Author: staff

The prime minister fended off losing a Commons vote on welfare changes but wakes up with a massive repair job to do within his party – and economically. Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy wonder what the consequences will be after those last-minute concessions to keep Labour MPs on side.  There’ll be new ways of balancing the finances (could they be filling a black hole by sending more?) but also a post-mortem of how the government misjudged the mood of its own MPs.

BRUSSELS — On the streets and hills of Europe, every extreme heat alarm bell is ringing. But inside the air-conditioned Berlaymont, the EU’s supreme policymakers are sweating over whether now is the right time to push new climate targets. On Wednesday in Brussels — where it is predicted to reach 34 degrees Celsius — the European Commission is set for a showdown over a proposed plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040. The issue at stake: Some commissioners fear it is the wrong moment to take a bold stance on the heating climate.  On Monday, a…

Rome did so by invoking its “golden power,” which was originally designed to stop foreign takeovers from threatening national security. That move did not go unnoticed in Brussels, where officials opened two distinct probes into the matter, led respectively by the financial services and the competition directorates. It has also triggered an exchange under the EU Pilot, and the Commission “is now assessing the reply of Italian authorities.” Competition officials in Brussels cleared the deal with conditions on June 19, rejecting Rome’s request to hand the deal back to the national antitrust authority. Competition officials also sent Rome a set…

The European Parliament is set to debate and vote next week on a “motion of censure”, a no-confidence vote against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her College of Commissioners.Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea, from the ultra-conservative party AUR, claims he has collected 73 signatures for his motion—one more than one-in-ten minimum threshold of MEPs (72) required to initiate the process.According to Piperea’s office, 32 members of his political group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), have backed the request. The remaining signatures came from the far-right groups Patriots for Europe (6), Europe of Sovereign Nations (26), and from…

Stromsteuer, Wehrpflicht, Bürgergeld – die Themen des Koalitionsausschusses sind lösbar und doch ein Stresstest. Vor allem für Friedrich Merz und Lars Klingbeil, die stets zwischen Regierungsanspruch und Partei-Wunsch wechseln und ausgleichen müssen.Wie das beide unter Druck setzt, analysiert Rasmus Buchsteiner.m 200-Sekunden-Interview kommentiert  Juso-Chef Philipp Türmer die Streitthemen zwischen Union und SPD  – und fordert soziale Klarheit statt Koalitionskompromisse. In  Brüssel will die EU 90 Prozent weniger Emissionen bis 2040. So der Klimaplan, den sie dort heute vorstellt – errechnet wird dieses Ziel aber auch mit umstrittenen CO₂-Zertifikaten, Schlupflöchern und viel Geld.Johanna Sahlberg erklärt die politische Magie hinter der Quadratur des…

Under a program led by the U.S. government’s DARPA defense research agency, 18 companies have been selected as part of a larger bid to come up with an error-free quantum computer by 2033. Those companies could reportedly tap up to $300 million if they pass all the stages. The EU’s draft strategy promises to launch “two grand challenges” between 2025 and 2027, with one focused on quantum computing and another on quantum navigation systems in “critical environments.” Another way for governments to support companies to commercialize the technology would be if they are the primary buyers of technology, which then…

Key chapters include one devoted to defense, building on the Trinity House Agreement signed last year, which sets out that any strategic threat to one country would represent a threat to the other. This would give Germany a mutual assistance clause with both of Europe’s nuclear powers, in line with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s desire to strengthen the continent’s deterrent separately from the U.S.  While the treaty will likely reaffirm the commitment of both nations to NATO as the cornerstone of their collective defense, the clause’s inclusion underlines the push for European allies to work more closely on security as…

There are several reasons for this: A generalized mood of discontent with politics; the scrambling of the old left-right divide; the weakness of the incumbent president, who can neither run again nor readily influence the choice of his successor; as well as the global, economic and political uncertainties generated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Moreover, the choice of candidates is particularly uncertain this time around, as President Emmanuel Macron’s center is hugely fragmented. Until last month, the competition to succeed Macron was limited to two of his former prime ministers: the leader of the center-right Horizons party,…

It’s not just conferences and events that have been suffering; so have tourists. The Eiffel Tower was partially closed due to high temperatures, as was Brussels’ iconic Atomium. While most event planners have been begging people to stay hydrated, we commend those coming up with outside-the-hotbox solutions. Sweltering journalists in the greenhouse-like atrium at last week’s European Council summit in Brussels were given ice creams — a trick repeated in Belgium’s Merksplas prison, where aging infrastructure has left inmates overheated. The reason people are so worried is that the heat can be deadly. Slovenia will experience a high level of…

Araghchi reported that he had emphasized Tehran’s deep mistrust of the United States during the call. He also condemned the “destructive approach” that “some European countries” and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had taken to the recent conflict between Israel and Iran. Their support for Israel and the United States complicates diplomatic efforts, Araghchi said, although he didn’t specify which countries he meant. The call between Kallas and Araghchi came amid heightened international concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions following the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and Washington’s dramatic June 21 strikes on its nuclear enrichment facilities.…