A major diplomatic row over the fate of the fugitive Julian Assange erupted after the WikiLeaks founder was offered political asylum by Ecuador to escape extradition from Britain to Sweden over allegations of serious sexual assaults.
UK and Ecuador go head to head over Assange – The Guardian
“The verdict on singing anti-Putin songs is due to be announced today in Russia. The world worries about freedom of speech,” writes the Bratislava daily. The three Russian feminist punk group members face a maximum sentence of three years in a labour camp.
The world stands behind Pussy Riot – SME
In a bid to counter criticism of the French government’s decision to dismantle Roma camps, socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has announced that he will meet with civil society groups and chair an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue next week. For Le Figaro, “an effective solution will only be found at the European level”.
Roma: government caught in a trap – Le Figaro
“Giving up enmity and suspicion and forgiving mutual historical wrongs,” these will be the main points of an appeal to Poles and Russians to be signed on Friday in Warsaw by the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill I, and Archbishop Józef Michalik, the chairman of the Polish Catholic Church episcopate. This is the first visit by the Russian Orthodox Church chief to Poland.
Kirill the First – Gazeta Wyborcza
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to meet Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker on August 18 in Athens, before travelling to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 24, and then to Paris to meet French President François Hollande on August 25. Samaras will be hoping to gain support for a Greek request that the obligation to balance the country’s books by 2014, be postponed to 2016, which he is intent on presenting at the next European summit on October 8 and 9.
Fiery meeting for Greece and the euro – To Ethnos
Copenhagen has called on the Indian government to put an end to its boycott of Denmark, which has lasted exactly one year. New Delhi suspended all cooperation with the country in the wake of a Danish court decision not to extradite a Danish national who faced terrorism charges in India. The boycott is now threatening to block a major Indo-Danish cultural project, which was scheduled to begin on August 18 in Copenhagen.
Danish Appeal to the Indian government – Berlingske Tidende
“European budgetary agreements will no longer be sacrosanct” in the Netherlands if Socialist Party leader Emile Roemer wins parliamentary elections slated for September 12. The candidate that the polls have tipped to be the country’s next prime minister has affirmed that he will refuse to pay penalties demanded by Brussels if the Netherlands’ deficit exceeds three per cent of GDP, following the implementation of his plans for investment in the country.
Roemer sharpens focus on his campaign – De Volkskrant
Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!
It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.
Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!