German Christian Democrat MEPs, part of the European People’s Party, visited the European Newsroom (enr) in the Residence Palace in Brussels on October 25. The purpose of their visit was to acquaint themselves with the project and to see how Europe-wide cooperation in journalism works on the ground.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the EU’s support for Israel has not harmed the bloc’s image in the Arab world. Slovenian Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko will call on all EU Ministers to sign the Ljubljana Manifesto on Reading at a Higher Level. The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to Mahsa Amini.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki used campaign ads for this month’s general election to condemn the European Union’s “tragic, irresponsible migration policy” but many of the images were taken out of context or had nothing to do with migration to the bloc. The videos had been viewed more than 10 million times on social media ahead of the vote on October 15, 2023 – which saw the opposition win a parliamentary majority — and showed scenes of attacks on women, unnamed burning cities or long marches of men in the desert. Although supposedly linked to the recent migrant crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa, an AFP investigation found that the provocative footage in fact came from as far away as the United States and dated as far back as 2016. The jumble of violent scenes was mixed with genuine images of migrants on Lampedusa.
A number of countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia have announced new controls along their borders. They are trying to prevent people smugglers from using routes through the Balkans to bring migrants to Central and Western Europe. This puts pressure on the Schengen area of free movement and visa-free arrangements with third countries.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is concerned over the increase in antisemitic incidents in Europe and calls for better protection of Jewish life. In other news: Franco-German nuclear tensions, as France insists on the recognition of the role nuclear power can play in the production of low-carbon hydrogen. The next steps are taken towards a digital euro as a complement to cash.