Looking at Trump, Europeโs far right vows to โreconquerโ the continent
โOur friend Trump, the Trump tornado, has changed the world in just a couple of weeks,โ Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbรกn tells far-right rally in Madrid.
๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Germanyโs old-school conservatism is well and truly over
Even if Merz stumbles across the finish line and secures a coalition government, the death knell for Christian democracy may well have been sounded.
Ukraine war briefing: Putin admits situation โvery difficultโ in Kursk as Kyiv forces mount new offensive
Moscow shows โindifferenceโ to civilian humanitarian corridor offer, says Zelenskyy; France delivers Mirage jets. What we know on day 1,080Russia said it was battling a new Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, as Kyiv offered a humanitarian corridor for civil…
Denmark gets ready to defend Greenland from Trump โฆ with warm socks
Danish military forks out millions for toasty footwear.
First high-end French fighter jets arrive in Ukraine
The warplanes will help defend Ukraine against Russian attacks.
Poland spends big on arms to stay friends with Trump
Defense Minister Wลadysลaw Kosiniak-Kamysz warns that Europe must spend more “to retain the presence of the Americans in Europe.”
Starmer leaves Brussels with a tariff-free Trump sycophancy surplus | John Crace
The PM and Natoโs secretary general were in perfect agreement that the orange manchild is a sensible, super-smart geniusDonโt mention the trade war. Donโt mention anything much, come to think of it. Stick to generalised soundbites. Careless talk costs …
Keir Starmer says he does not accept UK has to choose between US and EU โ as it happened
Prime minister says both US and Europe are important to UK as he holds press conference with Nato secretary general Mark RutteKeir Starmerโs dinner with EU leaders tonight will take place at the Palais dโEgmont, a 16th-century palace where Ted Heath si…
The EUโs AI bans come with big loopholes for police
The EU’s AI Act bans some โunacceptableโ use of the technology but critics say the law is riddled with security exemptions.
Brussels lowers its expectations for Keir Starmerโs Brexit reset
EU officials and diplomats believe improvements to the cross-channel relationship are possible, and still happening โ but slowly.
German far right may benefit most from Merzโs self-inflicted wound
Conservative leader’s gambit to weaken the postwar ‘firewall’ may be a boon for the AfD ahead of a national election.
Von der Leyen and Rutte rock casual sneakers look at EU retreat
They join politicians from Rishi Sunak to Emmanuel Macron in putting their best feet forward.
Soft spaces out, stick-fighting in: Dutch call for the return of risky play
Encouraging kids to play with fire? Hear us out, says party worried by the Netherlandsโ increasingly sedentary waysTen-year-old Jackie stood with a small pan in the flames of an open fire, chatting merrily, when her popcorn caught alight.With no sign o…
โVicious cycleโ: far-right parties across Europe are inspiring imitators
Hardline agendas, especially on immigration, are copied by mainstream conservatives in vain effort to win back votesFar-right parties could become the largest force on the right in Europe within a decade, experts have said, as mainstream conservative p…
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Anger in Romania over theft of national treasures in heist at Dutch museum
Revered Helmet of Coศofeneศti among items from ancient Dacian civilisation stolen while on loan at Drents MuseumHours before the sun rose over the Netherlands, the group crowded around the large external door, appearing to pry it open. Seconds later, t…
Dutch security minister suggests reinforcing Baltic Sea cables
“Those those cables have been built by regulations that never took into account active sabotage at sea,” David van Weel told Euractiv.
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Chasing the Don: How EU politicians are jockeying for position with Trump
From Nigel Farage to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, EU politicians are competing for the privilege of being Europe’s Trump whisperer.
