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####Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta are discussing a simultaneous announcement ahead of the EU elections in order to remove the decision from the electoral debate

According to Spanish government sources, May 21 is the date that is being considered by Spain and other European Union countries to [recognize the Palestinian State](https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-23/spains-pm-speaks-with-leaders-of-jordan-egypt-and-pna-to-finalize-recognition-of-palestine.html). On that day the last meeting of ministers will be held before the campaign for the elections to the European Parliament begins on June 9, and the sources consulted advocate taking a decision of this importance out of the electoral debate.

The Spanish government is coordinating with other European countries willing to take the step to try to achieve a simultaneous recognition. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris revealed last Monday that he had spoken with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez. 

In recent weeks, several Caribbean countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados) have recognized the Palestinian State. To date, 142 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have taken this step. 

Albares was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday, where he will explain Spain’s decision to his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken. The United States, Israel’s main ally, has spoken out against unilateral recognition of Palestine, but has not been belligerent on the issue. 

<div class="md"><h4>Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta are discussing a simultaneous announcement ahead of the EU elections in order to remove the decision from the electoral debate</h4>

<p>According to Spanish government sources, May 21 is the date that is being considered by Spain and other European Union countries to <a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-23/spains-pm-speaks-with-leaders-of-jordan-egypt-and-pna-to-finalize-recognition-of-palestine.html">recognize the Palestinian State</a>. On that day the last meeting of ministers will be held before the campaign for the elections to the European Parliament begins on June 9, and the sources consulted advocate taking a decision of this importance out of the electoral debate.</p>

<p>The Spanish government is coordinating with other European countries willing to take the step to try to achieve a simultaneous recognition. Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris revealed last Monday that he had spoken with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sánchez. </p>

<p>In recent weeks, several Caribbean countries (Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados) have recognized the Palestinian State. To date, 142 of the 193 member states of the United Nations have taken this step. </p>

<p>Albares was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday, where he will explain Spain’s decision to his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken. The United States, Israel’s main ally, has spoken out against unilateral recognition of Palestine, but has not been belligerent on the issue. </p>
</div>

Coalition of European countries consider recognizing Palestinian State on May 21

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Kraków’s new mayor to become first to attend city’s LGBT parade

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Malta’s former prime minister charged with corruption over hospital scandal • Joseph Muscat, the central bank governor, and deputy PM accused over allegations once investigated by murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

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Party chairman Kaczyński condemns “betrayal” after PiS loses control of regional assembly following rebellion

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Poland launches “Education with the Military” scheme to teach children emergency preparedness

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Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova elected North Macedonia’s first woman president

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Comment les Européens commémorent-ils le 8 mai ?

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Musk Is Engaging With Europe’s Far Right But Voters Aren’t So Sure

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Model seeks legal advice after Salvini’s party uses image for anti-Islam poster

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Germany lowers voting age to 16 for the European elections – but is it playing into the far right’s hands?

Going to the extreme: Inside Germany’s far right

Dozens detained as Paris police clear Gaza war protest at Sorbonne university

EU reaches a tentative deal on Ukraine aid coming from profits of frozen Russian assets • The deal should free up to 3 billion euros a year for Kyiv, of which 90% could be spent on ammunition and other military equipment.

###Amsterdammers find themselves at the nadir of a Europe-wide housing shortage. But some bold initiatives offer hope

In a pan-European housing crisis, the Netherlands’ is next level. According to [independent analysis](https://calcasa.nl/onderzoek/2023-q4-wox-kwartaalbericht/), the average Dutch home now costs €452,000 – more than 10 times the modal, or most common, Dutch salary of €44,000.

That means you need a salary of more than twice that to buy one. Nationwide, house prices have doubled in the past decade; in more sought-after neighbourhoods they have surged 130%. A new-build home [costs 16 times an average salary.](https://www2.deloitte.com/cz/en/pages/real-estate/articles/property-index.html)

The rental market is equally dysfunctional. Rents in the private sector – about 15% of the country’s total housing stock – have soared. A single room in a shared house in Amsterdam is €950 a month; a one-bed flat €1,500 or more; a three-bedder €3,500.

