Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa.
Here are the three things to take away from today’s blog:
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has just issued a rare statement directly criticising her successor as the leader of the CDU/CSU, Friedrich Merz, for passing far-reaching proposals on migration and asylum with the support of the far right (11:23). She said that Merz was “wrong to no longer feel bound” by a political agreement to not put forward proposals that could be carried with the backing of the Alternative für Deutschland. The issue will be back in the spotlight on Friday, as the Bundestag will consider a draft law tightening migration rules, which could again be passed with similar majority.
Norway’s Eurosceptic Centre Party quit the government on Thursday in a dispute over the adoption of European Union energy policies, leaving the centre-left Labour party to rule alone eight months before an election (12:17, 13:23 and 14:22).
Hundreds of Serbian university students on Thursday started an 80-kilometer (50 mile) march from Belgrade toward the northern city of Novi Sad (16:16). The march will end in two days in Novi Sad, in time for a massive blockade of the city bridges on Saturday. The date marks three months since the huge concrete construction at the railway station in Novi Sad crashed on people below, on Nov. 1.
If there’s anything worth alerting you to from tonight’s debate on the AfD in the Bundestag, and the final press conference of EU justice and home affairs ministers meet in Warsaw – I will let you know tomorrow morning.
And so, that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
See you tomorrow.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Serbian students set off on two-day protest march north to Novi Sad
Hundreds of Serbian university students on Thursday started an 80-kilometer (50 mile) march from Belgrade toward the northern city of Novi Sad, the latest endeavor in their expanding protest movement over a deadly overhang collapse in November that killed 15 people, Associated Press reports.
The march will end in two days in Novi Sad, in time for a massive blockade of the city bridges on Saturday. The date marks three months since the huge concrete construction at the railway station in Novi Sad crashed on people below, on Nov. 1.
What started as a protest against suspected corruption in construction contracts has developed into the most serious challenge in years to the country’s powerful populist leader, president Aleksandar Vučić.
AP says that students were greeted along the way by cheering citizens, honking their car horns or coming out of their homes with offers of refreshments, fruit or pancakes.
“This march is our way of showing support for our colleagues from Novi Sad.” said Tatjana Gogic, a biology student told AP. “We want also to show how persistent we are and that we do not plan to stop any time soon unless our demands are fulfilled.”
Yesterday I reported on the Italian data protection authority asking questions of the the Chinese AI platform DeepSeek.
In the latest developments, it has become unavailable for download from some app stores in Italy as regulators in Rome and in Ireland demanded answers from the company about its handling of citizens’ data.
DeepSeek became the most downloaded free app in the Apple app store in the US and the UK after it emerged it could achieve comparable performance to competitors such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT at a fraction of the cost.
But experts raised a number of privacy concerns about the service.
Here’s the full story:
And speaking of aid for Ukraine…
The country is reeling from the shock decision by the Trump administration to pause all US foreign aid programmes immediately, as a variety of projects in the country – from military veteran rehabilitation programmes to independent media and anti-corruption initiatives – have effectively been stopped overnight.
It was seen as inevitable that the incoming administration would overhaul USAid, the US development agency, but there was an expectation that spending on Ukraine, or at least some of the most critical programmes, would be subject to a waiver – or there would at least be a winding-down period.
Instead, a “stop work” order issued last Friday has left hundreds of projects without funding, initially for a 90-day review period. Attempts by the Kyiv USAid office to save funding for some of the most important programmes have reportedly been rebuffed in Washington.
Shaun Walker and Artem Mazhulin reporting from Kyiv.
Sweden donates €1.18bn aid package to Ukraine
And to complete our little Nordic trip on this blog, here’s the news that Sweden’s defence minister Pål Jonson said on Thursday the Nordic country had agreed to donate its biggest aid package to Ukraine so far, worth 13.5bn Swedish crowns (€1.18bn).
The aid package is the country’s 18th since Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Jonson told a press conference that the government is now negotiating with suppliers in Sweden and Europe to supply prioritised equipment such as artillery and drones, Reuters reported.
