In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump on November 8, 2022 claimed midterm elections were being stolen from Republicans, accusing vote officials of enabling fraud. The allegations do not stand up; despite some isolated problems at several polling sites, voting proceeded.
The Schengen Area, the largest border control-free travel area in the world, should soon expand to include at least one new member, if not three. So far, the area consists of 22 EU member states and four non-EU countries. Now three more EU members are knocking on Schengen’s door – Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania.
COP27: Participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina stressed the relevance of action against global warming. According to the Rule of Law Index 2022, Slovakia fell two places. The only Slovenian nuclear plant is put back into operation.
The EU Commission is expected to announce a reform of old budget rules aiming to strengthen public accounts and enable investments. What also happened this week: The new Italian government has prevented some asylum seekers from disembarking from rescue ships, while children and sick people were allowed into the country. Also: EU countries joined forces to target drug and firearms smuggling as well as migrant trafficking along the Balkan route.
Legal experts say a claim shared across social media misleadingly suggests that several European nations, including France and the Netherlands, have withdrawn from a decades-old Energy Charter Treaty (ETC) because they are “jumping ship on climate commitments”. In fact, the experts say, France and the Netherlands announced that a proposed amendment to the treaty does not accord with the Paris Agreement, making it “incompatible with (their) climate goals”.