Latest news with #anti-European
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany, Poland want closer cooperation despite recent election
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski want to advance cooperation between their two countries despite the victory of eurosceptic Karol Nawrocki in the Polish presidential election. "I assume that we will continue to work together very closely and amicably," Wadephul said on Wednesday during a meeting with Sikorski in Berlin. "Our ties are so strong that democratic elections here or there do not call them into question in any way." The cooperation also applies to France within the Weimar Triangle, for example in coordinating support for Ukraine, Wadephul said. The trilateral group, established in 1991, includes France, Germany and Poland, and is designed to promote cooperation among the three. Nawrocki, who was backed by the conservative nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), had campaigned with anti-German and anti-European rhetoric. But Wadephul said the German-Polish partnership is so close and solid that he has no doubts that joint future and defence projects could be realized. Poland, he said, had held democratic elections. Germans and Poles are friends, "and we want to continue that," the German foreign minister added. Sikorski: Government controls foreign policy Sikorski described it as a sign of democracy that a representative of the opposition had won the presidential election in Poland. Similar to Germany, the president in Poland is not the head of government but a representative of the country abroad. He implements the policies set by the government. While the Polish president has more powers than the German president, including a veto right, "foreign policy is the responsibility of the government," Sikorski said.
LeMonde
22-05-2025
- Business
- LeMonde
Welcome start to a reconciliation between the UK and the EU
For the first time since the historic 2016 Brexit referendum and the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union in 2020, the British Isles have initiated a notable move to reconnect with the continent. On Monday, May 19, in London, Keir Starmer's Labour government and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen concluded a "new strategic partnership," officially marking a reversal after years of protracted, acrimonious exit negotiations followed by ongoing distance and mistrust. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the threat from Russia, American isolationism, the risk of European fragmentation and the rise of national self-interest, this was good news for the 27 member states. This complex landscape is clearly not unrelated to this welcome renewal of contact. At the heart of the agreement signed on Monday is a defense and security pact that strengthens cooperation on military and armaments issues. It paves the way for future access by British industry to the €150 billion European SAFE fund, which was set up to finance rearmament among the 27 member states. The British also secured the indefinite removal of sanitary checks on their products entering the EU. In return, they agreed to allow French, Belgian and Dutch fishing vessels access to their national waters until 2038. Starmer did not agree to restore the EU's youth mobility arrangements, a topic on which negotiations will nonetheless continue. Weight of anti-European rhetoric While these steps may be relatively modest, they nonetheless reflect the constructive approach that now prevails within both parties. On the British side, this shift represents a recognition of the harm the UK has inflicted upon itself by curbing exchanges with its main economic partner – a reality now acknowledged by a majority of Britons, according to polls. For Europeans, it means admitting that they will have greater influence in world affairs by working closely with a country that possesses a significant defense industry, a structured military and nuclear weapons. Yet, the agreement still bears the scars of the deep trauma Brexit left in the UK, as well as the enduring influence of anti-European rhetoric. Under pressure from anti-immigration talk from the Conservatives and the far-right Reform UK party – which has enjoyed recent electoral gains – Prime Minister Starmer refused to reinstate some form of free movement for young Europeans, as the EU would like. The Tories have described alignment with EU sanitary standards and the fishing agreement as another "capitulation" to Brussels, while Reform UK called it a "betrayal of Brexit." The British conservative press accused the Labour leader of having sacrificed the national sovereignty regained in the 2016 vote. In this context – where "Brussels" remains a loaded term in the UK and where the 27 member states themselves are grappling with populism and nationalism – the "new EU-UK partnership" signed in London reflects not only the EU's enduring pull and a dawning awareness in the UK, but also the need for pragmatism to help rebuild ties made inevitable by economics, geography and history and essential in these challenging times.
