A French judge has ordered ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy to stand trial in an illegal campaign finance case. Mr Sarkozy faces accusations that his party falsified accounts in order to hide 18m euros (£15m; $20m) of campaign spending in 2012. Mr Sarkozy has repeatedly denied that he was aware of the overspending. He lost the 2012 … Read more
Germany’s influential weekly news magazine Der Spiegel has come under fire for a cover image showing US President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty. Some German newspapers criticised the cartoon, while the German vice-president of the European Parliament called it “tasteless”. The cartoonist, Edel Rodriguez, said the image represented “the beheading of democracy”. US-German … Read more
A European Parliament deadline for France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen to return more than €300,000(£257,000; $321,000) it says she has misspent, has passed. The presidential candidate had until midnight to repay the money, but said she had no intention of doing so. The parliament says she wrongly used the funds to pay an aide … Read more
Guy Verhofstadt MEP, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, speaks with UpFront on Al Jazeera: • Declares it “technically impossible” for the UK to have a new trade deal in place with the EU in two years’ time • Suggests it’s “always possible” that the UK might rejoin the EU in the future and it … Read more
In an interview with Al Jazeera English’s current affairs show, UpFront, Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator, was asked whether it would be possible for the UK government to negotiate both Brexit and a new trade deal with the EU by 2019. “That’s technically impossible,” he said. He emphasized that while they are not … Read more
Antonio Tajani will be the next head of the European Parliament Italian conservative Antonio Tajani has been elected the new president of the European Parliament. Mr Tajani, 63, is a former spokesman for Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi and an ex-European commissioner. He defeated another Italian, Gianni Pitella, and will take over from Germany’s Martin Schulz. The … Read more
Ethiopian authorities have clarified that leading opposition figure and Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), Dr Merera Gudina is in detention for flouting state of emergency rules. The specific provision he is said to have flouted related to an alleged meeting with a terrorist group during his visit to Brussels. The authorities said investigations … Read more
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has lauded Ghana for organising a free and fair election. According to the group, Ghana’s 2016 Parliamentary and Presidential election was well-administered and transparent. It said the closely contested polls to a large extent escaped the violence many had feared could erupt. These were contained in a … Read more
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) says Ghana’s closely contested Presidential and Parliamentary elections delivered to the Ghanaian people a generally well-administered and transparent vote, which largely escaped the violence many had feared. However, the EU EOM added the misuse of incumbency, including unequal access to state media, and unaccountable campaign financing were … Read more
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) says Ghana’s closely contested Presidential and Parliamentary elections delivered to the Ghanaian people a generally well-administered and transparent vote, which largely escaped the violence many had feared. However, the EU EOM added the misuse of incumbency, including unequal access to state media, and unaccountable campaign financing were … Read more
MPs are expected to vote in favour of the government’s timetable, of starting formal talks by the end of March, while also calling on the PM publish a “plan” beforehand. The government has so far refused a “running commentary” on its strategy. Labour, which has been demanding more information, has called the debate. The party’s … Read more
The UK will have to reach a Brexit deal by October 2018, according to the EU’s chief negotiator for Brexit. Michel Barnier told reporters that “time will be short” for negotiations because the proposed deal needed to be ratified as part of the two year process set to be triggered in March. He said the … Read more
A prominent opposition leader in Ethiopia has been detained after he returned from Europe. Merera Gudina had violated Ethiopia’s state of emergency by having contact with “terrorist” and “anti-peace” groups, state-linked media reported. Mr Merera criticised the state of emergency in an address to the European parliament on 9 November. The government imposed it in … Read more
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that he will let hundreds of thousands of migrants travel on to Europe if pushed by the EU. He was reacting to a non-binding vote by the European Parliament to freeze talks on EU membership for Turkey. The MEPs were alarmed by Mr Erdogan’s “disproportionate” response to a … Read more
EU leaders are not “bluffing” when they say the UK will be left without access to the single market when it leaves the bloc if there is no free movement of people, Malta’s prime minister says. Joseph Muscat, whose country assumes the EU’s presidency in January, told the BBC “this is really and truly our … Read more
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is concerned that white supremacists in the United States are being emboldened by the election of Donald Trump and is watching developments closely. The Berlin government declined to give an official reaction to a video circulating on the internet that showed members of the “alt-right” movement, a grouping that includes … Read more
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives agreed on Monday to back Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier as Germany’s next president, creating a vacancy at the foreign ministry at a critical moment in relations with Russia and the United States. Merkel’s camp had hoped to promote its own candidate but chose to back political rival Steinmeier for the largely … Read more
In response to an invitation by the Ghanaian authorities, the European Union has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Ghana to observe the Presidential and Parliamentary elections which are scheduled for 7 December. This is the third time that the European Union is observing elections in Ghana (previously in 2008 and 2012), which reflects … Read more
European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger issued a formal apology on Thursday for remarks that China took offence to but which the German conservative politician had declined to withdraw for several days. In a statement issued by the EU executive on his behalf, the digital affairs commissioner who had referred to Chinese people as “slit eyes” during … Read more
The European Union and Canada signed a free trade agreement on Sunday that aims to generate jobs and growth though it must still clear some 40 national and regional parliaments in Europe in the coming years to enter fully into force. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the treaty along with the heads of EU … Read more