This Week in Europe 29/07/2018
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Europe!
In Poland, the changes to the judiciary continue to generate controversy. This week thousands marched in protest in the capital against the changes. The Supreme Court chief justice Prof Malgorzata Gersdorf was supposed to be forced into early retirement but she has refused to leave her post. As well as the European Commission investigating the Polish government for undermining the rule of law, the European Court of Justice has agreed with an Irish court that extradition requests under the European Arrest Warrant to Poland can be refused if a fair trial is in doubt.
A further potential big shift in Poland may concern immigration law. As Poland continues to grow, it is beginning to face labour shortages. According to a senior official, the government is therefore looking at concluding an agreement with the Philippines to allow more workers from that country. Apparently, the shared Catholic heritage of the two countries was given as the reason for this choice. So far Poland has mostly relied on Ukrainian migrant workers and this move marks a change from the normal anti-migration tone of the Polish government.
In France, a scandal involving Macron's bodyguard has dominated the headlines and been the focus of much political discussion. Footage came to light of Alexandre Benalla, a top security aide to the French president, dressed as a police officer and violently handling protesters during a May Day rally. Controversially it was also discovered that the President's office had known about this incident and had only suspended and demoted Benalla rather than sacking him. Opposition parties accuse the government of trying to cover up the event while the government contests this, saying that those responsible were punished even if the punishment may not have been severe enough.
Away from French politics, Macron went to visit the Spanish and Portuguese governments this week. His meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez affirmed their shared visions on immigration and the euro, before the two of them attended a summit with the Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa to discuss improving energy links between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe. The meeting of the three leaders showed a new progressive axis within European politics, even if it was not framed in these terms.
An important discussion on race, identity and integration has been launched in Germany after Mesut Ozil, a star German football player with Turkish roots, announced his resignation from international football, citing racism and discrimination as his motivation. Mesut has already been the centre of controversy recently after appearing in a photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some criticised Mesut harshly for this decision and apparent endorsement of the authoritarian regime in Turkey. While some of this criticism was rational and fair, there was also racism directed towards the footballer. In the wake of his decision, many other mixed heritage Germans have come forward to speak about their experiences, good and bad, prompting the #MeTwo hashtag on Twitter.
Finally, Italy's deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he would back Theresa May in taking a tougher stance against the EU in Brexit negotiations, encouraging her to break off talks if necessary. To what extent Salvini can make this decision a reality with his coalition partners and to what extent he was grandstanding is unclear.
In Poland, the changes to the judiciary continue to generate controversy. This week thousands marched in protest in the capital against the changes. The Supreme Court chief justice Prof Malgorzata Gersdorf was supposed to be forced into early retirement but she has refused to leave her post. As well as the European Commission investigating the Polish government for undermining the rule of law, the European Court of Justice has agreed with an Irish court that extradition requests under the European Arrest Warrant to Poland can be refused if a fair trial is in doubt.
A further potential big shift in Poland may concern immigration law. As Poland continues to grow, it is beginning to face labour shortages. According to a senior official, the government is therefore looking at concluding an agreement with the Philippines to allow more workers from that country. Apparently, the shared Catholic heritage of the two countries was given as the reason for this choice. So far Poland has mostly relied on Ukrainian migrant workers and this move marks a change from the normal anti-migration tone of the Polish government.
In France, a scandal involving Macron's bodyguard has dominated the headlines and been the focus of much political discussion. Footage came to light of Alexandre Benalla, a top security aide to the French president, dressed as a police officer and violently handling protesters during a May Day rally. Controversially it was also discovered that the President's office had known about this incident and had only suspended and demoted Benalla rather than sacking him. Opposition parties accuse the government of trying to cover up the event while the government contests this, saying that those responsible were punished even if the punishment may not have been severe enough.
Away from French politics, Macron went to visit the Spanish and Portuguese governments this week. His meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez affirmed their shared visions on immigration and the euro, before the two of them attended a summit with the Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa to discuss improving energy links between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe. The meeting of the three leaders showed a new progressive axis within European politics, even if it was not framed in these terms.
An important discussion on race, identity and integration has been launched in Germany after Mesut Ozil, a star German football player with Turkish roots, announced his resignation from international football, citing racism and discrimination as his motivation. Mesut has already been the centre of controversy recently after appearing in a photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Some criticised Mesut harshly for this decision and apparent endorsement of the authoritarian regime in Turkey. While some of this criticism was rational and fair, there was also racism directed towards the footballer. In the wake of his decision, many other mixed heritage Germans have come forward to speak about their experiences, good and bad, prompting the #MeTwo hashtag on Twitter.
Finally, Italy's deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said he would back Theresa May in taking a tougher stance against the EU in Brexit negotiations, encouraging her to break off talks if necessary. To what extent Salvini can make this decision a reality with his coalition partners and to what extent he was grandstanding is unclear.
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