Author: staff
Published on 21/05/2026 – 7:56 GMT+2•Updated 8:02 Also on today’s show hosted by Mared Gwyn: Euronews’ Sasha Vakulina reports on the political reactions to the drone incursion row. Interview with Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner responsible for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. Explainer by Jakub Janas: Why is German Chancellor Friedrich Merz increasingly disliked in Germany? Shona Murray reports on the gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden today, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected. We report on global reactions on a video from Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showing him taunting handcuffed activists from the Gaza-bound aid…
Egypt is pressing Europe to share more of the cost of hosting what Cairo says are millions of refugees and migrants, as the EU weighs its dependence on a country it sees as a crucial buffer against irregular migration across the Mediterranean. The two sides are not short of bargaining chips over each other: Europe needs Egypt to keep irregular migration in check while Egypt needs European money to manage a refugee crisis it says is costing more than €8.5 billion a year, experts say. “Egypt’s leverage has clearly increased with the EU because EU governments are under domestic pressure…
Countries and institutions track many indicators to measure economic growth, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth among the most closely watched. However, GDP growth does not reflect what people are actually taking home in real income, even when adjusted for inflation. Real household income per capita measures the change in earnings that households actually have available to spend or save, providing a more accurate reading of living standards. So, which European countries recorded the highest annual real household income per capita growth in 2025? Among 16 European countries, 14 saw increases in real household income per capita last year compared…
Marco Rubio reist morgen nach Helsingborg zum NATO-Außenministertreffen. Als Europas liebster Trumpist oder als geschickt positionierter Kandidat für 2028? Hans von der Burchard analysiert Rubios Balanceakt zwischen Europa-Diplomatie und Hardliner-Linie. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview die stellvertretende SPD-Fraktionsvorsitzende Siemtje Möller. Angesichts der US-Pläne, massive Truppenteile aus Deutschland abzuziehen, stellt sich die Frage: Wie wehrhaft ist die Bundeswehr eigentlich im Alleingang? Rasmus Buchsteiner ordnet ein, warum das Verhältnis zwischen dem Bund und den Ländern gerade so schlecht ist. Anlass ist die Konferenz der Chefs der Staatskanzleien, zu der Kanzler Friedrich Merz seinen Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei schickt, statt selbst zu kommen. Den neuen Instagram-Kanal des…
Published on 21/05/2026 – 7:06 GMT+2 An Australian judge fined X Corp., the company Elon Musk set up which holds social media platform X, 650,000 Australian dollars (€398,500) on Thursday for failing to provide information to an online safety watchdog in 2023 about how it tackled child sexual exploitation content. Federal Court Justice Michael Wheelahan also ordered the Texas-based social media giant to pay AU$100,000 €61,326) of e-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s court costs within 45 days. The ruling ends a three-year legal battle in which X had argued it was not obliged to answer e-Safety’s questions. X admitted it…
With drone alerts, emergency shelters and fighter jets over the Baltics, Europe’s security fears suddenly feel much less theoretical at the GLOBSEC forum in Prague. On the ground in Czechia for the Brussels Playbook Podcast, Zoya Sheftalovich and Nick Vinocur unpack the growing wave of drone incursions linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine. They also discuss why Baltic leaders are sounding the alarm and how the crisis in Latvia became serious enough to bring down the government. Then: Germany is growing impatient with the EU’s enlargement drift. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is pushing a new concept called “associate membership” that would…
Published on 21/05/2026 – 5:34 GMT+2 The German state is seeking a 40% stake in the tank and weapons maker KNDS, government sources familiar with the matter revealed to AFP on Wednesday. According to an “agreement reached regarding the state’s participation in KNDS”, this stake is to start at 40% and then be reduced to 30% within “two to three years”, a source said. KNDS is currently effectively controlled by the French state, as it is part-owned by French public holding company GIAT Industries, with Germany’s Wegmann family owning the other part. The company had been planning an initial public…
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A fourth person who has worked with Burnham said that might be a plus when it comes to winning the next general election against the insurgent Reform Party. “I know it’s a banal thing, but we’ve not had a northern prime minister for a really long time, unless you count Rishi Sunak,” this person said. (Sunak represented a leafy Yorkshire constituency but is from the south of England.) “It does matter, because every weekend conversation … will be migration, housing, cost of living, dirty high streets, antisocial behaviour. Great — we win on those, we win the country.” The first…
EU governments and the European Parliament struck a provisional deal on May 7th to amend the AI Act, the landmark legislation that entered into force in August 2024. The deal delays tough rules on high-risk AI systems covering biometrics, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and employment decisions by 16 months. Enforcement is now pushed to December 2027. Supporters call it pragmatic relief for businesses struggling to compete with the US and China. Critics say it hands a victory to Big Tech at the expense of workers and fundamental rights. But the deal also adds something: a total ban on nudification apps,…