Speaking of the impact of US president Donald Trump on countries in northern Europe…
Danish daily Berlingske has a brilliantly written behind-the-scenes account of the country’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s tour of Europe earlier this week during which she sought to rally allies in response to Donald Trump’s comments about Greenland.
(Somewhat unexpectedly it includes lots of references to pop music and an admission from Frederiksen that she is a big fan of James Graham’s crime drama TV series Sherwood.)
But here is how the piece describes Trump’s presence dominated the Danish politics over the last few weeks:
For Mette Frederiksen, he has become the unmentionable. As if he will materialise in front of us if she mentions his name. Him-who-must-not-be-mentioned.
Yet he is everywhere. Even here on the plane with us.
Updated
Norwegian PM confirms junior coalition partner's departure from government
Speaking in Oslo, Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre has just confirmed that the compromise proposals on energy he put forward were “unfortunately not enough” for the Centre Party to stay in the government, leading to the break-up of the ruling coalition.
“This is not the outcome I wanted,” he said.
But he insisted that close alignment with the EU was necessary to broadly protect Norway’s interests, particularly in the context of a potential war trade between the EU and the US under Donald Trump.
He said that the Centre Party’s position would in practice mean a veto on all new energy rules from the EU, putting the country’s relationship with the EU at risk.
He confirmed his Labour party will continue alone in a minority government and will appoint new ministers next week. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 8 September.
European Central Bank cuts interest rates to 2.75%
The European Central Bank has cut interest rates to ease the cost of borrowing across the 20-member eurozone as growth stagnates in the region.
The central bank cut rates by a quarter of a point to 2.75%, in line with expectations, after a run of bad news showing the bloc’s largest nations – France and Germany – suffering a dramatic slowdown in economic growth.
The central bank said that inflation remained high in many economies, “mostly because wages and prices in certain sectors are still adjusting to the past inflation surge with a substantial delay”.
Full story:
Live reactions:
Holocaust survivor to return his German award in protest over migration vote
A 99-year-old Holocaust survivor said on Thursday he would return his federal order of merit award to the German state in protest over a parliamentary vote on migration in which support from the far-right was used for the first time to secure a majority, Reuters reported.
Critics have accused the conservatives from CDU/CSU of breaking a taboo among mainstream parties against working with the Alternative für Deutschland.
Albrecht Weinberg told Reuters he would return his decoration as a protest against the vote.
Born to a Jewish family in 1925, Weinberg spent time during the second world war in the German Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. He was freed on 15 April 1945, according to the Bergen-Belsen memorial website. He emigrated to the United States after the war but returned to Germany 10 years ago and now lives in the north-west of the country.
Luigi Toscano, a photographer whose project ‘Lest We Forget’ shares the stories of survivors of the Holocaust, said he was also returning his order of merit to the German state in protest over Wednesday’s vote.
“Yesterday, the CDU (conservatives) betrayed our democratic values with a resolution and the support of a party that is partly designated as right-wing extremist,” Toscano wrote in an Instagram post in which he also mentioned Weinberg’s decision.
The CDU did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Wednesday’s vote occurred hours after German lawmakers held a special sitting in the Bundestag lower house of parliament to commemorate 80 years since the liberation of the German Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Reuters reminded.
Norwegian eurosceptic party resigns from government over EU energy policies
Norwegian finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum has just confirmed that he and his eurosceptic Centre Party would resign from government due to a disagreement with coalition partner Labour over the adoption of European Union energy policies.
Speaking at the press conference at the Norwegian parliament, Vedum urged the government to “take back more national control” over energy, and not integrate closer with the EU.
He said that when prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed to him that he wanted Norway to link more closely with the EU, it was clear for him he and his party would not agree.
Reuters explains that Labour wants EU outsider Norway to adopt union directives on renewable energy consumption, on energy performance in buildings and on increased overall energy efficiency, government ministers have said.
The Centre Party opposes all three directives, which it says will erode Norwegian autonomy, and has long maintained that power and gas exporter Norway should instead seek to reclaim authority over regulation from the EU.
