Author: staff
October 2025 was the third-warmest globally on record, according to data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The month recorded an average surface air temperature of 15.14°C, 0.70°C above the 1991-2020 average for October, according to the ERA5 dataset, which uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world. C3S now says 2025 is virtually certain to finish as the second- or third-warmest year on record, possibly tied with 2023, the current second-warmest year, and behind 2024, the warmest year on record. Copernicus says the findings reflect the “accelerating pace of climate change”,…
Banking and Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque has repeatedly spoken out in favor of banking consolidation across the bloc. The competition and financial services teams had their assessment of the case ready shortly after Italy submitted its last round of responses to the Commission in August, said one of the people who spoke to POLITICO. But von der Leyen’s Cabinet, which ultimately has to sign off on a decision, has taken no action so far, they added. According to Italian media reports, Italy has been trying to buy more time and stave off an infringement procedure by suggesting it…
Published on 07/11/2025 – 7:00 GMT+1 Europe’s first autonomous military convoy recently finished its final demonstration in Spain, according to media reports. At the showcase in Seville, the European Union-funded project reportedly demonstrated a fleet of autonomous ground vehicles that performed coordinated logistics supported by a navigation system that uses artificial intelligence (AI). The project is called Convoy Operations with Manned-unManneD Systems, or the COMMANDS consortium, and is coordinated by the Spanish aerospace and defence firm Sener. It was developed by a group of 21 European partners and funded by a €24.8 million investment from the European Defence Fund. The…
Das Versagen in der Russland-Politik – mit Georg Mascolo und Katja Gloger – POLITICO Skip to main content
Lawmakers and digital rights groups have expressed concerns about these carve-outs, which were secured by EU countries during the law’s negotiation. Digital policing powers Ebner, who oversees governance matters at Europol, said “almost all investigations” now have an online dimension. The investments in tech and innovation to keep pace with criminals is putting a “massive burden on law enforcement agencies,” he said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to more than double Europol’s staff and turn it into a powerhouse to fight criminal groups. | Wagner Meier/Getty Images The Europol official has been in discussions with Europe’s…
The excoriating comments come after Lukoil last week said it had accepted an offer by the multinational trading house to buy its international business after Trump announced sanctions against the energy company. Lukoil said the U.S. Treasury must approve the deal, before it is formally blacklisted on Nov. 21. In Europe, Lukoil holdings include two refineries in Bulgaria and Romania, a 45 percent stake in a Dutch fuel processing facility and around 2,000 petrol stations. Gunvor was co-founded by Swedish billionaire Torbjörn Törnqvist and Gennady Timchenko, one of Putin’s closest allies, in 2000 — and was once the biggest exporter…
Pretoria is “working through diplomatic channels to secure the return of these young men,” the statement added, though it did not specify in which sense they were stuck. South African law prohibits citizens from providing military assistance to other governments or joining foreign armed forces without official authorization. The statement also did not specify which side the men had joined, and the South African government did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. But a Ukrainian intelligence official, after being granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter candidly, said it was “clear” the men were fighting for Russia. “It’s…
Poland has unveiled a new programme of universal and voluntary military training. The so-called “wGotowości” (mReadiness) programme was announced by Chief of General Staff Gen Wieslaw Kukuła, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defence Cezary Tomczyk. During a press conference, Kukuła explained that the programme envisages five lines of focus across two different pathways. “Firstly, to strengthen the individual resilience of citizens and secondly to strengthen the availability, resilience and competence of the reserves,” he said. Importantly, resilience defence training is not equivalent to military service, nor does it culminate…
It comes three weeks after the U.S. successfully halted a global deal to put a carbon tax on shipping, with the support of Greece. “There is no energy transition, there is just energy addition,” said U.S. Interior Secretary and energy czar Doug Burgum, who was present at the signing ceremony in Athens on Thursday, alongside U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and the new U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle. “Greece is taking its own natural resources, and we are working all together toward energy abundance,” Burgum added, describing Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis as a leader who “bucks the…
A bus carrying FC Barcelona fans to the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges caught fire on Wednesday night before the team’s Champions League match against Club Brugge. Local media reported that the fire began after a flare was lit inside the vehicle. Flames spread quickly, and passengers were evacuated. No injuries were reported, but the bus was heavily damaged. Police arrested one man in connection with the incident. The match went ahead as scheduled and ended in a 3-3 draw.