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☆ The War Is Shifting Europe’s Politics Away From Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Europe, long a vital source of support for Israel, the political center of gravity is moving away from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. And most European governments offered unequivocal support to the International Criminal Court this week, after it requested arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defense minister, along with leaders of Hamas. Israel still has staunch allies within the European Union, especially Hungary and the Czech Republic, and key players like Germany, despite growing discomfort with Israel’s conduct, have not shown any inclination to alter their stance. The growing fissures within Europe mean that the consensus-driven European Union will not change its positions any time soon. But European countries face rising international and domestic pressure to take a firmer stand against Israel’s handling of the Palestinian territories, and particularly the devastating war in Gaza.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s Organizations: Israel, Palestinian, International, European Union Locations: Europe, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Israel, Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany, Gaza

☆ Calls to Pause Slovakia’s E.U. Election Campaigning Raise Questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Calls are growing in Slovakia for political parties to suspend campaigning for the European Union elections, just three weeks away, in the wake of the assassination attempt on the prime minister in the sharply polarized country. The president-elect of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, and others say the step is necessary to avoid further inflammatory political discourse, which has escalated further since the shooting that left Prime Minister Robert Fico badly wounded. At least one party, the opposition Progress Slovakia party, said it would immediately suspend its campaign, to help “end the spiral of attacks and blame.”The local news media reported that another party, the Christian Democratic Movement, had also paused campaigning. It is not clear how long such suspensions would last or what that would mean for Slovakia’s participation in the E.U. Voters across the European Union will elect 720 European Parliament representatives, with polling scheduled to take place in all 27 of the bloc’s members from June 6 to 9.

Persons: Peter Pellegrini, Robert Fico Organizations: European Union, Slovakia, Christian Democratic Movement Locations: Slovakia

covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.

☆ European Union 2024 Election: What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Why does this election matter? Hundreds of millions of voters in all the 27 countries that make up the European Union are heading to polls between June 6 and 9 to choose their representatives in the European Parliament, the only directly elected institution of the alliance. The European Union is one of the world’s most ambitious political experiments, but because of its complex governing structure, it has often been criticized for a lack of transparency and democratic accountability. The European Parliament election, which takes place every five years, is the only way in which E.U. citizens can have a direct say in shaping the bloc’s policies.

Organizations: Union, European Locations: E.U

☆ Migration Overhaul in E.U. Clears Final Hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A landmark bill set to overhaul migration policy across the European Union cleared its final hurdle on Wednesday after it was approved by the European Parliament. The bill, which had taken the best part of the last decade to negotiate, aims to make it easier for member states to deport failed asylum seekers and to limit entry of migrants into the bloc. It would also give governments greater control over their borders, while bolstering the E.U.’s role in migration management — treating it as a European issue, not one member states have to face alone. European officials and politicians had been intent on passing the legislation before E.U. This is a developing story.

Organizations: European Union, Parliament

☆ Middle East Crisis Israeli Military Takes Responsibility for Strike That Killed 7 Aid Workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Ben Shpigel | Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

A car used by World Central Kitchen that was hit by a strike in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military had been informed of the aid workers’ movements, the charity said. The World Central Kitchen logo could be seen on items inside the charred interiors of the northernmost and southernmost cars. Mr. Abutaha and other World Central Kitchen workers were thrilled to have the opportunity to unload the desperately needed food aid. The World Central Kitchen aid ship is headed back to Cyprus.

