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Air France on Wednesday responded to popular backlash and put Israel back on its in-flight maps, after shocked passengers documented how the maps wiped Israel out even while listing “West Bank” and “Gaza Strip”—areas that don’t even have flight service. […] The issue was first publicized by the pro-Israel group Stand With Us, which two weeks ago published photos of the map with the text: “Apparently, Air France removed Israel/Tel Aviv from their flight tracker map, despite the fact Tel Aviv is one of their official destinations. Additionally, they now note ‘West Bank’ and ‘Gaza Strip’ despite the fact neither...

Germany’s second-largest police union on Tuesday called for the reintroduction of internal European border controls and demanded more personnel to deal with a record flood of refugees. “From a policing point of view, a return to border controls would be the best of all measures,” said Rainer Wendt, chairman of the German Police Union (DpolG), in a newspaper interview. The union, which wants an extra 1,000 personnel, was later Tuesday to show Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière the “catastrophic conditions” for overworked police near the German-Austrian border. …

Dutch soldiers have apparently been shouting “bang, bang” when they shoot their weapons because of an ammunition shortage.

Immigration is the most pressing concern for Europeans, overtaking the economic situation and unemployment, according to a new Eurobarometer survey. Thirty-eight percent of Europeans regard immigration as their main policy priority, the spring Eurobarometer poll published on Friday (31 July) found, a 14 point increase from last autumn. Migration has been pushed up the political agenda as thousands of migrants from north and sub-Saharan Africa cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better life in Europe. According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, 153,000 migrants had landed in Europe by the end of June this year, a 150 percent...

European wind and solar industries have welcomed US President Barack Obama’s new climate plan while European politicians see Washington’s move as a positive signal ahead of UN climate talks in Paris. "We have a moral obligation to leave our children a planet that’s not polluted or damaged", said Obama on Monday (3 August). The Clean Power Plan establishes for the first time national standards for limiting carbon pollution from American power plants and aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. It also says that renewables should account for 28 percent of US energy...

In recent months, Germany’s government and intelligence agencies have gone after journalists and parliamentarians in an effort to keep classified information secret. Now, their efforts have resulted in a bona fide scandal for Berlin. […] In recent days, the chancellor, Justice Minister Heiko Maas and Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière have sanctimoniously thrown their support behind freedom of the press. But reality often looks different. In reality, senior government officials and intelligence agency heads in Germany have long been pursuing a policy of intimidating and deterring journalists and their sources. Leaks and whistleblowers are being hunted down and criminalized. Treason,...

Spiraling levels of violent crime perpetrated by immigrants from the Middle East and the Balkans are turning parts of Duisburg, a key German industrial city, into “areas of lawlessness”—areas that are becoming de facto “no-go” zones for police, according to a confidential police report that was leaked to the German news magazine Der Spiegel. The report, produced by the police headquarters of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany (and also the state with the largest Muslim population in Germany), warns that the government is losing control over problem neighborhoods and that the ability of police to maintain public...

“Animal rights come before religion” Editor’s note: This story was published in error; it incorrectly suggested that Denmark’s ban is new. See correction appended Denmark enacted a sweeping ban on the religious slaughter of animals in 2014, prompting a furious backlash from Jewish and Muslim community representatives.

According to Germany’s most influential political magazine, Spiegel, Angela Merkel has decided to run for a fourth term in power and has already started talks on who will run her campaign. […] If Merkel were to be re-elected in 2017 and then serve a whole four-year term, she would have been chancellor for 16 years, thus tying Helmut Kohl (CDU), who was chancellor from 1982-1998, as the longest serving chancellor in the history of the Bundesrepublik (the post-1945 German state). …

History has shown that when a government wants to solidify its power, it has to turn its subjects into taxpayers. The Roman Empire demanded high tribute payments from every tribe it had newly conquered. And the United States developed from a commonwealth to a federal state when, in the 18th century, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton achieved uniform duties and taxes for the entire union, initially on whiskey, because it was so lucrative. Politicians in the eurozone are now seeking to emulate the historic model from the early years of the United States. The unnerving bargaining over the latest Greece bailout...

