europe

France’s Macron defends snap election decision, urges voters to defeat far-right at the polls

By Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press

French President Emmanuel Macron defended his decision to call snap parliamentary elections after his party’s crushing defeat in the European parliamentary vote, insisting on Wednesday that voters will ultimately choose the “progressive bloc" over the far-right.

Here are the main takeaways after the far right’s surprising EU election wins

By Lorne Cook, Associated Press

The party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which has neo-fascist roots, won more than 28 percent of the national vote for the EU assembly, which would make it a key player in forming future alliances.

EU election updates: Far-right gains deal stunning defeats to France’s Macron and Germany’s Scholz

By Associated Press

An initial projection provided by the European Union indicates far-right parties have made big gains at the European Parliament, as voting wrapped up Sunday on the final day of elections for the next five-year term.

Voters in 20 EU countries cast ballots on final day of European Parliament election

By Lorne Cook, Raf Casert, Associated Press

Tens of millions across the European Union voted Sunday in EU parliamentary elections in a massive exercise of democracy that is expected to shift the bloc to the right and redirect its future.

Italy’s hard-right leader tells EU center parties their time is up as she votes in European election

By Giada Zampano, Karel Janicek, Raf Casert, Associated Press

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined voters in Italy and a half dozen European Union nations in casting a ballot during the penultimate day of European Union parliamentary elections on Saturday. The bloc’s premier hard-right politician threw down the gauntlet to…

Ukraine gets more military aid from Europe but Putin warns of consequences if Russian soil is hit

By Barry Hatton, Raf Cassert, Associated Press

The aid pledge for 2024 came from Belgium, which topped up the money with a commitment to give 30 F-16 fighter jets over the next four years.

Slovak prime minister remains in serious condition after assassination attempt

By Petr David Josek, Associated Press

Another operation was performed on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico two days after an assassination attempt on his life. Fico, 59, is in serious condition from being shot multiple times.

‘Lone wolf’ charged with shooting Slovak prime minister, interior minister says

By Bela Szandelszky, Petr David Josek, Philipp Jenne, Associated Press

Robert Fico was in serious but stable condition Thursday, a hospital official said, after the populist leader was hit multiple times in an attempt on his life that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European…

Far-right politician Geert Wilders says he lacks enough coalition support to become Dutch prime minister

By Mike Corder, Associated Press

While it now looks like Wilders will not lead the government, he and his Party for Freedom will remain the driving force behind the administration after sweeping to a stunning victory in the Nov. 22 elections.

Europe is unprepared to grapple with escalating climate extremes, risk assessment finds

By Carlos Mureithi, Dana Beltaji, Associated Press

The assessment says the bloc has made substantial progress and has a lot of policies to counteract the long-term effects of climate change, but societies are not prepared for more urgent climate threats.