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A thread to talk about news and politics affecting Europe as a whole, rather than just politics within specific European countries.

If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.

As with other OTC threads, off-topic posts may be thumped or edited by the moderators.

    Original first post 
Spinned off from the British Politics Thread. Basically a thread where we talk about news and politics that affect Europe as a whole rather than certain countries in it.

Anyway BBC News section for Europe Based news.

Edited by Mrph1 on Jan 9th 2024 at 3:24:05 PM

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#1901: Jul 28th 2015 at 11:46:22 PM

Latest about the Refugee Crisis: Man dies as 1,500 migrants try to enter Channel tunnel

A man has been killed as at least 1,500 migrants tried to enter the Channel Tunnel in Calais on Tuesday night, according to French Police. It follows a pledge from David Cameron that the UK government will do everything it can to combat the crisis. Speaking as the UK confirmed an extra £7m funding for new fencing at the terminal, the prime minister said the situation was "very concerning".

Over 2,000 people tried to get into the terminal on Monday night. The man who died on Tuesday night was Sudanese, aged between 25 and 30, according to the France Info website. He is said to have been hit by a lorry.

Eight immigrants have apparently died so far this summer.

The incident caused serious delays to Eurotunnel train services - with passengers held up for about an hour on the British side and 30 minutes on the French side on Tuesday, French news agency AFP reported. Kent Police reintroduced Operation Stack following the incident, leading to long delays for lorries on sections of the M20 near the Channel Tunnel.

A spokesman for Eurotunnel - which manages and operate Channel Tunnel services - said migrant incursions were now "an almost nightly occurrence". It is an issue for the government to "sort out", the spokesman said. "We need them to stop the migrant flow from Calais but it appears to be too much for them to handle," he added.

Keep Rolling On
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#1902: Jul 29th 2015 at 2:23:02 AM

A French woman was beaten up for sunbathing in a bikini in a park. The plot gets more convoluted from there, to say the least.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1903: Jul 29th 2015 at 4:08:32 AM

A hashtag can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on?

edited 29th Jul '15 4:08:48 AM by 3of4

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Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#1904: Jul 29th 2015 at 4:29:26 AM

[up]Would you mind if I quoted that someday?

The French Foreign Minister has invited the Iranian President to visit France on behalf of the French President.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1905: Jul 29th 2015 at 11:36:48 AM

[up]Feel free to evil grin

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FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#1906: Jul 30th 2015 at 12:48:03 PM

'Nazis secretly eat falafel': German town's pro-refugee posters

In response to a wave of recent anti-refugee protests across Germany, a political activist placed pro-refugee posters at bus stops in the small town of Freital, sparking a debate online.

The messages were a mixture of serious and tongue-in-cheek, written in both English and German: "Refugees welcome", "Nobody is illegal" and "Nazis secretly eat falafel". They were posted by an anti-racist campaigner who runs a Facebook page called Dies Irae, which translates as Day of Wrath.

The words were intended as messages of support for the refugees who have been housed in the area, which witnessed high-profile demonstrations by far-right groups earlier this month. That was part of the reason it was selected by the activist, who does not live in the town. "Nobody would notice if you posted these in [a big city like] Dresden," he tells BBC Trending, "but if you take action in a small town like Freital, they get attention." He declined to give his name, saying he feared reprisals from far-right groups.

The posters themselves, hung last week, lasted less than a day before being removed, but the images have garnered much more attention online. Collectively they have been liked and shared more than 80,000 times on Facebook, and spawned a debate about the stunt.

"But illegal immigration is a crime," wrote one, in response to one of the posters. Others called the campaign "stupid", motivated by the activist's sense of superiority. And others took issue with the image of a refugee family, claiming the majority of new residents were men under 25. But most posts appeared to be supportive. "Very good," and "We should make T-shirts out of these [designs]," read two comments.

The activist behind Dies Irae describes himself as an "adbuster". "I'm trying to reclaim the streets by putting useful posters in the public sphere - that's what it's for. It's not for big corporations to sell us products that we don't need," he says. He and fellow activists have routinely defaced adverts in other parts of Germany - usually in an attempt to satirise consumer culture.

Freital has seen increasingly heated anti-refugee demonstrations and outbreaks of violence in recent months, since it was announced that 280 refugees would be housed in a former hotel in the town.

Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#1907: Aug 11th 2015 at 2:19:04 PM

Kos migrants: Chaos amid Greek registration attempt

Chaos has broken out on the Greek island of Kos amid attempts to relocate hundreds of migrants to a football stadium for registration. Police officers used batons and sprayed fire extinguishers as they tried to impose order on the crowds. It comes after an officer on Kos was suspended for slapping one man while brandishing a knife.

Authorities are struggling with a rapidly growing number of migrants who have arrived hoping for a better life. Many migrants and refugees have been camping alongside roads and beaches on the Aegean island, a popular tourist destination. But an attempt relocate hundreds of people to a stadium for registration on Tuesday degenerated into chaos, with scuffles breaking out in the long queues.

"The situation on the island is out of control," Kos mayor Giorgos Kiritsis told the Greek news agency ANA. "There is a real danger that blood will be shed."

A policeman on Kos was suspended on Monday after he was caught on camera striking a migrant. The footage shows him roughly pushing back migrants outside a local authority building in Kos, slapping one man across the face as he shoves others, telling them to get back behind a line he has drawn on the pavement with the knife.

Greek police say 156,726 migrants were arrested for entering or remaining in the country illegally from January to July 2015, compared with 32,070 for the same months in 2014.

Meanwhile the local coastguard said it had rescued 329 migrants in seven separate incidents off the coast of Lesbos and Kos in the 24 hours from Monday morning, according to AP. The islands are several miles from the Turkish coast, and for many migrants the quickest and easiest route into the EU.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said Greece cannot cope with the influx of arrivals, and that his country's economic problems mean it is facing a humanitarian "crisis within a crisis".

Keep Rolling On
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#1908: Aug 11th 2015 at 2:57:52 PM

EU Immigration Crisis: German Police Want Border Controls In Europe To Address Migrant Flow

Germany's police union is calling for a return to passport controls along the border to combat a growing migrant crisis in the country and across the continent, Agence France-Presse reported. The chairman of the German Police Union Tuesday made the argument for re-regulation along inter-European borders, saying it is a good idea from a policing standpoint.

Traveling among 22 Eurozone countries and the handful of non-EU states currently does not require a passport. That zone, known as the Shengen Area, was established in 1995. Countries within that area have reinstituted border controls temporarily in certain instances, like high-profile visits from foreign heads of state or from a figure like the pope.

"From a policing point of view, a return to border controls would be the best of all measures," said Rainer Wendt, the chairman of the German Police Union. "Germany should not take the threat of bringing back [border] controls off the table too readily." Police have already ramped up security checks along some inter-European train lines, highways and at international airports.

Germany, with its strong economy, has been a particularly attractive landing spot for asylum seekers driven from their homes by violence and unrest. The country is known for being promigrant; however, there has been a push to improve checks and screenings to evaluate who coming in can best assimilate into its advanced economy. The country and police union also are interested in making sure those who are in actual need of political asylum are able to get it while barring foreign nationals not in danger.

The number of asylum-seekers entering Germany is expected to top 500,000 this year. Syria has been the biggest source as a result of its bloody civil war and the violent upheaval caused by the Islamic State group. Other major sources of asylum-seekers into Germany have been Balkan countries like Kosovo, Albania and Serbia. The prospects of receiving political asylum in Germany are better for Syrian refugees than those coming from the Balkans.

Quag15 Since: Mar, 2012
#1909: Aug 11th 2015 at 3:00:09 PM

If that goes forward, the Schengen agreement will lose some of its meaning.

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1910: Aug 11th 2015 at 3:19:27 PM

Its just the Police Union making some noise, not any government body. Just another interest group, didn't apparently even make the german speaking news pages. Its more "what makes life for our people easier" than anything else, ie score pointing.

So yeah, nod politely and ignore for now.

edited 11th Aug '15 3:19:55 PM by 3of4

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Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
Zarastro Since: Sep, 2010
#1912: Aug 24th 2015 at 5:27:10 AM

Angela Merkel and François Hollande meet to tackle Europe's migrant crisis :

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/24/angela-merkel-and-francois-hollande-to-meet-to-tackle-europes-migrant-crisis

It is about time that the EU manages to get a collective response regarding the refugee crisis.

