Browsing: Europe

Talking Europe interviews the boss of the largest and oldest group in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People’s Party. Manfred Weber is a veteran of the EU assembly, having first been elected nearly twenty years ago, and he is an important player in German politics, in the conservative Christian Social Union. He missed out on the job of EU Commission president in 2019, but does not seem to have given up on that ambition. We start the discussion with the European elections scheduled for June 2024, which could shake up the bloc’s political scene.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Friday the city planned to ban single-use plastic when it holds the 2024 Olympic Games as part of efforts to tackle a global plastic pollution crisis.

As Microsoft officially lodges its appeal against the CMA, the EU explains why it’s disagreed with the UK over the Activision Blizzard deal.

The Belgium-born NGO worker had been sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison in Teheran for widely contested charges of “espionage.”

The Kremlin-installed puppet leader of Crimea said: ‘Enemies of Russia won’t be making money in Russian Crimea.’

A car collided Thursday with the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister’s home and offices are located, setting off a rapid, intense security response at one of London’s most-fortified sites. No one was injured and police said they were not treating the incident as terror-related.

Rent-a-bike users in the French capital found large anti-abortion stickers plastered on their bicycles on Thursday, sparking an outcry from the government.

The bloc currently has 41 trade agreements in place with 72 countries.

EU legislators are currently negotiating the Artificial Intelligence Act, but the legislation could take up to three years to be fully applicable.

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has begun withdrawing its forces from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, and is transferring its positions in the city to Russian army units. Also on Thursday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained two Ukrainian saboteurs allegedly plotting to blow up the power pylons of a Russian nuclear power plant. Follow FRANCE 24 for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).

The song that was named by Turner is one of her most beloved hits.

For several months, at least six fake anti-Ukraine covers of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo have been circulating online, especially on Russian Telegram channels. Now a fake news report, attributed to French media outlet 20 Minutes, falsely accuses Russian independent journalist Ilya Ber of being behind these Charlie Hebdo covers. We debunk this false news report in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Together, the 27 EU member states manage the largest maritime exclusion zone in the world.

The 2024 summer Olympics in Paris will mark the first time an opening ceremony has not been held inside a stadium – instead, the extravaganza will unfold along the River Seine, with spectators lining streets and bridges in the heart of the French capital. The plan is not without risks, and organisers revealed extensive safety protocols on Tuesday.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that if energy prices were to flare up again, any support measures rolled out should be “targeted at protecting vulnerable households and firms.”

FRANCE 24 spoke to exiled Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. This Ukraine-based paramilitary group of Russian volunteers has been involved in cross-border incursions into Russia’s Belgorod region in the past last few days. Ponomarev claimed the pro-Ukrainian, anti-Putin group “didn’t lose a single soldier” and is successfully making progress inside Russia. Ultimately, “our guys will be in Moscow and Putin will not be in the Kremlin,” he predicted.

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr’s red card in Sunday’s LaLiga match at Valencia, in which he was also racially abused, has been rescinded, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday.

British oil and gas giant Shell faced a stormy shareholders’ gathering Tuesday, as environmental protesters hit out over its pledge to tackle carbon emissions.

Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of rare gems from Moscow, and local professionals fear that a Western ban on Russian diamonds could result in less oversight.

Romania must legalise same-sex civil unions, Europe’s top rights court ruled on Tuesday, in a victory for LGBTQ+ campaigners in the socially conservative southeastern European country.

Unanimity rules can be used by one single member state to derail or block a collective decision.

Spanish police arrested Tuesday three youths suspected of hurling racist insults at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during a weekend match, sparking an international outcry.

Athletes have joined the clamour of criticism at the high cost of tickets for the 2024 Paris Olympics, decried as undermining organisers’ promises of a Games accessible to all.

Demonstrators complain that their working conditions have worsened significantly in recent years.

Facebook owner Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for transferring EU user data to the United States in breach of a previous court ruling, Ireland’s regulator announced on Monday.