Persons: Deir al Balah, José Andrés, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ”, Erin Gore, Anthony Albanese, Zomi, Penny Wong, Damian Sobol, Wojciech Bakun, Zomi Frankcom, Associated Press David Cameron, John Chapman, James Henderson, James Kirby, Chapman, Henderson, Jacob Flickinger, Saif Abutaha, Abutaha, Shadi, “, Cameron, Israel “, Jamie McGoldrick, Haitham Imad, Mr, Netanyahu, ” Mr, Herzi Halevi, Daniel Hagari, Jennifer, Theodoros Gotsis, Gotsis, Patrick Kingsley, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Gabby Sobelman, Matina, Lauren Leatherby, Nader Ibrahim, Kim Severson Organizations: Central Kitchen, The New York Times, ”, ., Free Place Foundation, Associated Press, BBC, James Kirby . Local, Royal Marines, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Central, West Bank, Najjar, United Nations, Agence France, Cypriot Locations: Deir al, Gaza, Spanish, Deir al Balah, Al, Rashid, Palestinian, United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, Poland, Australian, Polish, Przemysl, British, James Kirby . Local British, Palestine, Egypt, Israel, Rafah, Cyprus, Cypriot, Larnaca

☆ Hungary and E.U. Lock Horns, This Time Over Foreign-Interference Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just days after a major showdown between the European Union and Hungary over aid to Ukraine, the European Commission on Wednesday announced it was opening a new disciplinary procedure against the Hungarian government over a recently passed piece of legislation that focuses on activities by foreigners deemed subversive. The move comes on top of several other open disciplinary procedures against Hungary that the European Commission, the E.U. executive branch, has been pursuing against the government of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban. Mr. Orban has long denounced the battles with Brussels, which he says pits a “woke globalist Goliath” against Hungary’s “David.” He has maintained that the European Union is out to punish him for pursuing a Christian conservative agenda, which he says is in line with the wishes of the Hungarian people. The action by the commission centers on recently passed legislation in Hungary that seeks to punish interactions between Hungarian individuals or organizations, and foreigners or foreign groups that a newly created Office for the Defense of Sovereignty deems subversive.

Persons: Viktor Orban, Mr, Orban, globalist Goliath, Hungary’s “ David, ” Organizations: European Union, European Commission, Wednesday, European, Defense, Sovereignty Locations: Hungary, Ukraine, Hungarian, Brussels

☆ Over 800 Officials in U.S. and Europe Sign Letter Protesting Israel Policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Edward Wong | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than 800 officials in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union released a public letter of dissent on Friday against their governments’ support of Israel in its war in Gaza. The letter is the first instance of officials in allied nations across the Atlantic coming together to openly criticize their governments over the war, say current and former officials who are organizing or supporting the effort. The signers say they have raised concerns through internal channels but have been ignored. “Our governments’ current policies weaken their moral standing and undermine their ability to stand up for freedom, justice and human rights globally,” the letter says, according to a copy obtained Thursday by The New York Times. It adds that “there is a plausible risk that our governments’ policies are contributing to grave violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and even ethnic cleansing or genocide.”

Persons: ” Organizations: European Union, The New York Times Locations: United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Gaza

☆ Hungary Is Blocking E.U. Money for Ukraine. Here’s What You Need to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The European Union’s leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday to try and strike a deal with Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, who is blocking a multibillion euro fund aimed at securing Ukraine’s financing for the next few years. Talks are gridlocked and the mood toward Mr. Orban is negative, with European leaders, unusually united against one of their peers, fed up with his stance on Ukraine and his anti-E.U. A 50-billion euro ($54 billion) fund to support Ukraine through to the end of 2027. Ukraine is facing one of is most difficult moments since Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, with U.S. aid held up and virtually no progress on the battlefield. aid, to be dispensed in the form of loans and grants over the next four years, would both cover immediate needs and allow Ukraine to plan its long-term budget.

Persons: Viktor Orban of Hungary, Orban, What’s Organizations: European Locations: Brussels, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ E.U.’s Hungary Problem Looms Large Ahead of Crucial Ukraine Summit
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The only thing standing in their way is Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. A compromise with Mr. Orban, who has demanded an annual veto on the spending, has remained elusive, meaning that the unanimity required for such a deal among the 27 E.U. If Mr. Orban continues to stand in the way, E.U. Yet even if the remaining 26 leaders are not forced to go ahead without Mr. Orban, a larger problem is now firmly front and center: What will the E.U. For a small country that accounts for just 1 percent of the bloc’s economic output, Hungary has been a big headache.

