YouGov puts CDU/CSU at record low as talk of replacing Merz grows
The AfD took 43.8 per cent there on September 6, a record for the party in any state election, against 17.2 per cent for the CDU.
From the capitals
Hot TopicLatest reporting and analysis on from the capitals.
Suspected sabotage on the rails halt Dutch trains on Budget Day
Police have opened an investigation, but no group has claimed responsibility.
Russian frigate fires flares at Danish military helicopter over the Baltic
Copenhagen has summoned Russia's ambassador after one of the flares passed close to the aircraft during a routine patrol off the Danish coast.
NATO jets shoot down drone over central Lithuania
Italian Eurofighters on Baltic Air Policing duty destroyed the aircraft near Kaunas in what Lithuanian officials have called the first interception of its kind over…
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Poland’s Braun hammers monument to Ukrainian partisans
Braun claims local residents are "afraid they would be set on fire" if they attempted to remove the memorial themselves.
Latvia sacks welfare minister caught driving at six times the alcohol limit
Driving with more than 1.5 per mille has been a criminal offence in Latvia since November 2022, not merely an administrative one.
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Meloni rules out alliance with parties opposed to Ukraine support
The move poses a major challenge to the unity of the Italian right, whose parties are increasingly divided over the issue.
Russian drone strikes Kyiv-Warsaw train during attack on Ukraine
The Ukrainian railways also confirmed that trains carrying diplomats had been present in the area.
France apologises for human rights criticism that sparked US walkout
The Geneva mission now says the July message “called into question the U.S. commitment to human rights”.
Le Pen puts housing and ‘national priority’ at centre of campaign launch
The National Rally leader used her first major speech of the 2027 race to promise French citizens preferential access to social housing and a cut in energy VAT.
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Irish, Scottish and Welsh leaders sign Cardiff pact demanding votes on leaving the UK
The three attended as party leaders rather than heads of government, two days after Donald Trump said he would like to see Ireland united.
Swedish opposition takes narrow lead as Sweden Democrats lose ground
Magdalena Andersson's bloc is three seats ahead in the preliminary count, though ballots cast abroad and tallied from September 16 could still overturn it.
Trump drops US neutrality and says Irish unification will happen
Washington has kept out of the question for decades, but the president repeated his call a day after Downing Street ruled out a border poll.
AfD lodges defamation complaint against Merz over ‘ethnic cleansing’ accusations
Members of the Bundestag are normally shielded from prosecution for what they say in the chamber under Article 46 of the Basic Law, Germany’s constitution.
France cuts growth forecast in half and admits deficit will overshoot 5 per cent
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) had already put the figure at 0.
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Visegrad Group vows to block EU policies that raise energy prices
The group has no formal institutional structure, relying instead on consultations among prime ministers and government ministries, with cross-border initiatives…
Dutch households with a heat pump see energy bills rise the most
A large majority of households would pay €400 to €600 more a year by 2031 than they do now.
Bulgaria’s presidential frontrunners clash over Europe and Ukraine
President Iliana Iotova has vowed to keep Sofia out of the war in Ukraine while her main rival, Andrey Gyurov, has pledged to anchor the country firmly in Europe.
Foreign nationals make up vast majority of theft suspects on Paris region transport
Official data for 2025 show nationals of Maghreb countries topped the nationality breakdown, even as recorded crime on French public transport fell to its lowest…
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Polish provincial areas bear the brunt of rapid increase in migration
Coverage of this has been scant in the Polish media, which prefers to concentrate on the failures of integration in Western capitals and security on Poland's eastern…
Zucman invites Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez to Paris ‘anti-oligarchy’ summit
The French economist behind the rejected billionaire levy wants to put wealth taxes at the heart of France's 2027 presidential race.
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Athens looks to Paris to restart power cable stalled by Turkish warships
Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Emmanuel Macron discussed the Great Sea Interconnector at the Élysée on September 9, weeks after a French fund took control of the project.
Hungary and Czech Republic round on Spain over EU aid for Ceuta
Péter Magyar and Andrej Babiš contrasted the Commission's emergency support for Pedro Sánchez's government with the daily fine Hungary faces over its asylum rules.
Fico’s Smer party drops in Slovakian polls as nationalists surge
If a general election were held now, NMS’s voting model for daily Sme would give PS 21.6 per cent, Smer 16.2 per cent and Republika 15.6 per cent.
European top court says Netherlands does not have to recognise Yemeni polygamy
The applicant contracted three marriages in Yemen and has 13 children: Eight with his first wife, three with his second and two with his third.
Belgian defence minister says anti-terror law could be used against communist festival
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken stated that the new anti-terror law could target foreign speakers at the upcoming ManiFiesta festival, citing concerns over…
Dutch Volt branch skips memorial for 105 murdered Jews after organisers refuse Gaza link
Group leader Anna Kaal, Volt's sole councillor on the 39-seat municipal council since the March 18 local elections, wrote that the ceremony needed "broadening" to…
French Epstein probe uncovers new victims and more suspected recruiters
Half of the alleged victims counted by Paris prosecutors had never appeared in any earlier case file, as the investigation continues after the death of model scout…
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BSW ready to back AfD candidate in Saxony-Anhalt as Germany’s political firewall cracks
Wagenknecht's party could hold the key to a historic vote in the eastern German state, putting Berlin’s long-standing political consensus under renewed pressure.
Brussels releases emergency funds for Ceuta invaders as the city remains occupied
Most of the emergency package falls under the EU's asylum and migration budget, paying to house and process the thousands who broke through at El Tarajal and remain…