One of the most politically sensitive topics in Brussels, the €1.2 trillion budget governs spending on anything from support to Ukraine to film subsidies. Hawkish Eastern European and Nordic countries including Poland and Sweden are keen to boost EU spending on defense, while Southern ones such as Italy and Greece would like more cash to … Read more
At the other end of Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Ukrainians chalked up some successes in 2024, becoming a dominant force in the Black Sea despite the country’s tiny navy, and mounting a counteroffensive into Russia’s Kursk region in August. But they are ending this year on the back foot, having lost many of … Read more
As the dust settles on another wild one, let POLITICO help you reminisce by rattling through, in no particular order, the 37 words on every extremely-online political type’s lips this year. TWO-TIER JUSTICE: A big talking point of comeback kid Nigel Farage and his fans. They argued that the British justice system treated white and … Read more
Polls currently show the Germany’s conservative alliance, led by chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz, to be far ahead in the race, with 31 percent support. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is second at 19 percent, and Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is third at 17 percent. Merz has drawn his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) … Read more
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, wants NATO allies to boost their defense spending to more than double the current target of 2 percent of gross domestic product, the Financial Times and the Telegraph reported Friday. According to the reports, Trump’s team has told European officials that the incoming American president expects members of the military … Read more
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the authorities can “say with certainty that the perpetrator was obviously Islamophobic.” At least five people were killed, including a child, according to the premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff. | Omer Messinger/Getty Images The chief prosecutor said the suspect is in police custody and has made a statement about the … Read more
In September, the prosecutor asked for a six-year prison term for Salvini as well as compensation of more than €1 million for damages if the court had found him guilty. The appeals process following the verdict could still take years. Salvini repeatedly defended himself, saying he “simply protected the country’s borders,” by preventing the migrants … Read more
Wie geplant ist die Vertrauensfrage für Olaf Scholz verloren gegangen, jetzt steht der Neuwahl nichts mehr im Weg und damit auch nicht dem Wahlkampf. Mit der Union stellt heute die Partei ihr Wahlprogramm vor, die die besten Aussichten hat, den nächsten Kanzler zu stellen. Wie gut aber wird das Duo Merz und Söder wirklich funktionieren? … Read more
The 19-page document originates with the Hungarian government, which is currently chairing meetings of the EU’s national governments. The demands in the document, which the Financial Times reported on earlier this week, are more of a wish list toward the Commission before the EU national governments give Brussels a mandate to actually start formal talks with London. … Read more
The 27-year-old has made it clear in recent weeks that a strategy like Trump’s, fusing a campaign focused on a no-holds-barred approach to immigration with bold rhetoric, could find a receptive audience in France given the Republican candidate’s success siphoning Black, Latino and female voters from the Democratic party. “The Muslim vote, in particular, offers … Read more
