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Ireland may recognize a Palestinian state if peace talks with Israel aimed at producing a two-state solution in the region continue to stagnate, the country’s Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, said. Coveney’s comments came during a joint press conference on the weekend with the Palestinian Authority (PA) “foreign minister”, Riyad Al-Maliki, reported The Irish Times. Coveney said Ireland has already committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. However, if negotiations between the side continue to prove fruitless “we may have to forget the second part of that,” he added. He speculated that other European countries would...

London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for another referendum on Britain’s European Union membership, saying the prime minister’s handling of Brexit negotiations had become “mired in confusion and deadlock” and was leading the country down a damaging path. […] The backing of Khan, a member of the main opposition Labour party, for a second referendum will put more pressure on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to change his opposition to the idea when the party meets for its annual conference in a week’s time. A second referendum, dubbed a “people’s vote” by its proponents, is not Labour party policy, although finance...

The United States’ decision to close the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) office in Washington will make it harder to reach a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry said on Friday. […] The U.S. administration on Monday said the PLO’s office in Washington would be closed out of concern about Palestinian attempts to prompt an International Criminal Court investigation of Israel. …

France is famously America’s oldest ally, but more than half of French people no longer consider the United States a reliable partner, according to a survey released Wednesday. Just 44 percent said the US was a “trusted ally” under President Donald Trump — a 33-point plunge since the same survey was done in May 2014, when Barack Obama was in the White House. Only 17 percent said they had a positive opinion of Trump in the IFOP poll, commissioned by the American Jewish Committee advocacy group, France’s Foundation for Political Innovation and the Sursaut think-tank collective. Some 54 percent said...

France does not want to finance a populist Europe, the country’s foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has indicated, just as the fight over the EU’s new long-term budget begins in earnest. These strong words were said in Paris on Wednesday during the annual conference of French ambassadors, a meeting at which the French head of diplomacy officially indicates the most important directions of the country’s foreign policy. 71-year-old Le Drian, who after the victory of French President Emmanuel Macron took the helm of French diplomacy, said that France and Germany intend to work out a common position on migration before...

A Dublin woman’s attempt challenge to the result of May’s abortion referendum has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Joanna Jordan, from Upper Glenageary Road, Dún Laoghaire, had appealed a ruling by High Court President Mr. Justice Peter Kelly, who last month said she had not met the necessary legal test set by the Referendum Act before a court can permit a petition to be brought. Charles Byrne, a piano teacher and musician, of College Rise, Drogheda, Co. Louth, had initially sought to challenge the outcome, but opted not to appeal the High Court’s decision. In a decision handed...

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said preserving European Union unity was more important than forging a close relationship with post-Brexit Britain, and hit out at what he called U.S. President Donald Trump’s “aggressive” isolationism. As pressure mounts on Prime Minister Theresa May to agree terms for Britain’s divorce from the EU and the shape of their future trade relationship, Macron showed no sign of breaking ranks with other EU capitals. “France wants to maintain a strong, special relationship with London but not if the cost is the European Union’s unraveling,” he told a gathering of French ambassadors. Brexit, Macron said,...

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that Europe should form a “counterweight” to the United States whenever Washington “crosses red lines.” In a guest article for German business newspaper Handelsblatt, Maas said Germany wants a “balanced partnership” with the United States, in which it “brings its weight where the US withdraws.” “Single-handedly, we will fail in this task. The main goal of our foreign policy is therefore to build a sovereign, strong Europe,” Maas wrote. […] Maas said Europe needs to set up payment systems independent of the US if it wants to save the nuclear deal. “That’s why...

On the day European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker reached a surprise deal on trade with Donald Trump, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was standing in front of a wood-paneled government building 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles) to the east. Maas was in Japan on his first trip to Asia as foreign minister, and expectations were high. “We share the same values,” said Maas, who is a member of the center-left Social Democrats, as his host, Japanese President Shinzo Abe, nodded. “In the current geopolitical situation, it is good to clearly emphasize this once again.” But the guest from Germany brought more...

Yorai Feinberg has gotten used to hearing from “Ludwig Fischer.” Every few days the Berlin restaurant owner receives emails from a man who writes under the pseudonym of one of Hitler’s most notorious SA henchmen. He calls Feinberg a “filthy rat,” says the Holocaust is just a “scam” and rants that all Jews will land in the gas chamber. […] The last few months have seen several high-profile attacks on Jews in Germany. Just last week a Jewish-American professor was attacked by a young German of Palestinian descent in the city of Bonn. In April, an attack on a yarmulke-wearing...

