EUโs new energy chief vows to end Russian fuel ties for good
Momentum for quitting Moscowโs revenue driver has stalled. “Something new needs to happen,” Dan Jรธrgensen told POLITICO.
๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
Denmarkโs carbon tax on livestock: a model for Europe?
Denmarkโs carbon tax on livestock: a model for Europe?
The five-minute city: inside Denmarkโs revolutionary neighbourhood
While ambitious urban planners try to make 15-minute cities a reality, the Nordhavn district of Copenhagen has gone one better. Whatโs life like when everything you need is just a stroll away?Itโs not often that the worlds of town planning and traffic …
Pedro Sรกnchez
Dreamer No. 8 โ The survivor
Virkkunen supports EU telecoms consolidation, gets mixed national responses
Representatives from Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands and Slovenia stated that they were not in favour of consolidation.
โฌ36B tax fraud scandal returns to haunt Germanyโs Scholz
Beleaguered leader to be grilled over his dealings with one of the banks connected to the “cum-ex” affair.
Why Denmark is embarrassed by the Paul Watson affair
On Monday, a Greenland court is due to rule for the sixth time on the prolonged pre-trial detention of the whale defender, arrested over five months ago. Denmark has been slow to respond to Japan’s extradition request.
Instagram actively helping to spread of self-harm among teenagers, study suggests
Researchers say parent company Meta is failing to remove explicit images on the social media siteMeta is actively helping self-harm content to flourish on Instagram by failing to remove explicit images and encouraging those engaging with such content t…
Beekeepers halt honey awards over โhuge fraudโ in global supply chain
Warnings that genuine products are bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup prompt international congress to withdraw prizesThe World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain….
Ukraine war briefing: US urges Zelenskyy to lower conscription age to 18
Biden administration readying another $725m in arms for Kyiv; Zelenskyy to approve tax increases for defence funding. What we know on day 1,009 A senior official in Joe Bidenโs administration has told the Associated Press that the US is urging Ukraine…
Swedish PM says Baltic sea now โhigh riskโ after suspected cable sabotage
Regional leaders meet after undersea telecoms cables severed, while Chinese ship remains at anchor nearbyThe Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, has said the Baltic sea is now a โhigh riskโ zone as he met Nordic and Baltic leaders days after a sus…
The Lego Mini Chef restaurant, Denmark โ review
In which a meal prepared by tiny plastic people sparks a revelation about hospitality
Brewers to EU: When all else fails, try beer
New Brussels beverage featuring Ukrainian hops aims to promote European unity and multiculturalism.
Brewers to EU: When all else fails, try beer
New Brussels beverage featuring Ukrainian hops aims to promote European unity and multiculturalism.
Swedish court jails far-right leader who burned Qurโan
Danish politician Rasmus Paludan sentenced to four months for incitement against ethnic groupA far-right Danish-Swedish politician has been sentenced to prison on charges of incitement against an ethnic group for burning copies of the Qurโan and making…
Full-scale war in Middle East involving Israel and Iran likely, say most Europeans in poll
Large majorities in seven countries condemn 7 October attacks โ but most common view is Israelโs response in Gaza is also unjustifiedFull-scale war in the Middle East involving Israel and Iran is now likely, most western Europeans responding in a poll …
Denmarkโs top clinical trial performance inspires Sweden and Belgium
Denmarkโs and Spainโs strong performance in clinical drug trials is inspiring other EU members to adopt similar models. Denmark is now advancing to develop more flexible, decentralised trials for patients.
Wegovy’s creator invested ยฃ6bn in this town. So why is it not booming?
Europe’s most valuable company has invested billions in Kalundborg on Denmark’s coast – but it has many problems.
COP16 fizzles out as rich countries block global nature fund
The outcome left African and Latin American nations furious and prompted some to refuse to engage on other biodiversity issues.
