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Saturday, July 19, 2025

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https://nordictimes.com/europe/france-looks-to-ban-catholic-organization/

Europe

France looks to ban Catholic organization

Published 20 December 2023
– By Editorial Staff
A praying woman with crucifix and rosary.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced his intention to ban the Academia Christiana, a movement of traditional and identitarian Catholics.

Darmanin, whose ministry has already criminalized several other opposition groups as allegedly “dangerous” and “extreme”, said in an interview that he would seek to dissolve the Academia Christiana “in the coming weeks”.

The Ministry of the Interior claims that the Catholic movement, among other things, “justifies and incites violence” and “legitimizes the use of weapons” and must therefore be criminalized.

– They use the vocabulary of war and explicitly encourage their followers to arm themselves and go on crusades, it is claimed.

Academia Christiana, founded in 2013, denies any accusation of being “pro-violence” and presents itself as an educational institute in the fields of spirituality, morality, education and sports.

It is led by Victor Aubert, professor of French and philosophy at the Institut Croix des Vents in Sées, a private school run by the Catholic Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pierre.

– They are apologists for anti-Semitism. They are great supporters of collaboration and of Pétain (head of state of Vichy France). In our opinion, this does not correspond to the values of the French Republic, Darmanin said.

“Second-class citizens”

In response to the government’s decision to dissolve the organization, Academia Christiana accuses the authorities of treating Catholics as second-class citizens by trying to “ban any thought or reflection that is not secular and consumerist ideology”, it said.

The organization says it will challenge its planned dissolution before the Council of State, France’s highest administrative court, which has been tasked with reviewing several other dissolution orders by the Interior Ministry.

In the interview, the interior minister revealed that “at least three other far-right groups” were under investigation by the country’s intelligence services, but did not provide specific details. Darminin has vowed to crack down on what he calls “violent right-wing groups” after far-right protests last month led to several arrests.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/europe/hungary-wants-eu-sanctions-on-ukrainian-forced-conscription-officers/

Europe

Hungary wants EU sanctions on Ukrainian forced conscription officers

The war in Ukraine

Published 16 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Foreign Minister demands that those responsible must be held accountable for the murder and brutal assault of people who refused to go to war.
1 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Following the Council of Europe report, the brutality surrounding forced recruitment patrols in Ukraine must be covered by EU human rights sanctions. This is the view of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó.

Referring to the Council of Europe report titled Memorandum on human rights elements for peace in Ukraine, dated July 8, 2025 and signed by the EU Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, Szijjártó points out that conscription in Ukraine involves murder, torture, brutal assault and brutal treatment.

— It is a fact that people are dying in Ukraine because of the brutality of the conscription officers, because they don’t want to go to war.

— Where are the NGOs, where are the Soros organizations, where are the so-called independent journalists, where are the human rights organizations, why do they not speak out and say that this manhunt on the streets of Ukraine is unacceptable? asks Péter Szijjártó.

Szijjártó emphasizes that they view it as unacceptable and “shocking” that European politicians remain indifferent to the brutality and stresses that they demand the responsible recruiters be placed on the EU’s human rights sanctions list.

— This is a bare minimum that the EU must do in this issue, he emphasizes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/wave-of-anti-government-protests-in-serbia-accused-of-inciting-civil-war/

Europe

Wave of anti-government protests in Serbia – accused of inciting civil war

Published 1 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Clashes between police and protesters have occurred in multiple locations, with the Serbian government accusing foreign interests of escalating the situation.
3 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Anti-government protests in Serbia have intensified after demonstrators erected barricades in Belgrade and Novi Sad over the weekend. The unrest stems from a deadly accident last year, but tensions have now escalated with accusations of attempts to start a civil war and claims of foreign interference.

Sunday’s barricades followed a mass meeting where demands for new elections were presented. The student group Blokada FON simultaneously published a map of roadblocks in the capital and urged opposition members to boycott parliament.

The protest movement emerged after a concrete roof collapsed at the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024. The accident killed 16 people, sparking strong criticism from anti-government activists who describe it as evidence of corruption and government mismanagement.

The night before, clashes had already occurred between protesters and police in Belgrade. Police responded with pepper spray and riot gear while demonstrators threw eggs, bottles, and other objects near a park where government supporters were holding a vigil.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic called for calm and warned against further confrontations.

– Maintain peace and do not provoke conflicts with the police, he said.

 

“A monstrous call for civil war”

Meanwhile, Dacic reported that eight people had been arrested on suspicion of planning attacks on state institutions from university areas. A total of 77 people have been detained in connection with the unrest, and at least six police officers and two civilians were injured, according to Dacic, who labeled several of those arrested as “hooligans”.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has dismissed demands for his resignation and elections, describing the protesters as foreign-funded and orchestrated.

“Serbia has won. You cannot defeat Serbia with violence”, he told reporters on Sunday, and wrote on social media that “Serbia always wins in the end”.

The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabic, accused the protesters of wanting to start a civil war.

“They didn’t end their gathering by shouting ‘Long live Serbia’. They ended it with a chilling call to murder Serbia – a monstrous and open call for civil war“, she wrote on X.

