France to close embassy in Niger as military coup holds
France is to close its embassy in Niger after Paris and its ECOWAS partners were unable to overturn a military coup five months ago in the country.
From the capitals
Hot TopicLatest reporting and analysis on from the capitals.
Sánchez rejects Catalonian independence referendum as ‘unconstitutional’
No constitution in the world allows for ceding part of its nation's territory, Sánchez argued
Macron on the defensive over alliance with Right on immigration
French President Emmanuel Macron has defended the country’s new immigration bill, addressing left-wing critics who claim he gave too much to the “far Right”.
And the winner is … China! Beijing set to reap rewards from new EU wind charter
Cost pressures mean Chinese companies will likely encroach further into the European wind sector at the expense of EU firms
French National Assembly approves ‘strict’ migration law, cheering the Right
The majority in the French Parliament voted in favour of a tougher migration law in what is being seen as a political win for the Right.
Hundreds of Berlin districts must rerun 2021 national elections, court rules
Germany’s Constitutional Court has ruled 455 districts in Berlin have to hold votes again following chaotic national elections three years ago in the German capital.
Armenia cold-shoulders Russia and post-Soviet security umbrella
Armenia has snubbed a Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CTSO) assembly meeting, in a further sign that the country is moving away from Russia's security umbrella.
It’s the polls that swung it: EU leaders watered down the Green Deal in fear of Europe’s populist tide
Abraham Lincoln’s saying that you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but never all of the people all of the time…
Sweden to make aid conditional, ‘not a human right’
Sweden’s minority Government, supported by the Sweden Democrats (SD), is coupling their foreign aid programmes to the willingness of countries to readmit their…
Caught Red-handed? Media probe accuses former Belgian MP of spying for China
Frank Creyelman, a politician of the Belgian right-wing Vlaams Belang party, has allegedly been used as a Chinese intelligence asset, according to an investigation…
The murky history of Civic Platform’s Russia policy: Donald Tusk and Radosław Sikorski appeased the Kremlin when they were last in office
Donald Tusk was reinstalled as Poland's Prime Minister this Wednesday. The leader of Civic Platform may be the darling of the European establishment for now.
Bulgaria dismantles monumental reminder of Soviet Army
Bulgaria has started taking down a 45-metre monument to the Soviet Union's army that had dominated the skyline of Sofia for almost 70 years.
EPP chairman Weber slams Spanish Government
Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People's Party (EPP), has made it clear he thinks the Spanish Government is failing in its European duties.
‘Brussels rules Ireland and that’s OK,’ says Irish MEP
An Irish MEP has claimed it is “not a problem” that Brussels is responsible for the vast majority of legislation passed in the country.
Dutch Government heightens terror alert level for Paris
The Dutch State Department has lifted its travel advisory code for Paris from green to yellow due to increased potential terror threats.
Xi warns top EU chiefs not to regard China as a ‘rival’
The European Union has received what seems to be a warning from Chinese President Xi Jinping for the bloc not to view his country as a “rival”.
‘Traitorous’ Ukrainian opposition MP ‘assassinated’ in Russia
Sources within the Ukrainian Government have claimed responsibility for the assassination of Illia Kyva, a prominent pro-Russian member of the country's political…
Spanish PM Sánchez wobbles as hard-left party quits governing coalition
Less than a month after his re-election as Spain’s leader, Sánchez must deal with the decision of the five MPs who make up Podemos to quit the Sumar group in…
![Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko appears to have turned on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, telling a Western media outlet that the Ukrainian president will be forced to "pay for [his] failures" both before and during the war. (Photo by Dmytro Larin /Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)](https://brusselssignal.eu/content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1813372142-300x200.jpg)
President Zelenskyy will ‘pay for failures’ over Russia war, says Mayor of Kyiv
The Mayor of the Ukraine capital Kyiv Vitali Klitschko appears to have publicly turned on the country’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Spanish Vox leader Abascal visits Israel amid Spain-Israel spat
Spanish leader of the Conservative Vox party Santiago Abascal has visited Israel amid the “diplomatic crisis” between Spain and Israel.
All buttocks great and small: France’s Greens shake up election campaign with ‘booty therapy’
France’s The Greens party has kicked off its campaign for the European elections next year in an unconventional way – through “booty therapy”.
‘Brawling’ breaks out in French Parliament during immigration debate
A "physical altercation" erupted in the French Parliament between members of the far-left and other parties during a debate on France's new immigration law.
France’s left-wing NUPES coalition ‘dead’, leader claims
France’s New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES), a left-wing electoral alliance aimed in part at combating the rising far-right, is “dead”, one of…
Brussels won’t support Spain in diplomatic spat with Israel
The European Commission has said it is unwilling to support Madrid in a row with Israel over its war with the Hamas terrorist group.
Something to hide? Macron allies prevent publication of damning Africa ‘failure’ report
French President Emmanuel Macron's party is preventing a scathing parliamentary report into France's North Africa policy from being published
Dubliners fear police cannot defend them from criminals, Irish councillor says
Communities in Dublin have little confidence that Ireland's police can protect them from criminals, a councillor in the country has claimed.
Has Sunak lost his marbles? It takes major league ineptness to turn a ritualistic Greek demand for the return of the Parthenon Friezes into a diplomatic incident
British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is so floundering, so out of his depth and at the end of his time that the basics of diplomacy are impossible for him to grasp.
Ireland desperately needs a properly Irish Conservative party: Here’s how we might get it
You could look at a line-up – think of a police line-up – of everyone involved in last week’s riot in Dublin.
China tries ‘divide-and-conquer’ approach to EU with visa move ahead of Beijing-Brussels summit
In a surprise move, China has waived visas for citizens of the European Union's five largest economies, which analysts say is designed to split bloc members ahead…
Kallas’ ‘days are numbered’ as Estonia falls out of love with former star
One third of her Reform party abstained from re-electing her as its leader in a November 18 vote