Persons: Viktor Orban of Hungary, Orban Organizations: Union, U.S Locations: Brussels, Ukraine, Hungary

European foreign ministers pressed their Israeli counterpart on Monday to agree to the creation of a Palestinian state, in a meeting that left European diplomats bewildered about postwar Israeli plans for the Gaza Strip and reinforced the deep disconnect between Israel and much of the world. The two sides appeared to be having two different conversations. Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, said after the meeting in Brussels that European nations were resolute that “sustainable, lasting peace” must include Palestinian statehood, an option that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has doubled down on opposing in recent days. Israel’s foreign minister, Yisrael Katz, presented to the Europeans a plan involving an artificial island off Gaza’s coast — a plan that did not address the future governance of the territory, according to officials in the meeting. While the diplomats talked past each other, heavy fighting intensified in southern Gaza on Monday, with medical personnel reporting major exchanges of gunfire and a surge of Israeli tanks and troops into areas around hospitals.

Persons: Josep Borrell Fontelles, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yisrael Katz Organizations: Gaza Locations: Palestinian, Israel, Brussels, Gaza

American, British and European officials are pressuring Israel to let aid for Gaza transit through the Israeli port of Ashdod to help alleviate a metastasizing humanitarian crisis, according to six U.S. and European officials. Israel’s military responded to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by invading and declaring a siege on Gaza, which was already under a yearslong blockade. Humanitarian workers say vastly more aid is needed to meaningfully help Gaza’s 2.2 million residents amid dire shortages of food, water and supplies. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken pressed Israeli officials about allowing Gaza aid through the port of Ashdod when he was in Tel Aviv earlier this month, according to one U.S. official. That official and the others interviewed about the new aid proposal spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken Locations: Israel, Gaza, Ashdod, Egypt, Tel Aviv

Namzi Mwafi, 23, has one job, day in and day out: find water for his family. To keep them alive, Mr. Mwafi says he wakes up at 4 a.m., spending hours waiting for water at a crowded filling station. Sometimes, he has to fight to keep his place in line and sometimes there is nothing left when his turn comes. Firewood and coal have also largely run out, so families are burning stripped-down doors, shutters and window frames, cardboard and grasses. “We went back to the Stone Age,” Mr. Mwafi said.

Persons: Namzi Mwafi, Mwafi, “, Mr Organizations: United Nations Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt

Yet over the last three weeks of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, Rafah has become the focus of heated negotiations, a place where many people, both powerful and powerless, have pinned their waning hopes. So far, nothing and no one has been able to come out of Gaza. Aid trucks and army tanks lined the dusty road leading to the crossing. On Tuesday, 83 trucks arrived in Gaza, said Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. There is still a chance that an agreement could come together for people with foreign passports to leave.

Persons: we’ve, Mostafa Madbouly, Wael Abu Omar, David M, ”, Israel, ’, Madbouly, Mustafa Mouftah, Mr, Satterfield, Biden, Hiba, Iyad Abuheweila Organizations: Gaza’s General Authority, ”, European Union, U.S, United Locations: Cairo, Rafah, Egypt, Gaza, Israel, North, United States, Egyptian, El Arish

“There is no time to mourn — more death is on the way,” Mr. Mansour said. “The answer to the killing of Palestinian civilians is not the killing of Israeli civilians,” Mr. Mansour said. Mr. Mansour, the Palestinian representative, also directly responded to a speech the Israeli foreign minister, Eli Cohen, made at the U.N. Security Council this week. Mr. Cohen called for Israeli hostages to be brought home, but “for millions of Palestinians, there is no home to go back to,” Mr. Mansour said. “For thousands, there is no family left to embrace.”“He told you how horrible it was to kill civilians,” Mr. Mansour continued, “just before justifying the killing of Palestinian civilians by the thousands.

