BRUSSELS, Belgium: Ursula von der Leyen has navigated back-to-back crises from Covid to the Ukraine war as head of the European Commission, and stands on the verge of a no-less tumultuous second term, provided she can lock in support from EU lawmakers.
In giving von der Leyen the nod for five more years, EU leaders on Thursday sent a message about their priorities for the 27-nation bloc — putting security first at a time of marked geopolitical uncertainty.
Top of her in-tray is the war in Ukraine, and how Brussels can keep supporting Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s army even as the West braces for US presidential elections in November that could return Donald Trump to power.
Ahead of June elections that kept her center-right European People’s Party as the biggest force in the European Parliament, von der Leyen pivoted away from climate change to position herself as champion of a hawkish new European security outlook.
On that front, the 65-year-old’s past as a former German defense minister should come in handy, as will relationships developed with powerful leaders and corporate bosses.
More contentious may be how she sees through the European “Green Deal,” a flagship achievement of her first term, given it has turned politically toxic, under fire from farmers, part of her own political family, and voters.
Von der Leyen was a relative unknown outside Germany when she was tapped for the top EU job in 2019, in a surprise deal between Paris and Berlin.
The welcome in Brussels, the city where she was born and lived until her early teens, was cool to say the least. She secured the European Parliament’s backing by just nine votes.
This time around it could be tight again in the parliament, with the EPP needing allies to secure a majority vote backing von der Leyen.
They could come, as before, from the leftist Socialists and Democrats and the centrist Renew groups. Or, controversially, from the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists that include the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom von der Leyen has been courting.
“VDL,” as she is known in EU circles, has her detractors.
During her first term the commission chief worked to expand the bloc’s international role, and also pushed — overstepped, her critics would say — the boundaries of her own job.
She has on occasion infuriated EU leaders, like last October, when while visiting Tel Aviv she backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas without insisting that any military response must be bound by international law.
Operating from the 13th floor of Berlaymont, the commission’s hulking headquarters where she also has her sleeping quarters, she relies on a tight-knit coterie of advisers — a practice that rubs many the wrong way, as does her bulldozing, top-down leadership style.
But von der Leyen has indisputably made her mark in Brussels.
“There were a couple of major inflexion points where she managed to do the things that were needed and made herself visible doing them,” one European diplomat said.
When Europe was brought to its knees by the Covid-19 pandemic, von der Leyen steered a groundbreaking 750-billion-euro ($815 million) recovery plan.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, she resolutely supported Kyiv and set to work on reducing Europe’s energy dependency on Moscow.
Beyond the bloc’s borders, she is said to have built a strong relationship with President Joe Biden, providing an answer to the old question attributed to Henry Kissinger: When the US president needs to speak to Europe, who does he call?
Though the mother of seven — and first-ever woman as commission chief — has long championed women’s rights, von der Leyen’s gender has seldom been an issue in office — save for an infamous incident known as Sofagate.
During a visit to Istanbul in April 2021, the commission chief found herself relegated to a sofa during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Charles Michel, her European Council counterpart, when both men took seats in a pair of armchairs.
The scene went viral, and von der Leyen pulled no punches afterwards, telling lawmakers: “I have to conclude, it happened because I am a woman.”
Tested by crises, von der Leyen poised for hawkish second term
https://arab.news/6m42y
Tested by crises, von der Leyen poised for hawkish second term
Over 7,000 migrants detained in Greece as Crete struggles with Libya arrivals
- Greece implements emergency measures to address a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya as authorities detained over 7,000 migrants in the past 10 days
- Prime minister announced that Greece would suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months
LAVRIO: More than 500 migrants arrived at the port of Lavrio near Athens on Thursday after being intercepted south of the island of Crete, as Greece implements emergency measures to address a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya.
The migrants, consisting mostly of young men, were transferred overnight aboard a bulk carrier after their fishing trawler was intercepted by Greek authorities. Service vessels helped bring them ashore at the mainland port. They will be sent to detention facilities near the capital.
More than 200 migrants were brought to the port of Piraeus, also near Athens, in separate transfers from Crete. The transfers to the mainland were ordered because makeshift reception centers on Crete have reached capacity, with around 500 new arrivals per day on the Mediterranean island since the weekend.
We can no longer accept migration flows from North Africa. People there need to think twice before deciding to pay a large sum of money to come to our country
Manos Logothetis, ministry of migration
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Wednesday that Greece would suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months. The new measures are due to be voted on in parliament on Thursday as an emergency amendment.
“This is an extreme and urgent situation, and we are taking extraordinary steps, ones that are difficult, tough, and strict. But they send a clear message,” Manos Logothetis, secretary-general at the ministry of migration, told state-run television.
“These measures are a clear statement from the Greek government — and by extension, from Europe — that we can no longer accept migration flows from North Africa,” he said. “People there need to think twice before deciding to pay a large sum of money to come to our country.”
Logothetis said that Greece backed EU initiatives linking financial aid to African countries to their willingness to receive their citizens deported or agreeing to voluntary repatriation from Europe.
