Economic stagnation ‘the best Germany can hope for’
Germany is about to downgrade its economic forecast for 2024, with authorities now hoping to register zero growth this year, according to a report from the international…
Politics
Latest reporting and analysis on politics.
How the Greens die: suffering economy and young dump the ‘party of youth’
After another catastrophic result in yet another eastern Bundesstaat, the German Green Party has lost its leaders.
All but one member state failed to meet EU renewable energy policy deadline
The European Commission opened infringement procedures on Sept 26 against all but one of its member states.
Pope’s visit to Belgium overshadowed by history of clerical abuse of children
The Pope's three-day visit to Belgium over the weekend was overshadowed by historical sexual abuse by members of the clergy.
Tusk rebuffed by Polish courts in double-whammy defeats
The attempts by Donald Tusk to remove from office all judicial officials of the former Conservative Law and Justice (PiS) Party has received a setback from Poland's…
No Saxony coalition without Covid amnesty, stance against US missiles, Wagenknecht warns
A coalition involving the left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Saxony would only be possible if the coalition agreement created a Covid amnesty…
Spanish MEP admits collecting €100,000 illegally for his electoral campaign
Spanish MEP Alvise Pérez admitted on September 26 he had not invoiced, nor paid VAT, for a €100,000 cash payment he received on May 27 from cryptocurrency entrepreneur…
FPÖ wins big in Austrian elections – but “kingmaker” Conservatives lean towards the left
The FPÖ scored a better-than-expected result in Austria's September 29 elections, winning the ballot with around 29 per cent of the vote, a 13 percentage-point…
Austrian far-right victory: fleeting anomaly or lasting transformation?
Austria, long governed by a de facto two-party system, experienced a seismic shift in its political landscape in the most recent elections.
Thuringia’s Interior Minister wants to ban AfD after parliamentary chaos
The interior minister of Germany's state of Thuringia has called for banning the Alternative for Germany (AfD), after a tumultuous opening session of the state parliament.
German court rules teacher’s dismissal legal over ‘loyalty’ to constitution
A German court has upheld the dismissal of a trainee teacher for failing to prove her "loyalty" to the country's constitution.
UK’s Starmer to meet Von Der Leyen next week to ‘reset ties’
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will visit Brussels next week for what is described as a significant meeting with European Commission President Ursula von…
Is Pieter Omtzigt’s Dutch centrist party over?
Pieter Omtzigt's meteoric rise to the top of Dutch national politics appears to have been followed by an equally impressive collapse.
Swedish Renew, S&D MEPs lobbying to make critic of Greek border control new EU ombudsman
Swedish MEPs from the Renew and Socialists and Democrats (S&D) groups are lobbying to make a prominent critic of enforcement activities at the Greek border the EU's…
Hungary’s chief prosecutor seeks to suspend legal immunity of Orban’s chief rival
Hungary's chief prosecutor has asked the president of the European Parliament to suspend the parliamentary immunity of Prime Minister Orbán's main political rival,…
EU’s €5 billion fund to stop irregular African migration has failed, said Court of Auditors
The EU's €5 billion fund to stop irregular migration from Africa has failed to achieve its goal, said the European Court of Auditors in a September 25 report.
Polls say Austria’s right-wing FPÖ will win election, pop that in your strudel and ponder
Yet another European Union member state drifts rightward.
Google lodges EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft
Google has launched an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against its cloud rival Microsoft over allegations it is stifling competition with its Azure…
EU court dismisses Puigdemont’s 2019 appeal over recognition as an MEP
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed on September 26 an appeal brought by Catalan nationalists Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín against the European Parliament…
Tusk blames beaver for Polish flood management problems
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for removing beavers from levees in the country, saying they damaged flood embankments.
Michel demands UN reform Security Council to be ‘more inclusive’
European Council president Charles Michel has demanded the United Nations reform its Security Council to make it "more inclusive".
All Irish parties must push for reunification, EPP’s Varadkar says
All parties in Ireland must promise to push actively for the reunification of the island, the country's former European People's Party-aligned Taoiseach (Prime Minister),…
The key to Ukraine is in Beijing
President Zelensky has a new “victory plan,” which he has brought with him on his visit to the United States this week.
‘Whiteness’ and ‘Europeanness’ a danger to EU, ECFR report claims
Overall, the ECFR warned that there was a public "drift" towards understanding "Europeanness" in ethnic terms, rather than in a "civic" way it viewed as more constructive.
French Socialists reject National Rally’s pension reform proposal, reviving ‘cordon sanitaire’
The French socialist party has announced that it would not vote for the National Rally's proposal to repeal Emmanuel Macron's contested retirement law in the name…
Brussels bookshop axes conservatives to protect ‘inclusive space’
A Brussels bookshop has reversed its decision to host a Conservative event, in the hope of preserving its status as an "inclusive space", organisers of the gathering…
Embarrassing gaffe for Belgian EC candidate Lahbib
Hadja Lahbib, Belgium's newest European Commissioner candidate, has certainly made an impression at her first General Affairs Council meeting of the Council of the…
Germany’s Green party leadership resigns after election wipe-outs
The leadership of the German Greens have announced their resignations after their party experienced multiple State election wipe-outs.
Hackers target Austrian political parties with cyber attacks as elections near
The websites of several Austrian political parties have been targeted by hackers as elections loom.
The UN admits it: global government is what it wants to meet all ‘challenges’
On September 23, the United Nations agreed a Pact for the Future, 56 actions meant to tackle everything from climate change to poverty.