Clea Caulcutt

3 days ago | politico.eu | Clea Caulcutt |Nicholas Vinocur |Nicolas Barré

PARIS  —  The European Union’s former chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is accusing his former boss Ursula von der Leyen of overseeing an “authoritarian drift” during her tenure leading the European Commission.

2 weeks ago | politico.eu | Clea Caulcutt |Sarah Paillou |Elisa Bertholomey

PARIS — A visibly angry Emmanuel Macron blasted his ministers during a defense cabinet meeting Wednesday after a botched release of a report into the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France, according to a high-ranking government official. A second official, who, like others quoted here, was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the French president accused his ministers generally for not coming up with adequate solutions to counter the threat posed by the Islamist group.

2 weeks ago | politico.eu | Clea Caulcutt |Victor Goury-Laffont |Sarah Paillou

PARIS — A bombshell report from the French authorities alleges that organizations with links to the Muslim Brotherhood have been attempting to influence European Union institutions through “significant lobbying activities.” A version of the document seen by POLITICO before its official publication says the Islamist group’s supposed ideological allies sought to push Brussels to criminalize blasphemy and promote a “singular” vision of religious freedom that clashes with France’s strict model of...

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Clea Caulcutt |Koen Verhelst

TIRANA, Albania — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday that the European Union is working on a major package of new sanctions against the Kremlin with talks between Russia and Ukraine looking unlikely to yield progress. "We want peace and we have to apply pressure," she told reporters as she arrived at a summit of the European Political Community in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

3 weeks ago | politico.eu | Clea Caulcutt |Nicholas Vinocur

TIRANA, Albania — Ukraine’s European backers are gearing up to impose further sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin after his no-show at much-anticipated talks in Turkey between Kyiv and Moscow. Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan are meeting in the Albanian capital Friday to discuss how to stop the fighting in Ukraine.