Starting with this edition of The Brief, we're going to dedicate this space every Friday to reviewing what we think are the most significant stories of the week, highlighting our best journalism.
We’re calling this the “Good, Bad and Ugly” of the week in news. We’ll leave it to you to decide which is which. The aim is to give you a quick overview of the week in European politics, with a special focus on stories that might have slipped your mind. As always, we welcome your feedback.
The new capital of Europe
Once again, the political week was driven not by Brussels but by Washington and the latest salvos from the White House. The big news of the week was Trump’s planned 25% tariffs on European cars, which European officials quickly condemned – but seemed powerless to do anything about.
Türkiye
Speaking of powerlessness, Europe has also remained on the sidelines in Turkey, where Erdogan arrested his main rival for the presidency, sparking mass protests across the country. For fear of offending the Turkish leader, Europe has remained silent. We explored Europe's realpolitik position here.
Ukraine/Russia
There was also more talk on the Ukrainian front, the prospects for a ceasefire and what would happen after that. Council President Costa called for the use of Ukraine’s frozen EU assets, mostly located in Belgium, a controversial idea that we explored in this analysis.
One of the other big questions after the peace deal is whether and when to end Europe's quasi-embargo on Russian gas. It turns out that it is already more quasi than real, as we have shown in this article.
Germany
As Germany's Christian Democrats and Social Democrats are in the midst of coalition talks, we've seen a series of revealing leaks about their game plan. We've done an in-depth study of a 600-page document from the Ministry of Internal Affairs – a virtual secret diary – that offers rare insight into how Germans think about Europe.
Then came another leak, this time concerning the draft European chapter of the coalition agreement, which makes it clear that future Chancellor Friedrich Merz intends to take control of European policy.
Italy
Have you ever taken a taxi in Rome? Before you get into another cab, read this story from our correspondent about the “mafia” taxi lobby that dominates the sector.
Slovakia
One of the biggest stories in Europe over the past decade has been China’s foray into key sectors. Here we take a closer look at a Chinese electric vehicle battery plant project in Slovakia, financed by more than €200 million in public money.
Thrown to the wolves
The debate over wolves in Europe has taken on new urgency as the animals are once again under serious threat, as we explore in this insightful article by Barbara Machado.
In the media
We were the first to report on the latest shenanigans at Axel Springer, the parent company of Politico and Bild. We follow up with a little analysis of what it all means for Europe's largest news publisher.
Source: Source