Andy Warhol prints stolen and damaged in โamateurishโ Dutch gallery heist
Thieves steal two works after ripping them from their frames as they were too big for their carThieves have blown open the door of an art gallery in the southern Netherlands to try to steal four works from a famous series of Andy Warhol screen prints, …
European voters โ even some on far-right โ want Harris victory, poll finds
YouGov survey suggests fewer are confident that Harris will win and most expect violence if Trump is not electedMost western Europeans โ and even many who vote for far-right parties โ would like Kamala Harris to win the US presidential election, pollin…
Europeโs Greens ask Jill Stein to pull out of US election to prevent Trump victory
“The race for the White House is too close for comfort,” write parties from around Europe, calling on Stein to throw her support behind Democrat Kamala Harris.
โIf I donโt do it, who will?โ: Greenlandic MP defends actions in Danish parliament
Aki-Matilda Hรธegh-Dam, who was ordered to leave podium after refusing to translate speech, attacks โracistโ mindsetA Greenlandic MP has accused Copenhagen of โcognitive dissonanceโ after she was ordered to leave the podium in parliament for refusing to…
Does Germany still believe in Europe?
Scholz now seems to view the bloc as a problem to be managed, while European institutions and member countries seem to regard him as a problem to be managed in return.
Ukraine war briefing: Russian forces thwart another attempted cross-border incursion, official says
โArmed groupโ tried to breach border between Ukraine and Bryansk, regionโs governor says. What we know on day 978See all our Ukraine war coverageRussian forces thwarted an attempt at another cross-border incursion by Ukraine into south-western Russia, …
European leaders meet to re-energise offshore wind power
Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and Ireland — and the European Commission are expected to reach an agreement on the installation of some 20,000 wind turbines in the North Sea by 2050.
Europe gave 1 million Syrians fleeing war international protection. Some countries want to deport them.
Italy and Austria are pushing to recast Syria as a “safe” country, even as the bloc welcomes thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing war each year.
Margrethe Vestager says she has โno plansโ to run for office in Denmark
New biography looks at the longtime EU competition czar.
Denmark negotiating new patient safety reporting system after government u-turn
Denmarkโs regions have stepped in to support the countryโs respected patient safety incident reporting system, which the government was set to scrap next year. A new deal is being negotiated with health stakeholders.
This possible Trump adviser says electric cars, walkable cities and even talking about climate change are harmful
Former Ambassador Carla Sands focuses on energy issues at the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank.
Nuclear energy: Future commissioner advised to give assurances, but supporters remain vigilant
“As a national minister in Denmark, my position reflected the specific circumstances of my member state. But […] my duties as EU Commissioner are not the same” Dan Jรธrgensen is advised to say.
China hits back at EU over electric car tariffs: How bad could the trade dispute get?
European Union member states have narrowly backed import duties on Chinese-made electric cars, over what the EU considers to be unfair competition. Tariffsย of up to 45 percent are set to be imposed from next month for five years. Chinese carmakers hav…
In memoriam Marius: film unpicks ethics behind Danish zooโs controversial giraffe killing
When Copenhagen zoo cut up a giraffe as kids looked on it caused global outrage โ Life and Other Problems charts a path between Darwin and Disney to explore what the scandal teaches us animal-human relationsOn a Sunday morning in February 2014, after a…
EU leaders agree migration is a pressing concern, but remain divided on action
Italyโs hard-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is at the forefront of efforts to reduce irregular migration to the European Union, building a consensus on the issue with 10 like-minded countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary and Greec…
EU and NATO offer Zelenskyy fulsome meals โ and qualified support for his victory plan
Ukraine is still waiting for the EU to unblock frozen Russian assets and for NATO to invite it to join.
French PM Barnierโs shadow follows Macron to Brussels
Weakened on the domestic front, the French president could also face pressure from his prime ministerโs influence in Brussels.
Far-right leader who burned copies of Qurโan goes on trial in Sweden
Rasmus Paludan is accused of incitement against an ethnic group and insult in relation to gatherings in 2022A far-right Danish-Swedish politician who burned copies of the Qurโan in Sweden has gone on trial charged with incitement against an ethnic grou…
French government promises new bill on immigration in nod to far right
The previous immigration bill, passed less than a year ago, splintered the pro-Macron group of MPs.
