Leading European politicians backed a campaign demanding the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during its invasion on Ukraine. Estonian president Alar Karis, British foreign secretary David Lammy, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and EU commissioners Henna Virkkunen and Andrius Kubilius were among leaders who publicly pledged their support for the Bring Kids Back campaign, initiated by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In March 2023, the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying he was “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” The British and French governments are involved in early talks about a returns agreement that would involve both countries exchanging people seeking asylum. Officials have discussed a pilot scheme under which a small number of people who come across the Channel to the UK by irregular means would be sent back to France. The UK would look to accept from France a limited number of people who have a right to be in Britain, especially those with a case for family reunification. Small boat crossings across the Channel are at record levels, with almost 8,200 people having made the journey to the UK since the start of the year, up 30% compared with the same period last year. Before Brexit, the UK was a party to the EU’s Dublin regulation, under which people should be processed for asylum in the country at which they first entered the bloc. Latvian lawmakers voted to quit a treaty banning anti-personnel mines, as the Baltic state seeks to reinforce its security to deter Russia, AFP reported. Responding to Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture in the region and its continuing invasion of Ukraine, Latvia and fellow Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania, as well as Poland and Finland, recently announced their plans to renounce the Ottawa Convention on landmines. The Latvian parliament voted on the proposal earlier today. “Withdrawal … will give our armed forces room for manoeuvre in the event of a military threat to use all possible means to defend our citizens,” Ināra Mūrniece, former defence minister and chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said in a statement. Lawmakers approved the treaty exit by a large margin, and the decision will come into effect six months after Latvia formally notifies the United Nations. French president Emmanuel Macron said those trying to “intimidate our prison staff and attack the facilities with unacceptable violence” will be “found, tried, and punished” in his first public remarks after a spate of attacks on prison guards across the country (12:02). In a social media post, he also reaffirmed his support for the justice ministry and all prison staff. Earlier today, justice minister Gérald Darmanin said that attackers are “trying to destabilise the state by intimidating it” after a number of reported car fires and other attacks. Darmanin told CNews he was seeking to crack down on “drug networks that continue to operate from prison cells”. A delegation of European parliament lawmakers has warned that the situation in Hungary is “rapidly going in the wrong direction” due to the continuing deterioration of the rule of law under Viktor Orbán’s government. Speaking at a press conference in Budapest after a two-day visit to Hungary, the Dutch lawmaker heading the delegation, Tineke Strik, raised concerns about “a number of worrying developments” concerning the country’s compliance with EU values when it comes to the judiciary, civil society, and equality. In particular, she called out the Hungarian authorities for their recent reforms targeting the LGBTIQ community, and broader issues, such as its view of EU funding as an example of foreign interference which she said was “used to crack down on civil society.” Former Belgian prime minister Sophie Wilmès spoke about growing worries about media pluralism, with “80% of all market revenues channelled to pro-government media,” with independent journalists denied access to information or access to politicians. Polish centre-right lawmaker Michał Wawrykiewicz said the delegation saw “indisputable deterioration of the situation and, I would even say, an open denial of the rule of law.” He also criticised Hungarian officials’ “very aggressive” and “rude” approach, with many government institutions declining the delegation’s request for a meeting. Krzysztof Śmiszek from the Polish New Left, and previously a lawyer heavily involved in equality policies in Poland, warned that the LGBTIQ community “is already facing direct legal restrictions,” and further measures aimed at tightening them only “create a very hostile atmosphere” leading to the rise in “physical, violent and other type of hate crimes” against minorities. Basque politician Pernando Barrena spoke about “a further escalation in attacks against the fundamental rights of the people,” with “repressive” measures used against civil groups, such as Budapest Pride. “The impunity of the Hungarian government in circumventing European Union law, especially the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, needs to be stopped,” he said. Strik said the delegation would ask the European Commission to step up its actions against the Hungarian government. The visit of the delegation from the European parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, or LIBE, came just after Hungarian lawmakers voted through a controversial constitutional amendment that campaigners described as a “significant escalation” in the government’s efforts to crack down on dissent and chip away at human rights. The amendment codifies the government’s recent ban on Pride events, paving the way for authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attenders and potentially fine them. The amendment, which the government says prioritises the protection of children’s physical, mental and moral development, also enshrines the recognition of only two sexes, providing a constitutional basis for denying the gender identities of some in Hungary. Despite another warning from the EU, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico has just reiterated his intention to attend the Russian Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on 9 May (12:50). Speaking at a press conference alongside Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenković, Fico said his view was “rooted” in his understanding of politics and history, as he spoke of hunderds of memorials dedicated to Red Army soldiers, “literally across the entire territory of Slovakia.” “We know who liberated us … No one can take it away from us, no one can tell me we were