Germany sent abroad more than €500m in child benefits in 2025
The German state has paid out a record sum in child benefits to recipients abroad in 2025, latest numbers by the Federal Employment Agency (BfA) show.
Politics
Latest reporting and analysis on politics.
Italy summons Israeli ambassador after officers threatened at gunpoint in West Bank
Italy has summoned Israel's ambassador to Rome in a sharp diplomatic protest following an incident in which two Italian military policemen were threatened at gunpoint.
Hungary PM Orbán accuses Ukraine of election interference, summons ambassador
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere in his country's upcoming parliamentary elections and has summoned Kyiv's ambassador.
Austria’s Neos party wants to strip former minister of citizenship
Austria’s liberal Neos party is demanding the revocation of the Austrian citizenship of Karin Kneissl, the country’s foreign minister from 2017 to 2019.
Europe forgets real genocide and cuts loose from all historical knowledge
“Performative” surely is the political cliché of our times. Yet nonetheless it is the only word that describes the vapid behaviour of so many western societies.
EC opens formal investigation into Musk’s Grok after sexualised pics go viral
The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into X under the Digital Services Act (DSA), focusing on the platform's recommender systems and the integration…
‘Not a single euro more’: Austria’s FPÖ demands halt to Ukraine aid
The right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) is calling for an immediate end to all aid from Austria to Ukraine, complaining that the country had “long since turned…
Business wing of German CDU demands end to EU’s net zero commitments
An influential pro-business group within Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is pushing for an overhaul of the country's climate policy, which…
Bureaucracy costs German companies €62 billion a year
German companies are paying around €62 billion a year to cover the cost of bureaucracy and administrative demands, both from Berlin and Brussels.
Meloni condemns Trump over comments on NATO troops in Afghanistan
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has sharply criticised US President Donald Trump following remarks suggesting NATO allies “fell behind” or stayed “a…
Senior German AfD politician demands reparations from Poland for Nord Stream destruction
One of the founders of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called on Poland to pay his country €1.
Deceased Swedish diplomat suspected of sending ‘dickpic’ to Russia
A now-dead senior diplomat at Sweden's Ministry for Foreign Affairs is suspected of having emailed explicit nude photographs of the country's then-newly appointed…
Kremlin rules out talks with ‘semi-literate, incompetent’ EU bureaucrats
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has categorically ruled out any negotiations with Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas or the European Union's broader…
Polish finance minister says Poland ‘will not adopt euro’
Poland's finance minister said the country's economic boom that has seen Warsaw perform better than most Eurozone economies means there is no good reason for it…
Polish opposition leader calls on PM Tusk to fund spot on Trump’s Board of Peace
The leader of the Polish opposition has called on the centre-left government to provide the $1 billion (€840 million) required for Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki…
Former Austrian minister slams home country in Russian podcast
Karin Kneissl, Austria’s foreign minister from 2017 to 2019, has used an appearance on a Russian podcast to settle scores with her former home country.
Greenland attack talk turned Europeans against Trump, poll finds
US President Donald Trump's Greenland threats have turned Europeans against his country, according to one poll.
Future Dutch PM Jetten’s ‘clingy behaviour’ with partner spurs criticism
The Netherlands’ future prime minister Rob Jetten and his Argentine fiancé, Nicolás Keenan, have come under scrutiny after what critics say is the pair's overtly…
Italian minister says Zelensky acts ‘ungenerous’ towards Europe
Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani has described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos as "ungenerous".
French Socialist Party saves French Government
The French Government has once again survived a no-confidence vote, spared by the Socialist Party’s decision not to bring it down.
Trump in Davos: Inflammatory rhetoric, strategic policy signals
When President Donald Trump took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 20th, he delivered a speech that was characteristically bombastic, tangential,…
Dutch PVV party crashes in polls after MPs break away
The Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) has seen a sharp drop in the polls following internal turmoil, including the recent split where seven MPs broke away from leader…
Zelensky’s former top aide charged on multi-million euro ‘green’ embezzlement allegations
Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities have charged a former senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky with embezzlement and money laundering in a scheme tied to…
Russia jails schoolgirl for four years for posters of pro-Kyiv fighters
A Russian court Thursday upheld a four-year prison term for a 17-year-old girl who hung posters of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters in her school, Russian independent…
EC chief von der Leyen survives another motion of censure amid draconian warnings to would-be rebels
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has survived her fourth motion of censure.
Merz says EU crippled itself with over-regulation, proposes ’emergency brake’
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said the European Union has hobbled its own competitiveness through excessive regulation and bureaucracy.
Italy holds back on Trump’s Gaza peace plan
Italy will not join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza, at least for the time being.
Poland to end preferential treatment of Ukrainian refugees
The Polish Government has prepared legislation to end special support for Ukrainian refugees put in place in 2022 following the onset of war with Russia.
European Parliament votes against flight delay compensation reform
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to preserve the existing three-hour threshold for flight delay compensation.
Germany can no longer afford purity: Berlin reroutes to Russia
When Friedrich Merz speaks twice of reconciliation with Russia shortly after a strategically important visit to India, it is not a slip of the tongue. It is a signal.