Author: staff
SAFE would offer long-term EU-backed loans — up to 45 years, with a 10-year grace period — to member states for defense procurement and industrial projects. It is being advanced under Article 122 of the EU treaties, typically used for economic emergencies. But the Bundestag report notes this legal workaround “is not universally accepted,” and warns that “even the financing of defense-related goods and services” could fall under the treaty ban — especially when “intended for Ukraine and not for EU member states.” SAFE was approved last month by member countries, including Germany. The parliamentary report is unlikely to have…
Switzerland, Slovakia and Bulgaria made a similar announcements, while the U.K. announced it is pulling embassy staff out of Iran and also offering citizens flights out of Israel. The withdrawal from the region is happening against a backdrop of intense diplomacy, as European officials try to defuse the deadly conflict. Last week, Israel launched a series of air strikes on Iran, in an attack aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear weapons program. That’s sparked a sustained ballistic exchange that has now entered its second week, with Iran responding to the Israeli incursions with volleys of missiles aimed at Tel Aviv and…
Talks between Washington and Brussels are nearing crunch time, with Trump threatening from July 9 to hike tariffs on most EU exports to the United States to 50 percent from 10 percent now. The Commission, which handles trade policy on behalf of the bloc’s 27 members, consulted member states and businesses on a second list of goods that would be hit with tariffs as soon as mid-July, should the EU and the U.S. fail to agree to end their raging trade war. EU capitals have been lobbying to remove sensitive goods from the lists, fearing that Trump could target them…
Was ist wirklich passiert beim politischen Wechsel in Berlin – und warum? In dieser Sonderfolge spricht Gordon Repinski mit Journalist und Bestsellerautor Robin Alexander über sein neues Buch. Es geht um die Lektionen aus dem Ampel-Scheitern, den strategischen Stilwechsel unter Friedrich Merz – und wie eine Reform der Schuldenbremse fast an Merz’ überholten Telefon-Gewohnheiten scheiterte. Das neue Buch von Robin Alexander „Letzte Chance – Der neue Kanzler und der Kampf um die Demokratie“ erscheint am 25. Juni 2025 im Siedler Verlag und ist hier erhältlich. Alexander liest exklusive Passagen vor: von geheimen Treffen mit CDU-Ministerpräsidenten bis zu kuriosen Wendepunkten im…
Published on 21/06/2025 – 9:00 GMT+2A new pre-print study from the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that using OpenAI’s ChatGPT could lead to cognitive decline. Researchers with the MIT Media lab broke participants into three groups and asked them to write essays only using ChatGPT, a search engine, or using no tools. Brain scans were taken during the essay writing with an electroencephalogram (EEG) during the task. Then, the essays were evaluated by both humans and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The study showed that the ChatGPT-only group had the lowest neural activation in parts of the brain and had a hard…
By Euronews with IJF Published on 21/06/2025 – 7:15 GMT+2The Mixed Team competition is about more than medals – it’s about team spirit, unity, and the values at the heart of judo. Expect big throws, big emotions, and unforgettable moments as athletes fight not for themselves, but for each other.In the semi-final, Japan led early against strong contenders Georgia in an intense contest.But big throws from the imposing heavyweight Guram TUSHISHVILI and freshly crowned World Champion Eteri LIPARTELIANI flipped the script.Having built momentum Georgia powered through with another ippon from Mikheili BAKHBAKHASHVILI.Utana TERADA tried to even the score for team Japan.But…
A meeting between top European diplomats and Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Friday yielded hopes of further talks but no indication of any immediate or concrete breakthrough, a week after Israel attacked Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, erupting into war between both sides.Foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, emerged from the talks at a Geneva hotel nearly four hours after Iran’s Araghchi arrived for the meeting.It was the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict.In a joint written statement issued after the…
“All diplomatic efforts until now were not successful,” Sa’ar said in an interview with the Axel Springer Global Reporters network, of which POLITICO is a member. “They usually use these talks in order to deceive, in order to waste time.” When asked what Iran must do for a negotiated solution to the conflict, he responded: “We are not dealing with negotiations with Iran” and reiterated Trump’s call for “unconditional surrender.” Sa’ar said the Europeans did not invite him to the Geneva meeting, but he spoke with the French foreign minister about it, and may speak with the German foreign minister…
According to Joller, Kluge’s Russia visit “risks legitimizing a regime that deliberately targets the very values WHO is meant to defend.” Joller was reacting to a post from Kluge, who is regional director of WHO Europe, pictured shaking hands with Lavrov alongside a list of the topics they had discussed: from the pandemic deal to HIV prevention, as well as the obligation not to attack health care facilities. In a separate post Kluge shared that he’d also chaired a meeting on HIV in Moscow, alongside the country’s Deputy Health Minister Andrey Plutnitskiy. Kluge defended his visit to Russia, telling POLITICO…
Crosetto’s comments come ahead of the NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague next week, where the alliance is likely to agree on a higher spending target of 5 percent of GDP to placate U.S. President Donald Trump. Among the leaders attending is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. At a meeting in Rome earlier this month with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, her office “reaffirmed support for Ukraine and the Atlantic Alliance’s role as an essential pillar for collective defence.” But according to Crosetto, NATO has failed in its original mission. “If NATO was created to guarantee peace and mutual defense, it…