The Centre Party, in government since 2021, holds eight seats in Norway’s 20-person cabinet, including the finance minister, the defence minister and the minister of justice and public security, while Labour has the remaining 12 posts.
Norway’s two-party centre-left minority government is lagging right-wing parties in opinion polls. Labour could now rule alone in a minority government until elections in September.
Prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre is expected to hold a press conference at 3pm CET.
Majority of Brits say UK was wrong to leave the EU, prompting Poland and EU's Tusk to say 'we still miss you ;-)'
Ahead of the fifth anniversary of Brexit – remember it? – which is tomorrow, YouGov published a new poll showing that a majority of Britons think the UK was wrong to vote to leave the European Union.
Right to vote to leave: 30% (-3 from Nov)
Wrong to vote to leave: 55% (=)
Asked to evaluate Brexit, 62% said it was “more of a failure,” with only 11% claiming it was “more of a success.”
The poll shows that 64% of Brits would be in favour of a “closer relationship with the EU, without rejoining it or components,” followed by 55% in favour of rejoining as a member state.
27% are happy with the status quo, and 19% would want to loosen the existing ties even further.
The results prompted Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, who led the European Council between 2014 and 2019 and was heavily involved in Brexit talks, to post this tongue-in-cheek reaction:
We still miss you ;-)
Updated
Anti-Islam campaigner who carried out several Qur'an burnings killed in Sweden
A judge in Stockholm says an Iraqi man who carried out several Qur’an burnings in Sweden has died, Associated Press reports, amid concerns the killing could be linked to foreign powers.
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee, staged several burnings and desecrations Islam’s holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Qur’an burnings got worldwide publicity and raised anger and criticism in several Muslim nations, leading to riots and unrest in many places.
Swedish media reported on Thursday that he was killed in a shooting in a nearby city. Police said they were alerted to a shooting Wednesday night at an apartment building in Sodertalje, near Stockholm, and found a man with gunshot wounds. He later died, and a preliminary murder investigation was opened.
Prosecutors said five people were arrested during the night, Swedish news agency TT reported.
Momika was due to attend court on Thursday in connection to a case in which he and a co-defendant were charged with incitement to hatred because of statements they made in connection with the Qur’an burnings.
Prime minister Ulf Kristersson said at a news conference that Sweden’s security service was involved because “there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power,” according to TT.
Sweden’s Security Service told Reuters it was assessing the potential impact of the shooting “on Swedish security.”
Last year, Swedish prosecutors have accused Iran’s intelligence service of hacking an SMS operator in 2023 to send 15,000 messages encouraging people to take revenge on protesters who had burned copies of the Qur’an.
Latest on (complicated) French budgetary negotiations
in Paris
A small panel of French senators and parliamentarians are meeting on Thursday to try to thrash out a final compromise on the 2025 budget bill.
This year’s budget is already late after a no-confidence vote in December toppled Michel Barnier’s short-lived government, plunging France into a political crisis.
The new prime minister, the veteran centrist François Bayrou, is trying to avoid the same fate as Barnier, and has chosen to court the Socialist party to avoid them joining a no-confidence vote in coming days or weeks.
But negotiations over the budget have been fraught. The Socialist party this week reacted furiously to Bayrou’s remarks that French people felt “submerged” by immigration, and threatened to walk out of budget talks.
On Thursday morning, Socialists said they remained open to dialogue on the budget, because it was crucial that France had a budget as soon as possible, but the party wanted more tax justice, more investment in environmental measures and protections on medical assistance to undocumented non-nationals.
Thursday’s meeting could stretch on into Friday. If the text of a budget bill is agreed, as is expected, it would be presented to the national assembly, France’s lower house of parliament, on Monday.
But the national assembly remains politically divided and the government does not have an absolute majority. Without majority backing, Bayrou may decide to use article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows a government to force through legislation without a vote in parliament. This would probably cause opposition lawmakers to trigger a vote of no-confidence later next week, potentially on Wednesday.
The government had been counting on the Socialists abstaining to survive a potential no-confidence vote, and had already retreated on certain budget spending cuts to win them over.
