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Europe’s
Antisemitism Problem on Full Display: Britain’s Jewish community said it was shocked but not
surprised by a car and knife attack
at a Manchester synagogue on Thursday that saw two people killed and
three others hospitalised. After all, such events have become all too
predictable thanks to the rise of antisemitism across the whole of
Europe, especially since October 7th. The perpetrator—a Syrian-born
cannabis-smoking university dropout who was already investigated over
an alleged sexual attack—was shot dead by police. Hours later,
pro-Palestine marches took place in London, Manchester, and Leeds—provoking outrage
from Jewish leaders, opposition politicians, and Israel’s government.
Also, in Germany last week police arrested three
suspected members of the Hamas terror group for allegedly planning
attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions.
Europe on a
War Footing: Brussels’ war rhetoric
really ramped up last week, with Donald Tusk even saying on Tuesday
that the conflict in Ukraine is “our [that is, Europe’s] war.” Viktor
Orbán accused him of “playing a dangerous game with the lives and
security of millions of Europeans,” but the Hungarian PM appears to be
quite lonely in his pursuit of peace. Council President António Costa confirmed
Brussels’ plans for yet further centralisation, especially when it
comes to defence, at the EU summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday. He also
praised the possible accession of Ukraine to the EU because
“enlargement will make Europe stronger,” despite Orbán’s warning that
this will bring the war with Russia to the bloc. Rather than listen to
such concerns, the Commission is trying to punish its critics into
submission. It is also planning to bypass the Hungarian veto
on Ukraine’s accession, regardless of the implications of this for the
supposed foundations of the bloc. Our Brussels correspondent Javier
Villamor warned in a
commentary that this would be “no small step. Once national vetoes are
eroded or eliminated, restoring them will be virtually impossible.”
Quiet
Approval: While Hungary has
predictably emerged as the country willing to stand up to the EU
machinery on all these fronts, Orbán is not alone in holding
reservations. Germany, France and Greece have also expressed discomfort
regarding proposals to, for example, abolish the right of veto in the
opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine, albeit more quietly.
Rewarding
Terror: European leaders have also again been
accused of hampering the prospect of peace in the Middle East. This
time, the leadership of the Sweden Democrats said the bloc members that
have chosen to recognise a state of Palestine have risked “fueling the Islamists’
continued desire for war” and could undermine “the
principles that the West claims to stand for.”
Desperation
Leads to Danger: A report
last week pointed to a rise in left-wing
violence, which has now overtaken right-wing attacks in the
U.S. Similar trends can be seen across Europe—for example in Germany,
where our writer Sabine Beppler-Spahl last week pointed to mainstream ideology fueling
radical leftist violence. But success on the right isn’t
only leading to more physical attacks by activists. It is also
prompting left-wing officials to launch desperate rhetorical attacks
against their opponents. This has recently been most clear in the UK,
where Labour PM Keir Starmer and his team accused Nigel
Farage’s Reform party—and Farage himself—of racism. Responding, Farage said the
accusation “directly threatens the safety of our elected officials and
our campaigners. And frankly, in the wake of the Charlie Kirk murder, I
think this is an absolute disgrace.” He added that rather than be
knocked back by these slurs, Reform has become “more determined than
ever.”
And in
France, the Rassemblement National
is not accepting defeat after having been excluded from key
parliamentary responsibilities and is instead fighting to regain
influence. The party regained key roles
in the Assembly last week as the left lost ground. And on Monday, its
position was no doubt bolstered when Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu
resigned after less than a month in the role, and less than a day after
his cabinet was unveiled.
Businesses
Bash ‘Chat Control’: Large
communication companies have also stressed that they will not comply
with Chat Control regulations handing Brussels the ability to read
every piece of digital communication sent by an EU citizen, and would
rather leave the bloc’s market if they come into force. Most recently,
Swiss email provider Proton Mail, which describes itself as “the
world’s largest secure email service,” criticised the anti-privacy
proposals and said it will “never abandon its users, nor
will we ever undermine our encryption.”
Coming Up: Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last
week that new EU emissions-cutting targets for 2035 and 2040 will be
established ahead of the COP30 climate summit, which begins on November
10th. Delays are expected thanks to disagreements among member states,
as we reported here. A leaders’
debate on the new targets will take place later this month, if
officials from key member states like France, Germany and Poland have
their way.
Also, von der Leyen is again defending herself against
no-confidence motions in the European Parliament this week.
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