Europe
Italy govt okays legal entry of 452,000 foreign workers in 3 years
The government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has given preliminary approval to a new programming document for the legal entry of 452,000 foreign workers in the period 2023-2025.
"For the three-year period 2023-2025, the government envisages a total of 452,000 entries, compared to an identified need of 833,000," with 136,000 entries in 2023, 151,000 in 2024 and 165,000 in 2025, a statement said on Thursday.
Read: Leaders of Italy and Poland say European Union should focus on stopping migration
The provision also extends the categories of worker and production sectors implicated by the so-called 'flows decree' to include electricians and plumbers, bus drivers and workers in the fishing sector.
Read: Six die in fire at elderly care home in Milan
It also reinstates a specific quota for domestic caregivers and social-medical workers, as well as increasing the number of legal entries allowed for seasonal workers in the agricultural and tourism sectors in 2022 to be used against applications made on 'click day' on March 27 for admission to Italy under an earlier decree. (ANSA).
Dutch premier resigns because of deadlock on thorny issue of migration, paving way for new elections
The Dutch government collapsed Friday because of irreconcilable differences within the four-party coalition about how to rein in migration, a divisive issue that has split nations across Europe.
The resignation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the longest-serving premier of the nation, means the country will face a general election later this year. Rutte and his government will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until a new ruling coalition is chosen.
"It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy," Rutte told reporters in The Hague. "And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately … offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing"
Opposition lawmakers wasted no time in calling for fresh elections even before Rutte formally confirmed his resignation.
Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, tweeted, "Quick elections now." Across the political spectrum, Green Left leader Jesse Klaver also called for elections and told Dutch broadcaster NOS: "This country needs a change of direction."
Rutte had presided over late-night meetings Wednesday and Thursday that failed to result in a deal on migration policy. At one final round of talks Friday evening, the parties decided unanimously that they could not agree and, as a result, could not remain together in the coalition.
The decision underscored ideological divisions that existed from the day the coalition was sworn in just over 18 months ago between parties that do not support a strict crackdown on migration — D66 and fellow centrist party ChristenUnie, or Christian Union — and the two that favor tougher measures — Rutte's conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democrats.
Similar discussions are going on across political divides elsewhere in Europe as migrants fleeing conflict or seeking a better life make perilous sea crossings from northern Africa to reach the continent. Hundreds of thousands of people also have fled the grinding war in Ukraine.
Migration is set to be an essential theme of European Union parliamentary elections next year, but the issue hit early in the Netherlands, a nation that has long been torn between a welcoming international outreach and increasing resistance to foreign influences.
Rutte's coalition tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution — and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.
Last year, hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception center as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds. Dutch aid agencies provided assistance.
Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country's statistics office. Tens of thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.
The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country.
Rutte's government worked for a law that could compel municipalities to provide accommodations for newly arrived asylum-seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass through both houses of parliament.
The prime minister also promoted European Union efforts to slow migration to the 27-nation bloc. Rutte visited Tunisia last month with his Italian counterpart and the president of the EU's executive commission to offer more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to rescue the North African nation's teetering economy and to stem migration from its shores to Europe.
Rutte's coalition government, the fourth he has led, took office in January 2022 following the longest coalition negotiations in Dutch political history.
The election for the lower house of the Dutch parliament later this year will take place in a polarized and splintered political landscape — there are 20 parties in the 150-seat lower house.
During provincial elections earlier this year, a populist pro-farmer party put Rutte's party into second place. The defeat was seen as a possible incentive for Rutte to do his utmost to hold together his coalition until its term ends in 2025.
Six die in fire at elderly care home in Milan
Six people died and 81 people were admitted to hospital with smoke poisoning after a fire broke out at a residential care home for the elderly in Italy's Milan in the early hours of Friday.
The victims, five women and one man, were aged between 69 and 87 Two women are said to have burned to death in the room where the fire reportedly started from a bed, while the other victims reportedly died from smoke inhalation.
In total, the structure hosted 167 people.
