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Syriza wins Greek elections

According to the exit polls that were conducted on behalf of the Greek tv networks Syriza is the winner of the Greek elections. This is the exit poll for Mega Channel that has Syriza in the lead with a...

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Syriza allies with the Independent Greeks

With all the votes counted, Syriza won the Greek elections with a 36.34% of the electorate, against a 27.81% of its rival Nea Dimokratia. The noe-fascist party Golden Dawn came third with 6.28%,...

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Conflict re-ignites in Ukraine, leaving EU in dead end

Following the European Union’s renewal of support for the sanctions against Russia, the fighting in Eastern Ukraine intensified. Last Saturday pro-Russian rebels shelled the Ukrainian city of Mariupol,...

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Syriza government: the first week

The new Greek government’s first week in power was marked by a series of declarations of intentions. Some were wide in scope such as the halting of the privatisation of the national electricity company...

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Hungarians protest against their government’s pro-Russian policies

The streets of Budapest on Sunday, 1 February, were full of people demonstrating against their government. The policies of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister, are widely seen as pro-Russian....

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Greek “charm offensive” ends in collision with Germany

This has been a week where Greece has dominated the European headlines. However, as a key protagonist, the new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, has pointed out, every time this happens it is...

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Giving another chance to diplomacy in Ukraine

The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed on Sunday, 8 February, to press ahead with the diplomatic initiative by Ms Merkel to ease the tension in Eastern Ukraine. Following on last...

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Ukraine ceasefire to start on Sunday

The leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia have forged out an agreement for a ceasefire that will end weeks of intense fighting in eastern Ukraine (read the full text here). Following their...

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Tense negotiations continue on Greece’s bailout terms

An agreement on the Greek bailout programme was initially supposed to be reached at the Eurogroup meeting of 11 February. As the finance ministers gathered it became clear that arriving at decisions...

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Orban welcomes Putin on EU soil

President Putin’s visit to Budapest on 17 February has raised eyebrows externally and provoked protests within Hungary. The first bilateral visit of the Russian President to an EU country since the...

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Romania’s high-level corruption crackdown

Two former ministers of Romania have just been arrested. One is the former minister of tourism, presidential candidate in last year’s elections and currently MP, Elena Udrea. She was found guilty of...

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New Belgian database of “foreign fighters”

Returning from a visit to the United States, where he took part in the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, the Belgian Security and Home Affairs Minister, Jan Jambon, announced this...

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The Eurogroup approves Greek measures

24 February 2015  Greece continues to be financed with the help of the European Union. Eurozone Ministers of Economy and Finance have approved the new package of economic measures presented to Brussels...

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Poland’s complicity in CIA torture programme confirmed 

By Victoria Parsons The European Court of Human Rights has confirmed that the Polish government was complicit in the CIA’s secretive programme of rendition, detention and interrogation. The Court in...

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Europe takes a new step towards reducing energy dependence

This past week the European Commission adopted a series of policy objectives towards designing a more integrated European energy system that would entail less dependence on foreign imports and fewer...

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Governing coalition wins Estonia elections

The liberal, pro-European and pro-NATO Estonian Reform Party led by Prime Minister Taavi Roivas and his partners in government, the Social Democrats, won the 1 March 2015 parliamentary elections,...

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Ms. Merkel visits Brussels

German Chancellor Angela Merkel paid a one-day visit to Brussels on 4 March, and met with the European Commission President and the entire College of Commissioners. One wonders whether that would have...

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Increasing Iberia’s energy interconnection

The energy isolation of the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe is hopefully coming to an end, or at least progress is expected to be made in that direction, following the 4 March 2015 signing of...

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Mogherini speaks at the UN in New York

The first official visit of the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / European Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini to New York on 8 and 9 March included,...

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Saudi Arabia Recalls its Ambassador to Sweden over Human Rights Row

This week Saudi Arabia decided to recall its Ambassador to Sweden after Margot Wallström, the Swedish Foreign Minister, criticized Saudi “human rights and democracy” standards. Wallström had been...

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Elections in Andalusia signal end of two-party system in Spain

Elections on Sunday for the Parliament of the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, in the South of Spain, provided a first reality check of the strength of the new political party Podemos. This party...

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Turkish President visits Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania

Turkey’s diplomatic relations with Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania have seen a boost this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid official visits to the three countries. In Slovenia, the Turkish...

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The EU accuses Google of abusing its dominant position and opens up an...

After five years of research, the European Commission has today accused Google of abusing its dominant position by promoting its products in Internet searches, where it controls 90% of the market share...

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Eurogroup talks stall as Greece dithers on its promises

At the Eurogroup meeting on Friday, 24 April, all eyes were on Greece. The embattled Eurozone country got hammered for backtracking on much needed fiscal reforms. Eurogroup officials stated that such...

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Hungarian PM raises eyebrows after talk of reinstating the death penalty

On 28 April, while addressing a crowd in the southwestern Hungarian city of Pecs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban came out in favour of reinstating the death penalty. According to the Hungarian state...

