Scottish leader in firing line over Brussels special envoy plan
Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, is under fire over a plan to send a permanent envoy to the de facto capital of Europe as part of his plot to rejoin the…
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Politics
Latest reporting and analysis on politics.
EC claims 8 per cent staff pay rise is in reality less than 2 per cent
The European Commission was accused on June 26 of downplaying what seem to be recent wage rises of 8.3 per cent for European Union officials.
With eyes on Russia, Germany ready to station troops permanently in Lithuania
BERLIN, June 26 (Reuters) - Berlin is ready to station a 4,000-strong army brigade in Lithuania permanently in coordination with NATO defence planning following…
Poland fears Russian mercenary Prigozhin may now destabilise Belarus
Poland hopes the chaos that engulfed Russia when mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his band of fighters threatened Moscow on June 23 will help Ukraine in the…
Marie Arena ducks out of ‘lobbying’ talk in European Parliament
Arena was supposed to be part of a panel discussion on lobbying but ducked out after she came under scrutiny for having previously lobbied on behalf of her son's…
Greek Conservatives win big in parliamentary elections
The centre-right Greek New Democracy party won a landslide victory in Greece’s national elections, cementing the country’s leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ position…
Qatargate: MEP Arena and ex-chief investigator ‘were good friends’
Embattled Belgian Socialist MEP, Marie Arena, and Michel Claise, the former lead investigator in the Qatargate scandal, have known each other for at least five years,…
EU flag stunt ban leaves London mayor squirming
London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been left with egg on his face after his "great idea" to fly the European Union flag from City Hall in the UK capital on June 23, the…
Belgian Government in meltdown
A storm of such magnitude is brewing in Belgian politics that the very foundations of the country’s governmental systems could be under threat – with ministers…
Too much English in Dutch universities, says minister
The Dutch Minister of Education, Robbert Dijkgraaf, wants to curb the use of the English language and others in the country's higher education system amid a substantial…
EU budget fails to take account of Ukrainian refugee crisis, says Poland
Tensions have been ramped up between Poland and the European Commission over the EC’s revision of the European Union budget for 2021-2027.
EU fails to broker Kosovo-Serbia agreement
The European Union has failed to smooth tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, being unable to mediate an agreement to 'normalise' relations' between the two as they…
Emmanuel Macron is on the hunt for his elusive Nobel Peace Prize — that explains his appetite for launching new grandiose, global schemes
They’ve been at it for months.
Qatargate: MEP Arena lobbied for son’s cannabis business
More tricky Qatargate questions are haunting Belgian socialist MEP, Marie Arena.
Macron calls for ‘public funding surge’ at Paris climate summit
French President, Emmanuel Macron, took a decidedly green turn at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in Paris on June 22, stating no country should have…
For the EC, beauty is in the eye of the big-spender
The European Commission is obviously concerned about how members look, having spent more than €2.
EC and EU stumped by Ukrainian POW dilemma in Hungary
The European Commission was caught between a rock and a hard place on June 21 over how to respond to growing controversy regarding the presence of a number of Ukrainian…
Not so much Zeitenwende as progressive puffery: Germany’s first national security strategy is long on modish clichés and short on military thinking
Not since Willy Brandt’s 1970s Ostpolitik has a German geopolitical term made such waves as Olaf Scholz’s Zeitenwende.
Belgian government struggling with fallout from Tehran mayoral visit
Belgian politics is still reeling over the controversial recent visit to Brussels of the hard-line Iranian Islamist Mayor of Tehran, Alireza Zakani.
Twitter boss Musk folds on free speech in India, claiming he has ‘no choice’
US billionaire and Twitter owner, Elon Musk, seems less of a free-speech advocate than he would like the world’s public to think.
Candidate countries hopeful as Council discusses EU enlargement
Things look promising for three new hopefuls aiming to join the European Union as the heads of Member States gather at an EU Council meeting in Sweden to discuss…
France and Italy kiss and make up after heated migrant dispute
French President, Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, have buried the hatchet at a meeting in the French presidential palace on June 20…
Qatargate scandal takes murky turn as photo of Arena and Panzeri emerges
The Qatargate scandal engulfing Europe took a murky turn on June 20 after the emergence of a photo showing what appeared to be an intimate embrace between the investigators'…
Europe is falling behind. Other than regulation, is it still a world leader at anything?
Who remembers the EU’s Lisbon strategy of 2000? Probably not many, so let’s revisit its ambitious goals.
Alternative für Deutschland internal document calls for ‘orderly dissolution of the EU’
The German nationalist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) opposition party looks set to call for the dissolution of the European Union, according to an internal…
Member States approve watered-down Nature Restoration law by slim majority
In an extremely tight vote, EU Member States have agreed on a ‘general approach’ to the new Nature Restoration Law, despite strong opposition.
EU Parliament accuses Morocco of espionage
The European Parliament has agreed a resolution to investigate Morocco for its alleged use of the digital spyware Pegasus.
Scientific theory that right-wingers are prettier given the European Parliament test
Can we really judge people by their looks? Science suggests we may just be able to, at least when it comes to politics.
Poland smells a rat in EC proposal for Migration Pact opt-outs
The Polish government is suspicious about suggestions in Brussels regarding amendments to the European Union’s proposed Migration Pact.
Qatargate lead investigator forced to step aside
Michael Claise, the investigating judge leading the Qatargate inquiry, has had to disqualify himself due to a possible conflict of interest.