Category: Politico News

With the bloc buffeted by multiple geopolitical crises, it’s starting to realize that it can’t come to grips with them if it only acts when all 27 member countries agree. From defense to energy to investment, the European Commission, which makes the rules, and national governments, which are supposed to implement them, are finding themselves […]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez lodged a protest with Rome over the decision, according to newspaper El Mundo. Joking he was meeting journalists outside the castle “in splendid isolation” while others breakfasted, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “we weren’t invited” and “I don’t get the necessity” of a private club convening separately. Belgian Prime Minister […]

The Belgian capital had been without a regional government since an election in June 2024, with parties unable to agree on forming a coalition, causing chaos for the city’s finances. Brussels is currently grappling with a staggering €15 billion debt, raising concerns about a looming financial crisis.  The parties involved in this week’s talks were the Francophone […]

Leaders played down differences as they gathered at the Alden Biesen estate, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saying her views on industrial strategy converged with those of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and brushing off suggestions the duo were trying to isolate French President Emmanuel Macron. “It is not something that we do against someone […]

That means a “NATO 3.0,” he said, where Europeans pay more for their own defense and slim NATO’s activities down to its core task of defending alliance territory. The term won immediate praise from some allies. NATO 3.0 is “a good way to explain his point, which we totally agree on,” Norwegian Defense Minister Tore […]

After spending most of his political career in relative anonymity, the 65-year-old Retailleau burst onto the scene two years ago after being named interior minister by former Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Retailleau’s political savvy and hard-line, unapologetic stance on hot-button issues such as immigration electrified supporters of his seemingly moribund political party, Les Républicains, and […]

SAFE provides low-interest, long-term loans with a 10-year grace period for principal repayments, raised by Brussels on capital markets and offering significant savings compared to national borrowing. Those terms are crucial for Poland, which plans to devote 4.8 percent of its GDP to defense this year, one of the highest levels in NATO. The country’s public […]

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The investigation concerns “the sale of 23 Commission buildings to the Belgian state in 2024,” a Commission spokesperson told POLITICO. The property sale “followed established procedures and protocols,” the spokesperson said, expressing confidence that the transaction was conducted in compliance with applicable rules. “The European Commission is committed to transparency and accountability and will cooperate […]

Mit über 108 Milliarden Euro Wehretat erlebt Deutschland einen historischen Wendepunkt in der Verteidigungspolitik. Für Kanzler Friedrich Merz gehören Wirtschaftswende, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Rüstung zusammen. Aber kommt die „Zeitenwende“ auch in der Realwirtschaft an? Wo bremsen Bürokratie, europäische Konflikte und politische Kontrolle? In dieser Premierenfolge analysieren Joana Lehner und Jürgen Klöckner die drei größten Probleme für […]