Author: staff
The EU created the European Innovation Council Fund in 2020 to take equity stakes in startups, with the Scaleup Europe Fund to follow before the summer, aiming to plug a funding gap that many European companies face. That €5 billion fund is expected to make much larger investments than the earlier one, from which investments were capped at €30 million. The Commission is still in the process of setting up the new program, with the selection of a fund manager still pending. Up until now, the U.K. has had no access to the funds, which are part of the EU’s…
The European Commission will gradually eliminate the use of Chinese-made inverters in EU-funded energy projects, a major step aimed at protecting critical energy infrastructure from possible cyber threats that could trigger power outages. The move follows warnings from analysts that Europe’s heavy reliance on Chinese-made solar inverters — produced by firms like Huawei and Sungrow — could pose risks to Europe’s power grid stability, especially as Europe relies more on renewable energy such as solar and wind. “We have identified serious economic and cybersecurity risks,” an EU official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters on Monday, noting that the…
The Election Commission of India released partial results, showing Bharatiya Janata Party ahead in at least 190 seats in the 294-member West Bengal state legislature. Final results are expected Monday evening. The outcome marks a significant breakthrough for Modi’s party, which had tried for years to dislodge the All India Trinamool Congress government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The BJP has never governed West Bengal, a politically influential state, where Banerjee — one of Modi’s most prominent critics — has held power since 2011. Opposition parties have sharply criticized the polls in West Bengal after the election commission removed…
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni confirmed she is likely to meet with Rubio, too. When reporters at the EU-Armenia summit in Yerevan asked her about whether she would sit down with the secretary of state during his Rome trip, she said: “I think so.” Her office did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. Rubio previously met Leo alongside Vice President JD Vance in May 2025 following the pope’s inaugural Mass in St. Peter’s Square. His last visit to Italy dates back to February, when he and Vance met Meloni on the sidelines of the Olympic Winter Games. The Vatican announced…
Tensions flared on Monday between Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and European Parliament boss Roberta Metsola at a high-level political summit held in Armenia. Addressing the European Political Community, which brings leaders from the EU, neighbouring countries with shared interests and candidate countries together, Aliyev accused the European Parliament of “spreading slander and lies” about Azerbaijan. Metsola, who chairs the EU parliament, rejected the claims in a sharp rebuttal, as she asked to take the floor in an impromptu intervention. “We will never change the way we work,” she told the chamber, “even if it is uncomfortable”. Prior to her intervention,…
Inverters are a piece of technology that turns solar panels’ electricity into current that flows into the grid. Huawei is a market leader in the technology. The EU has long been concerned about the threat posed by Chinese tech giant Huawei and its smaller rival ZTE in 5G networks, and is seeking to push EU member countries to remove them from their telecom networks — a position it is now trying to make mandatory. Concerns over Huawei’s dominance in the solar technology market have flared more recently. Risks posed by foreign interference in clean energy networks include manipulation of “electricity…
Published on 04/05/2026 – 15:24 GMT+2•Updated 15:29 An image of a newspaper front page is circulating widely online, claiming that Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will give the country’s newly regularised migrants €2,800 per month per family for two years until they find a job. The article supposedly belongs to a news outlet called “El Diario de España”, and refers to Madrid’s recent measure to grant an estimated 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status by allowing them to apply for a renewable one-year residence permit. This is provided that they can prove that they have lived in Spain for at least…
Hundreds of competitors gathered in Frankfurt for Germany’s second Hobby Horse Championship, taking part in jumping, dressage and timed obstacle events using hobby horses. Video showed participants running through courses, clearing barriers and rehearsing routines with decorated stick horses. Most competitors were children and teenagers, though some adults also joined the competition. Organisers said the sport, which originated in Finland, has grown rapidly in Germany in recent years, attracting increasing numbers of participants and spectators.
Donald Trump used a Florida rally to claim once more that he “aced” three cognitive tests, seemingly trying to dispel persistent scrutiny surrounding the 79-year-old’s mental health. Speaking at The Villages on Friday, Trump’s cognitive test “perfection” boast included identifying animals and arithmetic as examples. “The first question is very easy. It’s a lion, a giraffe, a bear, and a shark. They say, ‘which one is the bear’?” He went on to say: “There’s a very standard test, but very tough around those last 10 questions… I’m in a room of brilliant people, but a lot of you wouldn’t have…
“Russia has announced a May 9 parade in Moscow without military equipment,” he told leaders attending the European Political Community Summit in Yerevan, Armenia. “They cannot afford military equipment — and they fear drones may buzz over Red Square.” “This is telling,” Zelenskyy added. “It shows they are not strong now.” It’s widely believed that the Kremlin’s decision to exclude military material from this week’s parade is due to the country’s defensive vulnerability four years into its invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv regularly uses drones to inflict damage on key sites deep inside Russia, and only last week it struck oil…