Greece says more than 7,000 migrants have been detained over the past 10 days after traveling from Libya to Crete — a surge that occurred despite an overall drop in illegal migration to Europe. The European Union’s border protection agency, Frontex, on Thursday reported that irregular crossings into the EU dropped by 20 percent in first half of 2025 on an annual basis though increases were recorded in parts of the Mediterranean.
The crisis on Crete coincided with a diplomatic spat between the European Union and Libya over migration cooperation. EU officials earlier this week were turned away from eastern Libya following an apparent disagreement on the format of talks planned on curbing crossings.
Authorities on Crete are struggling to provide basic services, using temporary facilities to house migrants, primarily from Somalia, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco, according to island officials. The New York-based aid organization International Rescue Committee criticized asylum pause in Greece. “Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane,” the group’s Martha Roussou said. “People fleeing conflict and disaster must be treated with dignity and provided fair and lawful access to asylum procedures — not detained or turned away.”
Iran threats in UK ‘significantly increased’: Intel watchdog
- UK parliamentary committee blames Iran for at least 15 attempts to kill or kidnap British-based individuals since 2022
- Tehran swiftly rejected the 'unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations'
LONDON: A UK parliamentary committee on Thursday blamed Iran for at least 15 attempts to kill or kidnap British-based individuals since 2022, saying the threat from Iran had “significantly increased.”
London’s response has been too focused on “crisis management,” said parliament’s intelligence and security committee, with concerns over Iran’s nuclear program dominating their attention too much.
Tehran swiftly issued a “categorical rejection of the unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations.”
The committee’s claims were “baseless, irresponsible, and reflective of a broader pattern of distortion intended to malign Iran’s legitimate regional and national interests,” said its London embassy.
The report comes after growing alarm in Britain at alleged Iranian targeting of dissidents, media organizations and journalists in the UK, including accusations of physical attacks.
Iran in March became the first country to be placed on an enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which aims to boost Britain’s national security against covert foreign influences.
It requires all persons working inside the country for Iran, its intelligence services or the Revolutionary Guard to register on a new list or face jail.
“Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals, and UK interests,” Kevan Jones, chairman of the watchdog committee, said in the report’s conclusions.
“Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength.”
Jones said it bolstered this through proxy groups, “including criminal networks, militant and terrorist organizations, and private cyber actors” to allow for deniability.
His committee’s report said that while Iran’s UK activity “appears to be less strategic and on a smaller scale than Russia and China,” it “should not be underestimated.”
The physical threat posed had “significantly increased” in pace and volume, and was “focused acutely on dissidents and other opponents of the regime” as well as Jewish and Israeli interests in the UK, it said.
“The Iranian Intelligence Services have shown that they are willing and able — often through third-party agents — to attempt assassination within the UK, and kidnap from the UK,” the report said.
“There have been at least 15 attempts at murder or kidnap against British nationals or UK-based individuals since the beginning of 2022.”
Similarly, security minister Dan Jarvis said in March Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence service had tallied 20 Iran-backed plots “presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents.”
The watchdog committee took evidence for two years from August 2021 for its report, a period which saw Tehran implicated in a plot to kill two London-based Iran International television anchors.
In March last year one of the Persian-language outlet’s journalists was stabbed outside his London home.
Two Romanian men have been charged in relation to the attack and face extradition to the UK to stand trial.
The counter-terrorism unit of London’s Metropolitan Police led the investigation. Iran’s charge d’affaires in the UK has said that the Tehran authorities “deny any link” to the incident.
Filipinos push back against growing Israeli presence on popular tourist island
- Siargao is a premier surfing site and one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations
- Facebook users accuse Israeli tourists of disrespecting local rules, harassing residents
MANILA: Concerns over the presence of Israeli visitors are growing on a southern Philippine island, locals say, as they protest plans to establish an Israeli community center amid fears of displacement and reports of tourist misconduct.
Siargao — a resort island off Surigao del Norte province in Mindanao — is the Philippines’ premier surfing site and one of the country’s top tourist destinations.
It has lately become popular among Israelis, whose arrival over the past few months has resulted in numerous complaints. Siargao-based singer and community organizer Maria Lalaine Tokong went viral last week when she highlighted that many of the tourists were “disregarding the culture, the customs,” of the place.
“We are feeling less at home in our home,” she wrote. “I speak up because I refuse to let our identity, our peace, and our safety be erased.”
Tokong’s post has since resulted in tens of thousands of interactions, with Filipinos sharing similar concerns.
It came against the backdrop of Israeli plans to open a Chabad house — a Jewish community center and place of worship — on the island. The plans have been opposed by the local community, which met Israeli embassy representatives in May.
“We don’t want it,” Tokong told Arab News. “When we talked about the cultural center with the Israeli embassy, we specifically told them, ‘What’s the purpose?’ We already have an education system. We already have a church here.”
With new officials taking office following recent elections, she is now preparing with other community members to take the case forward with the local administration.