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Electoral reform for more political stability in Italy

On Monday, 4 May, the Italian Parliament voted on legislation aimed at reforming the country’s electoral system. The overhaul, proposed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, seeks to put an end to a...

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Clear victory for David Cameron in UK general election

The Conservatives’ sweep to victory in the 7 May general election means that a triumphant David Cameron will be back at 10 Downing Street without much hassle or reliance on a coalition partner to form...

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Unexpected results in Polish presidential election

Andrzej Duda pulled off a surprising upset over the incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski in the first round of the Polish presidential election. According to the Polish Press Agency exit poll, the surge in...

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Andrzej Duda wins Polish presidential election

24 May. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat in Sunday’s presidential elections. The exit polls showed him trailing his main challenger, Andrzej Duda, who managed to win 53% of the...

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New Finnish Government appointed

On 1 June, the President of the Republic of Finland Juha Sipila appointed the country’s 74th government. This moment marked the dismissal of Alexander Stubb’s cabinet and the coming into office of...

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Cameron’s EU charm offensive

David Cameron has concluded a one week EU whistle-stop tour in his bid to reform the 28-nation bloc and win back powers from Brussels. Coming after a fresh win in last month’s general election, the...

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Romanian Prime Minister granted immunity

Under investigation for corruption, the Romanian Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, refuses to resign, declaring himself innocent. The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) announced on Friday, 5 June,...

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Stalemate in EU migration talks

On Tuesday, 16 June, EU Home Affairs Ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss a plan to distribute asylum seekers more equally across the 28-member bloc. The scheme is part of the European Agenda on...

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Centre-right alliance wins Danish elections

With nearly all the votes counted, former Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen can now call the elections for his centre-right coalition. After a tight race, it appears that the opposition bloc...

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EU NAVFOR Med gets the green light

On Monday, 22 June, the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg launched EU NAVFOR Med, a joint naval force aimed at dismantling people smuggling networks in the Mediterranean Sea. This...

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Rifts over EU Migration Plan

The European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, 25 and 26 June, exposed divides between EU member states on asylum seeker distribution quotas. After a wrangle overshadowing other issues discussed...

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Greek bailout: No extension, Yes renewal?

The Eurogroup has refused the Greek government’s request to extend the bailout programme, which expired at midnight on June 30th. By this time, Greece would have had to make a €1.6 billion payment to...

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Hungary approves border fence and anti-immigration law

The Hungarian Parliament has intensified the country’s anti-immigration drive by passing new legislation tightening asylum rules and giving the go-ahead for the construction of a fence on the Serbian...

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Merkel visits Balkans amid Euro crisis

Taking time out of the Greek crisis, Chancellor Merkel set off on a tour of the Western Balkans (8-9 July 2015), reassuring the nations of Albania, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina of her support for...

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Crisis at Calais

The story about crowds of immigrants storming the freight terminal in the French port of Calais, trying to board trucks headed for the UK, has mesmerized onlookers from across Europe and beyond. The...

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EU leaders urged to show solidarity on the migration crisis

The European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos, called upon all EU member states to step up to the plate and help fellow countries left to deal with the influx of...

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Record number of migrants at EU borders

Frontex released on Tuesday, 18 August, its latest data regarding the number of migrants registered at EU borders. The influx of migrants has skyrocketed, reaching a record high of 107,500 persons in...

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Tsipras kicks off election campaign

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launched his election campaign with a TV interview, which aired on 26 August and in which he defended his brief term in office. Even before the 14 August Greek...

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Different approaches to the refugee crisis

The refugee crisis has revealed rifts among EU member states trying to cope with the influx of asylum seekers who hope to make their way to the wealthier parts of Europe. EU leaders are acting in very...

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Tsipras wins new mandate

Despite expectations of a neck-and-neck struggle between SYRIZA and New Democracy, Alexis Tsipras’ party is the clear winner of the 20 September general election in Greece. With about ninety-two per...

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Catalonia: pro-independence movement grows but fails to obtain majority of votes

“We have won”, claimed Artur Mas on Sunday, 27 September, when his party, CDC (Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya, for Democratic Convergence of Catalonia) obtained the majority during regional...

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Presidential election blues in Austria

By Dario Groppi Norbert Höfer could be the next president of Austria. He won 36.4% in the first round of presidential elections on 24 April, the largest among the candidates. Höfer is the candidate of...

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Pirates sail for government in Iceland

A decade after it was founded, the Pirate Party are set to make yet another historic step, this time in Iceland, where it has has mobilized a great level of public support and has been leading the...

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Deciphering Europe’s ‘populist moment’

The growing divide between the winners and losers of globalisation is fertile ground for populists pushing isolationist politics. Only by understanding this divide can we address it. Populist parties...

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Minority Left Government in Portugal after Former Government Falls

As expected, the shaky Portuguese right-wing government led by a centre-right coalition fell, toppled by a left-wing alliance. Considered by many as a milestone, the collapse of the Portugal à Frente...

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