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:
After a tumultous sitting, the German parliament has rejected a draft bill to tighten immigration controls in response to recent knife attacks in the country (17:14, 17:15, 17:25). The highly-controversial proposal, put forward by the CDU/CSU opposition party which leads in the polls, failed to secure a majority in the Bundestag, despite the backing of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland.
A group of French lawmakers reached a provisional agreement on an amended text of the budget, which is expected to be put to vote in the parliament on Monday. Embattled prime minister François Bayrou is likely to have a busy weekend as he needs to secure as much support as he can to avoid having to trigger the controversial article 49.3, which could prompt opposition parties to call for another vote of no confidence (17:00).
Hundreds of striking Serbian students are continuing their arduous march from Belgrade to the northern city of Novi Sad, as they plan to block three bridges over the Danube this weekend in their continuing protest against the alleged corruption of state institutions. Saturday will mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed on Nov. 1, leaving 15 people dead and prompting the wide-spread protests (13:36).
And I leave you with the news about growing anger in Romania after a daring heist from the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, with the near-2,500-year-old gold Helmet of Coțofenești – one of Romania’s most revered national treasures – among the stolen items.
And so, that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
Have a great weekend and see you again on Monday.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Lack of party discipline undermines Merz as a potential chancellor, AfD’s Weidel says
In a blistering statement after the vote, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel directly attacks Merz for failing to get his lawmakers to back the proposal, saying it undermines his credentials to be the next chancellor of Germany.
She stressed that no AfD lawmakers voted against the proposal.
She uses the results to repeat her claim that only the AfD is capable of delivering a radical change in migration policy.
