Author: staff

Schaffe, schaffe, Rentenreform: Merz und sein neuer Arbeitsminister – POLITICO Skip to main content

Hungarian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to remove anti-LGBTQ++ provisions in a 2021 “child protection” law adopted under nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orbán. Parliament passed a bill to amend the law with 139 votes in favour and 51 votes against, marking the first significant reversal of Orbán’s curbs targeting the LGBTQ++ community since pro-EU Prime Minister Péter Magyar took power in May. Instead of banning the “portrayal” or “promotion” of sexual and gender diversity in content accessible to children, the new law will simply seek to protect under-18s from material that can “seriously impair the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development.”…

European gas prices hit their highest level in nearly four years on Tuesday, adding to concerns over winter energy costs as storage levels remain low. Dutch TTF benchmark gas futures reached €87.20 per megawatt-hour, up from about €32 on the eve of the Iran war. The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas. While petrol and diesel prices have already hit records across the EU, household gas and electricity prices have risen more slowly. In the EU, average consumer diesel prices rose…

The Commission is grappling with two goals that may be counterproductive: cutting migration and slashing development aid. The EU executive’s argument is that a slash in development funding will likely result in people showing up at European borders in search of a better life. And that’s a problem for the bloc, since it’s looking to decrease migration numbers. On the show, hosts Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart explain how the dilemma will be unpacked at the upcoming European Council this week. Next, a shooting near the European Parliament in Brussels has EU officials — and everyone else, for that matter…

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined high school pupils campaigning for better learning conditions in France on Tuesday ahead of fresh nationwide demonstrations, with authorities and participants wary of further violence. The 23-year-old, who became famous as a teen for school strikes to demand action on climate change, stood among pupils demonstrating outside a school at the heart of the movement in the capital’s largest suburb of Saint-Denis. Thunberg arrived at the Paul Éluard high school, as lawyers in their robes formed a human chain to protect teens after numerous allegations of police brutality. “Young people are not being included in…

Europe needs to find a new way of working. In an increasingly fragmented and unpredictable world, the policy choices it makes in the years ahead will determine how well Europe competes, prospers, and protects its citizens’ interests. Leaders face difficult questions. How can Europe finance its ambitions? Can it build globally competitive industries while preserving its social and economic model? How can it secure the technologies, energy, and defense capabilities needed to remain resilient in a more uncertain world? And what tradeoffs will Europeans be willing to accept in pursuit of greater strategic autonomy?  Stay with us to follow the action from POLITICO’s European Resilience Summit…

Published on 14/10/2026 – 4:47 GMT+2 A Russian ballistic missile hit a power plant in Kyiv on Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, without Ukraine receiving advance warning from its Western allies and despite US President Donald Trump’s claim for an “energy ceasefire” in effect. Ukraine depends heavily on Western intelligence, especially from the US, to detect incoming Russian attacks and identify its own targets. Kyiv, home to about three million people, has faced intensifying attacks from Russian drones and missiles, with energy infrastructure a key target. “A Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. Once again, no early warning from…

In the next EU budget, it might not be possible to even estimate such a number, Murphy warned, as each country’s auditors have different roles and ways of doing things. His head of cabinet, Wolfgang Stolz, added during the interview: “Year after year we have found that the work of these auditing authorities is not fully reliable.” In a statement, the Commission defended its proposal, underlining that “key principles” of the current control system will remain in place. National authorities are “well-functioning,” the statement contended, but added that the Commission would maintain the right to ask capitals to “amend the…

Published on 13/10/2026 – 12:49 GMT+2•Updated 12:56 Sweden’s Social Democratic party leader Magdalena Andersson said Tuesday she had failed to form a government with the three other parties in the left-wing bloc following last month’s election. “My overall assessment is that progress has been made, but at the same time, the conditions are currently not in place to form a government that can be tolerated by the parliament,” Andersson told a press conference. She spoke after reporting back to parliament speaker Andreas Norlen, who had tasked her with gauging conditions to form a government after the September 13 elections. Shortly…

The European Commission disputed Russia’s claim on Tuesday that the EU spent $320.7 billion (€286 billion) on energy from Moscow since 2022, citing a significantly lower figure, according to a Commission spokesperson. Contrary to Moscow’s claims, Russia supplied the EU with €197 billion ($209 billion) worth of energy between March 2022 and July 2026, the Commission spokesperson said, citing COMEXT data, the official reference database managed by Eurostat. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said late Monday that the EU had purchased €302 billion ($320.7 billion) worth of Russian energy resources since 2022, highlighting the bloc’s continued reliance on Moscow…