After Merz's victory, what to expect from Germany?
Despite the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) victory in the election, forming Germany's next coalition government will be challenging. What can we expect from the outcome? What alliances will Friedrich Merz, CDU leader, pursue? And can Germany reclaim the influence it has lost?
Radio Schuman gathered reactions to the election results, and presents in-depth analysis of Germany's future, gleaned from Euronews' special Germany Decides panel hosted by Meabh McMahon last night. The discussion featured former European Council President Charles Michel, former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and Euronews Editorial Director Claus Strunz
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France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Greek artist warns of fanaticism after art vandalised
"This violence is increasingly present in Europe and the United States, where ideas of purity, race or faith fuel nationalism," artist Christophoros Katsadiotis told AFP in an interview on May 29. On March 10, four of Katsadiotis's artworks at Greece's National Gallery were thrown to the ground by two members of extreme-right Orthodox Christian party Niki -- one of them a party lawmaker -- who viewed them as "blasphemous". Two months later, about 30 masked individuals attempted to assault him before an event in Thessaloniki, resulting in the 53-year-old engraver being put under police protection during public appearances. Katsadiotis said the vandalisation incident at the National Gallery was "an attack on democracy... (and) our civilisation". "If I need police protection, then freedom of expression no longer exists. It's a form of censorship," he told AFP on the sidelines of his new exhibition in Athens. The art in question -- four engravings depicting Saint Christopher with a dog's head -- was part of a collective exhibition titled "The Allure of the Bizarre". The two perpetrators, who smashed the glass protecting the engravings, were detained by police but later released. Niki later expelled the lawmaker involved, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, from the party and the National Gallery has sued him. Outcry Katsadiotis is also planning to take legal action. "I was surprised and upset. It was the first time this had happened to me," he said. The incident at the National Gallery sparked an outcry and was condemned by the culture ministry. But the Orthodox Church, which holds broad influence over politics and society in Greece, has publicly criticised parts of the exhibition involving Katsadiotis, who spends his time between Athens and Paris. The Greek Church's governing body, the Holy Synod, voiced "regret" over "the content of certain works in this exhibition" and said it would "take action with the Greek government", without providing further details. Katsadiotis is currently presenting a solo exhibition, including engravings and collages, at the Benaki Museum in Athens. Security was reinforced around the building during the opening last week and police stationed three vehicles outside the entrance, he said. Papadopoulos has continued to publicly condemn the artist's works as "a brutal insult" to sacred Orthodox icons. At the National Gallery, Katsadiotis's engravings are now protected by a transparent panel and an alarm is triggered if visitors get too close. 'Dangerous for the public' The museum, which houses masterpieces of modern Greek and European art, has also increased protection overall due to "ongoing threats against the exhibited works and its staff". "Initially, the idea was to leave the damaged works on the ground to illustrate... the violence," Katsadiotis said. "(But) far-right sympathisers came to trample on them, which was dangerous for the public." Niki, known for its nationalistic and homophobic rhetoric, has 10 MPs in the 300-seat Greek parliament. This is not the first time it has sought to influence art policy. In late 2023, the conservative government took down the work "Flag" by US-Greek artist Georgia Lale from the Greek consulate in New York following a complaint from the ultra-conservative party. The artist had depicted a Greek flag with pink and red stripes instead of its official blue and white colours, to denounce feminicides in Greece. "This decision left the field open for Niki to continue its attacks," said Katsadiotis. He said there was a rise in militant vandalism and warned that "fanaticism" could spiral out of control, offering the example of the fatal attacks in Paris in 2015 after satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo republished caricatures of the prophet Mohammed from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
Local France
3 days ago
- Local France
New Europe push to curb children's social media use
The European Union already has some of the world's most stringent digital rules to rein in Big Tech, with multiple probes ongoing into how platforms protect children – or not. There are now demands for the EU to go further as a rising body of evidence shows the negative effects of social media on children's mental and physical health. Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children's use of online platforms as fears mount over their addictive nature. They will present the plan on Friday to EU counterparts in Luxembourg, 'so that Europe can take the appropriate action as soon as possible,' Greek Digital Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said. The proposal includes setting an age of digital adulthood across the 27-country EU, meaning children will not be able to access social media without parental consent. Since the proposal was published last month, other countries have expressed support including Denmark – which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July – and Cyprus. Danish officials say the issue will be a priority during their six-month presidency. France has led the way in cracking down on platforms, passing a 2023 law requiring them to obtain parental consent for users under the age of 15. But the measure has not received the EU green light it needs to come into force. France also gradually introduced requirements this year for all adult websites to have users confirm their age to prevent children accessing porn – with three major platforms going dark this week in anger over the move. Also under pressure from the French government, TikTok on Sunday banned the #SkinnyTok hashtag, part of a trend promoting extreme thinness