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Switzerland and Italy are in a diplomatic dispute over Switzerland’s decision to close three secondary border crossings at night in a bid to fight crime. Italy’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned the Swiss ambassador for urgent talks, emphasizing that the closings violate Europe’s norms on free circulation. In an email, the press office of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambassador Giancarlo Kessler “took note” of the message from Italian authorities and pledged to keep them informed on the results from what it characterized as an experiment. Italian mayors in the affected region had protested the closures as penalizing …

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Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar’s philanthropy promised $100 million over the next five years to support journalism and fight fake news, the foundation announced Wednesday. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which broke the story of the controversial Panama Papers, is the first organization to receive funds from the Omidyar Network – a three-year grant of up to $4.5 million “to expand its investigative reporting”. “Across the world, we see a worrying resurgence of authoritarian politics that is undermining progress towards a more open and inclusive society,” Matt Bannick, Omidyar Network Managing Partner, said. “A lack of government responsiveness and …

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A gap is widening between the Trump administration and European allies over the future of President Bashar al-Assad and how to end the six-year war in Syria. While U.S. officials have shifted the focus away from Assad having to relinquish power, European leaders remain adamant he has no future as ruler of Syria. His departure, they say, remains a crucial part of any solution to a conflict that has left an estimated 470,000 dead. Following Tuesday’s toxic gas attack on a town in northern Syria, the worst chemical weapons attack in the war since mid-2013, European leaders are intensifying their …

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Russia after attending the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Italy next week, the State Department announced Wednesday. Following the conclusion of the meeting on April 11, Tillerson will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Ukraine, counterterrorism efforts, and bilateral relations. “This trip is part of our effort to maintain direct lines of communication with senior Russian officials and to ensure U.S. views are clearly conveyed, including on next steps in Minsk implementation,” Mark Toner, acting spokesperson for the State Department, said in the statement. The …

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Cash is crucial, Germany’s economy minister said on Wednesday, defending the role of notes and coins in a debate in Europe about the merits of limiting cash payments to counter terrorism. The European Commission is weighing stricter rules on the use of cash to cut terrorists’ funding, and Germany’s finance ministry – led by conservative Wolfgang Schaeuble – has said Berlin could imagine talking about a ceiling of 5,000 euros ($5,331.50). Such a prospect is unwelcome to many Germans, who are renowned for their love of cash. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, said they carry an average of 103 euros …

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The European Union is determined to stick to a deal with Turkey to stem the flow of undocumented migrants into the bloc, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Tuesday. Tusk, who met Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev, welcomed Sofia’s efforts to boost security on its southeastern border with Turkey to prevent migrants from crossing. He said Brussels would provide additional financing if the situation worsened. “We are determined to keep routes of illegal migration in this region closed,” Tusk told reporters. “We remain committed to the full implementation of the EU-Turkey statement. The EU is honoring its commitments, just like …

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The referendum in Turkey to extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers is a couple of weeks away, and polls indicate the outcome remains too close to call. The “No” campaign, having little access to mainstream media, is increasingly turning to social media, and human rights groups accuse prosecutors of targeting those who adopt such a strategy. Turkish law student Ali Gul’s video on why to vote “No” highlights, in a humorous way, the dangers of concentrating too much power in one person’s hands. It was an instant hit on social media. At the end of the video, Gul rhetorically asked, …

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Turkish gold imports rose 17-fold to 28.2 tons in March, as Turks looking to hedge currency risk ahead of a referendum in two weeks time followed President Tayyip Erdogan’s calls to buy gold instead of dollars. After the sharpest falls in the Turkish lira since the 2008 financial crisis last November, Erdogan called on Turks to sell dollars and buy lira or gold to prop up the local currency. Gold imports have been rising year-on-year ever since. “People have started opting for gold rather than foreign currencies,” said Mehmet Ali Yildirimturk, a gold specialist in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, adding that …

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Democracy scores declined in 2016 in more than half of the 29 countries surveyed in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Eurasia, according to Freedom House, a U.S.-based pro-democracy watchdog organization. This is the second-biggest decline in the annual report’s 22-year history and is attributed to the rise of populism in the “Nations in Transit” region, where “leaders are openly attacking liberal democracies.”  Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has the lowest ranking in Central Europe, according to the Freedom House report. Orban “has created a kind of model for member states, even for the European Union, to reject …

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