Category: Євросоюз

German leader Angela Merkel is facing pushback from her political allies on her open door policy for refugees. In 2015, Merkel famously said Germany was open to people fleeing wars and looking for better lives. Since then, a million asylum seekers have been admitted to Germany. Now, Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), which has been in alliance with Merkel’s Christian Democrats for decades, wants Germany to turn away some refugees at the country’s border. The CSU is widely expected to hand Merkel an ultimatum Monday to tighten Germany’s policy on accepting migrants, a move that could throw their political …

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One of U.S. President Donald Trump’s lawyers said Sunday he is advising him to not pardon anyone linked to the year-long investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election because it would “just cloud” the perception that there was wrong-doing.   Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor and part of Trump’s legal team, told CNN, “You’re not going to get a pardon because you’re involved” in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. But he said that in the months to come pardons were “certainly not excluded” if Trump concluded “you’ve been treated unfairly.” “The president has issued no …

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A woman crying “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” in Arabic — injured two people with a box cutter Sunday at a supermarket in southern France before she was detained.   A customer in the store in the maritime town of La Seyne-sur-Mer was injured in the chest and hospitalized. A woman working the cash register was hurt less seriously, French radio station Europe 1 quoted the prosecutor in nearby Toulon as saying.   Prosecutor Bernard Marchal said the suspect may have mental health problems. She has not been identified. Police were searching her home.   “It’s apparently an isolated case involving …

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A deep rift over migration policy between Angela Merkel and a rebellious interior minister is threatening to upend the German chancellor’s fragile governing alliance formed earlier this year after weeks of laborious talks. The German chancellor’s 13-year rule will be on the line in the event Horst Seehofer, a member of the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union, a junior partner in the coalition government, defies Merkel by ordering border guards to turn back migrants arriving Monday at German borders. Neither the chancellor nor minister appeared Sunday to be in any mood to compromise. Seehofer blamed the chancellor in remarks to German …

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The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia signed an accord Sunday to rename the former Yugoslav republic the “Republic of North Macedonia.” The landmark accord follows decades of inconclusive talks that soured relations between the two countries and held up the admission of the Balkan state into the EU and NATO, of which Greece is a member. The agreement still requires the approval of both parliaments and a referendum in Macedonia. “We have a historic responsibility that this deal is not held in abeyance, and I am confident that we will manage it,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said as …

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A Puerto Rican from the Bronx, Orlando Pagan fell in love with Ukrainian folklore when he was a teenager. He used to dance in the Syzokryli Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, and now he leads it. Pagan believes Ukrainian dances are truly special and hopes to make them as popular as the Argentine tango or the Austrian waltz. Carolyn Presutti narrates this report by Tatiana Vorozhko. …

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British Prime Minister Theresa May will pledge a cash boost to the National Health Service, to be funded partly from tax hikes and partly from money that will no longer be going to the European Union after Brexit, newspapers reported Saturday. May will pledge to increase the NHS budget by 20 billion pounds ($26.6 billion) a year, or 384 million pounds a week, after Brexit, according to front-page reports in the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and Observer, which were published late Saturday. The announcement, timed to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS, which delivers care for free to everyone living in Britain, aims to foster unity in the government …

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Pope Francis denounced abortion on Saturday as the “white glove” equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics program and urged families to accept the children that God gives them. Francis spoke off the cuff to a meeting of an Italian family association, ditching his prepared remarks to speak from the heart about families and the trials they undergo. He lamented how some couples choose not to have any children, while others resort to prenatal testing to see whether their baby has any malformations or genetic problems. “The first proposal in such a case is, ‘Do we get rid of it?’ ” Francis …

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Following a red carpet arrival Saturday at the New Orleans Museum of Art, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain enjoyed music by a jazz group and a cultural performance by Mardi Gras Indians as they ended a visit to the city celebrating its tricentennial. After a private lunch with New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and other dignitaries and officials, the royals departed New Orleans for San Antonio, Texas, which is also celebrating 300 years of existence. “It was a great and amazing weekend for the city, our residents and the king and queen for …