In April, Project Paradise, a Siargao-based non-governmental organization, held a town hall meeting with residents and local business owners to gather their complaints.
“We received reports primarily regarding disrespect for local customs and values — ranging from noise disturbances, reckless driving, disregard for modesty in dress in rural areas, to environmental irresponsibility such as leaving trash on beaches or protected areas,” Sofia Nicole de Asis, president of Project Paradise, told Arab News.
While De Asis said that the incidents “are not isolated to any one group, and our stance has always been that misconduct is a behavioral issue, not a nationality-based one,” members of the Facebook group Siargao Business Classified 2.0 have been reporting Israeli tourists calling local staff “slaves,” illegally raising their flags on boats, trashing local homestays, violating the island’s no-noise curfew past midnight, and verbally and physically assaulting locals.
“They have no right to put up a cultural center as they have no roots or connection to Filipinos’ history. ‘Free Palestine’ today, so we won’t be shouting ‘Free Siargao’ tomorrow,” one user wrote, as others complained over inaction from the island’s administration.
“These people were welcomed into our country and treated with genuine hospitality, yet they choose to disregard our laws and disrespect our people and communities. The local government of Siargao should strictly enforce all local rules and regulations,” another user said.
“For the local government in Siargao, you better act. Remember you’re still part of the Philippines, you might one day be surprised that Siargao is now ‘the promised land,’” another commented.
Officials in General Luna, one of the main towns on Siargao, did not respond to requests for comment from Arab News.
UK students could face jail over support for banned Palestine Action
- Ex-govt advisor urges universities to warn students of penalties for supporting illegal organizations
- Palestine Action proscribed as terrorist group after members broke into Royal Air Force base last month
LONDON: University students in the UK face jail if they support the group Palestine Action, the former government advisor on political violence and disruption has warned.
Lord Walney, who wrote a report in 2024 advising that the organization be proscribed, said vice-chancellors should let students know the penalties that could be incurred by promoting the group’s policies, displaying its symbols or voicing support for it.
Palestine Action was declared a terrorist organization earlier this month after activists filmed themselves breaking into a Royal Air Force base in England.
On Monday, 29 people were arrested for supporting it at a protest in Westminster, with some holding placards stating: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Penalties for membership of, or eliciting support for, proscribed groups in the UK include a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Protests in support of the Palestinian cause and against Israel’s war in Gaza have been frequent features across numerous university campuses in the UK since the outbreak of hostilities in October 2023.
In a letter to Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK — a body representing 142 higher education establishments — Walney claimed there was a “clear danger that individuals may be unwittingly lured into expressing support for an entity whose methods are not only criminal, but now formally recognised as terrorism,” and “Universities UK has an important role to play in protecting both freedom of expression and student welfare within the bounds of the law.”
He added: “Palestine Action’s deliberate strategy has long involved drawing students into criminal activity under the guise of legitimate protest, preying on the understandable sympathy for Palestinians felt by large numbers of young people to find recruits.
“With its formal proscription, the legal threshold has shifted: expressions of support, including wearing insignia, arranging meetings, or promoting the group’s activities — whether knowingly or through naivety — now risk serious sanction with students at risk of acquiring a criminal record for a terror offence.
“This risk clearly exists whatever any individual may think of the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action.
“My view is that the group’s systematic campaign of sabotage justifies proscription, given the fact that property damage is included in the legal definition of terrorism.”
UUK told The Times that it had “written to our member vice-chancellors to alert them to the fact that Palestine Action has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, effective from Saturday July 5, and to their obligation to ensure that staff and students are aware of this.”
A British F35 fighter jet stranded in India may finally fly back home after inspiring memes
- Jet has been stranded at airport in southern Kerala state due to technical snag, is being repaired by UK engineers
- One of the memes shows cartoon in which plane is enjoying snacks with group f locals against a scenic background
NEW DELHI: A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for nearly a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, is expected to fly back home as early as next week, Indian officials said.
The stealth fighter, one of the world’s most advanced and costing around $115 million, is stranded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to a technical snag and is being repaired by UK engineers, officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.
The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea last month when it ran into bad weather and couldn’t return to the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, officials said.
The aircraft was then diverted to Thiruvananthapuram, where it landed safely on June 14. Officials said engineers hope to repair the plane in the next few days before it could fly back to UK sometime next week.
The stranded military aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has triggered A.I.-generated memes in India. In a social media post, the tourism department of Kerala showed the aircraft on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees and posting a fictitious five-star review.
“Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend,” it said.
The state’s top official at the tourism department, K. Biju, said the post was put out in “good humor.”
“It was our way to appreciate and thank the Brits who are the biggest inbound visitors to Kerala for tourism,” said Biju.
Another cartoon posted on X showed the plane enjoying snacks with a group of locals against a scenic background.
The British High Commission confirmed to The Associated Press that a UK engineering team has been deployed to “assess and repair” the aircraft.
There has been speculation in India that if the engineers fail to rectify the aircraft, it could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane. The UK’s Ministry of Defense dismissed the speculation in an emailed statement.
