Europe goes protectionist to save its steel
09 Oct EU Institutions
Europe goes protectionist to save its steel
The European Commission unveiled plans this week to slash duty-free steel imports and raise tariffs to 50%, in a last-ditch bid to rescue the bloc’s ailing steel industry.
Op-ed: Europe’s Indo-Pacific ambitions need a coherent strategy
09 Oct Foreign & Security Policy
Op-ed: Europe’s Indo-Pacific ambitions need a coherent strategy
The EU and its member states have staked a claim in the Indo-Pacific, but without coherence or commitment, their influence remains adrift.
France’s Jewish community feels the strain as Gaza war deepens divides
08 Oct Foreign & Security Policy
France’s Jewish community feels the strain as Gaza war deepens divides
As antisemitic incidents surge and public opinion hardens against Israel, France’s Jewish community is grappling with isolation, internal division, and a growing drift toward the far right.
Why Moldova's forceful embrace of the EU was a victory for Brussels
07 Oct EU Institutions
Why Moldova's forceful embrace of the EU was a victory for Brussels
“You don’t change a captain in the middle of a storm,” one political analyst said after
President Maia Sandu's pro-EU governing party secured a majority in a pivotal parliamentary vote, fending off Moscow’s bid to sway the outcome.
Op-ed: Europe's AI ambitions hinge on targeted investment
06 Oct Technology
Op-ed: Europe's AI ambitions hinge on targeted investment
Brussels’ new €409-billion Competitiveness Fund aims to boost competitiveness and AI leadership — but unless Europe focuses resources in its strongest innovation hubs, its AI drive risks spreading too thin.
Essay: The EU beat global tech into shape, now its legacy is at risk
03 Oct Technology
Essay: The EU beat global tech into shape, now its legacy is at risk
From USB-C chargers to GDPR, the EU has forced Big Tech to comply and put citizens first. But with new proposals weakening privacy and expanding surveillance, can Europe stay the world’s digital conscience without becoming what it once opposed?
How Europe’s rules and barriers stifle its tech future
02 Oct EU Institutions
How Europe’s rules and barriers stifle its tech future
The Commission's €387,000 metaverse party became a punchline, but the real problem runs deeper. Structural barriers inside the EU’s single market act like tariffs, driving up costs, slowing innovation, and sending Europe’s best talent elsewhere.
Op-ed: The EU AI Office must back competitiveness
01 Oct EU Institutions
Op-ed: The EU AI Office must back competitiveness
With just 13% of EU firms currently using AI, the new AI Office will decide whether Europe leads or lags in innovation. MEP Regina Doherty calls for clarity, consistency and a risk-based approach to keep businesses competitive.
Russia's frozen cash: Can Europe finally make Putin pay?
30 Sep Foreign & Security Policy
Russia's frozen cash: Can Europe finally make Putin pay?
European leaders are set to debate how they could utilise Russia’s blocked billions without breaking international law — and what the gamble means for the EU’s credibility.
Denmark drone scare exposes Europe’s short-term defence gap
29 Sep Member States
Denmark drone scare exposes Europe’s short-term defence gap
As unmarked drones disrupt the skies over Denmark, the EU's lack of preparedness to deal with foreign threats is clear. Without pairing long-term defence plans with short-term responses, Russia will keep probing until Western unity cracks.
As Moldovans go to the polls, the EU confronts Russia’s biggest influence campaign to date
26 Sep EU Institutions
As Moldovans go to the polls, the EU confronts Russia’s biggest influence campaign to date
Sunday’s vote in Moldova will test Brussels' resilience against Russia's multi-million-euro foreign interference efforts in its eastern neighbourhood.
Op-ed: Europe’s security must be a ‘Doppelstrategie’ for defence and belonging
26 Sep EU Institutions
Op-ed: Europe’s security must be a ‘Doppelstrategie’ for defence and belonging
As Europe rearms, it risks neglecting culture and identity. Without investing in what binds its people, the continent could end up fighting for nothing worth defending.