Germanyโs Scholz offers โฌ1.4B in fresh military aid for Ukraine during Zelenskyy visit
The Ukrainian leader visited Berlin to present his peace plan to the German chancellor.
Headspinning can lead to ‘breakdance bulge’, dancers warned
A dancer in Denmark has a lump an inch thick removed after “years of extensive headspinning practice”.
Mpox is killing again. It didnโt have to be this way.
Missteps by the World Health Organization, a vaccine manufacturer and an African country led to another health emergency, experts say.
Nordic pharma associations call for faster measures to boost EU competitiveness
A new EU life sciences strategy is a key to speeding up the competitiveness of Europe’s life sciences sector, according to the Nordic pharma industry. However, the European Commission says such a strategy could take years to develop.
Zelenskyyโs 5 asks on his Europe tour (and the odds heโll get them)
The Ukrainian president is racing across Europe to lock in support for Kyiv. We rate his chances of success.
Danish family seek to return Etruscan objects bought from boot of car in Italy
Bent Sรธndergaardโs children say they want to carry out โhis final wishesโ and send back antiquities he bought in 1960sTheir father bought the antiquities, a haul of dirt-encrusted Etruscan objects handed to him from the boot of a car, while on holiday …
Foul play at the fish farm: โNordic blueโ, the hit new genre mixing noir and knitting
Satu Rรคmรถ has caused a publishing sensation across Europe โ thanks to her novels about Hildur, a mindful cop who solves murders with her needle-clacking sidekick, then soothes her trauma with exercise. We meet the author for rhubarb cordials at her Ice…
Setting Gender-Based Asylum Straight: The Court of Justiceโs Landing Point
Salvo Nicolosi
and Tรผrkan Ertuna Lagrand, University of UtrechtPhoto credit: USAID, via Wikimedia Commons
Just a couple of weeks after the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan announced a
new decree prohibiting women from being heard …
Danish government rolls out plan addressing tomorrowโs health challenges
Denmark’s ruling coalition plans to transform the country’s healthcare system. Hundreds of specialist doctors will be trained, hospitals will treat more people at home, 17 new local health councils will help integrate primary and specialist care services.
How a law on truck movements divided the EU
The EU’s top court delivers a ruling on an exceptionally fierce legal fight this week.
Europeโs exhausted oyster reefs โonce covered area size of Northern Irelandโ
Study uncovers vivid and poignant accounts of reefs as high as houses off countries including UK, France and IrelandOnly a handful of natural oyster reefs measuring at most a few square metres cling on precariously along European coasts after being wip…
Russia and Chinaโs cooperation in the Arctic is a rising nuclear threat
While Beijing and Moscow have been working to establish a strategic foothold in the region for more than a decade, Washington and Brussels are just now waking up to the danger.
Harris, Trump take an America First tone on dockworkersโ strike
Foreign shipping companies that dominate seaborne trade draw bipartisan criticism as U.S. ports grind to a halt.
Hand grenades thrown near Israeli embassy in Copenhagen
In separate incident, Swedish police launch investigation after shots fired at Israeli embassy in StockholmMiddle East crisis โ live updatesPolice in Denmark and Sweden are investigating after hand grenades were thrown near the Israeli embassy in Copen…
โTidal waveโ: Europeโs populists push for migrant clampdown as Trump cranks up rhetoric
France and Germany have joined calls for a tougher EU migration policy following a series of far-right election wins.
Denmark cleans up damage after floods wreak havoc
51 of the country’s 98 municipalities have been told to draw up flood protection plans by the Danish coastal authority, amidst fears that flooding will worsen in the future.
EU top court to review Denmarkโs โghetto lawโ for potential breach of anti-discrimination rules
On Monday (30 September), the EU supreme court will hear arguments on whether the Danish law limiting the concentration of ethnic minorities in certain neighbourhoods violates EU anti-discrimination law.ย
Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy condemns Russian attack on hospital as death toll rises
Ukraineโs interior minister said one person killed in initial attack before the site was hit again during the evacuation Russia has filed โpre-trial claimsโ against Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland over the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, accu…
Anti-immigration mood sweeping EU capitals puts strain on blocโs unity
From Germanyโs border checks to Franceโs vow to restore order, rejection of open borders could threaten Schengen zoneIn 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germanyโs then chanc…
Swedenโs spreading crime epidemic alarms its neighbors
Shootings by Swedish gang members in other countries ups pressure on government in Stockholm.