"Six deaths are a very heavy toll," said Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who visited the building with city councillor for security Marco Granelli.
The public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for multiple manslaughter.
Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and said the regional authorities had "immediately made themselves available" to help find alternative accommodation for the displaced elderly residents.
Belarus says Wagner chief who staged mutiny is in Russia, raising questions about Kremlin's strategy
The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin's rule.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin's whereabouts. But Russian media have reported he was recently seen at his offices in St. Petersburg.
Also read: Russian general is believed to be detained in aftermath of Wagner mutiny, AP sources say
It was not clear if Prigozhin's presence in Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the head of the Wagner Group military contractor to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops. But the reports signaled that the agreement may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.
Also read: Prigozhin, the mercenary chief urging an uprising against Russia's generals, has long ties to Putin
If that's true, it could suggest the threat posed by Prigozhin has not yet been fully defused and that the Kremlin is treading carefully with him until it can figure out what to do with troops who may still be loyal to him. Putin has said that Wagner troops can join the Russian military, retire from service or move to Belarus.
But much about the the agreement, which was brokered by Lukashenko, remains murky.
Last week, Lukashenko said the mercenary leader was in Belarus, but on Thursday he told international reporters that Prigozhin was in St. Petersburg and could also travel to Moscow if he wishes, while Wagner's troops were in their camps. He did not specify the location of the camps, but Prigozhin's mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in eastern Ukraine before their revolt and also have bases on Russian territory.
He also said that Prigozhin has been given back the cash and weapons that were confiscated by Russian authorities.
Asked where Prigozhin is, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off the question, saying that the Kremlin has neither the desire nor the means to track his movements — but reaffirmed that the deal that ended the mutiny envisaged his move to Belarus.
Also read: Wagner and Putin: What really happened?
Lukashenko said his government offered Wagner, which has sent troops around the world to fight for Russia's interests, the use of Belarusian military camps but that the company had not made a final decision.
The Kremlin has played down the fact that Prigozhin escaped punishment for his mutiny while other Putin critics have been met with harsh prison sentences, exile or even death, saying that the deal with the Wagner chief was necessary to avoid massive bloodshed.
The Belarusian leader shrugged off suggestions that Putin might order Prigozhin killed, saying: "If you think that Putin is so vicious and vindictive to finish him off, no, it's not going to happen."
On Wednesday, Russian online newspapers Fontanka and Izvestia posted videos and photos of Prigozhin's opulent mansion in Russia's second-largest city that showed stacks of cash and gold bullion. The images appeared to be part of the authorities' efforts to denigrate Prigozhin, who has postured as an enemy of corrupt elites even though he has owed his wealth to Putin.
A photo hanging in the mansion showed a lineup of decapitated heads. In one published image, an oversized souvenir sledgehammer could also be seen with the inscription "for important negotiations." The sledgehammer has become a symbol of Wagner after reports its troops used the tool to beat defectors to death.
The Russian media also published a collection of selfies that showed him posing in various wigs, fake beards and foreign uniforms, an apparent reflection of Wagner's deployments to Syria and several African countries.
Asked if Prigozhin and his mercenaries would eventually move to Belarus, Lukashenko answered evasively that it would depend on the decisions of the Wagner chief and the Russian government.
The Belarusian leader said he doesn't think the mercenaries' presence in his country would lead to its destabilization and said any Wagner troops there would be required to sign a contract with Belarusian authorities that would outline conditions and limitations of their actions.
Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich argued, however, that Lukashenko could feel uneasy about Wagner's presence on his turf. "If this structure rebelled against its master once, it can do it again and again and march on Minsk instead of marching on Moscow," Karbalevich said.
The Belarusian president dismissed suggestions that the mercenaries could attack Ukraine from Belarusian territory, which Russian troops used as a staging ground ahead of their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has also maintained a military presence in Belarus.
During their short revolt, Prigozhin's mercenaries quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and captured the military headquarters there before marching to within about 200 kilometers (125 miles) of the Russian capital. Prigozhin described it as a "march of justice" to oust his longtime foes — Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the military's general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, whose handling of the war in Ukraine he criticized.