Q&A: Time for Brussels to wield its sanctions, not dream up new ones
25 Sep EU Institutions
Q&A: Time for Brussels to wield its sanctions, not dream up new ones
Brussels’ 19th sanctions package against Russia is more bark than bite, warns the head of RUSI Europe’s Centre for Finance and Security in an interview.
Charlie Kirk killing fuels European far right
24 Sep Member States
Charlie Kirk killing fuels European far right
The assassination of the American activist has catapulted him from far-right firebrand to global symbol, galvanising nationalist movements across Europe with a potent mix of free-speech rhetoric, Christian identity, and online amplification.
Why the EU’s $1.35 trillion deal with Trump is an impossible promise
23 Sep Foreign & Security Policy
Why the EU’s $1.35 trillion deal with Trump is an impossible promise
Brussels sold its US trade deal as transatlantic unity and a path away from Russian energy. But the fine print reveals a different story: energy the US can’t supply and investments Brussels can’t deliver.
Op-ed: Iran’s drones give Russia the edge, and NATO the bill
22 Sep Foreign & Security Policy
Op-ed: Iran’s drones give Russia the edge, and NATO the bill
Armed with Iranian know-how, Russia is flooding Europe’s skies with thousands of low-cost kamikaze drones. Each one is tilting the cost of war in Moscow’s favour and exposing the alliance’s vulnerabilities.
Op-ed: EU holds its breath as Moldovan democracy faces its toughest test
19 Sep Member States
Op-ed: EU holds its breath as Moldovan democracy faces its toughest test
As Moldovans head to the polls on 28 September, the vote will decide whether the country anchors itself to the EU or drifts back into Moscow’s orbit.
Q&A: Can CAP win back farmers' trust?
18 Sep EU Institutions
Q&A: Can CAP win back farmers' trust?
The European Parliament’s agriculture and rural affairs committee is set for a busy 12 months as budget reforms and simplification files land on its plate. The committee’s chair, MEP Veronika Vrecionová, discusses what’s next.
Inside Antwerp's battle to save the natural diamond trade
17 Sep Member States
Inside Antwerp's battle to save the natural diamond trade
Squeezed by a boom in lab diamonds, sanctions, and fresh tariffs, the Belgian city is fighting back to persuade people the shiny natural rocks are irreplaceable.
Trump’s oil ultimatum squeezes EU holdouts, but tightens US grip
16 Sep Foreign & Security Policy
Trump’s oil ultimatum squeezes EU holdouts, but tightens US grip
Donald Trump has tied “major sanctions” on Moscow to a NATO-wide halt in Russian oil, pressuring Hungary and Slovakia. But with sanctions stalled and US exports waiting, Brussels risks swapping one dependency for another.
Europe’s farm policy shake-up pits green ambition against budget reality
15 Sep EU Institutions
Europe’s farm policy shake-up pits green ambition against budget reality
The Commission’s overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy is billed as climate-proofing Europe’s farms, but critics say it guts green ambition, cuts funding, and risks creating a patchwork of national agendas.
Op-ed: Bayrou’s fall exposes France’s need for a new political culture
12 Sep Member States
Op-ed: Bayrou’s fall exposes France’s need for a new political culture
As French President Emmanuel Macron appoints a fifth Prime Minister in two years, France is in dire need of political reform.
Von der Leyen's fragile alliance put to the test over US trade deal
11 Sep EU Institutions
Von der Leyen's fragile alliance put to the test over US trade deal
The Commission chief’s State of the Union defence of the pact she negotiated with Donald Trump drew fire from across the political spectrum. But the real battle is over whether the pro-EU majority will keep her second term afloat.
Op-ed: EU pledges ‘drone wall’ as Russian threats grow — now it must deliver
10 Sep EU Institutions
Op-ed: EU pledges ‘drone wall’ as Russian threats grow — now it must deliver
Poland’s downing of Russian drones shows how exposed Europe’s eastern flank remains. Von der Leyen has pledged a “drone wall.” Now Brussels must back words with action, argues Arthur de Liedekerke.