Washington has issued a stern warning to Brussels regarding the EU’s proposed competitiveness fund, specifically targeting its “European preference” rules. The US administration claims these requirements could unfairly disadvantage American firms, threatening retaliatory trade measures unless the European Union grants them equal access to industrial subsidies.
Thousands marched through Zagreb on September 5, demanding accountability for a sprawling network of illegal waste sites in the Lika region. More than 35,000 tonnes of hazardous plastic and medical debris remain buried at the 'Silos' site in Gospić, where groundwater tests have now confirmed the presence of toxic 'forever chemicals'.
A standoff between France and the remaining 26 EU member states has forced an emergency one-week extension of Russia sanctions, narrowly averting a total collapse of the blacklist. The impasse centers on Paris’s insistence that metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov be removed from the list to address unspecified national security requirements.
A Russian jet-powered Geran drone struck a railway station in Yahodyn on Sunday, narrowly missing a train carrying former CIA director David Petraeus. The attack occurred just minutes after a diplomatic transport carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other Western officials had cleared the same station.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to propose a controversial mechanism allowing member states to suspend asylum procedures during mass arrivals. This potential policy shift signals a move toward legitimizing border pushbacks, a practice previously condemned as a direct violation of international human rights and legal frameworks.
Setting the stage for Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address in Strasbourg this Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is signaling an ambition to forge a privileged partnership with the European Union, aiming to elevate Ottawa’s strategic alignment with the bloc to a new, formal level.
Aggressive interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank to combat inflation may inadvertently entrench fossil fuel reliance. Research from the New Economics Foundation suggests that by increasing borrowing costs, the bank is penalizing capital-intensive renewable energy projects while failing to address the volatile source of current price surges.
As Ursula von der Leyen prepares for Wednesday’s State of the European Union address, Brussels observers expect her to pivot away from narrow economic growth metrics. Instead, the Commission president is poised to frame competitiveness as the essential bedrock for Europe’s strategic autonomy and its ability to act independently on the global stage.
Following the Alternative für Deutschland's recent electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt, the debate over outlawing the far-right party has moved from the political fringe into the heart of the Christian Democratic Union, as senior leaders break their silence on whether the constitutional order requires such a drastic intervention.
The European Union has funneled over €1.5 billion annually into Serbia since 2012, hoping to pull the nation away from Russian influence. Yet, the recent public mourning in Belgrade for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić reveals a persistent, regressive nationalism that starkly contradicts the core values of the European bloc.
A coordinated push by the UK, France, and nine other nations to block trade from illegal West Bank settlements has intensified pressure on the European Union to adopt a unified stance. The move marks a significant shift in diplomatic policy, targeting both the commercial infrastructure and financial networks supporting the occupation.
Criminal syndicates are exploiting fractured legislative landscapes across the European Union, costing member states over €13 billion annually in lost tax revenue. A new report from the European Court of Auditors reveals that the bloc lacks a unified system to monitor the scale or structure of this expanding underground market.
Five environmental organizations petitioned the European Ombudsman on Tuesday, alleging that the European Union’s recent decision to weaken water protection standards stems from undue influence by the mining industry. The complaint centers on a lack of transparency and the absence of formal impact assessments during the regulatory review process.
“If Ceuta sinks, Spain sinks, and Europe sinks,” declared Juan Jesús Vivas, the enclave’s mayor-president, during his visit to Brussels this week. He arrived at the European Parliament demanding immediate intervention, framing the border crisis not as a local Spanish issue, but as a critical existential threat to the European Union.
A 38-year-old Iraqi mother and her unborn child, a 16-year-old boy, and 28-year-old Mahlet Kassa from Ethiopia are among 102 victims identified in a sweeping investigation of the Poland–Belarus border. The report challenges official narratives that attribute these fatalities solely to environmental hazards like hypothermia or dense forest terrain.
Ukrainian forces have successfully cleared a significant Russian salient north of Lyman, reclaiming roughly 200 square kilometres of territory. The operation, which remained shrouded in strict operational silence for four months, marks a critical tactical shift that bolsters the defensive perimeter protecting the key industrial hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
A senior European official reports a chilling reality: Washington’s institutions have been hollowed out, replaced by a small, opaque clique known as 'The Family.' As bureaucrats across the Atlantic succumb to the paralysis of feeling bypassed, the question arises of why institutions crumble so easily when challenged by autocracy.
As Sweden heads to the polls this Sunday, security agencies report that while the nation is not currently a top-tier target for direct Russian electoral interference, it remains a persistent subject of broader hybrid warfare aimed at eroding institutional trust and public confidence in democratic processes.
A father in Saint-Gilles recently spent 26 hours in a police cell after criminals used his address to traffic 10kg of marijuana. This incident highlights the terrifying reality for residents in a Brussels district where brazen drug dealing, daily explosions, and gang-related shootings have become a grim, unyielding new normal.
Mondelez International has intensified lobbying efforts to secure a second one-year delay for the European Union’s landmark anti-deforestation regulation. This shift marks a stark departure from the company’s earlier public stance, where it actively championed the legislation alongside other major chocolate producers as a necessary step for industry transparency.
“Beat them to death immediately,” reads one of many violent posts currently circulating on Facebook in Hungary. While activists report such content as hate speech, these messages frequently remain live, fueling a climate of psychological distress for the country’s LGBTQI community amidst state-led campaigns against gender identity and equality.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is shifting the UK’s post-Brexit focus toward domestic stability, yet his first diplomatic hurdle involves navigating the EU’s protectionist “Made in Europe” agenda. As trade talks resume, the new government must shield critical British industries from the fallout of Brussels’ hardening industrial policy.
“Roma are always historically among the first communities to be targeted. This does not mean that it ends with us. It starts with us,” said Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka, executive director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture, following the Alternative for Germany’s electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt.
Conflict between reality and rhetoric reached a new nadir this week when Vladimir Putin claimed the capture of Sviatohirsk, a town where Russian forces are entirely absent. The move sparked a frantic, clumsy scramble by military subordinates to fabricate video evidence using artificial intelligence to satisfy the Kremlin's impossible demands.
European companies are losing their competitive edge as they face aggressive acquisition by US and Chinese rivals. Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta warns that without a fully integrated single market to facilitate scaling, the continent will continue to hemorrhage its most promising firms to global competitors.
Traveling in a Russian motorcade with a Kremlin-provided interpreter, Donald Trump’s associates Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have signaled a deepening alignment that alarms European observers. This latest display of proximity to Moscow underscores growing fears that the American presidency is increasingly mirroring the autocratic tactics of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
With over 44 percent of the vote and a record 80 percent turnout in Saxony-Anhalt, the Alternative for Germany has successfully pushed nationalist ideology from the political periphery into the mainstream. The result signals a profound transformation in how the region approaches national identity, European integration, and historical memory.
A year after Ursula von der Leyen pledged to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Europe remains paralyzed on the sidelines. While the regional order fractures under the weight of conflict and shifting alliances, the European Union continues to trade concrete policy for reactive statements and missed deadlines.
A coalition of five European nations is pushing to establish offshore return hubs for migrants denied asylum, aiming to bypass the logistical and political impasses of repatriating individuals to their home countries. While officials target next year for implementation, the initiative faces mounting legal scrutiny and persistent human rights concerns.
Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Greenland this Monday to pledge €200 million in fresh funding, a maneuver designed to anchor the territory to European markets. The visit serves as a strategic counterweight to recent American overtures, signaling that Brussels intends to remain a primary economic partner in the Arctic region.