The Wagner fighters faced little resistance, smashing occasional roadblocks. They also downed at least six helicopters and a command post aircraft, killing at least 10 airmen.
When the deal was struck, the Wagner chief ordered his troops to return to their camps.
The abortive rebellion represented the biggest threat to Putin in his more than two decades in power, exposing his weakness and eroding the Kremlin's authority. It wasn't immediately clear whether Shoigu and Gerasimov retained Putin's favor after vanishing from public view during the mutiny, but so far they have kept their positions.
Lukashenko said he warned Prigozhin that he and his troops would be destroyed if they failed to make a quick deal to end their mutiny and that Belarus would send a brigade to help protect Moscow.
"It was necessary to nip it in the bud. It was very dangerous, as history shows," Lukashenko said.
Asked about the deployment of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Lukashenko said they are intended to deter any aggression against the country. Putin and Lukashenko both have said that some of them already have been moved to Belarus, and the Belarusian leader reaffirmed Thursday that a "certain number" of them have been flown to Belarus and the rest will be delivered before the year's end.
Lukashenko said that Russia would consult him on any possible use of those weapons, adding that it could only happen in response to an act aggression by NATO against Russia or Belarus.
The Belarusian leader noted that "these weapons serve strictly defensive purposes."
He added: "Don't touch us, and we will never use these deadly weapons."
Leaders of Italy and Poland say European Union should focus on stopping migration
The European Union should put a priority on stopping illegal migration instead of trying to persuade the 27 member nations to share responsibility for people who arrive without authorization, the prime ministers of Italy and Poland said Wednesday.
Italy's right-wing leader, Premier Georgia Meloni, traveled to Warsaw for a meeting with her conservative Polish counterpart, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. As a country that is one of the first stops for asylum-seekers who cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, Italy is eager to reduce their number.
Poland and Hungary last week vetoed a statement by EU leaders on priorities for limiting arrivals, and the two countries voted against a June 8 agreement that balanced the obligations of front-line countries against the requirement for other member nations to provide support.
The governments in Warsaw and Budapest insist that preventing people from entering the EU is a better approach. After her talks with Morawiecki, Meloni said she thinks the bloc will never be able to "find a real solution" to the situation once migrants are already in Europe.
"I believe our position is substantially the same. We want to stop illegal immigration," Meloni said. Referring to the Polish government's position, she added, "I cannot not defend someone who defends national interests."
Morawiecki said it was "fundamental" to his government to have the EU's external borders "insulated" and that it also opposed a provision in the June agreement that calls for fining countries that refuse to host a share of asylum-seekers 20,000 euros ($21,400) per person.
Poland has taken in millions of war refugees from Ukraine, some 1.2 million of whom have registered and received the right to live, work, attend school and receive social benefits.
Morawiecki said his government would organize a referendum this year asking Poles for their opinion on accepting migrants who entered the EU illegally. The main ruling party, the conservative Law and Justice, has moved to change Poland's election law to allow the referendum at the same time as the next parliamentary election, expected in the fall.
The agenda for Morawiecki and Meloni's talks included regional security in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine, which is seeking NATO security guarantees. NATO's 31 members have a summit scheduled in Lithuania next week.
The two leaders also addressed a meeting of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, an alliance of the EU Parliament.
Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of preparing imminent attack on Europe's biggest nuclear plant
Ukraine and Russia accused each other Wednesday of planning to attack one of the world's largest nuclear power plants, which is located in southeastern Ukraine and occupied by Russian troops, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims of an imminent threat.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a focus of concern since Moscow's forces took control of it and its staff in the early stages of the war. Over the last year, the U.N.'s atomic watchdog repeatedly expressed alarm over the possibility of a radiation catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl after a reactor exploded in 1986.
While Russia and Ukraine regularly traded blame over shelling near the plant that caused power outages, Ukraine has alleged more recently that Moscow might try to cause a deliberate leak in an attempt to derail Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive in the surrounding Zaporizhzhia region.
