🇺🇦 It’s been reported that refugees from Ukraine, who are largely white and Christian, can enter some countries more easily than those escaping violence in the Middle East or North Africa.
🗣 Some experts say that the "magnificent solidarity and humanism" towards Ukraine illustrates a "shocking distinction" which reveals a "dehumanisation of refugees from the Middle East".
🇪🇺 The EU has invoked a never-before-used law to help cope with the over half a million refugees fleeing Ukraine, while neighbouring Poland and Hungary have declared their borders open to Ukrainian refugees - even those without official documents.
🇭🇺🇵🇱 However, the Polish right has historically opposed almost all immigration, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is one of the most outspoken opponents of the EU's migration policy.
🇺🇦 While geopolitics may be at play here -- these are refugees of a Russian invasion that Europe has universally condemned -- there is also the fact that Ukrainian people are ethnically and culturally similar to their new hosts.
🇧🇬 Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov was accused of racism earlier in the week when he implied European countries aren’t afraid of Ukrainian refugees because they are “educated” and less dangerous.
In fact, many who fled Syria for Europe during the 2015 crisis were from the professional middle class, and only sought to escape the civil strife in their country that has left at least 350,000 people dead.
🗣 Down the line, experts worry that the goodwill among European states could evaporate if Ukrainian refugees continue to flood in -- especially if their democratically elected government is overthrown, making it more difficult to return home.
🇭🇺 When Viktor Orban made his first posts on Twitter this week, one of them gave us a clue as to why Hungary's PM has chosen now to join the social media platform. cutt.ly/jBmFtD6
📱 With Hungarians generally preferring Facebook, there is seemingly little domestic motivation for Orban to join the rival platform.
🇭🇺 Experts have told Euronews Orban's arrival points to the fact he is keen -- amid the fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine and a long-running dispute with Brussels over access to EU funds -- to influence opinion in the Anglo-Saxon world.
🇩🇰 When party leaders faced each other last week in the first TV debate of Denmark's election, they disagreed along familiar party lines.
But there was one subject which united left and right: a controversial plan to outsource asylum seekers to Rwanda. cutt.ly/BBcy0ug
🇬🇧 Although there is no formal agreement yet between the two countries, that is clearly the direction of travel, with the whole scheme looking very similar to a policy the UK government is trying to get off the ground - so far, unsuccessfully.
⚖️ Opponents argued that it is illegal and inhumane to send people thousands of miles to a country they don’t want to live in, and so far no flights have actually left the UK for Rwanda after legal interventions at the European Court of Human rights.
🇬🇧 The funeral on Monday of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will see the biggest gathering of royalty this century - perhaps ever - in London.
So who is attending the funeral, and how are they related to Queen Elizabeth II, if at all? Here's our guide. 👇 cutt.ly/AVwLXaF
🇧🇪 King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will be representing Belgium at the funeral.
King Philippe's ancestor is King Leopold I, the first King of the Belgians, who was also Queen Victoria's uncle. And Queen Victoria was Queen Elizabeth II's great-great-grandmother.
🇩🇰 Denmark's Queen Margrethe II will be attending the funeral with her son Crown Prince Frederik.
Queen Margrethe II was a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and were descendants of both Queen Victoria and also King Christian X of Norway.
🇭🇺 Hungary is no longer a full democracy, MEPs have declared in a non-binding but highly symbolic report.
Instead, it should be considered a "hybrid regime of electoral autocracy" in which elections are regularly held without respecting democratic norms. cutt.ly/cC4cu3X
🇪🇺 In their resolution, MEPs point the finger directly at Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and condemn his government's "deliberate and systematic efforts" to undermine the EU's core values.
🏳️🌈 They raise concerns about a long list of fundamental rights they believe to be under threat, including the electoral system, the independence of judiciary, media pluralism, LGBTIQ rights and the protection of minorities.
🇪🇺 Ursula von der Leyen delivered on Wednesday her annual State of the Union speech, unveiling the main political priorities for the next working year.
🇷🇺 Von der Leyen said Russian industry is in “tatters” because of the sanctions the EU has slapped on Moscow over the Ukraine war.
She assured that the EU won’t relent in its sanctions, despite fears that it might have to due to the energy crisis.
🇺🇦 The Commission chief also unveiled several proposals to align Ukraine with the single market, including by extending the European free-of-charge roaming area, and support its reconstruction, with €100 million to rebuild damaged schools. cutt.ly/uC1YhdH
ICYMI: 🇪🇺 Here's our roundup of what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her annual #SOTU address:
🇺🇦 The EU has "risen to the occasion" on the Ukraine war, she said.
"Our response was united, determined and immediate and I think we can be proud of that."
🇷🇺 Russia's industry "is in tatters", VDL said.
She argued that since sanctions have been imposed, three-quarters of Russia's banking sectors were cut off from international markets, the production of cars fell by 75%.