liberated from the West, when we were liberated from the East,” he said. Fico argued that he takes part in all international commemorative events related to the end of the second world war, recalling his visits in the Normandy, the Arlington National Cemetery in the US, and his upcoming visit to London to pay tribute to RAF pilots. He explained that during his visit to Moscow he would “pay tribute to people who died when liberating Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, and civil victims,” adding that in his view “historically, the nations of the former Soviet Union had the largest role in the fall of Hitler’s Germany.” The Slovak prime minister said that during his visit he would lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Moscow and take part in the Immortal Regiment, a march commemorating those who died in the war. “I feel absolutely comfortable about my visit,” he said, stressing the need to “have dialogue” with Russia. Fico said that Slovakia would also send a representative to any commemorations in Ukraine, with its delegation led by the country’s foreign minister “or someone else, as I cannot be in two places at the same time.” He also expressed his frustration with the criticism from the EU, saying he “would never allow himself to criticise the prime minister of your country for deciding to do something based on their historical truth.” Directly criticising EU’s foreign policy chief, he wrapped his comments up saying mockingly that “I will be in Moscow, even at the cost of, as Kallas said, ‘this not being taken lightly’”. Further to earlier reports from France (13:25), we now have a formal confirmation from the US state department that Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff will travel to Paris for “talks with European counterparts” on advancing president Donald Trump’s plan to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They will arrive in France today, and leave on Friday, the statement said. “While in Paris, [Rubio] will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region,” the statement added. Germany’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Warsaw today where he spoke with Poland’s Donald Tusk, the Polish government’s social media account said, posting a picture from the pair’s meeting. The German press agency, dpa, said it was unusual for the meeting to come just week’s before Scholz’s departure, and it was expected to focus on the state of German-Polish relations and European issues. Earlier this month, Scholz made a similar trip to Madrid to meet with the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez. Scholz is expected to leave the post in early May and will be succeeded by conservative leader Friedrich Merz, subject to the formal approval of a coalition deal between Merz’s CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats. Merz previously indicated his intention to improve bilateral relations with Poland, which is also listed as a priority partner in the coalition agreement. Ukrainian deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said there was “significant progress” in talks on mineral deal with the US, as teams agreed to sign a memorandum “in near future.” In a series of social media posts, she said that “our legal staff has adjusted several items within the draft agreement.” “We have now agreed with the American side to record this progress in the relevant memorandum of intent. We are preparing to complete the formalization of the agreement in the near future,” she said. Svyrydenko said that the deal would still need ratification by Ukraine’s parliament. US state secretary Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff will visit France in the coming days, the French government’s spokesperson Sophie Primas confirmed. Politico and Le Monde earlier reported that the pair would come to Paris later this week with the intention of hosting high-level talks on Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, and trade. Politico noted that French president Emmanuel Macron has been central to putting together the Europe-led “Coalition of the Willing” to help Ukraine, including a potential reassurance force that could be deployed to the country. The Dutch government aims to increase defence spending by an extra €1.1bn annually from this year, the leader of the VVD party in the ruling coalition Dilan Yeşilgöz said in a post on X. The extra spending was agreed after negotiations between the leaders of the four-party ruling coalition on the government’s 2025 budget, Reuters reported. The spending boost will come on top of an increase in military spending of more than 10% to about €24bn a year, announced in September last year. The stimulus measures will put Dutch defence spending on course to reach 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) for the first time since Nato allies agreed on that minimum threshold 10 years ago, Reuters said. Reuters noted the plans need to be formally approved in a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Finland has extended its decision to close border crossings with Russia “until further notice” as it remains concerned about “the risk of instrumentalised migration continuing from Russia.” In a press statement, published in the last few minutes, the government reminded that the crossings have been closed since December 2023. Explaining the decision, it said that “instrumentalised migration is one way that Russia can put pressure on and affect the security and social stability of Finland and the EU.” “Based on information available to the Finnish authorities, the risk that instrumentalised migration will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely. If the phenomenon were to continue, it would pose a serious threat to Finland’s national security and public order,” it added. The European Commission has again warned Slovak prime minister Robert Fico against participating in the Russian victory parade on 9 May in Moscow, saying “it is important not to lend legitimacy” to the event given Russia’s continuing war of aggression against Ukraine. Earlier this week, Fico publicly clashed with EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after the former Estonian prime minister said on Monday that “any participation in the 9 May parades or celebrations in Moscow ... will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full scale war in Europe.” Fico said her comments were “disrespectful,” and accused her of attempting to “blackmail” him. “Is it a warning that I will be punished after returning from Moscow? I don’t know, but I know that it’s 2025, not 1939,” he said in a post on Facebook. He stressed that “no one