Citing the latest intelligence reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged Tuesday night that Russian troops had placed "objects resembling explosives" on top of several power units to "simulate" an attack as part of a false flag operation.
Also read: Ukraine’s president tells other countries to act before Russia attacks nuclear plant
The "foreign objects" were placed on the roof of the plant's third and fourth power units, according to a statement from the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces. "Their detonation should not damage power units but may create a picture of shelling from Ukraine," the statement said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has officials stationed at the Russian-held plant, which is still run by its Ukrainian staff. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency's most recent inspection of the plant found no mining activities, "but we remain extremely alert."
"As you know, there is a lot of combat, I have been there a few weeks ago, and there is contact there very close to the plant, so we cannot relax," Grossi said during a visit to Japan.
In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov raised the specter of a potentially "catastrophic" provocation by the Ukrainian army at the nuclear plant, which is Europe's largest but has its six reactors shut down. It still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
"The situation is quite tense. There is a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which can be catastrophic in its consequences," Peskov said in response to a reporter's question about the plant. He also claimed that the Kremlin was pursuing "all measures" to counter the alleged Ukrainian threat.
Also read: Nuclear watchdog growingly worried over Ukraine plant safety
Grossi said he was aware of both Kyiv's and Moscow's claims and reiterated that "nuclear power plants should never, under any circumstances, be attacked."
"A nuclear power plant should not be used as a military base," he said.
Peskov's comments came after Renat Karchaa, an advisor to Russian state nuclear company Rosenergoatom, said there was "no basis" for Zelenskyy's claims of a plot to simulate an explosion.
"Why would we need explosives there? This is nonsense, (aimed at) maintaining tension around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," Karchaa said.
Russian media on Tuesday cited Karchaa as saying that Ukraine's military planned to strike the plant early Wednesday with ammunition laced with nuclear waste. As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no indication of such an attack.
Last week, Ukrainian emergency workers held a drill to prepare for a potential release of radiation from the plant. According to the country's emergency services, in case of a nuclear disaster at the plant, approximately 300,000 people would be evacuated from the areas closest to the facility.
Ukrainian officials have said the shut-down reactors are protected by thick concrete containment domes.
Also read: Ukraine: Russia put rocket launchers at nuclear power plant
The International Institute for Strategic Studies said last week that "a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia would probably not lead to the widespread dispersal of significant amounts of radiation" due to precautionary steps taken by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
However, the think tank noted in an assessment that wind might blow some amount of radiation toward Russia.
NATO again extends Stoltenberg's mandate, happy with a safe pair of hands as the war drags on
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will stay in office for another year, the 31-nation military alliance decided on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg said in a tweet that he is “honoured by NATO Allies’ decision to extend my term as Secretary General until 1 October 2024.”
“The transatlantic bond between Europe and North America has ensured our freedom and security for nearly 75 years, and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever,” he said.
Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014. His term had been due to expire last year but was extended then to keep a steady hand at the helm after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts had been due to name a successor when they meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. But the world’s biggest security organization makes decisions by consensus, and no agreement could be found on a new candidate.
Most NATO countries had been keen to name a woman to the top post, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden last month.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ruled out her candidacy. Other possible names floated, but never publicly named as in the running, were Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
It’s the fourth time Stoltenberg has had his mandate extended. He’s the second-longest serving NATO secretary-general after former Dutch foreign minister Joseph Luns, who spent almost 13 years at the helm from 1971.
Read: Biden’s upcoming European trip is meant to boost NATO against Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on
Quizzed repeatedly in recent weeks over whether he would agree to have his term renewed, Stoltenberg said that he was not seeking to stay and had no plans other than to continue to carry out his duties and wrap his time at the helm in September.
NATO secretaries-general are responsible for chairing meetings and guiding sometimes delicate consultations between the member countries to ensure that compromises are found so that an organization that operates on consensus can continue to function.
They also ensure that decisions are put into action and speak on behalf of all nations with one voice.