The statement followed a protest held on the symbolically charged holiday of Vidovdan, which commemorates the 1389 Battle of Kosovo Field. Brnabic also published a video where a protest leader urges participants to “take freedom into your own hands”. In a separate post, she accused Croatia of supporting the unrest and attempting to overthrow President Vucic.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/95-percent-of-hungarians-reject-ukraines-eu-membership/

Europe

95 percent of Hungarians reject Ukraine’s EU membership

Published 30 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims that Hungary has now "blocked" Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced late last week that the country opposes Ukraine’s application for European Union membership. The announcement follows a consultative referendum where 95 percent of Hungarian voters voted against Ukrainian EU membership.

– I will say today, in the voice of more than two million Hungarians, that Hungary does not support Ukraine’s accession to the EU. These are the bare facts, Orbán stated before the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

The referendum, called Voks 2025, ran from mid-April to June 20. Voters were asked a single question: “Do you support Ukraine’s membership in the European Union?”

According to Orbán, 2,168,431 Hungarians voted no (95 percent of voters) while only five percent voted yes.

Orbán also emphasized that Hungary’s rejection cannot be ignored, as EU rules require unanimous approval from all 27 member states for a country to begin membership negotiations.

– A unanimous decision is needed even to launch negotiations on the matter. We don’t have it, therefore they should not happen. Nothing can happen today that has a legal effect on the matter of Ukraine’s EU membership… because Hungary does not support it, he stressed.

“2.2 million standing in the way”

Ukraine made EU membership a national goal in 2019 and submitted its formal application in 2022, shortly after the war with Russia intensified. The country was granted candidate status in June of the same year, and the EU has mentioned 2030 as a possible entry year.

However, support for Ukraine’s membership has decreased in several EU countries. A recent opinion poll in Poland shows that support has dropped from 85 to 35 percent since 2022.

Orbán accuses EU leaders of trying to bypass Hungary to push forward Ukraine’s application:

– They have not been able to do that so far, even though I was standing alone in their way, like the famous lone Chinese protester in front of the Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square in the old video, but now there were 2.2 million of us standing in their way, saying that this is not the way forward.

Enormous cost for the EU

According to Orbán, Ukrainian membership risks drawing the EU into an “endless war” and imposing the responsibility of financing Ukraine’s defense on EU taxpayers.

– With over two million votes in the 2025 referendum, we stopped Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, the Prime Minister further declared.

His advisor, Balázs Orbán, has previously estimated that full membership for Ukraine would cost the EU approximately 2,500 billion euros, which is more than twelve times larger than the union’s current budget.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/crisis-for-von-der-leyen-no-confidence-vote-expected/

Europe

Crisis for von der Leyen – no-confidence vote expected

Published 26 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ursula von der Leyen (archive photo).
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now faces a potential no-confidence vote following the so-called “Pfizergate” scandal.

The initiative comes from right-wing members of the European Parliament but has also gained support from certain social democratic and liberal party groups, who criticize the lack of transparency in the Commission’s work.

The background is a court decision from May this year, where the European Court of Justice ruled that the Commission wrongfully refused to release text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla regarding vaccine procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

– These contracts were totally unprecedented in a totally unprecedented context, said an EU official before the ruling.

The court found that the Commission’s claim that the messages had “disappeared” was not sufficiently substantiated, which violates EU administrative statutes on transparency and oversight.

The no-confidence motion was initiated by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, who has secured over 72 signatures – enough to force a vote in parliament.

Two-thirds majority required

Dismissing the entire Commission requires a two-thirds majority, which is currently considered unlikely. Despite this, the no-confidence vote is expected to create political repercussions.

Von der Leyen may, for instance, be forced to make concessions to Parliament in light of the situation. Particularly regarding issues of transparency, document management, and openness in decision-making.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. Montage: TNT-Manuel Lopez/Pascal Bitz/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The scandal has also highlighted a broader debate about how EU leadership handles documentation and accountability. Many argue that digital communications – such as text messages and chat messages – must be included in public records when concerning decisions of major public interest.

The vote on the no-confidence motion is preliminarily planned for the coming months. No official date has been set yet, but expectations are that the vote will take place shortly after sufficient members have backed the initiative.

According to current EU legal procedures, the European Commission normally has two months to appeal the European Court of Justice’s decision from when the ruling was issued. This gives the Commission an opportunity to formally challenge the court’s assessment before any further actions are taken.

Even if Ursula von der Leyen survives the vote, it will likely leave lingering concerns about the Commission’s transparency and her ability to pursue her policies without internal resistance.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

What does a motion of no confidence against the European Commission mean?

  • A motion of no confidence is directed at the entire European Commission, not just the President.
  • If the European Parliament approves the motion, the entire Commission must resign collectively.
  • To dismiss the Commission, a two-thirds majority of Members of the European Parliament is required.
  • A motion of no confidence is rare and is considered a serious political expression of lack of confidence.
  • Even if a motion of no confidence does not lead to resignation, it can weaken the Commission's leadership and force political concessions, particularly on issues of transparency and accountability.

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