All posts tagged: Brussels

Greenland is the wild card in Denmark’s Brussels reign – POLITICO

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[ad_1] The fear among some diplomats and officials is that Trump could use the greater visibility of Denmark, which counts Greenland as a territory, to dial up his provocations. Copenhagen is trying to keep a low profile, instead talking up its EU agenda on migration, defense, security and climate. Since taking office, Trump has made outlandish claims on Greenland, citing security reasons for aiming to gain control over the mineral-rich, self-ruling Danish territory — and even threatening repeatedly to use military force. “We’ll get Greenland. Yeah, 100 percent,” he told CNN as late as March. Trump might resort to similar sound and fury “if the focus [on Denmark] is much higher and if Donald Trump really finds out what the [EU Council] presidency is,” said Rasmus Grand Berthelsen, senior director at Rasmussen Global, a political consultancy firm. Renewed escalation on the issue would inadvertently draw in the European Union and its national member governments even more. “Clearly, with the Danish presidency, the topic of Greenland sovereignty will naturally become even more prominent,” Brando Benifei, chair of the European …

New Brussels shooting leaves 1 dead – POLITICO

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[ad_1] One person was killed in a shooting Thursday morning in the Anderlecht district of Brussels, according to local media reports. The 49-year-old victim was shot in the chest near the Westland Shopping center at around 9 a.m., the Brussels Times reported, citing the Brussels Public Prosecutor’s office. The circumstances of the shooting remain unclear and no suspects have been identified, according to the media reports. The case has been referred to an investigating judge for murder and police are conducting an investigation at the scene, according to Le Soir. More than a dozen shootings have been reported in Brussels so far this year, resulting in at least two deaths. That comes after a year in which 92 shootings claimed the lives of nine people, according to official figures. In three-quarters of the 2024 shootings, police had yet to make any arrest as of February. [ad_2] Source link

Von der Leyen, Metsola and Costa take charter flight from Brussels to Luxembourg – POLITICO

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[ad_1] “The idea was that the three presidents … wanted to celebrate Schuman Day together with Prime Minister Luc Frieden in Luxembourg. Due to scheduling constraints of all the three presidents and the prime minister, the only traveling option to allow all of them to attend the commemoration of the Schuman Declaration together was to take a charter flight,” Pinho said during a daily briefing on Monday. “This is justified because it was really exceptional and it was the only way of making sure that the three presidents could be present,” she added. “And obviously it is indeed considerably faster than if you take the car.” This is not the first time EU leaders’ use of private jets has drawn criticism in Brussels, especially as the EU promotes greener transport and aims to reduce institutional emissions in line with its climate goals. In March 2023, German media outlets Bild and Der Spiegel reported the Commission president had taken 57 private flights in just two years. Before taking on his current role as Council president, Costa faced similar …

Sauna diplomacy pauses as top Finnish spot in Brussels closes for now – POLITICO

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[ad_1] A spokesperson for the Finnish perm rep confirmed that the sauna is closed for renovations, but they did not have an exact timeline for when it will reopen. Diplomats who make regular use of the facilities told POLITICO they expect it will be closed for around a year. “The Finnish Diplomatic Sauna Society is very much alive and well this year,” the spokesperson told POLITICO. “We’ll be making use of alternative saunas, including the one at the ambassador’s residence,” they said. For those without diplomatic privileges, the public sauna in the Finnish Seamen’s Mission in nearby Rue Jacques de Lalaing also “offers an excellent sauna experience,” the spokesperson said. Most Finnish diplomatic buildings have a sauna on the premises. So important is a good sweat to Finnish politics and diplomacy that the country’s Sauna Society gives an annual award, the Löylynhenki Award, for promoting Finnish sauna culture. The Finnish foreign ministry picked up the award in 2011 on behalf of “Finnish sauna diplomacy and sauna diplomats.” [ad_2] Source link

Inaction from Brussels over the arrest of an opposition leader in Turkey may be a strategic mistake

