Will Spain’s prime minister resign? – POLITICO

Sánchez has spent the past five days secluded, meditating on his future. Supporters and opponents alike now await a decision that has the potential to radically alter Spain’s political landscape and significantly impact the distribution of the EU’s top jobs after June’s European Parliament election. ¡Quédate, Pedro! Sánchez’s announcement last Wednesday was motivated by news that … Read more

Lady Gaga gives EU a migraine (medication) – POLITICO

Meta, Instagram’s parent company, “has to delete the illegal ad immediately and take measures to prevent such breaches,” Alexandra Geese, the Greens’ point person on platforms, told Playbook when shown the ad. “The platforms will only abide by our rules if we show our political will to enforce them.” Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager told … Read more

Macron rattled as EU election defeat looms – POLITICO

One MP belonging to Macron’s Renaissance party, said targeting the National Rally “helps rally” voters, but he was more in favor of a “50/50” approach that also focused on other issues. “We need to insist on our European credibility and send press the idea that we succeeded on many issues” such as the CAP, Frontex … Read more

Trump says Prince Harry could be deported from US over drug use – POLITICO

“Which might mean … not staying in America?” interviewer Nigel Farage asked, to which a seemingly coy Trump answered: “Oh I don’t know. You’ll have to tell me. You just have to tell me.” Prince Harry’s visa status has been at the center of a legal row since an American conservative think tank, the Heritage … Read more

Netanyahu denies Palestinians are starving – POLITICO

“I think the White House said on October 19 if that happens then the international community will have to stop the aid. It’s happened. In bundles. But nobody has asked to stop the aid, and we haven’t stopped it.” The U.N. says practically all of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants rely on aid to survive, and … Read more

Europe’s drug gangs open ‘torture rooms,’ arm kids with Kalashnikovs, EU agencies warn – POLITICO

Another growing concern is the age of the people working in illicit markets. Gangs in Marseille are increasingly hiring adolescents as police spotters or to sell drugs, leading to children killing one another with Kalashnikovs. Authorities in the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam have caught scores of adolescents who were paid to extract cocaine loads … Read more

A look ahead – POLITICO

Twenty years ago. 2004. The year the Olympics returned to their birthplace of Athens. I was also returning home to Italy to commence a new job in the biopharmaceutical sector, then and now a critical European industry.  It was also the year, in Brussels, that two directives — governing medicinal products for human use, and … Read more

Can anyone stop Britain’s Tories going full Trump? – POLITICO

Who’s left? With an election looming, none of the One Nation members’ preferred candidates have indicated they would stand in a future leadership contest, and there remains a lack of certainty over who will even be an MP after polling day.  Constituency by constituency polling by YouGov earlier this year suggested both Mordaunt and Shapps … Read more

Police find hard drugs at top Belgian politician’s office – POLITICO

The Brussels Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Friday that narcotics were discovered in the minister’s office and said a member of her staff was arrested and charged with sale and possession of narcotics. Eight other suspects were charged with the sale and possession of narcotics in association — but two of them have been conditionally released. … Read more

Top 10 behind-the-paywall stories of 2023 – POLITICO

It’s been a busy year in EU policy land as lawmakers, leaders and officials raced to tie up loose ends before the European Parliament election next June, with some efforts more successful than others. The EU’s green ambitions became the center of a right-wing backlash as the real-life impact of proposed reforms started to bite. … Read more