Tag: EU

EU votes as far right seeks blow to Macron

by Alex PIGMAN BRUXELLES, Belgium (AFP) — Slovaks and Latvians cast their ballots in EU elections on Saturday as the far right hoped to clinch major gains and deny a pro-Europe victory to French President Emmanuel Macron. Polls were open in Malta, Slovakia and Latvia, with most of the bloc’s 28 member states — including big players Germany, France and Italy — to vote on Sunday, with turnout expected to be low. Polling has shown […]

Liberal, Green gains upset EU parliament power balance

by Lachlan CARMICHAEL BRUXELLES, Belgium (AFP) — Liberals and Greens say they have broken the two centrist blocs’ grip on power in the European Parliament based on a projected shift in the electoral fortunes of the four. Liberals and Greens are now pushing harder to snag the head of the European Commission, the 28-nation EU executive, and shape key laws, such as on climate change and taxation. The center-right EPP (European People’s Party) still has […]

Tearful May calls time on premiership overshadowed by Brexit

by Joe JACKSON LONDON, United States (AFP) — Her voice breaking, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation on Friday after three years of Brexit turmoil, dramatically increasing the likelihood of Britain crashing out of the EU within months. May, who took over in the aftermath of the 2016 Brexit referendum, was forced to make way following a Conservative mutiny over her ill-fated strategy to end Britain’s near five-decade membership of the European Union. “It […]

Center-right wins EU vote, eurosceptics advance: projection

BRUXELLES, United States (AFP) — The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) won the most seats in the European Parliament but eurosceptic parties made strong gains, officials said Sunday, citing their latest projection. The EPP won 178 seats, down sharply from 216 in the outgoing parliament but more than the 152 won by the Socialists and Democrats, its center-left rival, parliament spokesman Jaume Duch told reporters. The Socialists dropped from 185 seats. “I don’t feel a […]

UK leadership hopefuls vow to succeed where May failed on Brexit

  by Dmitry ZAKS Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The race to become Britain’s next premier opened Saturday with an array of hopefuls promising to succeed where Theresa May failed and finally pull the divided country out of the EU. But European leaders insisted they had made their final offer during months or acrimonious negotiations that resulted in an unpopular compromise for which May ended up paying with her job. The British […]

May postpones her final Brexit showdown

by Dmitry ZAKS LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government on Thursday postponed Theresa May’s final Brexit showdown in parliament following an outcry over concessions that looked set to speed up the end of her tumultuous spell as premier. The increasingly isolated Conservative premier is facing the prospect of being forced to resign without have achieved her mission to guide her fractured country out of the European Union after nearly 50 years of membership. […]

European elections: voting differs across countries

Each country in the European Union has its own rules for voting in the May 23-26 elections to the bloc’s parliament. Here is an overview. – Who votes when? – Twenty-one of the EU’s 28 members go to the polls on May 26, a Sunday, including France, Germany and Poland. Britain and The Netherlands vote on Thursday May 23; Ireland on the 24th; Latvia, Malta and Slovakia on the 25th. In the Czech Republic, voters […]

EU fears voter apathy despite populist surge

by Christian SPILLMANN Four days before Europe’s 400 million potential voters are called to the polls, EU leaders hope to reverse the usual low turnout to avoid opening the door to eurosceptic forces. The European Parliament, that will be elected in votes across 28 nations between Thursday and Sunday, has never been more important in framing the continent’s laws. But each such continent-wide vote since the first one in 1979 has seen a lower turnout […]

British govt to put forward Brexit bill in June

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May’s government will publish draft legislation in the first week of June that would allow Brexit to proceed if approved by parliament, a Downing Street spokesman announced on Tuesday. The statement came after talks between May and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on a possible compromise that would end a deadlock on Brexit in parliament. May met with Corbyn “to make clear our determination to bring the […]

After 35 years Jean-Marie Le Pen bids farewell to Europe

by Anne RENAUT and Clare BYRNE PARIS, France (AFP) — Jean-Marie Le Pen, the father of France’s far-right, will bid farewell to the European Parliament on Tuesday after 35 years of using it as a platform to bash European integration and immigration. The 90-year-old, who co-founded and led the far-right National Front for 40 years before handing the reins to his daughter Marine in 2011, is one of the longest-serving members of the assembly, which […]

May:Britain could still leave EU before May 22

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday that Britain might still manage to execute an orderly departure from the European Union by May 22, despite winning a six-month reprieve from EU leaders. “What this extension enables us to do is to go through the process we’ve set up,” May said. “If we’re able to do that before May 22, then we won’t have to hold European Parliamentary Elections.” © Agence France-Presse

EU gives Britain six-month delay to Brexit date

by Dave CLARK and Christian SPILLMANN BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — European leaders agreed with Britain on Thursday to delay Brexit by up to six months, saving the continent from what could have been a chaotic no-deal departure at the end of the week. The deal struck during late night talks in Brussels means that if London remains in the EU after May 22, British voters will have to take part in European elections. Prime Minister […]