With the lowest turnout figures in European Parliament elections since 1979, the fear that racist and far-right parties would sweep the European elections did not materialise, although in the Netherlands, Austria, Britain and Hungary, they were quite successful. In Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Poland and Bulgaria, racist and far-right parties did worse than expected. In the…
The French government is looking for ways to bar a prominent comedian from fielding candidates for European Parliamentary elections because of his anti-Semitic proposals. The comedian is on trial on charges of inciting hatred against Jews. French comedian Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala has long been a controversial figure. He is a longtime friend of far-right French…
The EU parliament prevented the showing on Wednesday of an anti-Islamic film made by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders, bringing cries of censorship from the British eurodeputy who organised the screening. “The banning of this film is a direct attack on free speech,” said British MEP Gerard Batten, who had organised the event, though officials…
The European Parliament has banned the screening of the anti-Islam film Fitna on its premises, arguing that the film incites hatred. The film’s maker, Geert Wilders has reacted angrily saying that it was a sad day for democracy. The screening of Fitna was to have taken place in a conference room where Wilders also announced…
European officials strongly condemned the attacks in Mumbai. Three members of European Parliament were among those trapped in the Taj Mahal hotel. They escaped unscathed, but will return to Brussels with harrowing memories. On Thursday morning, officials from the European Union and its member states strongly condemned the terror attacks in Mumbai. “Terrorism is never…