Local France
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
OPINION: Retailleau believes he is the new hope for the French centre-right, he might be its doom
The French centre-right changes leaders as frequently as it changes names. According to Les Républicains, or whatever the movement is fleetingly called, each new beginning promises the resurrection of 'Gaullism' as France's dominant political force. The latest Messiah of the centre-right is Bruno Retailleau, 64, who started in politics as an anti-Gaullist and an extreme anti-European nationalist. When talking about immigration and security, he sounds more like Marine Le Pen than Jacques Chirac or even Nicolas Sarkozy. On Sunday Retailleau was elected as president of Les Républicains with a crushing 74 percent of the votes of the 120,000 party members. He will almost certainly be the party's candidate in the First Round of the next presidential election in 2027. Advertisement Although a fierce anti-Macronist, he gambled his future last year on a decision to bail out the President and join the Centre and Centre-right coalition governments headed by Michel Barnier and then by François Bayrou. As interior minister, he has talked a very tough game without achieving a great deal (so far). The talk has been enough to promote him to third position in last weekend's Ipsos league table of political popularity. With a 28 percent approval rating, he trails only the far-right leaders, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella (who are disturbingly high on 34 percent). Could Bruno Retailleau be the next President of the Republic? I doubt it but the field for 2027 is wide open. All could be decided, in effect, by a handful of votes in Round One. READ ALSO Who's who in France's 2027 presidential election race Le Pen, or Bardella if she remains banned, will top the first-round poll two years from now. Whoever snatches second place has a good chance of defeating either of them in the run-off – just as the centrist candidate came from behind to defeat the pro-Russian Far Right in the Romanian presidential election last Sunday. The problem for Retailleau is reaching Round Two. He is mostly chasing the same votes as Le Pen. His only notable speaking points are far right speaking points: immigration, crime, the droit du sol or citizenship rights of children born in France. He is against all three. In his leadership contest with the Les Républicains' parliamentary leader Laurent Wauquiez, his main argument was: 'I am more anti-immigrant than thou'. The only other issue was Retailleau's bold decision last year to join the Barnier and Bayrou governments – something that Wauquiez had opposed. There was almost no discussion on the economy, Donald Trump, the Ukraine war, Europe, education or health. That was not what the 120,000 paid-up members of Les Républicains (LR) wanted to hear about. The rest of the Centre and Centre-right electorate is a different matter. The old Gaullist movement sprawled over the right and centre-ground of French politics. Through shifting alliances with more economically liberal and more enthusiastically European parties, it dominated the right-hand side of French politics for sixty years from 1958 to 2017. Advertisement Since 2017, the rise of Le Pen's Far Right and Emmanuel Macron's Centre has squeezed the centre-right into a quarrelsome minority in a political landscape split three-ways between Far Right, Centre and Left. The demise of Gaullism was partly the fault of a series of absurd internal quarrels and corruption scandals involving centre-right leaders from Jacques Chirac to Nicolas Sarkozy and François Fillon. LR leaders including Retailleau believe – or say that they believe – that this is an aberration or passing nightmare. Popular support for the centre-right is the best guarantee of tradition and stability. 'Macronism,' Retailleau said last week, 'Will not survive Macron'. Neither he nor Wauqiuez made any attempt to appeal to the more moderate LR members in their campaign. They know that what remains of the centre-right is much more Right than the Centre. And yet there is little sign that middle-class Le Pen/ Bardella, ex-centre-right voters are ready to return en masse to Les Républicains. An opinion poll by Harris Interactive on Tuesday put Retailleau's chances in 2027 in perspective. If the first round of the presidential election was held now, Le Pen/Bardella would get 31 percent of the vote and Macron's first Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe 21 percent. Retailleau would come fourth on 12 percent, behind the likely hard left candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon on 14 percent. Advertisement That is a pretty good score for Retailleau. In the first round of the 2022 election, the candidate of Les Républicains, Valérie Pecresse got only 4.8 percent of the vote. All the same, there is a huge amount of ground for Retailleau to make up to reach the run-off two years from now. He needs to attract both Le Pen voters and Macron/Edouard Philippe voters. He has some credibility on security and migration issues; he has nothing to say (so far) on the economy or Europe or international affairs. Wauquiez, if he had he won, might have pulled the centre-right out of Bayrou's minority coalition and brought down the government. Retailleau says that he will remain as interior minister. That implies that the shaky ruling alliance – if it survives – will run at least three rival presidential candidates in the early stages of the 2027 campaign. There will be Edouard Philippe, formerly of the liberal wing of the LR; Gabriel Attal, ex-centre-left and leader of Macron's party, Renaissance; and almost certainly Retailleau as candidate of the ex-Gaullist centre-right. Logically, the ruling coalition should organise a primary to coalesce behind one candidate to ensure that the Left and Far Right do not dispute Round Two. That is what Edouard Philippe has proposed. For Les Républicains that would amount to an