Free Republic

French nationalist politician Marine Le Pen launched a scathing attack on the trajectory of the European Union at the Patriots for Europe rally in France on Monday, declaring, “We don’t want to leave Europe. We want out of this Europe, because it is not Europe.” Addressing a crowd of allies and supporters from across the continent, Le Pen opened her speech with a rejection of the EU’s current direction, accusing it of becoming a “merchant, wokist, ultraliberal empire” that tramples national sovereignty and democratic choice. “Our Europe does not reside in Brussels,” Le Pen said. “What we are seeing today...

One reason America has become the economic superpower is that the 50 states comprise one giant free trade zone. The Europeans wanted to emulate that model with the creation of the EU, but it hasn’t worked. Here is a stunning fact from the Wall Street Journal’s Joe Sternberg: The International Monetary Fund calculates that Europe’s complex economic regulations impose the same costs as would a 44% tariff on goods traded between EU countries. For services, the costs of complying with different national rules are equivalent to a 110% tariff. By comparison, the regulatory costs associated with trading manufactured goods across...

A scenario European leaders would do well to consider, as Kyiv enters the Washington-sponsored peace process with profound frustration: with the White House determined to put an end to the war in Ukraine, the Europeans are telling Zelensky that no peace is necessary. The war can continue indefinitely, they say; and, if the Americans want out, Europe can still step in to fill the void. But Zelensky is foolish to believe that the Europeans will save him from the forces of reality. Europe, the last bulwark of the once-insurmountable pro-war consensus, is a continent of hawks without beaks. Ukraine cannot...

In the swish hotel conference rooms and cafés of the Brussels EU quarter, the indignation was palpable: Why had poor Henrik been singled out? Henrik Hololei, a gregarious Estonian who had reached the heights of director-general in the EU’s civil service, had been caught accepting freebies from the government of Qatar while his department was negotiating a lucrative aviation deal ― with, ever so coincidentally, Qatar. It was fine, the European Commission said when the matter came to light in 2023: All his free flights had been signed off by a senior person in the department. Trouble was, the senior...

Donald Trump said Sunday that he had a “very nice call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and he has agreed to delay his threatened 50 percent tariff until July 9 at her request. The EU wants to negotiate, Trump said:That agreement came after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who had told Trump that she "wants to get down to serious negotiations," according to the U.S. president's retelling."I told anybody that would listen, they have to do that," Trump told reporters on Sunday in Morristown, New Jersey, as he...

Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury giant LVMH, has strongly criticised the European Union for its slow and shaky start in trade talks with the United States. Speaking at a French parliamentary hearing, Arnault said the EU’s handling of negotiations aimed at reducing US tariffs had begun badly. He warned that delays and weak strategy could hurt major European industries, especially luxury goods. LVMH, the company Arnault leads, owns famous brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hennessy. The United States is LVMH’s biggest market. That’s why Arnault is deeply concerned about the 20% “reciprocal” tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump...

50% is a reasonable tariff to place on the E U since we are going into 80 years of the Marshall plan to help Europe recover from World War 2. Eighty years, when Truman was president. I wasn't even born yet. It's time to cut these freeloaders loose. In addition, let's make them pay for their own defense. June 1 is as good a date as any.

The European Union has stepped in to provide Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty an infusion of millions of dollars to keep functioning as the international broadcaster battles the Trump administration to release funds Congress has already designated for it. "We are grateful for the emergency funding to help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty afloat," the network's president, Steve Capus, said in a statement from Brussels, where he has been meeting with European officials. "Radio Liberty's survival remains at risk as long as these funds are withheld," Capus said, referring to $75 million held back by the Trump administration. Radio Free Europe...

An explosive report from the French government alleges the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood network has embarked upon a decades-long effort to forge a fifth column in France and across Europe through infiltrating government institutions and radicalising Muslim communities, while veiling their true intentions with supposedly noble causes such as fighting “Islamophobia”. Starting in the 1950s with the emerging “religious consciousness” among Islamic immigrant workers, the Muslim Brotherhood has since “designed the matrix of political Islamism adapted to be established in the West,” a report commissioned by the French government has found, according to the national paper of record Le Figaro. Paris...

Romanian authorities have announced that the liberal mayor of Bucharest, mathematician Nicușor Dan has won the second and final round of the deeply controversial Romanian presidential elections.With the first round of vote cancelled; with favorite candidate Călin Georgescu arrested, prosecuted and banned from the re-election; with widespread allegations of fraud and foreign interference by France – this election is forever tainted.Right-wing populist George Simion, who won the first round of the election ‘re-do’ with over 20 percentage point ahead of Dan, warned of fraud, and posted on X that he was the new president of Romania.But the official results state:...

