Author: staff
“We expect the Commission to present ambitious, quantified proposals as a direct input for ongoing negotiations on the next MFF, including on an EU administrative system that reflects the challenges of our times,” reads the letter, which was signed by ministers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. “In this context, the proposed increase [from the Commission] of 2,500 posts as well as the overall significant increase of heading 4 (administration) runs counter to the stated objectives of efficiency, restraint and reform, and risks undermining the credibility of the broader MFF proposal.” Heading…
Magyar’s aim, his allies say, is to get voters asking what Orbán’s nationalist rhetoric has actually delivered. “It’s not that we turned his nationalist language against him,” said Márton Hajdu, the Tisza party’s chief of staff in the European Parliament. “We turn his lies about protecting Hungarian national interests against him.” Outflanking Orbán Magyar — a former insider in Orbán’s nationalist Fidesz party — has moved to outflank Orbán on some of the most sensitive nationalist terrain: ethnic Hungarians living beyond Hungary’s borders, and the country’s Roma minority. Fidesz has historically secured strong support among ethnic Hungarians by granting them…
Unusually, there was no joint communique from the ministers at the end of this week’s meeting. The chair’s summary mentioned climate change just once, saying “a large majority of ministers stressed the importance of the energy transition to combat climate change and highlighted the global transition to net zero emissions in line with COP28 outcomes.” Despite that line, climate change was not highlighted as a priority in the closing remarks and was barely mentioned during the final press conference, reflecting the power of the U.S., the group’s richest member which contributes around 14 percent of the agency’s funding. U.S. President…
According to prosecutors, the defendant offered to lead police investigators to the “agents” he claimed had hired him to steal the goods. But just as the meeting with his alleged handlers was due to take place, the man escaped. Hours later he was seen arriving at the Russian Embassy in Lisbon, where he allegedly tried to sell what was on the devices to an embassy employee. The man “was unsuccessful in achieving this goal,” prosecutors noted, and coughed up the missing devices when police detained him shortly thereafter. Under interrogation, the man claimed to belong to “a criminal organization dedicated…
The contract, whose buyers are named as the European Commission, Parliament, Council and the European External Action Service, is described as being “fully or partially financed with EU funds.” For the highest officials within these institutions, international travel is a key part of their role as they hold discussions with foreign leaders and make speeches around the world. But while the EU prioritizes commercial transport, the Commission said, sometimes it deems that impossible or too dangerous ― especially when staff travel to conflict zones. No company has yet been awarded the contract for “non-scheduled air-taxi transport services” worth €15.67 million…
LONDON — “Her office was like something out of Black Mirror,” recalls a young official of her first trip to see the woman now leading Britain’s civil service. Wherever she looked in Antonia Romeo’s old sanctum at the Department for International Trade, Romeo’s face smiled back. “It was covered in pictures of her with famous people,” the footballer David Beckham among them, the official recalled. “I couldn’t concentrate on the meeting, because I was just looking at the wall thinking, ‘is that Imelda Staunton?’” If this kind of self-promotion sits awkwardly with Britain’s highly-strung reputation, it clashes violently with the…
FCAS is intended to replace Germany’s Eurofighter and France’s Rafale jets by around 2040. The program includes a warplane — which lies at the heart of the disagreement — drones and a combat cloud. The project has been repeatedly delayed by industrial disputes, especially between France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany-backed Airbus over leadership and control of the fighter jet. “We Europeans … have an interest in standardizing, in having a common model” for warplanes, Macron told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a trip to India. “We have identified common needs. Are they being called into question? The answer is no…
Updated: 19/02/2026 – 11:08 GMT+1 Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this February 18th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel. … More
Petrecca is seen as close to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and her political opponents were quick to capitalize on the backlash. The Democratic Party said in a statement that “the Olympics are a time of utmost responsibility for public service broadcasting” and denounced the telecast as an example of Rai TV at its worst, calling it “Telemeloni” — or Meloni TV. Usigrai, the union representing journalists at Rai, welcomed Petrecca’s resignation but noted that “responsibilities remained” at the leadership level for putting him in charge of Rai Sport. That decision has caused enormous damage to the broadcaster’s reputation, they…
US President Donald Trump pledged $10 billion for his new “Board of Peace” as he hosted the first meeting of the amorphous new institution, which was first focused on revuilding Gaza but has since expanded its scope. Trump, who has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened war with Iran, did not specify what the money would be used for. The US president also announced that nine other members of the body pledged an additional $7 billion towards a Gaza relief package. The donors include Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. “Every dollar spent is an investment…