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[ad_1] The European Union faces a pressing problem as it decides how to handle another major slide towards autocracy in Turkey. So far, the signs are not good. Over the past decade, core democratic institutions have been systematically eroded in Turkey, under the rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power since 2003. Media freedom, independent judiciary and civil society have all been targeted. A major turning point came in 2016, when Turkey abandoned its parliamentary democracy in favour of a hyper-centralised presidential system. Since then, the national parliament has been marginalised and nearly all checks on executive power have been eroded. While elections in Turkey have not been fair for many years, they were at least free. According to the international observers, elections were not fair as President Erdoğan and the ruling parties enjoyed “unjustified advantage”. However, elections still could offer voters a “choice between genuine political alternatives” – providing citizens with a sliver of hope for democratic change. That era may have ended on March 19, with the arrest of Ekrem …

Thalie Foundation to Close after 10 Years

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[ad_1] Nathalie Guiot, a former publisher and founder of the Thalie Foundation, has announced that the foundation’s Brussels headquarters will close its doors in 2025 after operating in the Belgian city for 10 years. Since 2014, the foundation, located near Avenue Louise in Brussel’s gallery district, has been an exhibition space for contemporary art, bringing in artists through residencies at its namesake ThalieLab and backing research and publishing projects focused closely on ways that artists and other creative types like writers and curators can interact with ecological issues. While the physical space may be closing, Guiot is continuing the foundation’s work through other offsite programs. She said in a statement that she plans to open a new gallery that will expand on the work done at ThalieLab. Named ALEOR Craft & Biodesign, the new space, which does not yet have an opening date, will aim to function as a research center focused on the use environmental materials. One focus of the program will be on work related to organic matter in the early stages of …

Brussels mayor gives Europe’s hard-right a free hit before EU election – POLITICO

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[ad_1] Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, from the hard-right governing Likud party, compared what he described as the tyrannical woke agenda as another kind of totalitarianism, sitting alongside jihadist terror. “They are hiding behind so-called liberal values but the nature of this movement is anti-liberal,” he told POLITICO.  Captive audience Over two days, the conference buzzed with phrases such as “nihilistic atheism,” the “globalist socialist agenda,” “gender ideology,” “Bolshewokeism,” and “activist judges in Strasbourg,” which flew from the stage around the cramped space. Farage, closely tailed by a security detail, raged against the U.K.’s new smoking ban, performed a few Donald Trump impressions, and on Wednesday stood in the wings chuckling along admiringly as Orbán explained why Central Europe is historically suspicious of supranational political structures.  “Mr. Orbán got a new subject for his campaign: Freedom. The city here was very stupid,” Attila K. Molnar, the director of the National University of Public Service in Budapest, said. On social media, Farage also blasted the mayor on Wednesday afternoon.  [ad_2] Source link

Cancel culture comes to Brussels – POLITICO

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[ad_1] In other words, the mayor shamelessly boasted that a meeting attended by elected MEPs, prime ministers and leading officials who held “the wrong views” could be casually cancelled. However, we did find a third venue — the Claridge Event Hall — and managed to get our conference off the ground. But wait for it! This time, a third mayor, Emir Kir of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode, issued an order to shut us down. The police were sent to the venue armed with a court order, threatening everyone in attendance with dire consequences. Suddenly, as police entered the premises, it felt as if we were in an Orwellian nightmare. They only left because news cameras were rolling, and it was evident to anyone watching that the conference was a civilized and serious intellectual event. Thankfully, the owner of the Claridge took free speech seriously and told the mayor, despite all the threats, that the conference would go ahead. However, we did find a third venue — the Claridge Event Hall — and managed to get our conference off …

Orbán and Farage’s right-wing fiesta goes ahead in Brussels after big court win – POLITICO

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[ad_1] The incident sparked widespread outrage, with EU leaders including Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Orbán condemning the police intervention. Organizers of the conference challenged the mayor’s decision in court to keep the show on the road and the Council of State delivered a late night ruling on Tuesday, striking down the mayor’s order. The court ruled that in case of risks of disruption of public order, authorities must take measures “to curb demonstrations on public roads rather than banning a private meeting” and that the government “must at least make an effort to protect those who wish to exercise their constitutional right of assembly.” Because there was an “average” threat to participants, there was no need for “disproportionate efforts from the police services,” the court said. Emir Kir, the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode where the Claridge is situated, defended his decision to move to shut down the conference. “Being a mayor means being a guarantor of public safety,” he said on social media. “My lack of sympathy for those who preach hatred is assumed but it …