Section: European Voice (EU)
Germany’s ‘joke’ party wants seat at EU table
BERLIN — It’s just after noon on a bright weekday in Berlin and Martin Sonneborn is a little hungover. “We’ve just held big campaign events here in Berlin,” he says between sips of orange juice and cappuccino. Sonneborn, a German member of the European Parliament who is hoping to be elected for a second term, is not exactly your...
‘America first’ meets ‘Hungary first’
When Donald Trump became U.S. president, Europe’s fiercest anti-immigration leader saw an opportunity to garner international legitimacy for his policies. But for over two years, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — the only EU leader to endorse Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election — failed to get an invitation to visit the...
Giuliani cancels Ukraine trip amid political meddling charges
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, announced late Friday that he was canceling an upcoming trip to Ukraine after he came under criticism for saying he planned to talk to the country’s new leaders about investigations that could boost U.S. President Donald Trump politically. Giuliani had said he was planning to meet with...
Trump: Biden 2020 reminds me of Trump 2016
U.S. President Donald Trump sees parallels between Joe Biden’s early surge to the front of the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential field and his own runaway success in the 2016 Republican primaries. In an interview with POLITICO on Friday afternoon, Trump cast the former vice president as a clear, if flawed, front runner, noting that Biden...
After Brexit, the EU promised change. How did it do?
In September 2016, European Union leaders gathered for the first time in 43 years without the British prime minister at their summit table. The aim was clear: Produce a roadmap that would avoid a repeat of Brexit, and help the bloc plan for life after British membership. The Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap committed the remaining 27 EU members...
Pompeo is dead to Berlin
BERLIN — Everyone knows Germans hate tardiness. But if you want to really push a Teuton over the edge, cancel a meeting at the last minute. Just ask U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who canceled a trip to Berlin yesterday, jilting Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. “This is difficult to excuse,” the Süddeutsche Zeitung,...
Mike Pompeo cancels Berlin visit
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly cancelled a planned visit to Berlin Tuesday citing “pressing issues.” Pompeo was due to meet Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in the German capital on Tuesday afternoon followed by a summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel after 6 p.m. The Foreign Office said the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine were up for...
‘Ruxit’ specter haunts Russian human rights activists
MOSCOW — Brexit may have been dominating the headlines, but there’s another looming rift with Europe that could have far-reaching consequences: “Ruxit.” That’s what Thorbjørn Jagland, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, has called Russia’s potential withdrawal from the human rights organization after 23 years as a...
Pompeo aims to counter China’s ambitions in the Arctic
Donald Trump has finally found an international organization he likes — a highly select club whose members preside over a frozen wasteland atop of the world. The Trump administration will throw a spotlight this week on America’s presence in the Arctic, a region the president’s team sees as “an arena of global power and competition,”...
Venezuela becomes Trump’s latest proxy battle with Russia
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is tumbling into a proxy battle with Russia over Venezuela, the latest international standoff that threatens a return to the tense Cold War years. The two sides traded barbed accusations this week after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called on the public and military to rise up and oust autocrat...
