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Why is TikTok being investigated by the EU over Romania's elections?
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Why is TikTok being investigated by the EU over Romania's elections?

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Northern Italy.

Why is the EU investigating TikTok over the elections in Romania?

Well in the first round of the Romanian presidential elections, there were suddenly, just days before the election, over 25,000 TikTok accounts that suddenly appeared. And they seemed to be supporting, very heavily, the rather sudden far-right candidate who had quite a result in that particular election that has subsequently been annulled. So it makes sense to investigate what really happened and who was behind it.

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French political leaders

Jess Frampton

Macron has put France’s fate in Le Pen’s hands

President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of Michel Barnier as France’s new prime minister on Sept. 5 has put an end to two months of political deadlock and disarray triggered by the Jul. 7 parliamentary election result. But with the far right’s Marine Le Pen having emerged as kingmaker in a deeply fractured parliament, the respite for Macron, Barnier, and France could prove short-lived – and costly.

Since the founding of the Fifth Republic in 1958, France has had majority governments aligned with the president, majority governments opposed to the president (“cohabitations”), and – in the last two years – minority governments that have struggled to enact the president’s legislative agenda but have nonetheless had enough support in parliament to evade censure.

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Paris 2024 Paralympics - Closing Ceremony - Paris, France - September 8, 2024 France's Prime minister Michel Barnier, French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron are seen ahead of the closing ceremony .

REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

French fume at Macron’s pick for PM

Thousands of protesters marched across France on Saturday, furious over President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of center-right politician Michel Barnier as prime minister. Leftist parties, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed, accused Macron of ignoring this summer’s electoral results that left him without a clear majority andcalled for his resignation.Polls show 74% of French citizens believe Macron has disregarded the election results, and 55% feel the election was “stolen.”

“Democracy is accepting defeat, not just victory,”Mélenchon declared as protests erupted in 130 cities. Organizers claimed there were 300,000 demonstrators nationwide, including 160,000 in Paris, but police reported only 26,000 in the capital.

Barnier, the 73-year-old former EU Brexit negotiator, faces immediate pressure to form a coalition and fix the failing public health sector. Visiting a Paris hospital, Barnier pledged to make improvements butsaid he could not work “miracles.”

His first big test will be the upcoming budget in October, which could trigger a vote of no-confidence by both the New Popular Front and far-right National Rally, whoseleader, Jordan Bardella,warned, “Nothing can be done without us.”

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with then-EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier in February 2019.

Michel Euler/Pool via Reuters

France’s new PM: Barnier gets the job, but Le Pen holds the cards

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has tapped a political veteran and experienced policymaker to take on the increasingly tough job of prime minister.Michel Barnier is best known outside France as the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator. He’s held other senior positions in both France and the EU. Barnier, 73, will be the Fifth Republic’s oldest prime minister, and he replaces Gabriel Attal, the youngest.
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