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☆ Canada Prepares for Immigration Surge After Trump Vows Mass Deportation
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Hamed Aleaziz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At 5,525 miles, it is the longest border between any two countries. And that border — separating the United States and Canada — seems set to become a flashpoint between the close allies as President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to take power. The Canadian authorities fear that Mr. Trump’s promised mass deportations will push migrants north, while allies of the incoming president headed for key roles in his administration have raised alarms over a recent spike in undocumented migrants crossing from Canada to the United States. The northern border is also a focus of people named to top positions in the Trump administration, including his new border czar, Tom Homan. He has described the frontier as a major security vulnerability because of what he described as insufficient checks on people entering the United States.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Tom Homan Organizations: New York State Locations: United States, Canada, New, Quebec

☆ Kamala Harris Is Known Abroad for a Personal Touch, and Tough Talk
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Like most vice presidents, Kamala Harris was not given much runway on foreign policy. But in the role she did fill, Ms. Harris made an impression. Ms. Harris can be many things at once: warm but steely on occasion; authoritative but personable. She has represented the United States frequently during trips to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, and has met with more than 150 world leaders. In recent months, she has also become more directly involved in discussions with global leaders on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Democratic Locations: United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas, Ukraine, Israel, Washington, Gaza

☆ Biden Shepherded Europe on Ukraine and NATO. What Happens Now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

European leaders have been relying on President Biden to guide them through some of the continent’s darkest days in decades. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, they found in him a shepherd of sorts, who worked with them to unite behind Kyiv and shaped the response to Russia’s aggression. Mr. Biden urged his European counterparts to impose sanctions on Russia quickly, and his administration lent expertise on how to do so in lock step with the United States. He pushed European allies to get it together when it came to defense and to commit to spend more on NATO.

Persons: Biden, Mr . Biden Organizations: NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, United States

☆ Von der Leyen Secures Second E.U. Term, but It’s a New World Out There
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and a major war in Europe, not many feel nostalgia for the past five years. Ursula von der Leyen soon might. On Thursday, Ms. von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, secured European Parliament approval to lead the European Union’s executive branch for a second five-year term. With the war in Ukraine in its third year and the prospect of a second Trump administration looming, the world is becoming a very different place from the one Ms. von der Leyen has helped the European Union navigate since 2019. A German conservative politician, Ms. von der Leyen was confirmed after a decisive approval vote at the Parliament on Thursday.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, von der Leyen, messier, Trump Organizations: European Commission, European Union Locations: Europe, European, Ukraine, E.U

☆ Pushing Quick End to Ukraine War, Orban Plays Trump’s Messenger to E.U.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After meeting with Donald J. Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary wrote to a top E.U. official to say that Mr. Trump had told him he was planning a swift push for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump’s view, the letter explained, was that the war had to end, and that he had specific plans to broker this outcome quickly, even before being inaugurated, if he were elected. It did not offer details about how Mr. Trump would end the intractable war, now in its third year, other than to indicate that he would reduce American financial support for Ukraine. Mr. Orban is closely aligned with Mr. Trump and is the fiercest critic-from-within of the European Union’s staunch backing of Ukraine.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Viktor Orban, Hungary, Trump’s, Orban Organizations: The New York Times, Mr Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ For Campus Protesters in Brussels, Familiar Methods, but Different Outcomes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the leafy campus of a Dutch-speaking university, students have for months been demanding that their institution break ties with Israeli academia over the war in Gaza. Their campaign borrows extensively from the U.S. campus protest playbook. The students have set up an encampment. They have staged daily demonstrations. But in Belgium’s capital, the protest at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, or V.U.B., has been far more peaceful because of a unique combination of factors: a supportive political environment (Belgium is a vocal critic of Israel); a proactive rector; strict protest rules; and, crucially, a tiny campus Jewish community that has chosen not to confront protesters despite discomfort over some of the protests.

Organizations: Vrije Universiteit Brussel Locations: Gaza, U.S, Israel, Palestine, United States, Belgium’s, Vrije, Belgium

☆ The Greens Are Dead. Long Live the Greens!
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is no sugarcoating it: losing one-third of their seats in the European Parliament elections last week, the Greens tanked. The European Union has in recent years emerged as the world’s most ambitious frontier in fighting climate change. European voters are anxious about the war in Ukraine and its effect on defense and the economy. A cost-of-living crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic is still gripping core European Union members. In this new set of priorities, the Greens’ appeal seems to have faded — or worse, made them appear out of touch.

Organizations: Greens, European, Union Locations: Ukraine

☆ Sweden and Iran Exchange Prisoners in a Breakthrough Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday in a major breakthrough, according to the Swedish prime minister. Iran released the European Union diplomat and Swedish national Johan Floderus, who had been arrested in April 2022 in Tehran, as well as the dual national Saeed Azizi, the Swedish prime minister said. “It is with pleasure that I can announce that Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi are now on a plane home to Sweden, and will soon be reunited with their families,” the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on social media. In exchange, Sweden released Hamid Noury, a high-ranking Iranian official who had been sentenced to life in a Swedish court for war crimes committed in 1988 in Iran.