Competition among those who can afford such sums – such as multinational expats – is so fierce that many pay a monthly fee to an [online service](https://rentslam.com/en/) that trawls property websites, sending text alerts seconds after suitable ads appear.

Meanwhile, the waiting list in the social housing sector, which is roughly double the size of the private, averages about seven years nationally – but in the bigger Dutch cities, particularly in Amsterdam, it can stretch to as long as 18 or 19.

Meanwhile in Startblokken, for a monthly rent averaging €400-500 after housing benefit, every tenant – who must be aged between 18 and 27 when they move in – is entitled to their own 20-25 sq metre studio, with its own kitchenette and bathroom, for up to five years. In one such project when one studio became free the project manager received about 800 applications.

But the Startblokken – like the multiple temporary accommodation programmes for “economically homeless” people in Amsterdam are drops in the ocean of the vastness of the Netherlands’ housing crisis.

Quite how the country got here is a subject of complex and heated debate. The Netherlands was short of an estimated 390,000 homes last year; it is already falling behind on a pledge to build nearly 1m – two-thirds of them affordable – by 2030.

Some factors, such as historically low interest rates and more – often smaller – households, are beyond government control. But experts say successive administrations have consistently stimulated demand while failing to boost supply.

In the early 2010s, a pro-market Dutch government in effect abolished the housing and planning ministry and freed up sales of housing corporation stock. Partly as a result, about 25% of homes in the country’s four big cities are owned by investors.

Further driving up prices are measures such as mortgage tax relief for buyers, and others - meant to aid young buyers - that have instead ended up helping existing owners invest in more property. At the same time, subsidies for housebuilding all but dried up.

<div class="md"><h3>Amsterdammers find themselves at the nadir of a Europe-wide housing shortage. But some bold initiatives offer hope</h3>

<p>In a pan-European housing crisis, the Netherlands’ is next level. According to <a href="https://calcasa.nl/onderzoek/2023-q4-wox-kwartaalbericht/">independent analysis</a>, the average Dutch home now costs €452,000 – more than 10 times the modal, or most common, Dutch salary of €44,000.</p>

<p>That means you need a salary of more than twice that to buy one. Nationwide, house prices have doubled in the past decade; in more sought-after neighbourhoods they have surged 130%. A new-build home <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/cz/en/pages/real-estate/articles/property-index.html">costs 16 times an average salary.</a></p>

<p>The rental market is equally dysfunctional. Rents in the private sector – about 15% of the country’s total housing stock – have soared. A single room in a shared house in Amsterdam is €950 a month; a one-bed flat €1,500 or more; a three-bedder €3,500.</p>

<p>Competition among those who can afford such sums – such as multinational expats – is so fierce that many pay a monthly fee to an <a href="https://rentslam.com/en/">online service</a> that trawls property websites, sending text alerts seconds after suitable ads appear.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the waiting list in the social housing sector, which is roughly double the size of the private, averages about seven years nationally – but in the bigger Dutch cities, particularly in Amsterdam, it can stretch to as long as 18 or 19.</p>

<p>Meanwhile in Startblokken, for a monthly rent averaging €400-500 after housing benefit, every tenant – who must be aged between 18 and 27 when they move in – is entitled to their own 20-25 sq metre studio, with its own kitchenette and bathroom, for up to five years. In one such project when one studio became free the project manager received about 800 applications.</p>

<p>But the Startblokken – like the multiple temporary accommodation programmes for “economically homeless” people in Amsterdam are drops in the ocean of the vastness of the Netherlands’ housing crisis.</p>

<p>Quite how the country got here is a subject of complex and heated debate. The Netherlands was short of an estimated 390,000 homes last year; it is already falling behind on a pledge to build nearly 1m – two-thirds of them affordable – by 2030.</p>

<p>Some factors, such as historically low interest rates and more – often smaller – households, are beyond government control. But experts say successive administrations have consistently stimulated demand while failing to boost supply.</p>