Stoltenberg has managed to tread a very fine line, refraining from criticizing members led by more go-it-alone presidents and prime ministers, like former U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
With NATO’s historical adversary, Russia, locked in a war with Ukraine, the process of naming a new secretary-general has become highly politicized.
Poland opposes the next secretary-general coming from a Nordic state after Stoltenberg’s long tenure, and that of his predecessor, Anders Fogh Rasmussen from Denmark. Polish officials wanted someone from a Baltic state. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas was a preferred candidate.
Read: US, NATO had no involvement in Wagner's 'short-lived' revolt in Russia: Biden
But other countries are wary of accepting a nominee from the Baltics or Poland, given what appears to be their unconditional support for Ukraine, including on NATO membership, which the U.S. and Germany, among others, insist should not happen before the war ends.
In naming Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish premier, their 12th secretary general in 2009, NATO’s leaders signaled that they wanted a government leader or president at the head of their organization. This has made the path almost impossible for Wallace.
Read more: Erdogan says no change in Turkey's stance on Sweden's NATO membership
King of the Netherlands apologizes for country's role in slavery on 150th anniversary of abolition
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands apologized Saturday for his country's role in slavery and asked for forgiveness during a historic speech greeted by cheers and whoops at an event to commemorate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Dutch colonies.
The king's speech followed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's apology late last year for the country's role in the slave trade and slavery. The public expressions of remorse are part of a wider reckoning with colonial histories in the West that the Black Lives Matter movement spurred in recent years.
In his emotional address, Willem-Alexander referred back to the prime minister's apology as he told a crowd of invited guests and onlookers: "Today, I stand before you. Today, as your king and as a member of the government, I make this apology myself. And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and my soul."
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The king said he has commissioned a study into the exact role of the royal House of Orange-Nassau in slavery in the Netherlands.
"But today, on this day of remembrance, I ask forgiveness for the clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity," he added.
Willem-Alexander's voice appeared to break with emotion as he completed his speech before laying a wreath at the country's national slavery monument in an Amsterdam park.
Some people want action to back up the words.
"Honestly, I feel good, but I am still looking forward to something more than just apologies. Reparations, for example," Doelja Refos, 28, said.
"I don't feel like we're done. We're definitely not there yet," Refos added.
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Former lawmaker John Leerdam told Dutch broadcaster NOS that he felt tears running down his cheeks as the king apologized. "It's a historic moment and we have to realize that," he said.
Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863, but most of the enslaved laborers were forced to continue working on plantations for another decade. Saturday's commemoration and speech started a year of events to mark the 150th anniversary.
Research published last month showed that the king's ancestors earned the modern-day equivalent of 545 million euros ($595 million) from slavery, including profits from shares that were effectively given to them as gifts.
When Rutte apologized in December, he stopped short of offering compensation to descendants of enslaved people.
Instead, the government is establishing a 200 million-euro ($217 million) fund for initiatives that tackle the legacy of slavery in the Netherlands and its former colonies and to improve education about the topic.
That isn't enough for some in the Netherlands. Two groups, Black Manifesto and The Black Archives, organized a protest march before the king's speech Saturday under the banner "No healing without reparations."
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"A lot of people including myself, my group, The Black Archives, and the Black Manifesto say that (an) apology is not enough. An apology should be tied to a form of repair and reparatory justice or reparations," Black Archives director Mitchell Esajas said.
Marchers wore colorful traditional clothing in a Surinamese celebration of the abolition of slavery. Enslaved people were banned from wearing shoes and colorful clothes, organizers said.
"Just as we remember our forefathers on this day, we also feel free, we can wear what we want, and we can show the rest of the world that we are free." Regina Benescia-van Windt, 72, said.
The Netherlands' often brutal colonial history has come under renewed and critical scrutiny in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in the U.S. city of Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
A groundbreaking 2021 exhibition at the national museum of art and history took an unflinching look at slavery in Dutch colonies. In the same year, a report described the Dutch involvement in slavery as a crime against humanity and linked it to what the report described as ongoing institutional racism in the Netherlands.