Danish justice minister visits Kosovo prison set to receive 300 inmates from Denmark
The deal, which was originally signed in 2021, only became a treaty earlier this year when it was approved by Kosovo’s parliament.
Six EU countries call for tough DSA action against platforms like Shein, Temu
Germany, Austria, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands and France call for a unified approach in enforcing EU-standards in e-commerce.
Hold China responsible for helping Russia, Danish PM says
Moscow could not sustain a full-scale invasion of Ukraine for this long “without help from China,” Mette Frederiksen says.
Danish PM to allies: Stop talking about โred linesโ and let Ukraine strike Russia
“The most important red line has been crossed already. And that was when the Russians entered Ukraine,” Mette Frederiksen says.
US builds up naval, troop presence near Alaska amid Russian activity
The actions follow a series of Russian air operations that skirted Alaskan airspace and as Russian and Chinese warships conducted joint exercises across the Pacific.
US likely to send medium-range missiles for Ukraineโs F-16s
The $375 million will be the largest package the U.S. has sent Ukraine since May.
The Brief โ The curious case of Denmarkโs migration opt-out
The Netherlands and Hungary are unlikely to get an opt-out from the EUโs migration policy, rarely has it ever happened, when Denmark got theirs, they got lucky โ and France got the Strasbourg seat.
Mouse crawling out of meal forces plane to make early landing
Rodent posed risk to electrical wiring on Scandinavian Airlines flight from Oslo to MรกlagaAirline meals hardly carry high expectations but this week a passenger faced more than just a disappointing supper after a mouse crawled out of their meal, forcin…
Russia โfully readyโ for Arctic war with NATO
“The Arctic is not the territory of the North Atlantic alliance,โ Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns.
Books are โmostlyโ for rich people, Slovak government shrugs as it puts up VAT
Government of PM Robert Fico is looking for ways to raise money to shrink budget deficit from 6 percent of GDP forecast for 2024.
Copenhagenโs plan to end patient safety incident reporting system condemned as backward [Advocacy Lab Content]
The Danish government wants to abolish healthcare professionals’ obligation to report unintentional incidents with patients, a system that has existed for 20 years and is still considered a success.
Germany retains quiet grip on Europeโs finances
Von der Leyen’s loyalists hail from countries that don’t like splashing the cash. While others may have posher titles, those frugal hands still hold the power.
IMF axes controversial Russia visit after outrage from European capitals
Kyiv’s allies said the trip would have been a “propaganda win” for Vladimir Putin.
How Teresa Ribera became the second-most powerful person in Brussels
Spainโs climate expert is poised to become the EUโs competition chief, net-zero architect and economic transformer โ all in one.
Spainโs Ribera hints she wonโt obstruct EU nuclear expansion
Pro-nuclear countries have expressed worries that Teresa Ribera won’t support the technology as the EU’s next green chief.
Meet the commissioners: Class of 2024
Everything you need to know about Ursula von der Leyen’s team for her second term.
Ursula von der Leyenโs new European Commission
Commission president hands out the top jobs in her new team.
Ursula von der Leyen announces new European Commission lineup โ Europe live
European Commission president reveals team after extensive negotiations and balancing, including nominating women and representing centre-right partiesValdis Dombrovskis, from Latvia, was nominated to be commissioner for economy and productivity.Dan Jรธ…
Denmarkโs Jรธrgensen tapped for top EU energy and housing job
He has been a prominent negotiator at the annual United Nations COP climate summits.
Germany reintroduces border checks to far-right praise as EU tensions mount
Olaf Scholzโs government says โacute dangersโ led to decision but some EU criticise โunacceptableโ decisionGermany will reintroduce temporary checks at all nine of its land borders on Monday in a move that has drawn criticism from several of its Europe…
Denmark’s DSV secures Deutsche Bahn unit despite union resistance
DSV will become the world’s largest logistics company thanks to the acquisition.