The final outcome remains uncertain in an increasingly unpredictable political landscape. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, the biggest opposition party in parliament, has so far not appeared likely to back a no-confidence vote.
European Commission refuses to comment on German migration motion
A spokesperson for the European Commission has just been asked about the German motion at their daily midday press briefing:
Here is his answer in full:
As you know, we don’t comment on political debates, drafts and announcements, and I will not do that today.
We will look at the texts when they’re ready.
He adds that any questions on the proposals should be addressed to the EU’s migration commissioner, Magnus Brunner, who is in Warsaw. We covered some of his initial thoughts earlier (9:52).
Government crisis in Norway with junior partner set to leave coalition
Norway’s Eurosceptic Centre Party will resign from the government on Thursday due to a disagreement with coalition partner Labour over the adoption of EU energy policies, public broadcaster NRK and daily VG reported, citing anonymous sources.
The Centre Party, in government since 2021, holds eight seats in Norway’s 20-person cabinet, including the finance minister, the defence minister and the minister of justice and public security, while Labour has the remaining 12 posts.
If Centre’s exit is confirmed, Labour could now rule alone in a minority government until elections in September.
Labour has said Norway must maintain good relations with the EU given the threat of a trade war between Europe and the United States, Reuters reports.
Italian parliament suspended until 4 February amid questions over Meloni's handling of Libyan general's arrest
in Rome
Italy’s parliament has been suspended until 4 February, a move pushed by opposition parties after two ministers cancelled an address in connection to the case of Osama Najim, the Libyan general wanted for war crimes who Italy last week released and repatriated.
The planned address by Matteo Piantedosi and justice minister Carlo Nordio was removed from the schedule on Wednesday after it was announced that they were being placed under investigation over the repatriation of Najim, who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, including alleged rape and murder. Najim was arrested in Turin on 19 January following a tip-off from Interpol before being released and sent back to Tripoli on a state flight two days later.
Prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Alfredo Mantovano, the cabinet undersecretary for intelligence matters, are also under investigation.
Meloni has also so far avoided questions in parliament, instead using social media to defend her government’s move, arguing that Najim needed to be immediately deported because he posed a risk to national security.
Critics have accused the government of freeing Najim because it relies on Libya’s security forces to stem the flow of boat migrants from the north African country and didn’t want to antagonise them by arresting such a high profile figure. The number of people arriving on Italy’s southern shores have surged over the past week, the majority leaving from Libya.
“Meloni must tell the country the truth,” said Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left Democratic party. “We have asked her to come to the Chamber and will continue to insist.”
This post was amended on 31 January 2025 to correct the fact that Carlo Nordio is a justice minister.
Updated
Merkel criticises Merz, says it's 'wrong' to carry motions on migration with far-right support
Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has just issued a rare statement directly criticising her successor as the leader of the CDU/CSU, Friedrich Merz, for passing far-reaching proposals on migration and asylum with the support of the far-right.
She said that Merz was “wrong to no longer feel bound” by a political agreement to not put forward proposals that could be carried with the backing of the Alternative für Deutschland.
She said that “it is necessary for all democratic parties to work together across party political boundaries … and on the basis of applicable European law” to do whatever it takes to prevent further attacks as those in Magdeburg and Aschaffenburg.
Merkel is often criticised for her legacy in migration matters after her decision to open German borders and accept asylum seekers at the peak of the migration crisis in mid-2010s.
Student protests 'among the biggest waves of dissent' in Serbia since 2000
… and as the ministers go to talk behind the closed doors, let us take a look at what’s happening elsewhere in Europe.
Ingrid Gercama spoke with students protesters in Serbia to give you an idea on what is happening on the ground after the country’s prime minister Miloš Vučević resigned earlier this week following months of protests over the fatal collapse of a train station roof in November.
As she notes, “according to some, it is the biggest student-led movement in Europe since 1968; certainly, it is the among the biggest waves of dissent in Belgrade since the protests that led to the fall of the Serbian president Slobodan Milošević in 2000.”