Three arrested after ancient Romanian artefacts stolen from Dutch museum
2,500-year-old Helmet of Cotofenesti among objects taken after thieves used explosives to enter buildingDutch police have arrested three men in connection with the robbery of ancient Romanian artefacts from a museum in the north-east of the Netherlands…
Europeโs leaders plot to stop Trump from taking Greenlandย
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warns Trump not to take territory by force as EU leaders prepare to discuss Greenland tensions at a Feb. 3 summit.ย
Danish PM marshals European support against Trump’s threats to Greenland
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen received pledges of support on Tuesday from European leaders in the face of US President Donald Trump’s threats to Greenland on a whirlwind tour that included talks withย German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French Pre…
France floated sending troops to Greenland, foreign minister says
The comments came as Denmark’s prime minister travels to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to shore up support from allies.
Olaf Scholz says borders โmust not be moved by forceโ after Trump Greenland comments
German chancellor speaks alongside Mette Frederiksen as Danish leader calls for greater cooperation in EuropeThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said that โborders must not be moved by forceโ after a meeting with Denmarkโs leader, Mette Frederiksen…
Lithuanian defense minister calls for โbalanceโ between US and European arms dealsย ย
Higher defense spending will not be financed by cutting the welfare state but by combining national and EU money, Dovilฤ ล akalienฤ told POLITICO.
How Vladimir Putin killed the EUโs frugal coalition
The need to counter Russia is shifting the attitudes of rich northern countries on budget discipline.
Coca-Cola recalls drinks in Europe over โhigher levelsโ of chemical chlorate
Cans and bottles containing the chemical, which can cause health issues, were distributed in Britain at the end of last yearCoca-Cola has recalled its drinks in some countries across Europe after detecting โhigher levelsโ of the chemical chlorate.Cans …
Coca-Cola orders massive recall of its products in Europe over chlorine derivative
Coca-Cola recalled its drinks in several countries across Europe on Monday because of excessive levels of a potentially harmful substance. The recall concerns cans and glass bottles of Coke, Sprite, Fuze Tea and other beverages distributed in Belgium,…
One of Europeโs most-wanted drug traffickers living in Sierra Leone, say Dutch prosecutors
Jos Leijdekkers, reportedly the son-in-law of African countryโs president, was sentenced to 24 years in prisonOne of Europeโs most wanted men, the Dutch crime boss Jos Leijdekkers, is hiding out in Sierra Leone, Dutch prosecutors have said.The statemen…
Romanian government fumes after national treasures stolen in Dutch museum heist
Bucharest will send a “firm message” to the Dutch authorities, PM says.
Thieves use explosives to steal artefacts from museum in the Netherlands
Thieves use explosives to steal artefacts from museum in the Netherlands
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Bacteria and pesticides found in cannabis sold in Dutch coffee shops
โBaselineโ contamination study to inform Netherlands trial in which shops will sell drug produced by licensed growersLead, pesticides and potentially harmful bacteria were among the contaminants found during an investigation into cannabis sold in semi-…
Nato chief urges โstep upโ in support for Ukraine
Vladimir Putin victory would lead to blocโs members spending โtrillionsโ more on defence, says Mark RutteBusiness live โ latest updatesThe head of the Nato military alliance has called for a โstep upโ in support for Ukraine, to put Kyiv in the stronges…
NATOโs Rutte: Trump โis rightโ and Europeโs defense spending is a โproblemโ
Transatlantic military alliance chief echoes Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in stinging remarks at the World Economic Forum.
With the knives out on development spending, have we reached โpeak aidโ? | Nilima Gulrajani and Jessica Pudussery
From Trumpโs Project 2025 to a huge aid cut by the Dutch, donors are turning their backs on the developing worldForeign aid spending reached a record high of $223bn (ยฃ180bn) in 2023, new figures released this week from the Organisation for Economic Co-…
Court deals blow to Netherlandsโ nitrogen reduction plans
The ruling could force the government to further reduce livestock numbers.
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Dutch government ordered to cut nitrogen pollution โย or face โฌ10M fine
Greenpeaceโs victory means that PM Dick Schoof must achieve emission-reduction targets by 2030 or face the penalty.