The Dutch first became involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the late 1500s and became a major trader in the mid-1600s. Eventually, the Dutch West India Company became the largest trans-Atlantic slave trader, according to Karwan Fatah-Black, an expert in Dutch colonial history and an assistant professor at Leiden University.
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Authorities in the Netherlands aren't alone in saying sorry for historic abuses.
In 2018, Denmark apologized to Ghana, which it colonized from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. King Philippe of Belgium has expressed "deepest regrets" for abuses in Congo. In 1992, Pope John Paul II apologized for the church's role in slavery. Americans have had emotionally charged disputes over taking down statues of slaveholders in the South.
In April, King Charles III for the first time signaled support for research into the U.K. monarchy's ties to slavery after a document showed an ancestor with shares in a slave-trading company, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
Charles and his eldest son, Prince William, have expressed their sorrow over slavery but haven't acknowledged the crown's connections to the trade.
During a ceremony that marked Barbados becoming a republic two years ago, Charles referred to "the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history." English settlers used African slaves to turn the island into a wealthy sugar colony.
Willem-Alexander acknowledged that not everybody in the Netherlands supports apologies, but he called for unity.
"There's no blueprint for the process of healing, reconciliation and recovery," he said. "Together, we are in uncharted territory. So let's support and guide each other."
Sánchez visits Kyiv on the day Spain starts EU presidency to underline bloc’s support for Ukraine
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez started Spain’s six-month presidency of the European Union with a lightning visit to Kyiv on Saturday to underline the bloc’s support of Ukraine in the face of the invasion by Russia.
Sánchez arrived in the Ukrainian capital by train from Poland.
The Spanish government said he would address Ukraine’s parliament at 0830 GMT (4:30 a.m. EDT) and then meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two will give a news conference around 1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT).
Zelenskyy announced the visit Thursday in an address to European leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. He highlighted the symbolism of the visit and the importance of the next six months for Europe. He added that it was the moment to begin negotiations for Ukraine’s entry into the EU.
Speaking Friday in Brussels, Sánchez said, “The war in Ukraine will be one of the great priorities of our presidency, with the focus being on guaranteeing the unity (on the issue) among all member states.”
Read: Ukraine recaptures village as Russian forces hold other lines, fire on fleeing civilians elsewhere
This was Sánchez’s third time in Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Sánchez will return to Madrid by Sunday, when he meets with the European Council President Charles Michel, a day before the arrival of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the college of EU commissioners.
Besides Ukraine, Spain hopes to make progress on several major EU issues during its presidency, which ends on Dec. 31.
Sánchez believes that the EU will finalize a controversial pact on migration despite lingering differences within the 27-nation group with Poland and Hungary still evident on Friday.
Earlier this month, EU countries a breakthrough on asylum law reform, sealing an agreement on a plan to share responsibility for migrants entering Europe without authorization. Only Poland and Hungary voted against.
EU lawmakers have warned that this may be the last chance to solve the issue before EU-wide elections in a year’s time, when migration is likely to be a hot-button issue once again.
The rotating presidency comes as Spain faces an early general election on July 23, which polls shows could oust Sánchez’s leftist coalition government and replace it with a conservative administration, or even a coalition with the extreme right, and follow a trend happening in much of Europe.
Read: Russian missile strike in Ukraine's south, shelling in east kill at least 6 people
Sánchez has said that he wants to focus on rebuilding intra-European supply chains to avoid shortages and guarantee energy sovereignty. This would include establishing European dominance in the fields of artificial intelligence and digital security.
Spain also hopes the EU-Latin America summit set for July 17-18 in Brussels, the first in eight years, will represent “a qualitative leap” in relations between the two regions and will lead to a powerful investment agenda with Latin American and Caribbean nations.
Spain also wants to make EU progress on the green transition and electricity market reform. Spain has significant experience in the sector as it forges ahead with solar, wind power and green hydrogen installations at an unprecedented rate.
