Author: staff
Many Europeans who do not own their home are not optimistic about buying one. Across 23 countries, almost half say they will never be able to purchase a home or are not interested in doing so, according to the RE/MAX European Housing Trend Report 2025. The picture varies widely from country to country. Where is the share of people most pessimistic about buying a home highest, and why? The survey, conducted in August 2025 asked a simple question: “When, if ever, do you think you will be able to purchase a property?” Three in ten think they will never buy…
By Theo Farrant & AFP Published on 19/02/2026 – 7:00 GMT+1 Thousands of French supermarkets are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect shoplifting, analysing customer movements in real time to flag suspicious behaviour. The technology has reportedly cut losses for many supermarkets, but it also raises questions about privacy and transparency. The software works by analysing real-time footage from in-store cameras. When the algorithm detects suspicious gestures or behaviour, like putting an item into a bag or repeated touching of products without scanning, it sends a short video clip to store staff. “So we get an alert; it might be a simple…
The EU is taking a careful seat at Donald Trump’s first meeting of the Board of Peace — sending Mediterranean Commissioner Dubravka Šuica, but not signing up to the initiative. What does that say about Brussels’ strategy toward Washington? POLITICO has also obtained a letter from nine EU countries urging the European Commission to explore the possibility of an EU fund to support cross-border abortion access — a move that could reopen one of Europe’s most sensitive debates. Finally, the Commission wants to accelerate trade deals by giving their English versions a head start — allowing political approval to move…
Donald Trump setzt zum nächsten Bruch mit der Weltordnung an. Sein Friedensrat versteht sich als Gegenentwurf zu den Vereinten Nationen und kommt heute erstmals zusammen. Der Rat wird von Trump selbst geführt, Mitglieder sollen hohe Beiträge leisten. Gordon Repinski und Hans von der Burchard besprechen, wieso sich Deutschland und viele Länder der EU raushalten wollen und doch nicht richtig raushalten können. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview widerspricht die Grünen-Parteichefin Franziska Brantner klar der These, der Friedensrat sei eine neue UNO. Sie spricht von einem Projekt, das die Vereinten Nationen umgeht, warnt vor einem fragilen Frieden im Gazastreifen und einer katastrophalen Lage in der…
National unity Both Poroshenko and Zelenskyy stayed at the same hotel during the Munich Security Conference last week — but their paths didn’t cross. “I have only spoken with him three times the past seven years,” Poroshenko said. The last time was more than a year ago and “we discussed his so-called victory plan and I told him not to worry and that we would back it as he’s the commander-in-chief. Unfortunately, that was last time we spoke,” he said. Poroshenko and Zelenskyy harbor deep animosity toward each other and traded fierce barbs during the 2019 election campaign. Nevertheless, Zelenskyy…
Those who say yes believe Zemmour, who regularly praises Knafo’s talent when asked about her publicly, recognizes the dynamic and is perfectly happy to return to the world of the acerbic intelligentsia. An acquaintance who sees them on vacation in the south of France said it was telling to watch Zemmour ambling down the street, pushing their child in a stroller, while Knafo was three meters ahead with a phone glued to her ear. Those who believe the reverse say he would be humiliated, pointing to his 2006 essay “The First Sex” and noting that he has repeatedly belittled the…
“He’s being diplomatic, saying it’s a fantastic organization,” said the official, granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. “He very smartly divided the political from the organizational, saying, ‘Let’s leave politics out of this, let’s focus on the real world [and] stop wasting our resources on scenarios that are zero percent likely.” Europe shrugs A steady line of European energy ministers pushed back against Wright’s pressure on Wednesday, dismissing his calls to abandon the phase-out of fossil fuels and insisting they would continue building renewables. Austria’s energy secretary told POLITICO Europe would not be “blackmailed” by the U.S. on clean energy…
Merz’s remarks, which echoed what he said at the Munich Security Conference last weekend, came on Politischer Aschermittwoch (“Political Ash Wednesday”), a tradition at the end of Carnival, a February pre-Lenten celebration when party leaders traditionally deliver raucous speeches. Merz’s address, however, struck a more sober tone. While criticizing Beijing for “aggressively expanding military outposts in the South China Sea,” the German chancellor said he would speak to Chinese leaders about future cooperation with Europe and Germany during his planned trip to China. Amid a tariff war ignited last year by Trump’s second presidency, Germany and its hard-pressed auto companies…
The remains of the former Polska 2050 caucus — also numbering 15 MPs — side with Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the minister for EU funds and regional policy. Following her win on Jan. 31, the party leadership voted to freeze personnel changes to de-escalate tensions before a March convention. Their former colleagues called the move an attempt to silence them. The turmoil also split Polska 2050’s representation in the Senate and in the European Parliament after MEP Michał Kobosko left the party Monday. Polska 2050 has been in deep crisis since Hołownia’s disastrous 2025 presidential campaign, in which he won less than 5 percent…
Joachim Nagel: The current Bundesbank president is a more emollient figure, but has clashed more than once with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, most recently on the thorny issue of allowing the EU to issue more joint debt. A member of the Social Democratic Party, Merz’s junior partner in Berlin, Nagel may also be more useful to Merz in keeping the SPD onside in the debate over domestic policy than he would be across town at ECB headquarters. Jörg Kukies: Having been finance minister under Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Kukies has all the political connections he might need to secure the job. Although…