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Added on the 19/07/2017 11:53:01 - Copyright : AFPTV - First images
The EU says it will drop action started against Poland six years ago over rule-of-law concerns that could have led Warsaw to lose its vote in the bloc's affairs. The European Commission said it intends to withdraw the procedure launched under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union after Warsaw's new centrist government took steps to remedy the issues. SOUNDBITE
During a press conference with Belgian PM Alexander de Croo and Polish Pm Donald Tusk, EU chief, Ursula Von der Leyen, announces that aid for Poland frozen over rule-of-law row has now been unblocked. SOUNDBITE
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says Poland will only receive the money from its 35.4-billion euro ($38 billion) post-Covid economic recovery package if it carries out rule of law reforms. She says the EU's approval of the plan announced on Wednesday is "important" but only "a first step, as the money will be disbursed when the reforms and investments are in place". SOUNDBITE
At a press conference held at Downing Street after a meeting with police chiefs, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer lays out plans to better target known far-right agitators, including wider deployment of facial recognition technology and criminal behavior orders to restrict their movement. He also warns social media commpanies that they must uphold laws around spreading incendiary misinformation, following unrest blamed on the sharing of unverified details about the Southport knife attack. "It's also a crime and it's happening on your premises," Starmer said of the proliferation of misinformation "whipped up online", which helped spark two nights of violence in English towns and cities after Monday's stabbings. SOUNDBITE
Poland's right-wing Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński reacts in Warsaw as polls close for the European elections. Voting for the EU's next parliament entered its final stretch Sunday for millions of people with early exit polls pointing to far-right gains at a pivotal time for the bloc. 1ST IMAGES