Tag: nationalism

Serbia held joint parliamentary, presidential and local elections on Sunday (6 May), sending ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolić and incumbent President Boris Tadić to a presidential election run-off on 20 May. BETA, the EurActiv partner agency in Serbia, reports.

The European Parliament adopted yesterday (14 March) resolutions on three countries, representing extremes in terms of their EU accession process: Iceland, which moves on a fast track; Macedonia, the accession talks of which are blocked for a seventh year due to a conflict with Greece; and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the reform process is stalled.

The European Commission "deeply regretted" a spate of attacks between Macedonia's Slav and Albanian communities and called on politicians and civil society to handle the "emotional aftermath" with care, a spokesperson for enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle said yesterday (12 March).  

Slovakia did not violate EU laws when it denied entry to then-Hungarian President László Sólyom in 2009 because such visits depend on the host country's consent, the European Court of Justice advocate general said in an opinion published yesterday (6 March). 

The new leader of France's National Front, Marine Le Pen, warned skinheads to stay away from its annual labour day parade this weekend, stepping up efforts to improve the far-right party's image ahead of elections next year.

Its authors may have dubbed it "a constitution for the 21st Century" but the final text of the new Hungarian constitution, due to be adopted next month, appears to be a eulogy to the country's Christian roots and past greatness.

Bart de Wever, the Flemish separatist leader, failed yesterday (18 October) to bring views closer to reforming the Belgian state. But he apparently succeeded in consolidating the positions of all the Flemish parties and antagonising French-speaking Wallonia.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso urged Macedonia and Greece to resolve once and for all their twenty-year dispute over the EU hopeful's name after meeting Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov in Brussels yesterday (9 September).

Slovakia is likely to form a centre-right government after elections held on 12 June were narrowly won by the ruling centre-left SMER-SD party, which stands no chance of forming a coalition. A similar development was seen in the Czech Republic two weeks ago. EurActiv Slovakia contributed to this article.

The Hungarian parliament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by centre-right party Fidesz following April national elections, yesterday (26 May) passed a law making it easier for ethnic Hungarians living abroad to obtain Hungarian citizenship. The move sparked an angry response from neighbouring Slovakia.

Hungary's opposition European People's Party-affiliated Fidesz will bar foreigners from buying arable land indefinitely if it wins elections next month, party leader Viktor Orban said on 31 March. Fidesz is widely expected to obtain an absolute majority in parliament.