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Ms Le Pen came second in the first round of the French election on Sunday and will face Emmanuel Macron, a centrist candidate, on May 7 in the second and final round of voting.

The European Parliament believes Ms Le Pen has defrauded it of around 290,000.

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Described as more democratic and republican than her nationalist father, she has led a movement of "de-demonization of the Front National" to detoxify it and soften its image

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Ms Le Pen used the money as salaries for two of her aides, who actually worked for her Front National party

European Anti-Fraud Office

According to the European Anti-Fraud Office, Ms Le Pen used the money as salaries for two of her aides, who actually worked for her Front National party.

The Eurosceptic politicians position as an MEP has meant she has so far been exempt from prosecution, but prosecutors will be able to pursue the offences with the lifted immunity.

The announcement is due to be made in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon.

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The anti-EU presidential candidate could be summoned to parliament as early as next week to be questioned.

However, Ms Le Pen has said any legal processes against her are just a political interference and she has called for the investigations to wait until the election has passed.

EU lawmakers have already sanctioned Ms Le Pen for misspending EU funds and her monthly salary has been slashed by half.

In March, the EU legislature lifted Ms Le Pens immunity after she posted a picture of Islamic State (ISIS) violence on social media.

The fraud allegations have not seemed to have had much impact on Ms Le Pens campaign, unlike Republican Francois Fillon, who lost scores of voters after it was revealed he gave his wife a fake job as a parliamentary assistant.

In February, the Front National headquarters were raided by police as part of the investigation involving the misuse of European Union funds.

Ms Le Pen announced on Monday she will be temporarily stepping down as leader of the Front National to concentrate on the election campaign and broaden her appeal to less extreme voters.

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Marine Le Pen's immunity to be lifted in bid to investigate 290000 misuse of EU funds - Express.co.uk

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Three Northern Primary Schools Courtesy European Union LoveFM Today the Government of Belize in collaboration with the European Union opened three preschools in northern Belize. New buildings were built at Trial Farm and San Jose Villages in the Orange Walk District and one in San Pedro Village in the Corozal ... and more »

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Three Northern Primary Schools Courtesy European Union - LoveFM

It turns out that Donald Trump is bad at making deals. Yes, the guy who oncesaid you cant leave the White House, go to Hawaii and play golf for three weeks and be a real deal-maker. It doesnt work that way, is the very same guy who tried to circumvent the European Union and cut a bilateral trade deal with Germany and whenrefusedthe first time, he asked 10 more times,according to the Times of London.

During his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last month, Trump insisted on to negotiating a trade deal between the U.S. and Germany, only to be shut down numerous times.You cant do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU,' a senior German official told the Times of London.

On the eleventh refusal, Trump finally got the message, Oh, well do a deal with Europe then,' the official added.

Merkel explainedto Trump that he must instead negotiate with the EU in its entirety after his administrations efforts to reach out to the nations individually had been denied. Merkel also said to her own cabinet members that Trump only hadvery basic misunderstandings regarding the fundamentals of the EU and multinational trade agreements.

The Trump administration then decided to it was more valuable for the U.S. to prioritize a trade deal with the EU rather than one with the U.K. after their referendum in June to formally leave the pact, a source close the White House told the Times of London.

Reuters reported:

Any quick deal between the U.S. and Europe could come as a blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May who had hoped to win a promise of deeper trade ties when she became the first foreign leader to meet Trump in office in January.

Trade became a major issue during the Brexit campaign when the then-president Barack Obama said Britain would go to the back of the queue for a deal if it voted to leave.

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Art of the deal: Angela Merkel had to repeatedly tutor Donald Trump about the European Union - Salon

The EUs European Parliament has recently mandated the European Commission to implement a pilot project in order to build up technical expertise and regulatory capacity for blockchain technology. The European Commission in response announced that it intends to launch a call for tender for a service contract to set up an EU Blockchain Observatory, withanestimated budget of 500,000 over a period of 2 years.

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

The EC wants the new body toconsist of both an observatory and a forum to gather opinions and to voice concerns around blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT). It will have the goal ofbecoming an EU expertise hub to discuss forward-looking topics on blockchain and develop use cases of interest at EU level.

The purpose will be to inform and assist the European Commission in understanding what role if any European public authorities should play to encourage the development and adoptionof these technologies and to formulate related policy recommendations.

The observatory is expected to provide an up to date overview of relevant initiatives relying on the technology around the world and to follow up closely on the developments and the related challenges and opportunities for European industry, citizens and governments.

It will also develop expertise on topics such as infrastructure, governance and validation mechanisms, smart contracts, regulatory and legal challenges, interoperability and standards, build and animate a platform for the European blockchain community and explore possible use cases with a value added at the EU level.

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European Union to Invest 500000 to Develop Blockchain Expertise - Finance Magnates

During an official visit to Haiti after the appointment of a new Government, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica announced a new EU aid package.

The first of which is a special allocation of 18.5 million (14.5 million in exceptional budget support and 4 million for an agricultural project) in response to Hurricane Matthew which hit the island in October 2016 and caused widespread damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure. The EU had also provided initial emergency relief last year when the hurricane struck the country.

Commissioner Mimica said: "Through our new support we clearly show the solidarity of the European Union towards Haiti. We remain committed to supporting the Haitian population and the reconstruction and stabilisation of the country."

The second part of support through the signature with the Prime Minister S.E.M Jack Guy Lafontant is a 45 million agreement for the construction of the National Road #3, connecting Port-au-Prince to the northern town of Cap Haitian, the second biggest town and port of Haiti.

Commissioner Mimica added: I am aware that the people of Haiti have suffered for many years from poor road conditions. The EU is committed to the completion of the National Road #3 all the way from Port-au-Prince to Cap Haitian. I am delighted to be signing this project which will help the development of the island. This road will facilitate community access to health centres, schools and other services.

Background:

Haiti remains the poorest country in the Latin America/Caribbean region. It is, in addition one of the most unequal with an alarming Gini coefficient of 0.592 (one of the highest in the world), and chronic political, socio-economic and environmental fragility. Haiti receives around 42% of the financial assistance allocated to the Caribbean region under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) (2014-2020).

More information on the European Development Fund:

In line with the country context and as reflected in the national development strategies of Haiti, the EU strategic objectives pursued in the 11th EDF include:

More information on the EU's crisis response to Hurricane Matthew:

Matthew, a category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Haiti on 4 October 2016, causing widespread flooding and damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure. At least 2.1 million people were affected, including 894,000 children. Of them, 1.4 million were in need of assistance, including 500,000 children, with at least 125,000 requiring protection from exploitation, violation, and abuse (United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs figures of November 2016).

In this context, the European Commission provided humanitarian aid worth 19.7 million to cover immediate needs in relation to food and nutrition security, water and sanitation, education, shelter and protection.

Furthermore, the Commission mobilised 18.5 million under the State Building Contract and the Southern Food Security project to support the Government in its post-Matthew reconstruction and agricultural rehabilitation efforts.

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The European Union increases its support for Haiti - EU News