European governments criticize IMF trip to Russia as โpropaganda winโ for Putin
Visit will “create substantial reputational risks,” countries say.
Denmark returns iconic indigenous cloak to Brazil
The cloak, made of 4,000 red feathers, was taken from Brazil during the Portuguese colonial period.
Denmark and Sweden police operate across borders to tackle gang crime spree
Malmรถ in southern Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark have faced escalating gang violence in recent years, which has intensified over the summer to the point where police from both countries are now operating across borders.
Building a shared finance and security vision between Britain and Europe
Against a geopolitical backdrop thatโs unrecognizable from just a few years ago, thereโs a strong case for developing a cross-Channel finance and security partnership.
Germanyโs Scholz gets tough on border in bid to save political future
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s move to establish new border controls risks generating an EU rift.
The UK is backing away from oil
Britain has been drilling off the Scottish coast for generations. But the new Labour government has greener plans.
Polandโs Tusk slams Germanyโs border checks as โunacceptableโ
Berlin’s decision is a “de facto suspension of the Schengen Agreement on a large scale,” Polish PM says.
Polish PM slams German border controls
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday (10 September) sharply criticised Germany’s decision to tighten controls on all its borders, including the one it shares with Poland.
โThe end of Schengenโ: Germanyโs new border controls put EU unity at risk
Critics say tightened land border checks a โtransparentโ bid to appease far right that breaches free movement rightsGermanyโs decision to tighten controls at every one of its land borders seems driven chiefly by politics, is difficult to justify in law…
South Korea reveals new evidence of โviolent and systemicโ forced adoption abroad
Hospitals and adoption agencies appear to have colluded to force single mothers to give up children, commission findsSouth Korea has found new evidence that mothers were forced to give up their children for adoption in countries including Australia, De…
Germany to extend temporary controls to all land borders in response to โirregular migrationโ โ Europe live
Interior minister Nancy Faeser says controls will be set up at borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark for six monthsNancy Faeser, the German interior minister, also said that the government has designed a scheme enabling …
Germany tightens border controls in immigration clampdown
German police will carry out checks on the borders with all nine neighboring countries.
Buy your guns, missiles and tanks at home, Draghi tells EU countries
The EU should push countries to buy from the bloc’s military industrial complex, Draghi said in his new report.
Copenhagen 2036? Denmark looks into hosting the Olympics.
โMy vision is that we must have the smallest and most sustainable Olympics ever,โ a Copenhagen city official said.
The great Commission puzzle: Who we think will get each portfolio
Ursula von der Leyen is about to hand out key jobs in her team. Hereโs POLITICOโs version of the next Commission.
The flip side of debt: The EUโs urgent need for new resources
Agreeing on one-off common debt issuance was hardly a Hamiltonian moment โ but substantially increasing the blocโs own resources may just bring us closer to one.
Copenhagen’s dream of becoming a low-carbon city
‘Repairing the Earth’ (6/6). Denmark’s pioneering capital has set itself the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2025. It has already reduced its emissions by 75% since 2005. Half of all journeys are made by bicycle, red meat is no longer used in school…
Greta Thunberg arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in Denmark
Police on Wednesday arrested a group of pro-Palestinian students including the 21-year-old activist Greta Thunberg who had occupied a building at the University of Copenhagen to protest what they said was the university’s continued “cooperation with a…
Greta Thunberg arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in Denmark
The activist was part of a group occupying a University of Copenhagen building to call for an academic boycott of Israeli universities, Danish media reported.
Greta Thunberg arrested at Gaza war protest in Copenhagen
Climate activist one of six detained by police after students block university building in Danish capitalIsrael and Hamas at war โ live updatesDanish police have arrested the environmental activist Greta Thunberg in Copenhagen at a protest against the …
Socialists fear a lack of influence in von der Leyenโs Commissionย
Either more commissioner posts, more powerful portfolios, or ironclad commitments will be needed to cement Socialist support for von der Leyenโs Commission, key figures warn.