The U.S. ambassador to Germany urged Berlin on Tuesday to stop Iran withdrawing large sums of cash from bank accounts in Germany to offset the effect of new U.S. sanctions imposed after Washington withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal. Richard Grenell, a longtime critic of the accord, told the mass-circulation daily Bild that the U.S. government was extremely concerned about Tehran’s plans to transfer hundreds of millions of euros in cash to Iran. “We encourage the highest levels of the German government to intervene and stop the plan,” Grenell said. […] Bild first reported on Monday that German authorities were...

Germans might not know it, but they desperately need the moral guidance of a reinstated royal family, the great-great grandson of the last Kaiser, Prince Philip Kiril of Prussia, told The Local’s Jessica Ware in an exclusive interview. “Subconsciously, I think young Germans wants something they can orientate towards,” said Prince Philip. The 45-year-old father of six may work as a Protestant vicar, but he has become one of the loudest voices out of those who want to see Germany revive its monarchy. Since Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated in 1918, the country has been without a monarchy. But Prince Philip...

German officials have reportedly asked their American counterparts about whether it would be possible to turn the Eurofighter Typhoon into a nuclear strike aircraft. The answer to this question could have serious ramifications on Germany’s effort to replace its aging Panavia Tornado combat jets, which are certified to carry U.S. B61 nuclear bombs during a crisis as part of an inter-NATO agreement, and reinforces previous reports that the European fighter jet is the German Air Force’s preferred option. In April 2018, the German Federal Ministry of Defense sent a formal letter to U.S. officials asking about whether it would be...

Dr. Turley thinks the whole globalist dream is Humpty Dumpty – or at least, it soon could be ol’ HD: He seems to be saying that the German people’s rejection of open borders may well cause Mutti Merkel to be strapped into her rocking chair for a well-deserved rest. Further, if her coalition fails, then ultimately so does the globalist, multi-cultural project known as the Europe Union. Perhaps it’s too early to break out the champagne, but certainly, it’s time to order a bottle before supplies run out. Or maybe some Rhine wine would be more appropriate? Or, if you...

Germany has responded to US President Donald Trump’s egotistic policy of ’America First’ by calling on the European Union to “bundle its strength” and show more courage — continuing the more bellicose German rhetoric that followed the US decision last week to withdraw from a G7 statement. “Under President Trump, the Atlantic has got wider,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday, standing at a podium emblazoned with the hashtag #EuropeUnited. “Where the US administration overtly calls our values and interests into question, we certainly need to take a more robust stance.” During the speech, delivered to a room...

When Angela Merkel visited her party’s parliamentary group in mid-April, she didn’t talk about how she wants to change the pension system. Tolls on German highways were also not on her list, nor were all the problems with diesel emissions in the country. She didn’t even complain about the Christian Social Union (CSU), the outspoken Bavarian sister party to her Christian Democrats. Instead, she wanted to talk about the Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555. […] […] If you look at the world through her lens, the riders of the apocalypse are already appearing on the horizon. […] In her...

It was exactly 4 p.m. last Thursday when Peter Altmaier plopped into his seat. The pilot of the government plane quickly taxied to the runway and the German economics minister was happy to get out of Le Bourget business airport in Paris as quickly as possible. Altmaier had spent two days in the French capital last week as part of efforts to prevent the United States from imposing punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union. And just before taking off for home, he received official word that his efforts had been in vain. […] In contrast to...

<p>BERLIN (AFP) - Leading German politicianson Tuesday called for the US ambassador to be expelled, after the staunch ally of Donald Trump was accused of meddling in domestic politics and aggravating already tense ties.</p> <p>Richard Grenell had taken up his diplomatic posting in Berlin on May 8, and immediately irked Germany when he tweeted on the same day that German companies should stop doing business with Iran as Trump quit the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.</p>

Europe hit back at the US after President Donald Trump slapped tough tariffs on European steel and aluminium earlier this week. The united front was delivered from European Union's trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom who warned President Trump of retaliation. However, the unity shown in response to the tariffs could quickly change, according to a leading currency strategist. Jane Foley, a senior currency strategist at Rabobank, predicted that over time the tariffs will start to hurt and the rest of Europe will blame Germany. "This could become Germany versus the rest of the EU. "If you look at the US Treasury...

The Trump administration announced Thursday it will impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe, Mexico and Canada after failing to win concessions from the American allies. Europe and Mexico pledged to retaliate quickly, exacerbating trans-Atlantic and North American trade tensions. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the tariffs would be 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, and go into effect on Friday, as the administration followed through on the penalties after earlier granting exemptions to buy time for negotiations. President Donald Trump had announced the tariffs in March, citing national security concerns. The European Commission’s president,...