Global leaders join the show as Trump promises US domination
Historians say this is the first time foreign heads of state or government attended a US presidential swearing-in ceremony.
As Trump arrives, Macron hints NATO spending target is too low
The French president warned Europe should prepare for a U.S. withdrawal from Europe.
ICC braces for swift Trump sanctions over Israeli arrest warrants
Leadership at international criminal court fears new US administration will move quickly to shut it downThe international criminal court is bracing itself for Donald Trump to launch aggressive economic sanctions against it this week, amid fears such a …
EU industry chief warns Trump: Trade war wonโt let us hit defense spending target
Stรฉphane Sรฉjournรฉ said Europe needs to invest more in defense but that it would be impossible to do so amid a trade war.
Nato flotilla assembles off Estonia to protect undersea cables in Baltic Sea
Taskforce to act as โsecurity camera of the Balticโ after string of suspected sabotage incidents on critical infrastructureA Nato flotilla likened to โthe security camera of the Balticโ has assembled off the coast of Estonia as the military alliance se…
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Netherlands grapples with painful past as WWII archives go public
Eighty years after the end of World War II, the Netherlands’ largest war archive is going public. No longer classified, it contains the names of hundreds of thousands of people who were investigated for collaborating with the Nazis. The release has sp…
NATO Chief Mark Rutte calls for ‘shift to a wartime mindset’
NATO Chief Mark Rutte calls for ‘shift to a wartime mindset’
German farmers fear โmassiveโ hit from foot-and-mouth outbreak
Several countries have already taken precautionary measures or imposed bans, as the German livestock sector braces for longer-term impact.
Venezuela restricts diplomats from โhostileโ European countries
The foreign ministry in Caracas announced it would limit the number of accredited diplomats from France, Italy and the Netherlands to three.
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Austriaโs Kickl brings Europeโs anti-populist firewall crashing down
Herbert Kickl’s rise ends a firewall that has kept populist politicians out of power in EU countries for decades.
NATO launches Baltic Sea patrols after suspected cable sabotage
The NATO military alliance said Tuesday it would launch a Baltic Sea monitoring mission following the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in recent months. Several telecom and power cables have been severed with experts and politicians accusing Russ…
NATO to deploy drones, aircraft to counter wave of Baltic Sea cable attacks
Baltic Sea country leaders are meeting in Helsinki after a series of incidents involving energy and data cables.
Nearly half the worldโs population holds antisemitic beliefs
We have failed to pass on the memory and lessons of the Holocaust to younger generations โ the very future of our world.
EU warns US over new AI chips blocks
Export restrictions on cutting-edge microchips will affect some EU countries, including Poland.
Ukraine war briefing: Strengthen Kyivโs hand before peace talks, says Nato chief
Mark Rutte says Ukraine not yet in the โposition of strengthโ it needs for talks with Russia; Biden says US and allies โcanโt walk awayโ. What we know on day 1,056Ukraine is not in a strong enough position for peace talks with Russia, Nato chief, Mark …
Pay for weapons to keep your freedom, warn Europeโs big five defense spenders
Europeโs five biggest defense spenders want to boost defense production and slash regulations.
Keep calm, Austriaโs acting leader tells EU as far right looms
Alexander Schallenberg reassures officials that pro-Russian chancellor would be restrained.
Rethink welfare to finance military splurge, NATO boss tells European Parliament
If spending doesn’t rise, then MEPs should “get out your Russian language courses or go to New Zealand.”
Press release – Rutte to MEPs: โWe are safe now, we might not be safe in five yearsโ
On Monday afternoon, MEPs discussed the security situation in Europe and beyond as well as defence and EU-NATO cooperation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.Committee on Foreign AffairsCommittee on Security and Defence Source : ยฉ European Union, 2…
Less health, more defence spending, NATO chief says
Reallocating money from welfare to security has already raised eyebrows from senior EU politicians.
