Category: Politico News

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe. Last week, Britain was the center of global attention as it pulled off a breathtaking royal funeral, replete with the military pomp of yesteryear. “Queen’s farewell makes Britain proud again, just for one day,” was the headline over a column by the Guardian’s John Crace. “Thoughts that […]

Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek had to apologize for homophobic statements he made in 2020, saying in remarks released Wednesday that LGBTQ+ people were “not equal to normal people.” However, although he formally apologized in a statement on social media, the Polish minister said he stood by his words. “I, the undersigned Przemysław Czarnek, Minister […]

PARIS — The French government said Wednesday it is re-assessing its opposition to completing the so-called “MidCat” pipeline from the Iberian Peninsula to Northern Europe. France has repeatedly ruled out the €3 billion gas pipeline project, but faces renewed pressure from Portugal, Spain and Germany, who argue the project can help solve the Continent’s energy supply problems. In the […]

Soaring electricity costs are leaving Slovakia’s economy at risk of “collapse,” Prime Minister Eduard Heger told the Financial Times. In an interview published Wednesday, the Slovakian leader said the huge increase in prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would “kill our economy” unless Bratislava receives billions of euros of support from Brussels. Heger added that […]

When the clock strikes 12 this December, Natal will be less feliz in Portugal. Portuguese government guidelines published late Tuesday recommend that Christmas lighting be limited to 6 p.m. to midnight, from December 6 until January 6 next year. The plan pushes for less gloomy saving measures such as greater use of natural light and switching […]

KYIV — There will be no peace talks between Ukraine and Russia as long as Vladimir Putin remains Russian leader, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday night. “This is clear and obvious,” Zelenskyy added in his nightly address to the nation, after sham referendums were held in Ukrainian regions in a bid by Putin to […]

The International Monetary Fund urged U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss to “re-evaluate” her tax-cutting plan, saying it will “likely increase inequality” in a harsh statement released Tuesday evening. The IMF is “closely monitoring” the situation in the U.K. after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the mini-budget last Friday, which sparked the pound crashing to an all-time […]

The Bank of England will buy up U.K. government bonds to try to halt a dramatic sell-off as it warned of a “material risk to UK financial stability” in the wake of the government’s mini-budget. The central bank said that it would today start buying long-dated government bonds at “whatever scale is necessary” in a […]

Europe’s energy crisis appears to be entering a dangerous new phase. Should suspicions be confirmed — or simply grow — that Russia was behind explosions that caused three leaks on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea on Monday, the security implications for the Continent would be far-reaching. The idea that the […]

British public health experts are warning that flu could be a serious health threat this winter, with population immunity at an all-time low and people weary of getting vaccinated after the pandemic. Experts are forecasting that the flu strain seen in Australia this past winter, known as H3N2, is likely to also spread across the […]