Ukraine needs more than long-range missiles and fibre-optic drones in its fight with Russia. What it needs is more money, and lots of it. In particular, the war-torn nation should be handed the €300bn (£250bn) of frozen Russian assets stored mostly in accounts hosted by the Euroclear trading system. The Belgian government could confiscate the … Read more
A French court has ordered electoral officials to restore a British woman’s pre-Brexit right to vote in European elections, triggering calls for a renewed push for a bilateral treaty on electoral enfranchisement in each other’s countries. Alice Bouilliez, a former British civil servant who has lived in France for 38 years, said she was “extremely … Read more
Andrew Bailey has urged the UK government to deepen ties with the EU, as he warned a breakdown in global trade would make it harder for the Bank of England to control inflation. In a speech in Dublin on Thursday, the Bank’s governor said a stronger relationship between London and Brussels could “minimise negative effects” … Read more
Within days of Russia launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Olaf Scholz announced a Zeitenwende, or historical “turning point”. The then German chancellor promised a security transformation by increasing defence spending, sending more aid to Ukraine, taking a tougher approach to authoritarian states and rapidly reducing Germany’s dependence on Russian energy. It was … Read more
Record-breaking heat has been sweeping southern and central Spain, Portugal and southern parts of France this week, with some areas soaring to the mid- to high 30s celsius. On Wednesday, Amareleja in Portugal climbed to 39.5C (103.1F) – the joint-highest May temperature recorded. El Granado in Spain, hit 39.1C, while Canet-en-Roussillon in France peaked at … Read more
European consciences have started waking up to the Israeli government’s crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories – and it is about time. What has caused this long and slow awakening? Is it Israel’s killing of more than 54,000 Palestinians since Hamas’s horrific attack on 7 October 2023? Thousands of babies at risk of dying from … Read more
Poland’s presidential election runoff could have far-reaching implications for its place in Europe – either cementing the country’s hard-won seat at the EU’s top table, or heralding a return to altogether trickier times. The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, faces off against the historian Karol Nawrocki on Sunday in a neck-and-neck race, pitting a liberal … Read more
As a former football pundit, columnist, seminarian and novelist, André Ventura is not a man given to understatement. But as the final results of Portugal’s snap general election confirmed that his far-right Chega party had leapfrogged the socialists to become the second biggest party in parliament, his words may have been spot on. “Nothing will … Read more
Kamila Gunišová Michal Zálešák It may come as a surprise to many, but racial segregation in schools exists today in several countries in the EU. In Slovakia, more than 60% of Roma children attend schools where they are in the majority. Worse still: segregation is being rebranded, not removed. In nearly a quarter of all … Read more
According to article 2 of the treaty of the European Union, the EU is founded on respect for human dignity in societies where “pluralism, non-discrimination [and] tolerance prevail”. Try telling that to the organisers of next month’s Budapest Pride march. Following new laws introduced by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government, Hungary has become the first EU country … Read more