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Germanyโs Baerbock cautions on Syria as EU signals sanctions relief
Syria’s transitional government โsounds good so far,” Germany’s foreign minister told POLITICO โ but actions speak louder than words.
Sales of no or low alcohol beers rise in The Netherlands
Sales of no or low alcohol beers rise in The Netherlands
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Press release – MEPs to discuss European and global security with NATO Secretary General Rutte
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will make his first official visit to the European Parliament since taking office on 1 October 2024.Committee on Foreign Affairs Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
โA risk to life and limbโ: residents of Germany and Netherlands rue dangers of fireworks
Authorities are reluctant to curb excesses of a new yearโs tradition that is causing life-changing injuriesSeven-year-old Necati Karki had gathered with his family as part of a crowd in their neighbourhood in northern Berlin when a treacherous new addi…
Ukraineโs donors set targets at last pre-Trump meeting
Ukraine’s Western allies pledged to set Kyiv up military aid through 2027.
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Dutch cut flower industry in hot water over pesticides
The Netherlands is the world’s leader in fresh flower production. Over the past decade, the sector has grown by a fifth. But NGOs have been warning about the high levels of pesticides in Dutch flowers. One study even showed that a third of the substan…
13 times Elon Musk meddled in politics
The X owner and Donald Trump pick will never, ever stop posting โ governments be damned.
French defense minister calls for scrapping EU arms cash fund if it canโt be fixed
Sรฉbastien Lecornu warned that if the program opens the door to non-EU arms producers, “it’s better to do nothing.”
NATO sends a fleet to guard Baltic Sea cables
The decision follows a spate of suspected sabotage incidents on underwater cables.
5 green targets EU countries will (mostly) miss in 2025
EU countries are behind on most, if not all, their sustainability commitments.
Cases of flu-like virus are soaring in China. Should Europe worry?
Experts say seasonal surges are to be expected.
The finance policy battles shaping 2025
Expect a rerun of the same old fights โ from green rules to defense spending.
German officials call for clampdown on illegal โfirework bombsโ after five deaths
Explosives brought in from Poland and the Czech Republic are combined with household items for a bigger bangGerman officials have called for a clampdown on illegally imported and homemade โfirework bombsโ after pyrotechnics for personal use killed at l…
Integrate? Europeโs Muslims are damned if we do and damned if we donโt | Shada Islam
The new allegation in Islamophobic discourse is that even Muslims who appear โwell-integratedโ hate the westReporting on the rise of anti-Muslim hostility across Europe means repeatedly hearing generalisations about Europeโs 25 million Muslims. We are …
Netherlands to open archive on people accused of wartime Nazi collaboration
Some descendants are apprehensive but a historian says making 30m pages of records public is โimportant stepโFor 80 years, details of their ancestorsโ collaboration with the Nazis have been buried in spotless rows of filing cabinets in The Hague. But t…
Ukraine war briefing: Russia vows to retaliate after state media reportedly blocked on Telegram in EU
Moscow says the move is โcensorshipโ and that it reserves the right to โrespond in the same mannerโ. What we know on day 1,041Russia has vowed to retaliate after the channels of its state media were apparently blocked on the popular Telegram social med…
Europeโs slow but โinevitableโ march to allow assisted dying
The U.K. is the latest country to move toward legalizing the controversial yet evermore popular practice.
NATO to boost Baltic Sea presence after cables broken
Baltic nations are on alert after a string of outages of power cables, telecom links and gas pipelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
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Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
As Finland seizes Russian ship, Estonia launches naval patrols
A member of Russiaโs so-called shadow fleet is suspected of damaging an undersea cable.