Read more: Top UN court allows a record 32 countries to intervene in Ukraine's genocide case against Russia
France faces 5th night of rioting over teen's killing by police, signs of subsiding violence
Young rioters clashed with police late Saturday and early Sunday and targeted a mayor's home with a burning car as France faced a fifth night of unrest sparked by the police killing of a teenager, but overall violence appeared to lessen compared to previous nights.
Police made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday after a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France's worst social upheaval in years.
The fast-spreading crisis is posing a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron's leadership and exposing deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity.
Read: Fiery protests grip France for 3rd night over deadly police shooting of a teenager
The 17-year-old whose death Tuesday spawned the anger, identified by his first name Nahel, was laid to rest Saturday in a Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Nanterre, a Paris suburb where emotion over his loss remains raw.
As night fell over the French capital, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees for a protest over Nahel's death and police violence but met hundreds of officers with batons and shields guarding the iconic avenue and its Cartier and Dior boutiques. In a less-chic neighborhood of northern Paris, protesters set off volleys of firecrackers and lit barricades on fire as police shot back with tear gas and stun grenades.
A burning car hit the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb of l'Hay-les-Roses overnight. Several schools, police stations, town halls and stores have been targeted by fires or vandalism in recent days but such a personal attack on a mayor's home is unusual.
Skirmishes erupted in the Mediterranean city of Marseille but appeared less intense than the night before, according to the Interior Ministry. A beefed-up police contingent arrested 55 people there.
Nationwide arrests were somewhat lower than the night before, which Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin attributed to "the resolute action of security forces."
Some 2,800 people have been detained overall since Nahel's death on Tuesday. The mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighborhoods and shopowners whose stores have been ransacked — but it has further frustrated those who see police behavior as the core of France's current crisis.
The unrest took a toll on Macron's diplomatic standing. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's office said Macron phoned Saturday to request a postponement of what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years. Macron had been scheduled to fly to Germany on Sunday.
Hundreds of French police and firefighters have been injured in the violence that erupted after the killing, though authorities haven't released injury tallies of protesters. In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.
On Saturday, France's justice minister, Dupond-Moretti, warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face legal prosecution. Macron has blamed social media for fueling violence.
The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host Olympic athletes and millions of visitors for the summer Olympics, whose organizers were closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the competition continue.
At a hilltop cemetery in Nanterre, hundreds stood along the road Saturday to pay tribute to Nahel as mourners carried his white casket from a mosque to the burial site. His mother, dressed in white, walked inside the cemetery amid applause and headed toward the grave. Many of the men were young and Arab or Black, coming to mourn a boy who could have been them.
This week, Nahel's mother told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son at a traffic stop, but not at the police in general.
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"He saw a little Arab-looking kid. He wanted to take his life," she said. Nahel's family has roots in Algeria.
Video of the killing showed two officers at the window of the car, one with his gun pointed at the driver. As the teenager pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer accused of killing Nahel was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide.
Thirteen people who didn't comply with traffic stops were fatally shot by French police last year, and three this year, prompting demands for more accountability. France also saw protests against police violence and racial injustice after George Floyd's killing by police in Minnesota.
The reaction to the killing was a potent reminder of the persistent poverty, discrimination and limited job prospects in neighborhoods around France where many residents trace their roots to former French colonies — like where Nahel grew up.
"Nahel's story is the lighter that ignited the gas. Hopeless young people were waiting for it. We lack housing and jobs, and when we have (jobs), our wages are too low," said Samba Seck, a 39-year-old transportation worker in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.
Clichy was the birthplace of weeks of riots in 2005 that shook France, prompted by the death of two teenagers electrocuted in a power substation while fleeing from police. One of the boys lived in the same housing project as Seck.
New violence targeted his town this week. As he spoke, the remains of a burned car stood beneath his apartment building, and the town hall entrance was set alight in rioting Friday.
"Young people break everything, but we are already poor, we have nothing," he said. Still, he said he understood the rioters' anger, adding that "young people are afraid to die at the hands of police."
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