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☆ 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

Wildfires ravaged northern Greece for a fifth consecutive day on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of settlements on the outskirts of the capital, Athens. The authorities said they were battling scores of blazes around the country after weeks of searing heat turned many areas into tinderboxes. “It is the worst summer for fires since records began,” said Vassilis Kikilias, the civil protection minister. Mr. Kikilias said rescue forces were giving “110 percent” in their efforts to douse multiple blazes around the country, noting that 355 new fires had broken out in the past five days — 209 of them in the last 24 hours.

Persons: ”, Vassilis Kikilias, Kikilias Locations: Greece, Athens, tinderboxes

Last year, Giorgia Meloni, an Italian far-right politician, became prime minister on an agenda that many feared would mark a radical turn for the country. Now, her visit to the White House last week has bolstered her credentials on the international stage. Jason Horowitz, the Rome bureau chief for The New York Times, explains how she got here and the path she has carved out for Europe’s far-right parties.

Persons: Giorgia, Jason Horowitz Organizations: The New York Times Locations: Italian, Rome

Some of the worst symptoms of menopause — including hot flashes, sleeplessness and pain during sex — have an established treatment. Why aren’t more women offered it? Susan Dominus, a writer for The New York Times Magazine, explains how menopause has been misunderstood both by doctors and society for years, and tells us what happened when her article about it went viral.

Persons: Susan Dominus Organizations: The New York Times Magazine

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it put the global food supply at risk — until the two countries struck an unusual deal to keep shipments flowing. Last week, that deal fell apart. Marc Santora, who has been reporting from Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, explains what the collapse of the agreement means for the war and why its impact will be felt by tens of millions of people across the world.

Persons: Marc Santora Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ The Global Immigration Backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( David Leonhardt | More About David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Rutte’s decisionWith today’s left-leaning and centrist parties largely accepting of high levels of immigration, right-wing parties have become attractive to many voters who favor less immigration. The governing coalition there collapsed on Friday after centrist parties refused to accept part of the conservative prime minister’s plan to reduce migration. Rather than alter his plan, the prime minister, Mark Rutte, dissolved the government, setting up an election this fall. Yet he came to believe that reducing immigration was “a matter of political survival” for his party, my colleagues Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Claire Moses reported. Although the details are different, President Biden has also recently taken steps to reduce unauthorized immigration.

Persons: today’s, Jason Horowitz, Jason, Mark Rutte, Matina Stevis, Claire Moses, Biden Organizations: The Times, Democratic Party Locations: France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Spain, Netherlands, Dutch, U.S, Mexico, Europe

The collapse of a Dutch coalition government over a proposed refugee policy has once again underscored the potency of immigration as an arbiter of Europe’s politics and how stopping far-right parties from capitalizing on it is a growing problem for mainstream politicians. The current crisis in the Netherlands was precipitated by its conservative prime minister, Mark Rutte, who resigned after his centrist coalition partners refused to back his tough new policy on refugees. Dutch news outlets reported that Mr. Rutte had proposed, among other things, a two-year waiting period before the children of recognized refugees living in the Netherlands could join their parents, a nonstarter for his coalition partners. For Mr. Rutte, a deft operator known as “Teflon Mark” for his resilience over 13 years in power, holding the line on an issue that many of his voters care deeply about was a matter of political survival, analysts say, that went beyond the life span of this particular coalition.

Persons: Mark Rutte, Rutte, ” Locations: Dutch, Netherlands

☆ Everyone Knew the Migrant Ship Was Doomed. No One Helped.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | Karam Shoumali | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In Greece, nine Egyptian survivors from the Adriana were arrested and charged with smuggling and causing the shipwreck. In sworn testimonies and interviews, survivors said that many of the nine brutalized and extorted passengers. At least one of the men charged with being a smuggler had himself paid a full fee of more than $4,000 to be on the ship. The women and young children went down with the ship. Setting SailKamiran Ahmad, a Syrian teenager, a month shy of his 18th birthday, had arrived in Tobruk, Libya, with hopes for a new life.

Persons: Adriana, Ahmad Locations: Greece, Italy, Pakistan, Syrian, Tobruk, Libya, Germany

☆ A Superyacht Gave a Lifeline to 100 Migrants Thrown Into the Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Jason Horowitz | Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The superyacht Mayan Queen IV was sailing smoothly in clear weather through the dark and calm Mediterranean in the early hours of June 14 when it received a call about a migrant ship in distress four nautical miles away. About 20 minutes later, shortly before 3 a.m., the towering $175-million yacht, owned by the family of a Mexican silver magnate, arrived at the scene. All the four-person crew could see were the lights of a Greek Coast Guard vessel scanning the water’s inky surface. “Horrible,” said the Mayan Queen’s captain, Richard Kirkby, who described the sea as “pitch black” on that nearly moonless night. As many as 650 men, women and children drowned.

Persons: IV, ”, Richard Kirkby Organizations: Greek Coast Guard Locations: Mexican, Monaco, Italy

☆ E.U. Takes Aim at China in Proposed Economic Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a new trade doctrine aimed at curbing China’s ability to squeeze Europe’s economy, and at preventing European companies from exporting sensitive, military-linked technology that could give China an edge. The policy, still in its early stages, highlights how the European Union is seeking to align itself with the United States in limiting China’s access to sensitive markets and industrial secrets. The announcement in Brussels came in a busy week for Europe-China relations. The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, is visiting Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and business leaders on Tuesday before heading to meetings in France. The initiative also underscores how the European Union, one of the world’s biggest economies and a key trade partner to both China and the U.S., is trying to manage its economic dependence on Beijing and avoid the kind of economic breakup with Russia that followed the invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Li Qiang, Chancellor Olaf Scholz Organizations: European Commission, European Union Locations: China, United States, Moscow, Brussels, Europe, Germany, France, U.S, Beijing, Russia, Ukraine

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