Tag: elections

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Spain's ruling People's Party denied today (31 January) that the party passed payments from business donors secretly to the premier and other party leaders after a newspaper published what it said were unofficial party accounts.

The separatist flag of Catalonia – with its yellow and red stripes, blue triangle and white star – was a rare sight on the streets of Barcelona a decade ago. Now, it is almost ubiquitous.

Miloš Zeman, a leftist former prime minister seen as pro-European, won the Czech Republic's first direct presidential election on Saturday (26 January), marking a departure from the late Eurosceptic President Václav Klaus, who had pushed the country towards the margins of the European Union.

Catalonia's parliament approved yesterday (23 January) a declaration of sovereignty signalling the start of an uncertain journey towards a referendum on independence from Spain for the north-eastern region.

Germany's center-left opposition edged Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives from power in a regional vote in Lower Saxony yesterday (20 January), reviving its flagging hopes of defeating her in September's national election.

Iceland’s ambassador to Brussels has denied reports that accession talks with the European Union were dead, telling EurActiv that only the thorniest negotiating points are on hold until after upcoming elections.

Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition is gaining ground ahead of next month's elections, which could make it harder for Italy's left to form a stable parliamentary majority, new polls show.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, who is under pressure to resign over allegations he violated financial disclosure rules, has put European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in an embarrassing situation by publishing a statement saying the European leader had given Janša his “personal support”.

Silvio Berlusconi withdrew as candidate for Italy's prime ministerial post on Monday (7 January) as the price of a pact with the devolutionist Northern League, marking the latest twist in the election campaign in the eurozone's third biggest economy.

Engaging sports movement in politics would be a chance for Europe. In 2010 only 1% of French people were members of a political party - one of the lowest rates among EU member states - while 24% signed up to belong to a sports federation, writes Nadège Chambon.

Macedonia's leading opposition party has accused the European Union of overlooking threats to democracy in the country, as anti-government protests continued yesterday (3 January) for the 11th day. 

Outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Monday (31 December) he was aiming to win a majority in a parliamentary election in February and would seek alliances with parties agreeing with his pro-Europe agenda.

José Manuel Barroso’s congratulatory message following the recent parliamentary election in Romania carries two important messages: it tells President Traian Băsescu that he should re-appoint Victor Ponta as prime minister, and warns Ponta he should work with Băsescu instead of reviving efforts to impeach him.

The Italian political saga took another turn after both outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti and former premier Silvio Berlusconi appeared at the European People’s Party meeting on the margins of the EU summit today (13 December) in Brussels.

Exit polls showed Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta's USL social-liberal alliance won a clear victory in the parliamentary election yesterday (9 December), strengthening his position in a power struggle with the country's rightist president.

Italy should reassure markets that its economic reforms will not be reversed after Silvio Berlusconi's PDL party withdrew support for the government, OECD chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan said on Friday (7 December).

Romanians are voting on Sunday (9 December) to elect a new Parliament with polls give the USL alliance of incumbent Prime Minister Victor Ponta a comfortable lead. But his political rival, President Traian Băsescu, could refuse to appoint him to lead the next cabinet.

Former centre-left prime minister Borut Pahor was elected to the largely ceremonial post of Slovenian president yesterday (2 December) to a backdrop of rising unrest in the recession-hit eurozone state.

Pier Luigi Bersani, the determinedly prosaic leader of Italy's Democratic Party, promised supporters he would not tell them "fairy tales", after his overwhelming victory yesterday (2 December) at a primary to pick the centre-left candidate in next year's election.

The results of the Catalan elections of November 25 show that a majority of Catalans are likely to vote in favour of independence in case a referendum is organised. However, this majority is not very ample and suggests that the high expectations that were put on these elections by national and international media were exaggerated, writes Joan Marc Simon.

Pier Luigi Bersani, head of Italy's Democratic Party, will face his main rival Matteo Renzi in a runoff next week to pick the centre-left's candidate to succeed Mario Monti as prime minister, following the first round of a primary vote held yesterday (25 November).

Slovenia's former center-left Prime Minister Borut Pahor surprisingly won the first round of a presidential election yesterday (11 November) and will face the incumbent Danilo Türk on 2 December, the Electoral Commission said.

The annual congress of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform party (ELDR) began yesterday (8 November) in Dublin with a seminar dedicated to the rise of populism in Europe, and the response which should be given to the challenge. EurActiv reports from Dublin.

Today’s economic crisis acts as a catalyst for the “acceleration of history”, a phenomenon similar to the times after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which brought something which was not expected - the split of Czechoslovakia - former Slovak foreign minister and current MEP Eduard Kukan told EurActiv.