Author: staff
Allongés sur votre serviette de plage, ou en pleine randonnée en montagne, vous commencez à vous demander à quoi ressemblera votre rentrée ? Pas de panique, POLITICO est là avec son guide des rendez-vous politiques de la fin de l’été. Aug 18 4 mins read
Published on 18/12/2025 – 7:42 GMT+1 The European Council meeting is here. EU leaders are in Brussels this Thursday and Friday for what is being dubbed ‘a make or break’ summit. From saving face on Ukraine, to stopping the Mercosur trade deal from falling off a cliff, big decisions on key issues will have to be made. For more on why this December gathering is so crucial, we cross straight over to the EU Council building where Euronews’ correspondent Shona Murray fills us in. Then, we turn to Ukraine. The stakes could not be higher for Ukraine’s President Zelenkyy, who…
Updated: 18/12/2025 – 7:00 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this December 18th, 2025 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
France heads into 2026 with an economy that remains resilient but increasingly constrained by high public deficits and prolonged political deadlock. While growth is expected to recover modestly as inflation eases and financing conditions improve, rating agencies and banks warn that weak fiscal consolidation and legislative deadlock are now structural features of France’s outlook. These concerns were underscored when the credit rating agency KBRA downgraded France’s long-term sovereign rating to AA- last week, citing persistently high deficits and a deteriorating debt trajectory. Revising the outlook to stable from negative, the agency warned that without decisive reform and spending restraint, France’s…
By Euronews Published on 18/12/2025 – 6:30 GMT+1 Football finals are not only defined by what happens on the field. The roar of the crowd and the songs they sing can also help determine but at the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 final at Lusail Stadium, the drama began long before the first kick. In front of more than 88,000 spectators and dignitaries from across the Middle East, the stadium—best known as the site of the 2022 World Cup final—was transformed into a canvas of sound and light to premiere a new national anthem of sorts: ‘Nabd Qatar’ (The Pulse of…
During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Lecornu asked his ministers “to bend over backward” to make sure a budget gets passed, according to government spokesperson Maud Bregeon. The Socialist Party, which was instrumental in passing the social security budget, could again play a kingmaker role. After warning that they could vote against the current text, they are now reportedly mulling an abstention in exchange for €10 billion of extra spending, which would be financed by tax hikes. But lawmakers from various political persuasions directly involved in budget talks are little optimistic of the chances of success. Far-left MP Eric Coquerel,…
If defense is the shield, then energy is the bloodstream. The PFR’s strategy is clear: the competitiveness of the Polish economy depends directly on access to cheap and clean energy. Without accelerating the transformation, Polish companies, instead of increasing their share in foreign markets, may lose their position. This is why the fund wants to enter the game as an investor where the risks are high, but the stakes are even higher — into an investment gap that the commercial market alone will not fill. The concept of local content, in other words the participation of domestic companies in the…
“I proposed two different options for this upcoming European Council, one based on assets and one based on EU borrowing. And we will have to decide which way we want to take,” she said during a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday morning. The key to such a plan would be carving Hungary and Slovakia — which both oppose giving further aid to Ukraine — out of the joint debt scheme, four EU diplomats told POLITICO. A deal could still be agreed at the Council among the 27 EU countries, but the ultimate arrangement would stipulate that…
“Now Europe must decide: Does it want to put the German economy back on the path to growth and thus support and grow the largest net contributor to the European coffers?” he said. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking in the German Bundestag ahead of an EU summit, exhibited frustration over persisting disagreements that are holding up the Mercosur trade agreement. The agreement, in the works for over 25 years, is within sight of the finish line, but France and Italy are calling for a delay to finalize additional safeguards to protect European farmers from heightened South American competition. Only if they come…
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, Moscow has faced sweeping Western sanctions and diplomatic isolation. “Russia has demonstrated its steadiness in the economy, finance, in the internal political situation of the society … and in the sphere of defense capacity,” Putin said. Putin also said that Russia is ready for dialogue with Europe, but that won’t be possible with the current crop of European politicians. Despite periodic statements about openness to negotiations, the Kremlin has continued military operations and has rejected peace proposals that would require a withdrawal from occupied Ukrainian territory, with Kyiv…