Minister made regular use of Hungary’s veto power to block EU decisions, fiercely criticized the bloc and impeded assistance to Ukraine in support of his ally Vladimir Putin — notably obstructing billions of dollars worth of loans and funding to Kyiv. EU critics also say the 62-year-old’s creation of Hungary’s “illiberal state” stepped on rule-of-law commitments the country made when it joined the bloc. Von der Leyen said: “Hungary has chosen Europe. A country reclaims its European path. The union grows stronger.” …