Persons: Riyad Mansour, —, ” Mr, Mansour, ”, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, Mr, Eli Cohen, Cohen, “, Dennis Francis of Trinidad, Jordan, Ayman Safadi, ” Anushka Patil Organizations: United Nations, United Nations General Assembly, Palestinian, Islamic, . Security, Arab Locations: Gaza ., Israel, Gaza, Islamic State, Iran, Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, Jordan

Image Palestinians wounded in Ahli Arab Hospital blast were later treated at another hospital in Gaza on Tuesday. Israel said the strike on the hospital parking lot was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket, citing intelligence intercepts and videos of the sky above Gaza at the time. Al Jazeera, a Qatari news channel, concluded that a Palestinian rocket had been intercepted by an Israeli air defense missile. Scores of public institutions in northern Gaza, including hospitals like the Ahli Arab hospital, were warned by Israel to evacuate. American intelligence agencies have assessed that the blast killed 100 to 300 people.

Persons: Israel, ”, Ghazi Hamad, ” Salama Maroof, “, Abed Khaled, Hamas’s, Daniel Hagari, Musab Al, Umit Turhan, Hagari, Biden, Al Jazeera, Jones, Hamad, “ We’ve, Motasem Mortaja, Fadi Diab, Diab, Father Diab, Associated Press Yousur, Hlou Organizations: Hamas, The New York Times, Sunday, The Times, Arab Hospital, ., Palestinian, Islamic, East . Credit, Agence France, Getty, Wall Street, Associated Press, CNN, Munitions, Armament Research Services, Press, World Health Organization, WHO Locations: Al Ahli, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Ahli, Palestinian, Islamic, Istanbul, East, Israeli, London, Al, Qatari, Australia, Cairo

Quantity and flow of aidIsrael would like for 20 trucks to pass into Gaza, but won’t commit on future aid flows. “What is certainly undoubtedly needed is a steady flow of much bigger quantities of humanitarian assistance,” the European Union humanitarian aid commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said in an interview on Friday. is the biggest international aid donor to the Palestinians and has dozens of tons of aid on the Egyptian side of the border waiting to be delivered. Destination of aidIsrael wants aid to be delivered to southern Gaza, not northern Gaza where it had demanded last week that civilians leave, in an apparent run-up to a ground invasion. “Humanitarian aid should go to all places where there are people who need it,” Mr. Lenarcic said.

Persons: Janez Lenarcic, Israel, ” Mr, Lenarcic, Patrick Kingsley Organizations: Union, United Nations, United Locations: Israel, Gaza, Syria, United Nations, Jerusalem

On one side of the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza sit more than 100 trucks packed with desperately needed food, water and medical supplies. On the other wait more than 2 million Gazans now scraping by on dwindling stocks of basic human necessities. Officials and aid workers on Thursday were hammering out the logistics of opening the gates, saying that a U.N.-led deal had laid the groundwork to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Egypt, offering the renewed promise of relief to the besieged enclave. Aid organizations were told that the crossing would open on Friday morning, according to an aid official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The deal, officials said, includes the U.N. flag being raised at the crossing and international observers inspecting aid trucks before they enter Gaza.

Persons: Egypt — Organizations: Israel, Hamas Locations: Egypt, Gaza, Gazan, Rafah

Aid convoy trucks waiting at the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza from Egypt on Thursday. As Gaza grapples with an escalating humanitarian crisis, the prospect of getting aid through the closed Rafah border crossing with Egypt has taken on particular urgency. Hopes are high that the aid trucks would be able to cross into Gaza on Friday, according to European Union officials coordinating aid from the bloc. The American, U.N. and Egyptian officials are discussing who would carry out those cargo inspections, a person directly familiar with the matter said, requesting anonymity to speak about the delicate negotiations. “All of Gaza is waiting for the aid,” Wael Abu Omar, the spokesman for Hamas’s interior ministry, said Thursday.

