EUROPEAN POLITICS
Police across Europe staged a vast, coordinated operation on Wednesday (3 May) against the ‘Ndrangheta, Italy’s most powerful and wealthy mafia that controls the bulk of cocaine flowing into Europe. Some 132 people were taken into custody in early morning…
Germany’s three-party coalition is debating whether electricity prices for energy-intensive industries should be subsidised to prevent companies from moving production abroad. Calls to reduce the electricity bill for big industrial producers are being made by leading politicians, who, like others…
The national ban Bulgaria imposed on certain goods coming from Ukraine will be lifted once the EU’s market stabilisation measures agreed to at the end of April come into force, the cabinet’s press service announced Wednesday. Faced with Poland, Hungary,…
Greece’s conservative government (EPP) lashed again against Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Wednesday, branding them “unreliable” after the publication of a report ranking Greece the worst EU country when it comes to media freedom for a second consecutive year. According…
Puffs, disposable electronic cigarettes that are very popular with youth, should be banned, French Health Minister François Braun told radio broadcaster France Inter Wednesday, adding they are a gateway to smoking for many. In France, one in 10 teenagers has…
The impasse between the EU and Hungary over access to the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery funds remains, despite moves by Hungarian lawmakers this week to adopt new laws to address EU rule of law concerns. On Wednesday (3 May), lawmakers in…
A clear majority of Austrians are in favour of more intensive EU security policy but reject NATO accession, according to a recent survey by the Austrian Society for European Policy (ÖGfE). If a referendum on NATO membership were held in…
The shipyard where future AUKUS nuclear submarines will be built for the Royal Navy was visited by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Wednesday. Last month, the US, Australia, and the UK unveiled details…
Ukraine’s place is in NATO and also in the EU, elected Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told the press after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprise visit to Helsinki on Wednesday. Zelenskyy met with Orpo who chaired a meeting to form…
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has condemned a Minsk court decision sentencing Belarusian blogger and activist Raman Pratasevich to eight years in prison. Pratasevich was detained by the Minsk regime in 2021 after the Ryanair plane flying from Greece to…
A multi-continental crackdown has halted a major “dark web” drugs marketplace, with international police arresting 288 suspects and recovering more than 50 million euros ($54.8 million) in cash and virtual currency, Europol said Tuesday (2 May). The operation called SpecTor…
Former French prime minister François Fillon denounced hypocrisy in different approaches to Russia and China, saying the latter is a greater threat while being questioned by the National Assembly’s Commission of Enquiry into foreign interference on Tuesday. Fillon, the prime…