"We will revoke the national law in Germany. And I also expect the European Union to follow suit and really cancel this directive," he said, speaking alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

On Europe day, Romanians showed their support in the street for EU, for democracy and against fascism

@europe

Public prosecutors in Germany have moved to strip a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of his immunity as a lawmaker after initiating a probe into bribery and money laundering allegations, local media reported on Friday.

Prosecutors in the eastern city of Dresden confirmed that an investigation had been initiated against a German lawmaker on charges of bribery while he was a member of the European Parliament as well as money laundering in connection with Chinese payments.

European Commission disbursed the fourth tranche of EUR 1 billion in exceptional macro-financial assistance loans to Ukraine.

Our support to Ukraine is unwavering. We stay ready to respond swiftly to any further requests

A massive aviation industry clearinghouse that processes data for twelve billion passenger flights per year is selling that information to the Trump administration amid the White House’s new immigration crackdown, according to documents reviewed by the Lever.

The data — including “full flight itineraries, passenger name records, and financial details, which are otherwise difficult or impossible to obtain” for past and future flights — is fed into a secretive government intelligence operation called the Travel Intelligence Program and provided to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies, records reveal.

The company is jointly owned by nine major airlines, most of which are US-based: Delta, Southwest, United, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Air France. But more than two hundred airlines settle tickets through the ARC, giving the company unparalleled, comprehensive access to passenger data.

The European Union is planning to counter President Donald Trump’s efforts to lure companies to the US by easing the bloc’s regulatory burden on sectors from autos to chemicals to aeronautics.

A city official in Stockholm has said the municipality has no plans to comply after one of its offices received a letter seeking to impose Donald Trump’s rollback of diversity measures, in what is believed to be the first such missive sent to a foreign government.

“It’s so bizarre,” said Jan Valeskog, Stockholm’s vice-mayor for planning. “It’s our political priorities that count, not the ones from this embassy or any other embassies.”

Germany's new Economy Minister Katherina Reiche on Friday called for the rapid construction of new gas-fired power plants in the country to support the country's energy supply when renewable sources are unavailable

She said it was important to "quickly move to tender at least 20 gigawatts of gas-fired power plants to maintain energy security."

Reiche ruled out a return to nuclear energy

"This means we need to conclude the relevant free trade agreements with Chile, Mercosur, India, Australia and Mexico. And I explicitly say, we also need the United States of America," Reiche said.

https://archive.is/2025.05.09-095007/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-09/merz-tells-trump-he-can-t-do-side-deals-with-eu-nations-on-trade

https://archive.is/3oHGZ

Sweden lost its second national security adviser this year in embarrassing circumstances, after the latest candidate resigned hours into the job because of sensitive pictures of him on a dating app.

Thyberg’s exit came months after his predecessor Henrik Landerholm was forced to step down after leaving confidential documents in an unlocked hotel safe, an incident over which he was charged with negligence in handling classified information. Swedish media also reported that he had left a mobile phone at the Hungarian embassy and a notebook at a radio station.

German public prosecutors in Dresden have initiated a probe against an AfD politician over allegations of bribery and money laundering. The investigation is reportedly focused on Maximilian Krah, following the arrest of his former aide for spying for China. Krah has not publicly commented.

In a significant development, German prosecutors have commenced an investigation into a far-right politician, suspected of bribery and money laundering. This investigation strives to strip the member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party of his immunity as a lawmaker, per local media reports on Friday.

The probe initiated in Dresden targets Maximilian Krah, a notable member of the German parliament following the recent federal election. Although prosecutors withheld names, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper disclosed that Krah is under scrutiny concerning allegations linked to Chinese monetary transactions.

Adding to the case's complexity, a former aide of Krah’s was previously arrested over

The German government has denied a media report claiming that the newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz had declared a state of national emergency in a bid to ramp up border controls.

A spokesperson for the government cleared the rumours on Thursday, assuring the public that the special Brussels clause, Article 72 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, has not been triggered.

France and Poland signed a treaty on Friday to increase cooperation on defence, nuclear energy and other measures, in a sign of growing alliances between European nations amid concerns about U.S. commitment to Europe's security.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/43726344

Archived

More than 3,000 demonstrators took to the streets of East London on Saturday, May 3rd, to protest plans for what would become China’s largest diplomatic outpost in Europe. The site in question: the historic Royal Mint Court, just steps away from the Tower of London.

Organised by a broad coalition of Hongkongers, Tibetans, Uyghurs, pro-democracy Chinese, and human rights allies, the protest was a show of growing public resistance to what many see as the expansion of Chinese authoritarianism onto British soil.

The Chinese government’s proposal to turn the Royal Mint Court into a massive embassy complex has sparked alarm among diaspora communities and rights campaigners. Critics argue the Mega-Embassy would be far more than a diplomatic centre – rather, a looming symbol of Beijing’s global surveillance reach and politica

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SolarPower Europe has removed Chinese tech giant Huawei as a member, marking the first time the Brussels-based solar industry association has taken such action, an SPE spokesperson has told pv magazine. The board made the decision on April 28, 2025, and “the procedure is continuing as laid out in our statutes,” said the spokesperson.

[...]

The move follows the European Commission’s recent decision to cut off contact with trade associations representing Huawei’s interests, citing an ongoing corruption investigation.

“The decision comes in the context of the European Commission’s decision to restrict meetings with associations who have Huawei in their membership,” said the SPE spokesperson in an email.

[...]

Several other EU industry groups, including DigitalEurope and BusinessEurope, have also moved to suspend Huawei in recent weeks.