Here is her report:
Sitting on the balustrade of a viaduct in Belgrade, Uroš Pantović wasn’t in the mood to mince his words. The 22-year-old had joined tens of thousands of others protesters on Monday to block one of the Serbian capital’s main intersections, turning the junction into a sea of mostly good-humoured but nonetheless determined dissent.
“We’re here to tell our government that it’s accountable to us,” said Pantović, a student at the law faculty of the University of Belgrade, who had come with three friends from his home town, Kosjerić. “I came here to help people because the government tries to screw us over in many ways.”
We don't want internal border controls, Luxembourg's minister says
There is a theme emerging in responses to questions on Germany.
Luxembourg’s home minister Léon Gloden:
We do not want to have controls on the internal borders [of the EU]. We have 250,000 commuters coming to work in Luxembourg from Germany, France, and Belgium, so [restoring] border controls on internal borders is not the right solution for our country.
“Schengen is one of the most important achievements of the EU,” he says.
Directly asked about Merz’s proposals, he says: “I am not commenting on German domestic policy.”
But pushed further he seems to suggests that if Germany requests an extension of border controls with Luxembourg, it would respond by lodging an objection with the European Commission.
Bundestag motion ‘irresponsible, oblivious to history,’ German minister says
German interior minister Nancy Faeser opened her statement with a targeted dig at the opposition parties which backed the migration motion last night, insisting Germany “will not jeopardise this joint European action through dangerous national solo efforts.”
Echoing chancellor Scholz’s comments from yesterday, she pointedly said she had to act in accordance with German constitution and EU law.
“I want to make it clear because the debates in Germany are causing irritation among our European neighbours these days,” she said.
Asked specifically about the events in the Bundestag yesterday, she goes further: “What happened yesterday was irresponsible and oblivious to history.”
She also defended EU Schengen arrangements, but argued some border controls were necessary “until we have better and more secure external border protection.”
Inter-EU border controls should be 'exceptional,' Spanish minister says
Uh-oh, Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez is not happy with the German proposals, which include calls for restoring border controls:
It is quite important for us to strenghten our external borders, but we think that the internal control must be [allowed only in] exceptional [circumstances]. Free movement inside the EU is for us one of the most important values we have.
We have to strenghten our cooperation on [protecting] the external borders ... [but] internal border controls must be the last resort.
Asked what will the EU do if Germany goes ahead with its proposals, he says:
I think it is not going to be possible. I would like to think so.
Updated
More needs to be done on returns, EU migration commissioner says
EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner has just been speaking in Warsaw.
The Austrian said that while the EU has changed its migration and asylum policy last year, there is still more to be done on returns.
“Nobody understands why people [who] are not allowed to, cannot stay in the European Union are not going to be returned, and that is why are are working on new, tigher rules also on returns,” he said.
Asked specifically about the German motion passed last night, he said the EU needed to have a look at what was actually in the proposal.
Morning opening: What’s next for EU migration and asylum policy?
A day after Germany’s conservative opposition, relying on the votes of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, pushed through a motion calling for a radical overhaul of the country’s migration and asylum policy, EU justice and home affairs ministers meet in Warsaw to discuss… migration.
Critics say the German proposals, proposed by the CDU/CSU which is leading in the polls ahead of next month’s general election and could soon find itself in power in Berlin, could breach EU laws.
Current chancellor Olaf Scholz warned yesterday that his government “pushed the boundaries” of what is possible but insisted that “we cannot and must not go beyond the law,” or Germany’s reputation as a law-abiding ally would be at risk.
However, most Germans seem to disagree as over 60% back the controversial proposals - including a majority of those Scholz’s voters.
In this context, EU justice and home affairs ministers gather in Warsaw this morning for an “informal meeting” to discuss migration management, among other things. Hope they have some good ideas.
Ministers will start arriving any moment now, and we will bring you their comments on arrival (if they say something interesting, that is).
But there is a lot going on elsewhere in Europe, too: in stark contrast to yesterday’s event, the Bundestag will be discussing whether to ban AfD, Nordic defence ministers are meeting in Helsinki, and we have lots of update on France, Serbia, Slovakia, Denmark, Greenland, and Ukraine, among others.
It’s Thursday, 30 January 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