Persons: Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, Ulf Kristersson, Hamid Noury Organizations: European Union Locations: Iran, Sweden, European, Swedish, Tehran

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Organizations: New York Times

☆ European Parliament Elections: Key Takeaways
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Voters in the 27 European Union member states sent a stern warning to mainstream political powers, wreaking havoc on French and, to a lesser degree, German politics and rewarding hard-line nationalist parties in a number of countries. Even so, the radical right-wing wave dreaded by the European political establishment did not fully materialize; the center of European Union politics held. Here are the most important trends emerging from the elections. Conservatives dominateThe mainstream center-right group, the European People’s Party, performed strongly and finished first, not only maintaining its dominance in the European Parliament but adding a few seats to boot. It was a sign that its strategy over the past two years, to integrate more right-leaning policies in order to stop voters from abandoning for further-right rivals, delivered.

Organizations: Union, European People’s Party

☆ Far Right Surges in European Parliament Elections, Early Data Shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elections in 27 countries for the European Parliament ended on Sunday, with early projections giving far-right parties a strong showing, a result that, if confirmed, would amount to a powerful gauge of voter dissatisfaction and a stinging rebuke for the political mainstream. The balloting indicated that the prevailing winds had grown decidedly chill for Europe’s political establishment. The results are likely to make it harder for the European Parliament to form majorities to pass laws, and would render negotiations over divisive issues even tougher. More broadly, they underscored that the momentum of the far-right forces that have been expanding their challenge to centrists over the past decade had yet to crest. The results were especially crushing for President Emmanuel Macron of France, who on Saturday night hosted President Biden at a state dinner in Paris.

Persons: bode, Emmanuel Macron, Biden Organizations: of Locations: France, Germany, Paris

European Union Parliament Election 2024: Live ResultsThe first countries are now reporting national estimates. The first overall estimate of parliament seat counts are expected after 2:15 p.m. Eastern. No results EPP S&D Renew ECR Greens ID Left Other No results Greens EPP ID S&D Renew Left Other ECR EPP S&D Renew ECR Greens ID Left Other No results Note: Country-level seat counts are estimates based on available exit polls and other non-official data from member states. Projection of overall seats by group The first overall seat count projection will be available after 2:15 p.m. Eastern. Group Seats Seats 0 0 0 0 + Show more * Newly elected members not allied to any of the political groups in the outgoing parliamentElection results are announced country by country, and voting is organized according to national rules.

Organizations: Union, EPP, Greens, Left, The New York Times

☆ The E.U. Votes: What We’re Watching For
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Sarah Hurtes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than 300 million voters in the 27 countries that make up the European Union are heading to the polls to elect the new European Parliament’s 720 members. The Parliament approves or rejects E.U. It also says yea or nay, by simple majority in a secret ballot, to the appointment of the president of the E.U. In the 2019 election, Ursula von der Leyen, a conservative, came dangerously close to being rejected as the European Commission president, securing the Parliament’s approval by just nine votes. This time, Ms. von Leyen, likely to be designated as president for a second five-year term, could face worse odds.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, von Leyen Organizations: Union, European Commission Locations: Ukraine

☆ ‘The Bachelor,’ but Make It Belgian Politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Koba Ryckewaert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the United States, Donald J. Trump and Joe Biden can barely agree to share a stage for a debate. The show, a political version of “The Bachelor” called “The Conclave,” transfixed Belgians in the run-up to the vote for the country’s national and regional parliaments. The elections are coinciding with those for a European Parliament this weekend, in which 27 European Union countries will vote. As in many other European countries, the mainstream political establishment in Belgium has shrunk electorally. But for Belgium, that dynamic is further complicated by the divide between the country’s French-speaking south, Wallonia, and its Dutch-speaking north, Flanders.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Joe Biden, ” Organizations: Union Locations: United States, Belgium, Wallonia, Flanders

☆ The E.U. Is Voting. It’s Never Mattered More.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s tempting to dismiss the European Parliament elections as the most important elections that don’t actually matter. Hundreds of millions of voters across 27 nations will turn out this weekend to cast their ballots, but the European Parliament is the least powerful of the European Union institutions. Its 720 members have limited powers, and, while a few are ascendant stars, a few are retired politicians, or even criminals. The Parliament that emerges from these elections, weak though it may be, will serve as a brake or accelerator for the crucial policies that will help shape Europe’s immediate future. In the five years since the last election, the bloc jointly bought Covid-19 vaccines and started a massive economic stimulus program to recover from the pandemic.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Russia, Ukraine

Donald J. Trump and a number of his allies were indicted in Georgia in August in a sweeping racketeering indictment that accused them of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Credit... Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Haiyun Jiang Organizations: The New York Locations: Georgia

☆ 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

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