on the platform. Advertisement Greece says its aim is to protect children from the risks of excessive internet use. The proposal does not say at what age digital adulthood should begin but Papastergiou said platforms should know users' real ages 'so as not to serve inappropriate content to minors'. France, Greece and Spain expressed concern about the algorithmic design of digital platforms increasing children's exposure to addictive and harmful content – with the risk of worsening anxiety, depression and self-esteem issues. The proposal also blames excessive screen time at a young age for hindering the development of minors' critical and relationship skills. They demand 'an EU-wide application that supports parental control mechanisms, allows for proper age verification and limits the use of certain applications by minors'. The goal would be for devices such as smartphones to have in-built age verification. The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, wants to launch an age-verification app next month, insisting it can be done without disclosing personal details. The EU last month published draft guidelines for platforms to protect minors, to be finalised once a public consultation ends this month, including setting children's accounts to private by default, and making it easier to block and mute users. Those guidelines are non-binding, but the bloc is clamping down in other ways. Advertisement It is currently investigating Meta's Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok under its mammoth content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), fearing the platforms are failing to do enough to prevent children accessing harmful content. In the Meta probe, the EU fears the platform's age-verification tools may not be effective. And last week, it launched an investigation into four pornographic platforms over suspicions they are failing to stop children accessing adult content. Separately, the EU has been in long-running negotiations on a law to combat child sexual abuse material, but the proposal has been mired in uncertainty, with worries from some countries that it would allow authorities to access encrypted communications. The legal proposal has pitted proponents of privacy against those working to protect children. Despite repeated attempts, it has failed to get EU states' approval.
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
New Europe push to curb children's social media use
The European Union already has some of the world's most stringent digital rules to rein in Big Tech, with multiple probes ongoing into how platforms protect children -- or not. There are now demands for the EU to go further as a rising body of evidence shows the negative effects of social media on children's mental and physical health. Backed by France and Spain, Greece has spearheaded a proposal for how the EU should limit children's use of online platforms as fears mount over their addictive nature. They will present the plan on Friday to EU counterparts in Luxembourg "so that Europe can take the appropriate action as soon as possible", Greek Digital Minister Dimitris Papastergiou said. The proposal includes setting an age of digital adulthood across the 27-country EU, meaning children will not be able to access social media without parental consent. Since the proposal was published last month, other countries have expressed support including Cyprus and Denmark -- which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July. Danish officials say the issue will be a priority during their six-month presidency. France has led the way in cracking down on platforms, passing a 2023 law requiring them to obtain parental consent for users under the age of 15. But the measure has not received the EU green light it needs to come into force. France also gradually introduced requirements this year for all adult websites to have users confirm their age to prevent children accessing porn -- with three major platforms going dark this week in anger over the move. Also under pressure from the French government, TikTok on Sunday banned the "#SkinnyTok" hashtag, part of a trend promoting extreme thinness on the platform. Real age verification Greece says its aim is to protect children from the risks of excessive internet use. The proposal does not say at what age digital adulthood should begin but Papastergiou said platforms should know users' real ages "so as not to serve inappropriate content to minors". France, Greece and Spain expressed concern about the algorithmic design of digital platforms increasing children's exposure to addictive and harmful content -- with the risk of worsening anxiety, depression and self-esteem issues. The proposal also blames excessive screen time at a young age for hindering the development of minors' critical and relationship skills. They demand "an EU-wide application that supports parental control mechanisms, allows for proper age verification and limits the use of certain applications by minors". The goal would be for devices such as smartphones to have in-built age verification. The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, wants to launch an age-verification app next month, insisting it can be done without disclosing personal details. The EU last month published draft guidelines for platforms to protect minors, to be finalised once a public consultation ends this month, including setting children's accounts to private by default, and making it easier to block and mute users. Those guidelines are non-binding, but the bloc is clamping down in other ways. EU investigations It is currently investigating Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok under its mammoth content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), fearing the platforms are failing to do enough to prevent children accessing harmful content. In the Meta probe, the EU fears the platform's age-verification tools may not be effective. And last week, it launched an investigation into four pornographic platforms over suspicions they are failing to stop children accessing adult content. Separately, the EU has been in long-running negotiations on a law to combat child sexual abuse material, but the proposal has been mired in uncertainty, with worries from some countries that it would allow authorities to access encrypted communications. The legal proposal has pitted proponents of privacy against those working to protect children -- and despite repeated attempts, it has failed to get EU states' approval.
