Call this a smooth enlargement process? Fireworks explode in Albanian Parliament
Chaos erupted in Albanian Parliament on November 20 when the opposition used chairs and fireworks to try to block voting on the new budget
Corruption
Latest reporting and analysis on corruption.
Top Ukrainian cyber defence officials sacked amid corruption probe
Ukraine on Monday sacked two high-ranking cyber defence officials amid a probe into alleged embezzlement, a senior government official said.
Belgium accused of dropping warrant for Qatargate-linked minister in prisoner swap
Belgian news outlets are accusing the Belgian Government of letting a Qatari official connected to Qatargate off the hook in a deal with Iran in order to free Belgian…
French senator Guerriau held on suspicion of drugging female MP for sex
French senator Joël Guerriau, 66, was arrested by police on November 15 on suspicion of having drugged a woman with the aim of having sex with her.
There is no hope left for Britain’s Conservatives – David Cameron’s return proves it
In Géricault’s great masterpiece, The Raft of the Medusa, despite the horrors of imminent death and cannibalism, there is hope for the remaining crew members.
Portugal’s president dissolves parliament and calls early elections
Portugal's president has scheduled early elections for March 10 2024, following the resignation of the country's PM amid a corruption investigation.
More than €75,000 in cash found in office of aide of Portugal’s ex-PM
Days after Portugal's PM António Costa resigned amid a corruption investigation, police found €75,800 in cash in his chief of staff's office, hidden between books…
Portugal’s political crisis stalls key projects & TAP privatisation
Portuguese green energy investments that require European Union funds and the privatisation of airline TAP are among the projects at risk of being derailed in…
Former Tusk minister jailed for corruption set to be freed to become MEP
Włodzimierz Karpiński was arrested in February for allegedly taking a bribe of over €1 million from a company bidding on a rubbish collection contract
Portuguese PM António Costa resigns amid corruption allegations
Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa resigned Tuesday amid a police probe into suspected nepotism and corruption.
Albania: opposition MPs jump in through the windows after Parliament ban
Albanian opposition lawmakers banned from parliament have resorted to jumping in through the windows.
Moldova: pro-EU party fares badly amid alleged Russian interference
Moldova's pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) failed to win Chisnau's mayor race Sunday, raising questions both about possible Russian interference and the…
Italy judge seizes 780 mln euros from Airbnb in tax probe
An Italian judge has ordered the seizure of 779.
EU lost €5 billion-plus in misused funds, bloc’s chief prosecutor reports
The European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) said that the European Union budget lost more than €5 Billion in misused funds.
Montenegro’s new government aims to join EU but depends on pro-Russia bloc for support
Montenegro's new Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is introducing anti-corruption courts to speed up hoped-for European Union accession.
Pro-Russian Moldovan governor ‘signs fake gas contract’ for her region
A pro-Russian governor in Moldova has allegedly signed a “fake” contract to supply cheap gas to her region.
EU nations lost out on €61 billion in VAT in 2021, EC report finds
European Union Member States lost out on a total of €61 billion in VAT payments in 2021, according to the European Commission VAT Gap Report 2023 released on…
NatWest bank ‘broke privacy rules over Nigel Farage’
The former boss of UK lender NatWest breached arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage's privacy rights by sharing information about his banking activities, the country’s privacy…
Albania indicts a former PM, looking to boost its EU accession prospects
Albanian prosecutors indicted former prime minister Sali Berisha on corruption charges on October 22 in what proponents of the country’s accession to the European…
MEP accuses Belgium of failing ‘exploited’ Romanian lorry drivers
Romanian MEP Cristian Terheș expressed outrage at the Belgian Government's failure to compensate what he called exploited Romanian lorry drivers.
EP hearing ‘hidden’ from MEPs amid Romanian financial chaos
The European Unions's financial overseers have seemingly dodged serious questions from the European Parliament amid a brewing financial scandal in Romania.
Belgian justice minister resigns over Brussels terror attack
The Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, has stepped down, taking responsibility for errors made regarding the terror attack in Brussels on October…
EP condemns Malta over ‘institutional failure of law enforcement and justice’
The European Parliament has approved a scathing resolution regarding Malta with an overwhelming majority.
‘Hypocrisy at its finest’: Hungary’s foreign minister slams Estonian PM’s criticism of Orbán-Putin meeting
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received harsh criticism over his bonding with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Beijing on October 17-18 but…
Baltic Sea gas pipeline damaged via ‘mechanical’ means, minister claims
A major pipeline located in the Baltic Sea was damaged via "mechanical" means, Estonia's defence minister has claimed.
Former EC chief Juncker opposes speedy Ukrainian EU accession
Jean-Claude Juncker has warned the European Union against admitting Ukraine to the bloc too fast, claiming the country is "corrupt at all levels of society".
AfD MEP denounces ‘schizophrenic’ German media allegations
A senior MEP within Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has denounced one of the country's major media outlets as acting in a "schizophrenic" manner…
Facial recognition technology now available to Western states could make China look like amateurs in mass surveillance
For me, the moment the surveillance society really began to hit home was as far back as 2010, when primary schools in the UK started fingerprinting their pupils…
‘Clapped-out second-hand tankers’ enable Russian oil to avoid Western price-cap sanctions
The majority of oil exported by the Russian Federation is avoiding price-cap sanctions imposed upon it by the West.
Paris prosecutors want to try Marine Le Pen and 26 others over alleged misuse of European public funds
The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office said on September 22 that Marine Le Pen and 26 people affiliated with her Rassemblement National Party should stand trial over…