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The European Parliament voted Friday to declare that "Black Lives Matter" and to denounce racism and white supremacism in all its forms. The resolution has no legal consequences but sends a signal of support to anti-racism protesters, and it follows a UN call for a probe into police brutality and "systemic racism." And, one day before President Donald Trump is to hold a rally in Tulsa, a city that saw one of the worst racist massacres in US history, the lawmakers condemned American police brutality. Point number one of the text of the resolution takes up the slogan US campaigners...

May 9 marks traditionally the celebration of the Schuman Declaration, a visionary short statement given by the French Foreign Minister exactly five years and one day after the end of the Second World War. Since then, the European project has, sometimes enthusiastically and sometimes painfully, followed a course which, in retrospect, is totally unique in the history of mankind – a voluntary devolution of powers from 27 countries to a joint set of institutions, decision-making powers in some respect, and more diluted coordination in many others. Rereading the Declaration 70 years later, amidst the worst crisis in Europe since World...

The European Union and Britain will struggle to seal an agreement on trade and other aspects of their future ties after Brexit next year and should consider extending the negotiations beyond 2020, a top EU official said in an interview published Friday. The U.K. is scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31. If it does, it will be the first time a country leaves the world’s biggest trading bloc. Negotiations between the remaining members and the British government on future trade, fisheries, education and transport relations can only begin after that date and must conclude by the end of...

BERLIN (AP) — Germany marked the 30th anniversary Saturday of the opening of the Berlin Wall, a pivotal moment in the events that brought down Communism in eastern Europe.

MUNICH (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence rebuked European powers over Iran and Venezuela on Saturday in a renewed attack on Washington’s traditional allies, rejecting a call by Germany’s chancellor to include Russia in global cooperation efforts. In speeches and in private talks at the Munich Security Conference, Pence and Chancellor Angela Merkel laid out competing visions for how the West should address world crises. ...

European Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker has changed the rules governing the political activity of European Union Commissioners, allowing them to actively campaign in the upcoming EU Parliament elections. Formerly the EU Commission, an unelected body which acts as the bloc’s executive and is the sole initiator of EU-level laws, was regarded as technocratic rather than overtly political, and not supposed to take partisan political stances of its own volition — at least in theory. But the new rules will allow the Commission to campaign with, endorse, and support candidates and parties ahead of the European Parliament elections set to be...

Germany, a country of 82 million, welcomed from 800,000 to over one million migrants and unvetted “refugees” in 2015. Mrs Merkel, who last month announced she was controversially stepping down as leader of her party but not as Chancellor of Germany despite previously saying the two roles go hand in glove, said ceding power to a superstate is a better form of patriotism. She told the event, titled ‘Parliamentarianism Between Globalisation and National Sovereignty’: “In this day nation states must today – should today, I say – be ready to give up sovereignty. “But of course in an orderly procedure.”...

Angela Merkel called for the creation of a 'real, true' European army during a speech to EU ministers on Tuesday in a rebuke to President Trump. The German Chancellor also called for a European Security Council that would be responsible for coordinating defence policy on the continent. Merkel spoke out after French President Emmanuel Macron floated the same idea last week, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s thinly-veiled shots at President Trump over the weekend won at least one hearty American “oui” — from Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Mr. Kasich, a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, took to Twitter to second Mr. Macron’s attack on “nationalism” at a speech Sunday marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “@EmmanuelMacron is right,” Mr. Kasich tweeted, going on to quote what the French leader said in front of Mr. Trump, who has taken much criticism as racist for calling himself a “nationalist.”

“Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism: Nationalism is treason,” Macron said, according to a Euronews translator. Macron defended organizations like the European Union and the United Nations, hailing their ideals despite their “setbacks” over the years. He called for a new era of science-built progress.

Artists and intellectuals across Europe are calling for the founding of a continentwide republic to replace its many nation states. […] The event is being organized by a group calling itself the European Balcony Project. […] A manifesto on the group’s website declares that “the sovereignty of states is hereby replaced by the sovereignty of citizens.” …

French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated calls for a European Union army, this time saying that it is needed to protect the bloc from China, Russia, and even the United States. The progressive leader, a proponent of greater EU federalisation which will result in the reduction in sovereignty for European nations, told Europe 1 Monday night that the bloc needs a “real European army”. “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” Macron said, according to Agence France-Presse. (snip) “We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a...

The French President has warned Europe of a return to the 1930s because of the spread of a nationalist “leprosy” across the continent, in an interview published Thursday. He also warned that Europe risked losing its sovereignty if it is “pushed around by foreign powers.” “I am struck by similarities between the times we live in and those of between the two world wars,” he told the newspaper Ouest-France, urging people to be aware of the threats. “In a Europe divided by fears, the return of nationalism, the consequences of economic crisis, one sees almost systematically everything that marked Europe...

Faced with the upsurge in xenophobia in Europe, MEPs want to take firm action against neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups, which currently benefit from a certain level of discretion in several countries. EurActiv France reports.Xenophobia is fueled by neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups in Europe, which should be banned as a matter of urgency, the European Parliament demanded on Thursday (25 October). MEPs have adopted a resolution condemning the surge in the number of incidents related to hatred and intolerance in Europe. The resolution also calls for action to be taken against small far-right groups which fuel the rise in xenophobia. According...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will give up leadership of her center-right Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party after 18 years in the post, German media has reported. Merkel announced during a meeting with officials that she will not seek to run for re-election at the party's convention in December. But she made clear that she wanted to remain as chancellor, a position she has held since 2005, CNN affiliate RTL reported, citing party sources. Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies lose majority in crushing vote The announcement is a sign of Merkel's weakened power within her own party, and waning...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday warned US President Donald Trump against “destroying” the United Nations. “I believe that destroying something without having developed something new is extremely dangerous,” Merkel said at a regional election campaign event in Bavaria. The veteran leader — a close ally of Trump’s bugbear Barack Obama while he was president — added that she believed multilateralism was the solution to many of the world’s problems. […] In his second appearance before the UN’s annual gathering last week, Trump told the General Assembly that he and his administration “reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace...

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...

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...

<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>