Nicholas Vinocur

1 week ago | politico.eu | Nicholas Vinocur

“The Pact provisions on recognition rates and applying the safe country of origin concept can help Member States deal with claims more quickly, whilst always ensuring that every asylum claim still receives an individual assessment and is subject to the scrutiny of national courts.”The move comes after EU capitals, led by Poland, urged the Commission in 2024 to draw up new guidelines on migration to facilitate deportations amid growing political pressure from right-wing and far-right parties.

1 week ago | politico.eu | Gabriel Gavin |Una Hajdari |Nicholas Vinocur

Meanwhile, the conservative Democratic Party of Albania, the largest opposition group standing against Rama's government, has hired former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita in February to lead its political strategy. The party has led protests claiming that the vote would be neither free nor fair because of Rama's influence on the country's institutions, while video platform TikTok has been banned by the government ahead of the poll.

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Nicholas Vinocur

2 hours agoPresident Donald Trump and his administration are reportedly planning a pressure campaign to convince U.S. trading partners to isolate China in exchange for reduced tariffs. The administration is negotiating with more than 70 countries to secure commitments to limit their dealings with Beijing in …

1 week ago | politico.eu | Gabriel Gavin |Nicholas Vinocur

While not all governments are expected to sign up to the idea, if several key countries followed through it would limit the impact of any future Hungarian veto. Only a handful of frontline nations bordering Russia have so far introduced unilateral sanctions, but diplomats confirmed that a broader range of capitals were now thinking of implementing their own measures. Orbán has repeatedly threatened to use his veto, thereby holding unrelated EU initiatives hostage.

1 week ago | politico.eu | Nicholas Vinocur

GREETINGS. It’s Nick Vinocur again. Before we get started, here’s Donald Trump seemingly rejecting a proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to purchase air defense missiles from the United States. He also blamed Kyiv for starting the war, one day after a Russian ballistic missile attack killed 35 people in Sumy, Ukraine. Suzanne Lynch will be with you for Wednesday’s edition. Now let’s dive in.