Persons: Biden, Israel, ”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “, António Guterres, Martin Griffiths, Samar Abu Elouf, Wael Abu Omar, Israel readies, Abood, Okal, ” Iyad Abuheweila, Yazbek Organizations: Diplomats, European Union, World Health Organization, International Committee, The New York Times, Palestinian Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Arish, Palestine, Cairo, U.S, Samar, E.U, Palestinian American, Jerusalem

An aerial view of a music festival that was the site of a Hamas attack. The next images are of Ms. Schem, who disappeared from the site of a music festival where at least 260 people were killed, speaking directly to the camera in Hebrew. “At the moment I am in Gaza,” Ms. Schem says in a solemn, clipped voice. “She called me to say she was going to a party down south,” Keren Schem said. Keren Schem said one person who was at the show described having seen her daughter walking toward a kibbutz nearby.

Persons: Mia Schem, —, Schem, “, Ms, ”, Shem, Schem’s, Keren Schem, ” Keren Schem, Keren Schem’s, Mia, Nadav Gavrielov Organizations: Hamas, The New York Times Locations: Gaza, Israel, Tel Aviv

☆ What’s in Our Queue? ‘Rough Diamonds’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? ‘Rough Diamonds’ and MoreI’m the New York Times bureau chief in Brussels, where I cover the European Union. I’ve had a peripatetic summer, split among Belgium, my native Greece and New York City. Here are five things I’ve been watching, listening to and more →

Persons: I’ve Organizations: New York Times, European Union Locations: Brussels, European, Belgium, Greece, New York City

The European Union will begin an investigation into Chinese subsidies of electric vehicles, the bloc’s top official announced Wednesday, in a move that highlights Europe’s growing industrial and geopolitical competition with China. The inquiry could lead to trade restrictions, such as import tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Chinese automakers have gained a dominant position in the global electric vehicle industry and see Europe as a key potential market. “Europe is open for competition, not for a race to the bottom,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, speaking in Strasbourg, France. “We must defend ourselves against unfair practices.”She announced the initiative during her annual state of the European Union address, which sets the tone for the year ahead.

Persons: ”, Ursula von der Leyen, “ Organizations: European Union, European Commission Locations: China, Europe, Beijing, “ Europe, Strasbourg, France

☆ E.U. Official Held in Iran Prison in Brutal Conditions, Family Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ten months with no communication with his family. A cell that’s fully lit around the clock. These are some of conditions faced by Johan Floderus, a European Union official from Sweden who was arrested in Iran in April last year and has been held hostage since, his family revealed on Sunday. Last week The New York Times was the first to report on his incarceration at Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, after E.U. and Swedish authorities kept it under wraps for more than 500 days.

Persons: Johan Floderus Organizations: European Union, New York Times Locations: Sweden, Iran

☆ E.U. Official From Sweden Is Imprisoned in Iran for Over 500 Days
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A Swedish citizen working for the European Union diplomatic corps has been imprisoned in Iran for more than 500 days, making him an important bargaining chip for Tehran as it tries to wring concessions from the West. The arrest, which has been kept under wraps for over a year by the Swedish and European Union authorities, appears to be part of an expanding pattern of what has become known as Iran’s “hostage diplomacy.”Tehran has been opportunistically scooping up dual Iranian nationals and foreigners on spurious charges, seeking to trade them for Iranians held in Europe or the United States, or to use them as leverage to extract money and other concessions. Last month the United States concluded a deal with Iran to free five Americans held there in exchange for $6 billion in withheld Iranian oil revenues as well as the release of Iranian prisoners in America.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Swedish, Iran, Tehran, Europe, United States, America

☆ Tested in Greece’s Fires: An Emergency Force for 27 Countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Exhausted, with dark smudges across flushed cheeks, they watched Europe’s most destructive blaze in recent history advance through virgin forest across the hill. In this spot, the impenetrably dense forest meant firefighters couldn’t confront the enemy on the ground. The acrid air in the tidy village square was full of ash settling gently like snow. They opened the cafe on the square, pulled up chairs and offered the firefighters drinks and snacks. Together, they waited for what the night held in store.

Locations: Dadia, Europe

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