admission that they have been swallowed up by a Maconist centre that they detest. Gaullism would have committed suicide. In truth, the crushing victory of the hard right Retailleau last weekend suggests that the old broad church of Gaullism no longer exists: not in the Républicains party at any rate. If all three candidates stay in the first round race to the end, the 'golden ticket' of a place in Round Two against the Far Right would probably go to Edouard Philippe. Probably but not certainly. A surge in support for the Left or centre-right could produce a three or four-way dead heat for second place. A few thousand votes might be enough to tip a left-wing candidate or Bruno Retailleau into the run-off. Le Pen/Bardella v the Left. The far-right would win. Le Pen/Bardella v Retailleau. Retailleau, the ungaullist Gaullist, would win. It seems inconceivable that France will end up in 2027 with a choice between the Far Right and the hard right, leaving 60 percent of the electorate unrepresented in Round Two. Inconceivable, yes. Unlikely, very. Impossible, no.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italy outraged after report suggests Germany dropped it as priority
A media report suggesting the German government has downgraded the importance of diplomacy with Italy has caused a stir in Rome, shortly before new Chancellor Friedrich Merz departs for his first visit to the country since taking office. The conservative daily Die Welt reported on Thursday that an early draft of the new German government's coalition agreement listed Italy as an important partner and member of an expanded European axis, alongside France and Poland. In the final agreement, however, Rome is no longer mentioned in this context. According to the newspaper, the change was reportedly at the insistence of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Merz's coalition partner. Several high-ranking Italian politicians expressed outrage at the news. "This is an anti-European decision by the German Social Democrats," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. A spokesman for the German Foreign Office denied the report, stating that Italy is welcome as a member of the so-called Weimar Plus format. Italy has recently attended several meetings of the group, which is an extension of the Weimar Triangle diplomatic forum with representatives from Germany, France and Poland. The spokesman did not comment on the evolution of the coalition agreement. Deputy government spokesman Steffen Meyer emphasized that Italy was a high priority for the federal government and that there was "very close contact" with Rome in a wide variety of formats. An SPD spokesman said on request that Italy was "an important partner" and that the issue had not played a role among the chief negotiators of the coalition deal. Cooperation between the two countries is sure to be a topic of conversation on Saturday, when Meloni is set to receive Merz in Rome.
Euronews
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Irish Prime Minister condemns Hungary's use of EU veto
Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin spoke at length about Hungary and how the European Union should act against the Hungarian government's vetoes in an interview to Euronews. The Fianna Fáil politician also condemned the ban on the Pride march in Hungary. "We are very concerned about that in Hungary in terms of the undermining of the LGBTI community, the banning of pride parades. These are very fundamental issues that the European Union has to engage with." The prime minister said the Orbán government's anti-European rhetoric is negatively shaping public opinion. "If I look at the Hungarian government's rhetoric towards Europe, it's about conquering Europe or taking it over. I think, it is inflaming public opinion in a very negative way," he said. Martin added that most Europeans like EU membership, freedom of speech and a regulated common market, while the world beyond Europe is sinking. He said this meant standing up for European values and emphasising a positive narrative. "I think we have many instruments at our disposal [to deal with the position of Hungary]," Martin said, adding: "The Article 7 procedure is one of them, but I think we should pursue all instruments. We have always accepted the unanimous voting system in some respects. But it has been abused. And the European Union will become dysfunctional if this abuse continues. So we must not be afraid to use these tools." The Article 7 procedure was launched years ago at the request of the European Parliament. But sanctions have not yet been taken by the Council because the procedure has not reached that stage. The latest abuse of the veto by Hungary concerns Ukraine's membership, Martin said. Hungary was the only country to oppose the acceptance of aid to Ukraine at the last two EU summits, and is also opposed to Ukraine's accession. Orbán believes that this could bankrupt the EU. In Hungary, the government is holding a referendum to ask people's opinion on Ukraine's membership. "It's outrageous what's happening at the moment. In my view, it's essential that Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union for geopolitical reasons. And I think Europe probably missed opportunities over the last decade or two in terms of the Western Balkans as well," said Martin. "Orbán is, in my opinion, using this [the veto] unreasonably." said Martin, adding that "Europe has made several attempts to unblock it through mediation". "The same has happened with the European Peace Facility, where Ireland's support to Ukraine has been slowed down. We've contributed non-lethal finance to that now hasn't been used. Now we're providing that to Ukraine on a bilateral basis," he said. The European Peace Facility was set up before the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2021 to fund conflict prevention abroad. After the war broke out, the fund was used to try to reimburse individual member states for military aid to Ukraine.
