This will hurt: France braces for budget cuts
After decades of spending beyond its means, France must in the coming weeks show how it will avoid a budget crunch that is putting its credit ratings at risk and…
From the capitals
Latest reporting and analysis on from the capitals.
Despite its fading grandeur, Britain’s Foreign Office has forgotten its former self-confidence. Foreign Secretary David Cameron needs to rediscover it fast to avoid humiliation
Three British diplomatic heavy-weights, recently retired, have just released a report calling on the Foreign Office to be “re-branded”.
EC’s Schinas slammed for ‘incomprehensible’ Gibraltar remark
European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas has been slammed for an "incomprehensible" remark regarding ongoing UK-European Union negotiations on Gibraltar.
French and Russians feud after ministers’ phone conversation
French and Russian officials are slinging accusations at one another in the wake of a high-profile phone call between both countries' defence ministers.
Spain ‘to recognise Palestinian statehood before summer’ amid ongoing EU division
The Spanish Government is making its support of Palestine known ahead of the European Parliament elections on June 9.
Czech intelligence service uncovers ‘Russian influence operation’ targeting EU elections
Czech intelligence services have accused politicians of accepting payments from a Russian influence operation, according to Czech and German media.
Chinese cyber-attackers ‘put European Parliament elections at risk’
Attacks on the Parliament and other European Union institutions have, cyber experts say, grown more numerous and sophisticated since the last EU elections in 2019…
Russian Ambassador snubs Polish summons over missile incident on grounds it was ‘immaterial’
Russia’s Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev has defied a summons to a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw at which he was to receive a diplomatic…
Moldovan Parliament backs bid to join EU, but divisions remain
Moldova's Parliament on Thursday endorsed an appeal to press on with a drive to join the European Union, but the opposition walked out of the vote and separatists…
The West’s limits: We should back Ukraine to the hilt with money and weapons, but – no Macron – this is not an existential war for Europe
The collective flight of reason triggered by Emmanuel Macron’s bombshell suggestion last month about a possible Western military intervention in Ukraine is only…
The key players in Belgian elections 2024
2024 is set to be a tumultuous year in Belgian politics.
Education minister Simon Harris frontrunner to succeed Varadkar in snap leadership race
In the end, there were no palace coups, no visible pressure to quit.
Nature Restoration Law is dead, Belgian PM De Croo says
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country holds the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, said Europe's proposed Nature Restoration…
Polish central bank chief set to be indicted by PM Tusk’s ruling majority
Adam Glapiński, the head of Poland’s central bank (NBP), is in line to be indicted by Parliament and tried by the country’s Tribunal of State, the body responsible…
Italy PM Meloni angles for EU role as ‘Trump whisperer’ and moderate leader of the new Right
With what seem a shrewd series of telephone calls to US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and visits alongside European Commission President Ursula…
Macron and Scholz love-in ‘unlikely to last’
Differences between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are too deep to vanish easily, warn observers of their recent 'fence-mending'…
Putin’s re-election receives a chorus of silence
On the unsurprising re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin there was an apparently eerie silence in place of what have previously been relatively fulsome…
EP vote likely to shore up PM Meloni’s Fratelli as Italy’s lead party
June's European Parliament elections will be an important test for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia party -- one that will most likely confirm…
Spanish Parliament passes Amnesty bill; Catalonia calls snap election
The Spanish Parliament has approved a controversial amnesty bill for Catalan separatists.
Leaked secret poll gives Le Pen majority in French parliament
According to a leaked secret poll commissioned by Les Républicains, Marine Le Pen's National Rally party could obtain a possible majority in the French Parliament.
Macron warns Europe will be next If Russia wins in Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the European Union would face an “existential” threat of a Russian invasion unless Vladimir Putin’s forces are…
Dublin in tumult as leaders jet off for St Patrick’s Day junkets after referendum rout
Irish Government ministers faced widespread criticism after jetting-off for St Patrick's Day celebrations in the US and elsewhere, just a week after a botched referendum…
German UK Ambassador: ‘No need to apologise for security breaches’
Despite, according to some, Germany possibly having endangered allied soldiers after an embarrassing security leak, the country's UK Ambassador Miguel Berger said…
Dutch double-up on nuclear power
The Dutch Parliament passed a move to build four new nuclear-power plants, doubling the planned two major installations originally envisaged.
EU forced-labour crackdown ‘could curtail Chinese solar-panel imports’
A proposed European Union crackdown on goods made with forced labour could cut the number of Chinese solar panels imported into the bloc, the European Commission…
Macron is no Napoleon and no Talleyrand: Floating his proposal of sending troops to Ukraine was a work of stunning political ineptness that only boosted Putin
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord must have been the world’s greatest political survival artist.
Down wi da kidz? Germany’s Schulz looks to TikTok amid AfD’s rising popularity
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he wanted the Government to open an account on TikTok, apparently amid concerns about the hard-right Alternative für Deutschland…
French-German war of words on Ukraine may endanger EU’s Ukraine arms fund
A worsening German-French spat over Ukraine appears to risk a crippling of the European Union's Ukraine arms fund.
Putin warns West of ‘nuclear war’ risk after Macron floats troop deployment idea
President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries there was a "genuine risk" of nuclear war if they sent their own troops to fight in Ukraine.
MEPs ‘furious’ as French AI firm teams-up with Microsoft
An announced partnership between Microsoft and a major French Artificial Intelligence firm has prompted outrage within the European Union, with some MEPs fearing…