Author: staff

EU foreign ministers will start discussing the issue early September in the Irish east coast city of Wicklow. The French discussion paper, described by officials and diplomats as a very early-stage document aimed at laying out scenarios, sets out options for reforming the EU’s foreign policy architecture. It argues that the bloc’s external policy tools “are not necessarily used in an optimal way” and calls for strengthening the role of the Council ― which represents the capitals ― in their governance. The two-page document, first reported by the Financial Times, outlines three possible models: giving greater powers to the Commission,…

Brussels, in response, stopped short of engaging directly with the criticism. “We do not usually comment on comments,” Paula Pinho, chief Commission spokesperson, told POLITICO on Monday. European External Action Service spokesperson Anouar El Anouni reiterated the bloc’s standard position, saying the EU “calls for respect for international law, and this at all times and under all circumstances,” while condemning “violations of human rights, killing of journalists, targeting of civilians, including civilian infrastructure” wherever they occur. But not everyone in Brussels was so cautious, with the criticism quickly finding support among some members of the European Parliament. “The Vatican is…

Contrairement à d’autres pays riches comme l’Allemagne et les Pays-Bas, la France n’est guère encline à réduire le budget de l’UE, qui accorde de généreuses subventions à son puissant secteur agricole. Le président français presse même l’exécutif européen de lever davantage de fonds via des taxes à l’échelle du continent, notamment sur les géants américains de la tech et les pollueurs étrangers, plutôt que de compter sur une hausse des contributions des Etats membres. Car, en tant que troisième pays le plus endetté de l’Union, la France n’a pas de marge de manœuvre pour augmenter considérablement la sienne. Les propositions…

Andy Burnham has used his first major policy speech as Labour leadership frontrunner to promise the biggest shake-up of political power in modern British history, pledging to hand sweeping new authority to local leaders and relocate part of the prime minister’s office to Manchester. Speaking at the People’s History Museum in the city where he spent nine years as mayor, Burnham laid out a 10-year plan to revive a UK economy he described as stuck in a rut since the 2008 financial crash. “Growth cannot be ordered from the top down. Indeed, it can only be nurtured from the bottom…

Some 360,000 of the over 900,000 people who applied by mid-June have already been granted provisional work and residence permits, according to officials. Sánchez has defended the measure as recognition for those who already contribute to Spain’s economy, but the legalization scheme has been challenged by the center-right People’s Party and far-right Vox group. Last month, the country’s Supreme Court rejected a request to provisionally suspend the decree. The mass legalization puts Madrid at odds with the migration policy currently favored in Brussels. Earlier this month, the EU finalized a sweeping overhaul of its migration system, paving the way for…

Updated: 29/06/2026 – 16:12 GMT+2 Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said governments should provide “temporary measures” such as cooling centres during heatwaves. High air conditioning use is “already jeopardising” the EU’s energy capacity, she said. … More

Doubling down on drones While the release of the much-delayed DIP meets a key demand from allies and the U.K.’s military-industrial complex, the implementation will rely on Andy Burnham, who is expected to take over as prime minister later this summer. Under the plan, the U.K. will get some of the way to meeting NATO’s new target of spending 3.5 percent of GDP on defense by 2035, but Britain’s spending is off the pace of other allies like Germany, France and Poland and it has yet to set out a clear funding pathway to hitting that target. The new investment…

Updated: 29/06/2026 – 19:48 GMT+2 Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus Climate Change service director, says heatwaves have become “more intense, lasting longer and starting earlier in the season” in Europe as the continent “is warming faster than the global average”. … More

Updated: 29/06/2026 – 16:44 GMT+2 Australian man Simon Carman has been charged with murdering 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla after her body was found inside a suitcase in Pattaya. Police say the investigation is ongoing, while the suspect denies abducting and killing the teenager. … More

The two sides issued a joint statement on the topic, the first of its kind since 2019, although Šefčovič briefed reporters alone after the bilateral. The talks were due to continue Monday evening before Wang travels to Britain on Tuesday. The platform will be divided into four main categories: trade and investment balancing, export controls, intellectual property rights, and World Trade Organization reform. A working group dedicated to the first topic will be launched immediately and will set up a joint mechanism to monitor trade flows. The idea, the commissioner said, is to share a set of data that both…