Search Results for: European Parliament

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in downtown Budapest, Hungary to protest the government of incumbent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The protests were led by Péter Magyar, a lawyer and the ex-husband of Orbán’s former Justice Minister Judit Varga, who shot to prominence in Hungarian politics as a vocal Orbán critic after releasing [...]

The EU condemned on Thursday Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, for reintroducing a controversial foreign-agents law. If the law is adopted, civil organizations that receive over 20 percent of their funding from abroad must register as “agents of foreign influence.” Georgia’s parliament had previously adopted the law in February 2023. That sparked national and international [...]

The Finnish Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday that it will extend the closure of crossing stations on its land border with Russia until further notice. In addition, it will also close the water traffic border crossings at Haapasaari, the port of Nuijamaa and Santio, on April 15. The Thursday decision extends the closure of [...]

German parliamentarian Petr Bystron, representing the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), denied on Thursday allegations of receiving bribes from Russia, according to an exclusive report from German journalist Alexander Wallasch, who obtained a copy of a letter from Bystron to the AfD’s leadership. In a formal letter to Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, the [...]

This week in Scotland, a hate crime law that ranks among the world’s strictest entered into force. The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 (Hate Crime Act) aims to modernize and consolidate protections while broadening the scope of recognized hate crimes to encompass a wider range of individuals and circumstances. In other words, the [...]

Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karinš announced his resignation this week, following the initiation of a criminal investigation into his excessive use of private jets and alleged misconduct by his office during his tenure as the Baltic country’s prime minister from 2019-2023, according to local media. Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported Karinš’s resignation following a meeting [...]

Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly that the National Security Council (NSC) is coping with the threats posed by social media platforms particularly the app TikTok. TikTok is a short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance, rapidly gaining worldwide popularity in recent years. [...]

A European Commission spokesman expressed regret to Reuters on Thursday over Slovakia dissolving its Special Prosecutor’s Office without safeguards to ensure the continuity of effective investigations in the country. The spokesman said that the dissolution of the office would potentially undermine the effectiveness of investigations. The office was officially dissolved on March 20 after its dissolution [...]

The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission released an opinion Tuesday criticizing Hungary’s recent sovereignty protection law as a potential threat to free discourse. In light of its analysis, the Venice Commission ultimately recommended that the law be repealed. The opinion centers around Hungary’s Act LXXXVIII on the Protection of National Sovereignty, adopted in December 2023. [...]

Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) was reported on Saturday to have initiated criminal proceedings against Tatjana Ždanoka, a European Parliament lawmaker (MEP) and Latvian citizen, on suspicion of cooperating with Russian intelligence and security services, according to local Latvian media outlets.  Per media reports, the VDD had been investigating the activities of  Ždanoka, 73, following [...]