can tell me where I should or should not travel.” “I will go to Moscow to pay my respects to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who died liberating the Slovak Republic, and to the millions of other victims of the Nazis,” he said, “just as I paid my respects to the victims of the Normandy landings, in the Pacific, or as I will go to pay my respects to the RAF pilots.” Asked if there would be any consequences for Fico should he ignore the warning, a commission spokesperson said “it’s really not for the commission to punish heads of state and government.” Alongside Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, who declined to take part in the parade, Fico is seen as one of the most pro-Russian leaders in Europe. He last visited Moscow in December, triggering a wave of protests against his government’s foreign policy. France reported more attacks on cars and prisons facilities overnight with the country’s justice minister blaming attackers for “trying to destabilise the state by intimidating it.” “They are doing it because we are taking measures against the permissiveness that existed until now in jails,” Gérald Darmanin said. AFP reported that early on Wednesday, assailants set fire to three cars – including one belonging to a prison guard – in the southern town of Tarascon, its prosecutor said. The car of another guard working at a jail outside Aix-en-Provence, also in the south, was torched outside his home, a representative from a prison worker union said. In the Seine-et-Marne region near Paris, the letters “DDPF” – standing for “Rights of French Prisoners” – were scrawled in the entrance of a building where a woman prison guard lives, a police source said. Before that, 21 vehicles had been graffitied and or set on fire since Sunday night, a police source said late on Tuesday. Most of the incidents – largely torched cars but also a automatic rifle volleys fired at a prison entrance near the southern city of Toulon – were recorded overnight Monday to Tuesday. Darmanin is leading what he calls a “prison revolution” that aims to lock up 200 of France’s 700 most dangerous drug traffickers in two top-security prisons from this summer, AFP noted. The United States has removed sanctions on a close aide of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, the state department said, adding that the punitive measures had been “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests”. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, spoke on Tuesday with his Hungarian counterpart, the foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, and informed him of the move, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. “The Secretary informed foreign minister Szijjártó of senior Hungarian official Antal Rogán’s removal from the US Department of the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, noting that continued designation was inconsistent with US foreign policy interests,” Bruce said. The two also discussed strengthening US-Hungary alignment on critical issues and opportunities for economic cooperation, Bruce said. Rogán is a close aide of Orbán and has run his cabinet office since 2015. Irregular crossings at Europe’s borders have fallen by 30% in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, in a decrease that rights groups partly attributed to EU policies that have emphasised deterrence while seemingly turning a blind eye to the risk of rights abuses. The decline was seen across all the major migratory routes into Europe, the EU’s border agency Frontex said in a statement, amounting to nearly 33,600 fewer arrivals in the first three months of the year. The largest decrease, at 64%, was along the routes that cross Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia, while crossings into the UK were down 4%. While migration patterns are influenced by a mix of factors that range from weather to conflict, the data appears to suggest a continuation of the downward trend seen in 2024, when irregular border crossings into Europe dropped by 38% compared with the previous year, said Judith Sunderland of Human Rights Watch. Ukraine’s parliament voted to extend martial law until 6 August, a senior lawmaker said, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country continues. Reuters reported that an overwhelming majority of 357 deputies supported the extension, which allows the country to continue mobilizing troops and suspends the election cycle. One lawmaker voted against the bill. A group of Serbian students completed their epic 1,300km trip from Novi Sad to Strasbourg, France last night, getting a red carpet welcome as they got there. The campaign sought to draw the EU’s attention to on-going mass protests in Serbia against alleged corruption after 15 people died and several were seriously injured when the concrete canopy of the newly renovated train station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, collapsed. You can see a clip of their (really emotional) arrival to Strasbourg here, as reported by TV N1 Beograd. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the German weekly Die Zeit that “the West as we knew it no longer exist,” as she spoke of “historic” changes taking place as a result of Donald Trump’s presidency in the US. In a wide-ranging interview, she defended the EU’s position on regulating US digital services even in the face of threats of removing US nuclear umbrella, as she pointedly said “we don’t have bros or oligarchs making the rules.” Striking a delicate balance, she still sung praises for the US and the EU-US relationship, while urging countries to produce and buy more in Europe, particularly when it comes to increasingly critical defence supplies. On European security, von der Leyen also warned that “while Putin may pause every so often, there is no limit to his imperial ambitions,” highlighting the existential risks facing the EU. What’s notable is that the interview – originally conducted in German - was translated for the newspaper by von der Leyen’s office – as if she and her team wanted it to be more widely read across Europe (and beyond; hello Donald and JD.) Either way, her comments come a day after the EU appeared to be growing frustrated with the lack of engagement on the US side when it comes to resolving the tariffs standoff, with commission spokesperson telling reporters that the bloc needed “an additional level of engagement from the US to keep the ball rolling forward.” Further talks will be taking place in the background as the 90-day pause continues. Let’s see what the day brings today. It’s Wednesday, 16 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.
Author: Jakub Krupa