Far-right German politician stabbed
The DPA news agency is reporting that a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was injured in a knife attack in Mannheim yesterday.
The incident came days after a police officer was killed in a knife attack in Mannheim.
Key events
As the D-Day commemorations get underway, White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan said aboard Air Force One on the way to France that Joe Biden will stress how the men on those cliffs “put the country ahead of themselves” and detail “the dangers of isolationism, and how, if we back dictators and fail to stand up to them, they keep going and ultimately America and the world pays a greater price,” the Associated Press reported.
“Eighty years later, we see dictators once again attempting to challenge the order, attempting to march in Europe,” Sullivan said, “and that freedom-loving nations need to rally to stand against that, as we have.”
The Save Romania Union (USR)‘s Dan Barna, who is leading the list for the United Right Alliance, criticised the decision to schedule local elections on the same day as the European election in Romania.
“Doing this, the whole European parliamentary elections became a very secondary and side issue in this moment,” he said in a phone interview. “So the campaign is only or 95% about mayors,” he said.
The centre-right alliance, which is composed of the Save Romania Union and two smaller parties, was formed to “create a centre-right alternative,” he said.
“So we are starting the discussion with the citizens in the street, pointing the local issues, and talking about the mayors to be elected and supporting our candidates. And from that point, after two or three minutes of discussing about mayors, we are touching the European level and trying to explain its importance,” he said.
“But the interest of the citizens is very focused in this moment on their next mayors,” Barna noted.
Far-right German politician stabbed
The DPA news agency is reporting that a politician from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was injured in a knife attack in Mannheim yesterday.
The incident came days after a police officer was killed in a knife attack in Mannheim.
What do the polls say about Romania?
Pollster INSCOP found last month that the joint PSD-PNL list would get 43.7%.
The far-right AUR would get 17.5% while the centre-right United Right Alliance, led by the Save Romania Union (USR), would get 14.1%.
We asked Siegfried Mureșan, a member of the European parliament from Romania’s National Liberal party (PNL) and vice-president of the European People’s party, what he’s been hearing from voters on the campaign trail.
“Firstly, it’s obviously the economy,” he said, adding that while the country “has a relatively good energy mix” it is still facing increased energy prices.
The second issue voters are bringing up, he said, is security.
We feel safe for the time being, because we’re a member of NATO, because we have a close partnership with the United States, because obviously we’re in the European Union.
But there is this general concern with regards to security. We have had a certain number of Russian drones targeting Ukrainian civil infrastructure just hundreds of metres away from the Romanian border, falling down on Romanian territory. We know it was not a deliberate, targeted attack by Russia against NATO member Romania…. But still those are Russian drones on Romanian territory. And people are concerned.
Spotlight: the European election in Romania
We’ll take a look at the latest in Romania, where voters will elect 33 members of the European parliament on Sunday.
In a move that is rare in Europe, the National Liberal Party (PNL), which is a member of the centre-right European People’s party, and the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which sits with the Socialists and Democrats group in the European parliament, have formed an electoral alliance and are running on a joint list.
The two parties are currently in a coalition government, and together are expected to come in first on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) could end up in second place.
An alliance of centre-right parties opposed to the current Romanian government, the United Right Alliance, could come in third.
King Charles and Rishi Sunak to join veterans for 80th anniversary of D-day
Daniel Boffey
Rishi Sunak’s election campaigning and King Charles’s convalescence from cancer will be put on hold for 48 hours, as the two men join veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of D-day on the south coast of England and in Normandy.
Two days of events at the ports where allied troops embarked for their perilous journey, and on the French beaches from where they began the liberation of Europe in 1944, will begin on Wednesday at 11am on Southsea common on Portsmouth’s sea front.
The king, who has made only a few public appearances since his cancer diagnosis in February, and the prime minister will join hundreds of local schoolchildren for what is billed as a spectacular cultural commemoration that will be broadcast live on BBC One.
Dame Helen Mirren will narrate the ceremony and the prime minister, who is taking a break from campaigning for the 4 July general election, will deliver a reading.
Read the full story here.
‘Use your vote, or others will decide for you,’ parliament president says
A day before voting begins for the June 6-9 European elections, the European parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, issued a last plea for voters to go to the polls.
“The European Union is delivering for people. And we can still improve,” she said.
“Together, we can make Europe better, stronger and fairer for tomorrow. Do not take Europe for granted. Defend it. Shape it. Use your vote, or others will decide for you,” she stressed.
“And tell your friends and family to vote too,” she added.
Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Today we will be looking at the latest campaigning ahead of the European elections, as well as the events commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-day this week.
Stay tuned and send your comments to [email protected].