Paris court finds 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady
We are now getting a news line, via AP, that a Paris court found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France’s first lady Brigitte Macron.
The court convicted all defendants to sentences, ranging from a cyberbullying awareness training to 8-month suspended prison sentences.
We will bring you more on this soon.
Updated at 05.11 EST
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‘Progress’ in talks on security guarantees for Ukraine, EU says
There is also an EU line on Ukraine and tomorrow’s Paris meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, with the commission spokespeople saying “there is progress” in discussions on security guarantees, but they won’t say more until the meeting takes place.
The EU sees a membership of the bloc as “one very clear security guarantee” for Ukraine, and one that can be offered “independently of what the Coalition of the Willing can put forward.”
“But as said, in terms of details and who contributes, how, let’s wait for the mission for the meeting tomorrow to provide further details on this and on security guarantees in general.”
Eventually, EU’s chief spokesperson Pinho also quotes a statement from the Greenlandic prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, saying that the EU agrees with his words that “Greenland will not be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone, and we fully agree and stand by that.”
“He’s also called for respect, and again, we stand by that.”
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Jakub Krupa
First day back, the EU spokespeople seem to be absolutely determined not to say anything that could upset US president Donald Trump or provoke tensions with the US.
Expect this to be a theme throughout 2026.
But I doubt that Denmark, for example, will consider the spokespeople’s response on Greenland adequate in their view.
ShareNo EU-US discussions on Greenland, commission suggests
The EU’s chief spokesperson also gets repeatedly asked about Trump’s line that “the European Union needs us to have [Greenland] and they know it.”
Pinho tries to avoid answering the question once again, but eventually says:
“I’m not informed about any discussion with the US by our representatives on this issue.”
Pressed, she adds:
“Greenland has its autonomy. And of course, each country may be very interesting from many points of view, but that that shouldn’t trigger any interest beyond possible, for instance, business.”
Asked if the EU believed the US was genuinely interested in a democratic transition in Venezuela, the EU’s spokesperson said that was a question to Trump, not them.
As you can see, the EU’s midday briefing is going really well, thank you.
ShareEU declines to offer a term for US intervention in Venezuela and rule whether it was legal
Asked for comments on Venezuela, the EU spokespeople said that Venezuela’s Maduro “lacked the legitimacy of a democratically elected leader, and therefore the events over the weekend provide the opportunity for a democratic transition, led by the Venezuelan people.”
But they declined to offer a term to name what had happened in Venezuela, even when offered some suggestions.
“I think the statement is very clear in saying that the international law must be respected, and this is what we are recalling and expecting all the actors involved to do that,” EU’s Hipper said.
When it was pointed out to her that the US intervention had already happened with major questions over its legality, she declined to say whether the US actions were legal under international law.
“As the events just unfolded, it is too early to look into and assess all the implications in terms of legal assessment,” Hipper said.
ShareEU continues to ‘uphold principles of national sovereignty,’ bloc says in soft response to Trump’s Greenland comments
Meanwhile, the European Commission offered a very soft response to a question on Donald Trump’s latest comments on Greenland.
The commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said only that “we had heard it before, and we stick to what we had already said in this room about that.”
Lead foreign spokesperson Anitta Hipper also repeated that “the EU will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders and the UN Charter.”
“These are universal principles, and will not stop defending them.”
She repeated that Greenland is “an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark,” and any changes on that would be for Greenlanders and Danes to decide.
Repeatedly pressed for a clearer line on this, she said:
“We have had this question before, will not comment blow by blow … The situation is that we expect all our partners to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity and to abide by the international commitments.”
ShareGermany’s Merz faces criticism for soft response to US intervention in Venezuela
Deborah Cole
in Berlin
Cautious remarks at the weekend by Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, about the US intervention in Venezuela have come in for criticism at home, with the opposition accusing him of cowardice in the face of naked aggression.
Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz speaks to the media at the end of first day of the EU Council Summit in Brussels, Belgium. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/EPA
In a statement on Saturday, Merz largely withheld judgment of the US bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, who he said had “led his country to ruin”.
“The legal assessment of the US intervention is complex and requires careful consideration,” Merz said. “We’ll take our time for it.”
Franziska Brantner, co-leader of the opposition Greens, said Merz should have clearly condemned what she called a violation of international law.
“Maduro is a nasty dictator. But attacking his country without any legal basis and then announcing on camera that you now want to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves – that’s straight out of the imperialism playbook,” she told Der Spiegel, referring to Trump.
She said the world order now risked reverting to the “law of the jungle” with Greenland and the Baltic states up for grabs by world powers.
“The German government and Europe must finally find clear words to say to Trump. Friedrich Merz’s statements almost speak to a denial of reality and a desire to appease Trump,” said Brantner.
The Social Democrats, partners in Merz’s centre-right-led government, also found his response to be inadequate.
“The situation under international law is not complex. The German government and the European Commission must clearly call out this breach of international law,” MEP and SPD legal expert René Repasi said.
If we accept that the powerful are above the law, “it will spell the end of the rules-based world order and a return to the 19th century,” Repasi said.
SPD leader and Germany’s vice-chancellor Lars Klingbeil described developments in Venezuela as “very worrying”. Maduro had led an authoritarian regime, he said. However, “that cannot be a justification for disregarding international law”.
Fellow conservatives on Monday defended Merz, saying his statement reflected the complicated reality on the ground.
“There are indeed various aspects that we have to take into account, and in this respect the chancellor is absolutely right. It is extremely complex,” foreign minister Johann Wadephul told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
“Maduro led a regime that was not bound by the law, eight million people have left the country. There are political prisoners,” Wadephul said.
He noted the United Nations had condemned the human rights situation in Venezuela and that there were proceedings against Venezuela before the international criminal court. Beyond that, Maduro is not the legally elected president of this country.
Wadephul later told reporters Germany would discuss open “questions” about the intervention with the United States, adding Berlin would welcome “free elections” in Venezuela.
CDU foreign policy expert and former party leader Armin Laschet stressed it was essential to remain in dialogue with the US and that diplomatic restraint by the EU reflected the pragmatic realpolitik needed to navigate the emerging world order.
“We must not forget that we are still involved in Ukraine,” and in need of US support, he told rbb radio.
“Would it be wise for Europeans to decide now to bring a unilateral indictment against” Trump? Laschet asked. He said such a rupture would certainly lead to Washington turning its back on Kyiv and the Europeans. “Foreign policy is complicated. You have to take the realities of the world into account.”
Merz’s circumspect stance jibed with a statement by French president Emmanuel Macron, who said the end of the “Maduro dictatorship” was something the Venezuelan people could “only rejoice in”. Trump reposted the remarks on social media.
German media said Berlin and Paris had coordinated their reserved assessments so as to not antagonise Trump in the hope of having him on side on backing Ukraine.
Updated at 06.22 EST
Angelique Chrisafis
in Paris
Our full story on the Brigitte Macron verdict is here:
There is a small update via AFP saying that one of the defendants in the Brigitte Macron case was sentenced to six months in prison after his absence from the hearing was seen as an aggravating factor.