TerminusEst from the Land of Winter and Stars Since: Feb, 2010
#1913: Aug 24th 2015 at 7:12:58 AM

[up]

In other words nothing will happen.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#1914: Aug 24th 2015 at 11:45:58 AM

[up] Depends. Merkel's politics are basically "whatever keeps me in office" and a lot of people here at not happy with how the whole thing's been handled so far. Also, her coalition partners are getting rebellious again.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#1915: Aug 31st 2015 at 2:21:28 PM

May I ask, how competent is the Governmentnote  seen in Germany? How many projects actually succeed without controversy, on time and/or on budget? Or in other words, how correct is Germany's image of Germanic Efficiency?

Keep Rolling On
Kiefen MINE! from Germany Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
MINE!
#1916: Aug 31st 2015 at 2:53:05 PM

From how I perceive it almost all politicians are considered incompetent and the general consensus on Germany's success is that "our strength is the weakness of everyone else around us".

3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1917: Aug 31st 2015 at 3:17:27 PM

If anything I see it as a Government of the least evil. Not a fan of them, but all the alternatives suck even more.

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DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#1918: Sep 1st 2015 at 2:55:52 AM

"Alternativlos" (a word often used by Merkel, meaning "without an alternative") has actually become a good synonym for our political situation: Our two largest parties are in a coalition, with the SPD neglecting (again) their core voters. The FDP became a minority party after their coalition with the CDU; the Greens lost some of their political core goals (no nuclear power) to the CDU, the Left suffers from a mix of character assassination and radical idiots being part of the party on the federal level and the Pirates and Af D self-destructed.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if we'll get a ruling coalition within the next decade that isn't led by Merkel. It's more likely that the next few elections will be "Merkel stays chancellor and gets to choose her new junior partner".

edited 1st Sep '15 2:56:53 AM by DrunkenNordmann

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1919: Sep 1st 2015 at 3:56:25 AM

I like to describe myself as "I'm a natural Social Democratic Voter, I just don't have a Social Democratic Party to vote for."

Especially to SPD people when they are doing advertising in the city tongue

Which is the core issue we have at the problem :/

Also, nitpick, the Pirates didn't self-destruct, they sunk during a hostile boarding attempt from the Antifa tongue (just to keep with nautical themes here)

edited 1st Sep '15 3:57:21 AM by 3of4

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DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#1920: Sep 1st 2015 at 7:10:31 AM

[up] So the Pirates were hijacked by the leftist radicals and the Af D was hijacked by right-wing radicals. Lovely. And in regard to the SPD: The probably only competent and popular politician they have who has a chance to become chancellor doesn't want to leave NRW. Kraft seems to have more integrity than the federal SPD leadership.tongue

When does the party base finally ditch Gabriel and vote for a party leader who actually IS a social democrat?

edited 1st Sep '15 7:11:54 AM by DrunkenNordmann

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#1921: Sep 1st 2015 at 7:19:51 AM

How many CDU/CSU voters think that Merkel is a leftie? I remember from my time in Germany that she's not exactly a convinced right-winger.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#1922: Sep 1st 2015 at 7:24:40 AM

[up] I wouldn't describe Merkel as left or right. "Centre" or "whatever gets me elected" fits her more. Note her 180° turn on nuclear plants post-Fukushima. Her only fixed positions are "Transatlantic Friendship" and her support of the EU. Though I remember the right wing of the CDU being somewhat annoyed by her politics a few years ago.

edited 1st Sep '15 7:25:03 AM by DrunkenNordmann

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
Kiefen MINE! from Germany Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
MINE!
#1923: Sep 1st 2015 at 7:25:29 AM

For most people Merkel is just "there".

DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#1924: Sep 1st 2015 at 7:27:05 AM

[up] I always liked what Volker Pispers said about her when she was first elected. (Paraphrased) "She isn't so bad at it." "What does she even do?" "No idea, but she isn't so bad at it."

She's also very good at getting rid of potential rivals. The German term for what Merkel does to rivals is "das Vertrauen aussprechen".grin

edited 1st Sep '15 7:28:04 AM by DrunkenNordmann

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#1925: Sep 1st 2015 at 8:35:40 AM

The difference between Pirates and Af D is that the Pirates were just naively inviting lots of people in while the Af D was *deliberately* courting the right-wing nationalists in an attempt to get percentage points.

My sympathies for the later party is nonexistent.

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