Four days ago, French President François Hollande declared his in-principle commitment to the creation of a “euro government, with the addition of a specific budget and a parliament to ensure democratic control.” This is more an opening gambit in a debate about the terms of putative federalization (a term Hollande was careful to avoid), than a statement of French commitment to it at all costs. If some form of federalization comes about, it will not be because the French especially desire it, but because the logic of the Euro ultimately demands it. […] Germany is also in a better position...

A German federal court has ruled that the country’s spy agency is under no obligation to divulge to the media a list of names compiled from search terms provided to it by the U.S. National Security Agency. A newspaper publisher sought an injunction forcing the Germany agency, the BND, to disclose information about what German companies and citizens were on the list after the spy agency refused to answer questions. …

Amid the protests of thousands of workers, the Bosnian-Croat regional parliament on Thursday adopted a new labor law that aims to create a more business-friendly environment with the intention of creating jobs. […] The law makes laying off workers somewhat easier and regulates severance terms. It introduces Western-style working contracts that no longer guarantee employment until retirement. […] The former labor law was inherited from the communist regime and offered wide protection to workers but was not business-friendly. It was partly the reason for the 40 percent unemployment rate. …

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said he aims to reduce taxes to encourage the return of emigrants. Speaking at the MacGill Summer school on Friday, where several dozen anti-water charge protesters gathered ahead of his address, the Taoiseach said the tax rate was “too high a rate and kicks in too early.” Kenny said he plans to cut the 7 percent rate of Universal Social Charge in the forthcoming budget, the Irish Times reports. “In doing so, we will bring down the marginal rate of tax paid by people earning less than €70,000 to less than 50 percent.” …

Health Minister Leo Varadkar is the overwhelming favorite among the public and Fine Gael supporters to be the next leader of the party. A poll for The Sunday Times shows 34 percent of people would like to see Varadkar, who came out as a gay in January, take over from Taoiseach Enda Kenny. “It’s always nice to get positive feedback from the public, but there is no vacancy. Enda is the leader and I have my hands full in health and a lot of work to do,” Varadkar said. …

The debate is finally over. After more than a year of national consultations, draft bills and parliamentary discussions, French MPs finally adopted the bill for an Energy Transition for Green Growth on Wednesday 22 July. The substance of this far-reaching bill was subject to significant re-shaping by both houses of the French parliament, as well as the government. […] The adopted bill contains several last minute additions, including a Senate amendment to increase the carbon tax on fossil fuel use to €56 per ton in 2020, a four-fold increase, and €100 in 2030. “The trajectory of the carbon tax increase...

EU bosses are pushing to resolve a clash between industry and environmental policy with a new strategy to phase out funding to export coal technology to developing nations, ahead of a meeting of leading economic powers on the issue. The European Commission, the EU executive, urges tougher rules on when subsidies, known as coal export credits, can be used in a paper seen by Reuters, ahead of interim talks this week. Political pressure is growing to reach agreement on restricting the coal subsidies before United Nations climate change talks in Paris at the end of the year. But opposition is...

The Derry City and Strabane District Council have voted in favor of moving to officially changing the name of Londonderry to Derry. Unionists are describing the decision, voted upon on Thursday evening, as “sectarian” and “disgusting.” The vote passed with the full support of Sinn Féin, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the Independent councillors, despite opposition from the minority unionist block. The council will now write to Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan of the SDLP, on how to go about the change. Durkan is himself a native of Derry. According to TheJournal.ie, 28 councillors voted to seek...

Passengers using the shuttle to cross the channel face hours of delays following a brief suspension of services due to migrant activity at the French side of the Tunnel. On Saturday morning, those booked to take their vehicle to the continent were being warned of an hour delay to check in and a further four hours before departure. Frustrated car passengers in Folkestone—including local residents and people trying to go on holiday—face hours of queues. Eurotunnel suspended services for a brief period shortly before midnight due to “migrant activity”, adding that French authorities were dealing with the situation. …

(AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during an annual call-in show on Russian television, "Conversation With Vladimir Putin," in Moscow, April 16, 2015. Russia's ambassador to Sweden has warned the country of the potential military "consequences" associated with joining NATO in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, The Local reports. Russian Ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev told Dagens Nyheter that Russia does not have any military plans against Sweden, in line with Stockholm's alliance neutrality.