Free Republic

The vote passed with a razor-thin majority of 291 votes in favour to 274 against, with 44 abstentions. The main proposed changes include the abolition of the principle of unanimity in a total of 65 areas of law, as well as transferring competencies from the member states to the European Union. These include the transfer of inclusive competency on the matters of environmental protection and biodiversity, meaning that law pertaining to those matters would be entirely set at the European level. In addition, the shared competencies would be expanded to seven new areas, those being foreign and security policy, border...

What sort of goals would make it worthwhile to hang out with a convicted child sex offender if you are a megalomaniac billionaire? The curious case of the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Bill Gates just got curiouser. Anonymous sources, denials, millions of dollars in donations, and claims of lies surround a 2013 visit of Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein to the Strasbourg home of the then-chairman of Norway’s Nobel Committee, which awards the Peace Prize. The visit was uncovered by Norwegian business daily DN, whose sister publication describes in English the visit and its denial:Former Nobel Committee chair Thorbjørn...

Former President of the European Council Donald Tusk has shared a picture of himself making a gun gesture behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s back, and slammed Brexit in his first post-presidency interview. The 62-year-old, who abandoned his post as Prime Minister of Poland in 2014 just weeks before his party was turfed out of office in national elections in order to take up his much better paid former role at the European Union, tweeted that “Despite seasonal turbulence our transatlantic friendship must last”, apparently in reference to the NATO summit in London. However, he paired this seemingly innocuous platitude with...

Blair and Ahern in NI assembly talks October 4, 2003(19:05) The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has held a brief meeting with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to review progress in the the intensive series of talks on Northern Ireland. Speaking afterwards, on the margins of the European Council session in Rome, Mr Ahern said they want to see elections before christmas, and to see an executive with cross community support up and running. The Toiseach added that he wants to hear David Trimble say that he will work the executive positively if these matters happen. The Sinn Fein and...