The EU’s top court annulled the Commission’s decision to deny the newspaper New York Times access to messages exchanged between President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, finding that the EU executive failed to plausibly explain why it does not possess the texts. After a long tug-of-war between the European Commission and The New York Times over transparency surrounding the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contracts, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today ruled that the Commission “has not given a plausible explanation to justify the non-possession of the requested documents.” According to the Court, the Commission cannot simply...

BRUSSELS — The European Union published on Thursday a list of U.S. imports that it would target with retaliatory duties if no solution is found to end President Trump’s tariff war, which could include aircraft maker Boeing. At the same time, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, said that it would begin legal action at the World Trade Organization over the “reciprocal tariffs” that Trump imposed on countries around the world a month ago. “The EU remains fully committed to finding negotiated outcomes with the U.S.,” commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “At the same time, we continue...

The European Commission has published a "roadmap" outlining its plans to end Europe's reliance on Russian energy in the coming years. Under the plans, imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas to European Union member states will be banned by the end of 2027. "No more will we permit Russia to weaponise energy against us... No more will we indirectly help fill up the [Kremlin's] war chests," European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said in a news conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday. In response to the plans, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday...

George Simion, the leader of the right-wing Union of Romanians (AUR) party, has emerged as the frontrunner in Romania’s upcoming presidential election, polling reveals. Simion is projected to win the first round of voting on May 4 with approximately 29 percent of the vote, according to Politico’s Poll of Polls. This puts him ahead of his nearest rivals, former National Liberal Party leader Crin Antonescu at 22 percent and Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan at 20 percent. Simion’s rise to prominence comes in the wake of the controversial decision to annul the results of the previous presidential election held in December....

European leaders announced this week they will try to steal up to $800 million from Apple and Meta with bogus antitrust penalties under the EU’s Digital Marketing Act. This fine is what we call “sour grapes” economics. The socialist nations of Europe can’t compete in the tech space, and so they are penalizing Apple and Meta because of their superiority in cell phone services and social media applications. The issue is whether Apple and Meta should be able to bundle services on their product lines and social media platforms. The answer, of course, is yes; they built it and they...

Donald Trump berated Zelenskyy on April 23, after he said Ukraine would not legally recognize Russian control over Crimea. He said he will not accept ceding any territory, even though this is against the Minsk Agreement that was supposed to allow the Donbas to vote on separation, since they are Russians who have lived there for hundreds of years. Trade Unions House - Odessa on May 2, 2014 These people have a human right to separate from Ukraine, which hates Russians, and they were killing Russians on the street in Odessa during the 2014 Revolution, which prompted this entire separatist...

In what many citizens concerned with the survival of Austria as a European nation-state are calling a demographic tipping point, Muslims have now become the largest religious group in Vienna’s compulsory schools, comprising a striking 41.2% of all students across primary, secondary, and vocational education levels. The stark demographic shift has sparked outrage among conservatives and nationally-minded citizens in Austria, with the Freedom Party (FPÖ) warning that the capital is being culturally transformed beyond recognition. “This is no longer immigration. This is displacement,” said Maximilian Weinzierl, national council member and leader of the FPÖ’s youth wing. “41.2% of Muslim students—that’s...

Muslims Threaten to Sue Spain in Strasbourg Over Holy Week Processions, Claim They “Offend Islam”A group of British Muslims of Iranian origin, led by Anjem Choudary, is threatening to file a lawsuit before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.They allege that Spain’s traditional Holy Week processions are an “offense to Islam” and to the Prophet Muhammad, demanding their immediate ban.The Muslim group intends to sue Spain in Strasbourg over these Catholic processions, with Choudary arguing that these religious events, rooted in Catholic tradition since 1978, are a “provocation” against Muslims.“It’s an offense to the thousands of Muslims forced...

The “end of history” is over and Europe is experiencing a “transatlantic crisis”, says Ursula von der Leyen, former Angela Merkel acolyte turned European Commission supremo. “Another, new European Union” is needed to shape the “new world order” emerging out of power struggles between the United States, China, and Russia the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen told a German newspaper. Speaking to Die Zeit, the top Eurocrat expressed her interpretation of events that “The West as we knew it no longer exists”, stating that beyond the old understanding of what countries were Western and which not,...

Two months ago, the English podcast host Louise Perry hosted David Betz, a professor at King’s College, London, and an expert in civil wars. The topic? “The Coming British Civil War.” Betz argues that the United Kingdom now has all the traditional hallmarks of a society on the verge of violent civil conflict. He mentions the collapse of faith in British institutions, the two-tier justice system, Islamic radicalization, and the polarization wrought by official multiculturalism, among other factors. The YouTube version of the interview has had nearly 200,000 views—so many that Telegraph columnist Tim Stanley noticed, writing in his April...