Politico News – Page 33

French far right struggles to deliver its decisive breakthrough – POLITICO

March 17, 2026admin

Sun belt in focus Marseille, France’s second-biggest city, perfectly illustrates both the National Rally’s advances and its dilemma. National Rally candidate Franck Allisio (35 percent) almost tied with incumbent left-wing Mayor Benoît Payan (36.7 percent) in the first round. That’s more than 15 percentage points higher than the National Rally’s previous score in the 2020 local election. Still, Allisio now faces […]

Trump says he expects to ‘take’ Cuba

March 17, 2026admin

President Donald Trump says Cuba is on the brink of collapse and the U.S. may be “taking” the island nation. Trump, speaking to reporters Monday at the White House, issued what seemed like a cryptic warning to the communist leadership of Cuba as the country was gripped by an island-wide power outage amid a deepening […]

European leaders warn Israel against ground offensive in Lebanon – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

“The European Union’s indifference and acquiescence in the face of U.S. and Israeli aggression, brutalities and atrocities amounts to nothing less than complicity,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said. Mar 12 2 mins read

Right-wing candidates unite to try to break Socialists’ 25-year grip on Paris – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

“We have decided to merge our lists because a majority of Parisians want change,” Bournazel said in an interview with French public television Monday. Bournazel also announced that he was withdrawing from Parisian politics, and would not be included on the alliance list or sit on the next city council. Grégoire’s position is complicated by […]

Europe rejects Trump’s demand to help clean up Hormuz mess – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

“I hope that we will treat one another with the necessary respect within the alliance,” Merz added, in an apparent rebuke to Trump’s grousing. Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel went even further, stressing his country would not give in to “blackmail” from Washington. “Don’t ask us” to send troops, Bettel told reporters in Brussels. […]

EU considers relaxing state aid and capping gas price to bring down energy bills – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

One option proposed in Monday’s letter is to relax state aid rules to permit national capitals to redistribute profits generated by gas-fired plants to support consumers and businesses facing rising bills, the letter says. Another potential change would allow countries to cap the price of gas. Von der Leyen said both of these policies had […]

India aims to ‘dramatically’ deepen ties with EU amid Iran war, global turmoil – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

While U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing EU countries to help clear the Strait of Hormuz, India has avoided taking any sides. Jaishankar maintains regular contact with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, including a phone call late last week. Another conversation is expected to take place in coming days. Asked what sort of message he […]

Hungary presses EU to scrap tariffs on Russian and Belarusian fertilizers – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

Budapest says farmers need cheaper fertilizer as prices rise, challenging an EU policy meant to curb funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Listen AI generated Text-to-speech

UK to raise steel tariffs to 50 percent in new sector strategy this week – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

British officials have told both U.K. steel producers and downstream importers, who use steel in everything from construction to automotive manufacturing, to expect a 50 percent duty outside of new quotas in a move “likely to be similar to the EU,” said a second industry figure. Both industry figures were granted anonymity as they were […]

EU sanctions Iran group that hacked Charlie Hebdo – POLITICO

March 16, 2026admin

Capitals also sanctioned Chinese company Integrity Technology Group and Chinese firm Anxun Information Technology, also known as i-Soon, and its co-founders Chen Cheng and Wu Haibo, who are banned from entering the EU, the EU sanctions listing showed. According to the details of the sanctions, Anxun Information Technology targeted “critical infrastructure and critical state functions” […]