<p>In the early 2010s, a pro-market Dutch government in effect abolished the housing and planning ministry and freed up sales of housing corporation stock. Partly as a result, about 25% of homes in the country’s four big cities are owned by investors.</p>

<p>Further driving up prices are measures such as mortgage tax relief for buyers, and others - meant to aid young buyers - that have instead ended up helping existing owners invest in more property. At the same time, subsidies for housebuilding all but dried up.</p>
</div>

‘Everything’s just … on hold’: the Netherlands’ next-level housing crisis

Russian soldier detained in Poland after crossing border from Belarus

Poland charges 36 gang members with smuggling migrants and financing terrorism

Franziska Giffey: Berlin politician attacked in library

EPP refuses to sign joint statement denouncing political violence

A Political Earthquake in Italy: Liguria’s Governor Arrested for Corruption

Tusk and von der Leyen call for Europe to boost defence spending

EU to end “Article 7” rule-of-law procedure launched against Poland under former government

Polish judge flees to Belarus seeking asylum

Polish minister threatens to sue those accusing him of giving speech drunk

Police break up pro-Palestinian camp at Amsterdam university as campus protests spread to Europe

Hey, sorry for not posting any article about this, but there is no article about it, yet. But already, what I've heard, is that since 8:30 am, the majority of all Slovak schools received bomb threats, some reported to even get shooter threats, from what I've heard.

<div class="md"><p>Hey, sorry for not posting any article about this, but there is no article about it, yet. But already, what I&#39;ve heard, is that since 8:30 am, the majority of all Slovak schools received bomb threats, some reported to even get shooter threats, from what I&#39;ve heard.</p>
</div>

Slovakian bomb threats

Government accused of neglecting women rough sleepers by dramatically undercounting them

Rallies for trans rights in France over right-wing bill on gender transition for minors

Polish Left calls for end of veto rights in EU

‘The Greens are our enemy’: What is fuelling the far right in Germany?

EuroMPmatch is a Voting Advice Application (VAA) based on the voting records of the last European legislature (2019-2024). You will be asked to indicate your preferences over 20 key votes that took place in the European Parliament in the last five years; on each of them, you are asked to indicate how important that topic is, and how would you vote on it. The algorithm then matches you answers with the voting records of all Members of the European Parliament, and shows who's your best match at three levels: individual MEPs, European party groups, and national parties. Try it out!

<div class="md"><p>EuroMPmatch is a Voting Advice Application (VAA) based on the voting records of the last European legislature (2019-2024). You will be asked to indicate your preferences over 20 key votes that took place in the European Parliament in the last five years; on each of them, you are asked to indicate how important that topic is, and how would you vote on it. The algorithm then matches you answers with the voting records of all Members of the European Parliament, and shows who&#39;s your best match at three levels: individual MEPs, European party groups, and national parties. Try it out!</p>
</div>

Test: Who in the 2019-2024 European Parliament best matches your policy preferences?

#**Welcome to /r/europes!**

##What is /r/europes?
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##Rules
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<h2>What is <a href="/r/europes">/r/europes</a>?</h2>

<ul>
<li><a href="/r/europes">/r/europes</a> is an alternative news source and discussion forum for news and conversation regarding the European continent and its affairs. This sub is thereby apolitical, however, for the sake of maintaining the sub&#39;s high quality we do have strict rules.</li>
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<h2>Rules</h2>

<ul>
<li><strong>No bigotry.</strong> Do not generalize/dehumanize groups of people in a mean-spirited/misrepresentative way.</li>
<li><strong>Stay on-topic.</strong> Every post submitted here must relate to Europe (or to <a href="/r/europes">r/europes</a>) in some way.</li>
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<li><strong>Post high-quality only.</strong> This isn&#39;t the right place for tabloid journalism, fake news, disreputable sources, unsourced claims, clickbait, misleading or editorialized titles, image macros, memes, reaction gifs and other low-effort content.</li>
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Comment les Européens commémorent-ils le 8 mai ?

Franziska Giffey: Berlin politician attacked in library

Slovakian bomb threats