Can Europe switch to a โwartime mindsetโ? Take it from us in Ukraine: here is what that means | Oleksandr Mykhed
Natoโs warning reached me as I braced for a missile attack in Kyiv โ where weโve learned how to survive in the era of Russian hybrid warfareDay 1,024 of the invasion. Kyiv, 7am. Friday the 13th. In a former life, someone would have observed that this i…
Finland boards oil tanker suspected of causing internet, power cable outages
The Cook Islands-registered ship, part of the Russian ‘shadow fleet’, was boarded by a Finnish coast guard crew that took command and sailed the vessel to Finnish waters
The post Finland boards oil tanker suspected of causing internet, power cable outa…
Ukraine war briefing: Nato condemns possible sabotage of Baltic Sea cables
Nato chief Mark Rutte criticises all attacks on critical infrastructure; Putin says Slovakia has offered to be โplatformโ for any peace talks. What we know on day 1,038See all our Ukraine war coverage Continue reading…
Five men found guilty over Amsterdam football violence
Dutch prosecutor hands out jail sentences of up to six months, saying fighting between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv fans โhad little to doโ with sportA Dutch court has handed down sentences of up to six months in prison to the first men to be tried over t…
NATOโs Rutte slams Zelenskyy for criticizing Germanyโs Scholz
Ukrainian president should moderate his complaints about German chancellor, NATO chief says.
NATO chief says Zelenskyyโs criticism of Scholz is unfair
Mark Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
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A Man and a Camera review โ doorstep prank movie is pass-agg psychological study
Film-maker Guido Hendrikx goes house-to-house in a Dutch suburb, ringing doorbells and then mutely filming โ we see what people will say and do to fill the silenceDutch film-maker Guido Hendrikx has given us a funny but also somewhat slippery and disin…
EU leaders committed to increasing NATO defense spending, Greek PM says
A new spending target “will become clear” next year after talks among NATO allies, Greek leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Qatar warns it will halt gas supplies to Europe if fined under EU due diligence law
“I’m not bluffing” in LNG threat, Qatari Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi tells the FT.
โShe should have a bit of meโ: the Dutch mothers fighting for their children to carry their surname
Women are challenging the law that prevents them giving their kids both family names without fatherโs consentWhen 43-year-old Rebecca Lee took her birth motherโs Korean surname, it was a revelation. โI was adopted and got a Dutch name but I never felt …
No surprises here! What is discretionary remains discretionary in the CJEUโs first judgment on temporary protection
Dr Meltem Ineli
Ciger, Associate
Professor, Suleyman Demirel University
Photo credit: Francisco Anzola, via Wikimedia
Commons
On 19 December
2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union gave its judgment in Joined
ca…
German troops must be โfitโ for war if Putin attacks, Defense Minister Pistorius says
Pistorius wants a reform of Germany’s debt brake to allow for more military spending.
Trump reportedly wants NATO members to boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP
Trump’s request would involve more than doubling NATO’s current spending target.
Worldโs cartoonists on this weekโs events
Drawing the top stories around the globe.
Ukraineโs defense procurement problems risk sabotaging war front
Ukraine is trying to clean up its procurement process to better supply its troops and attract foreign funding.
Europeโs biggest dietary problem? Lobbyists, says Nutri-Score creator.
Franceโs Serge Hercberg warns that disinformation is shortening the lives of consumers.
The EUโs A-Team for 2025
In the spirit of Christmas cheer, this week’s EU Politics Decoded asks: who would it take for the EU to have a happy 2025?
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UK mulls troops in Ukraine for training mission
UK Defense Sec John Healey says military training should be a “better fit for what the Ukrainians need” โ and announces fresh ยฃ225 million in support.
EUโs top court allows ending shelter for temporary residents of Ukraine
The Court of Justice upheld an earlier legal opinion that EU countries can withdraw protection that they voluntarily granted to temporary residents of Ukraine.
The post EUโs top court allows ending shelter for temporary residents of Ukraine appeared fi…
Europeans test water on coalitions to strengthen Ukraine for possible ceasefire talks
European officials said they expect such formats to continue over the next weeks and months.
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