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Greece’s left-led coalition government survived a no-confidence vote in parliament Saturday, brought over a deal to end a decades-old dispute with neighboring Macedonia concerning the latter’s name. But the government suffered a loss in its parliamentary majority when lawmaker Dimitris Kammenos of the nationalist Independent Greeks, the government’s junior coalition partner, voted in favor. He was kicked out of the party immediately after the vote, leaving the governing coalition with a three-member majority. Lawmakers voted 153-127 in the 300-member parliament against the motion brought by the conservative main opposition party over the deal to rename the former Yugoslav republic North …

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President Donald Trump on Saturday congratulated Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary on his recent re-election. The White House said Trump spoke with the Hungarian leader, who is known for his hard-line views on immigration and criticism of investor and political activist George Soros. The White House said that, during their conversation, Trump and Orban discussed the need for strong national borders and discussed Trump’s recent summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump has developed a pattern of openly praising and embracing authoritarian leaders, in a break from past presidents.  He’s lauded Kim as a smart and talented …

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The phrase ‘don’t mix politics and sport’ is often heard in Moscow these days. But it’s difficult to escape the unique circumstances of this year’s World Cup. As the tournament gets underway in Russia, the country remains subject to a range of international sanctions over its annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin sees the World Cup as an opportunity to break that isolation and present a different image of Russia. …

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After trading insults this week over the fate of a migrant ship, French and Italian leaders presented a more united front Friday, demanding an overhaul to Europe’s migration policies ahead of a European Union summit on the subject later this month. As French President Emmanuel Macron hosted Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte in Paris, their rhetoric seemed very similar, even though they come from two very different political backgrounds. Their message: European policies for taking in migrants and sharing the burden aren’t working. Speaking at a joint press conference with Conte at the French presidential palace, Macron said Europe’s collective …

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A leaked video of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vote sparked fears of possible vote rigging ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for June 24. The video shows Erdogan telling party officials to secure majorities on ballot box monitoring committees to “finish the job in Istanbul before it has even started.” In the video, Erdogan also comments on the pro-Kurdish HDP: “I can’t speak these words outside [publicly]. I am speaking them with you here. Why? Because if the HDP falls below the election threshold, it would mean that we would be in a much better place.” The …

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Iranian fans at the national team’s first match at the World Cup unfurled a banner protesting Iran’s ban on women attending soccer matches back home. The banner read “#NoBan4Women” and “Support Iranian Women to Attend Stadiums” and it was held aloft during the match against Morocco in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Friday. After it was initially unfurled, during the first half of the game, there was a brief commotion as it was put away. The reason for the commotion wasn’t immediately clear as three stewards moved across to where the banner was, on the bottom row near …

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Henry Ridgwell gives us a sense of the atmosphere in Russia, where thousands of fans, who have arrived to attend matches. World Cup kicked off Thursday with a match featuring host country Russia against Saudi Arabia. Russia won the match 5-0. …

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The Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world’s largest populations of child soldiers. The U.N. Children’s Fund estimates up to 30,000 children are forced to serve various armed groups as soldiers, sexual slaves and laborers. Michel Chikwanine who is now refugee in Canada was one of them. Lisa Bryant caught up with him in Normandy, France and has this report for VOA. …

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Oxfam says French border police are mistreating migrant children who are seeking to enter France from Italy, sending them back to Italy in violation of French and European Union law. “Some children even had the soles of their shoes cut off, before being sent back to Italy,” an Oxfam staff member says in a newly released report entitled “Nowhere But Out.” “Police yell at them, laugh at them, push them and tell them, ‘You will never cross here,’” said one aid worker. “Some children have their mobile phone seized and the SIM card removed. They lose all their data and …

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World Cup fever hit the United Nations Thursday as ambassadors and staffers gathered to watch the opening match and celebrate the link between peace and sport. Our U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer was there. …

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As soccer’s top stars arrive in Russia to chase World Cup glory, their fans from around the world have also made their way there to participate in the fun and hopefully see their team win. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …

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