French PM convenes Cabinet members after ministers spar over banning hijabs in sports
Cracks started to appear within the government over the issue in recent days.
Education
Orbán tries to ban Pride in Hungary as polls show rival surging
Fidesz says it’s trying to prohibit Pride to keep children safe from the LGBTQ+ agenda, but opponents say the prime minister’s party is trying to create a wedge issue.
The Starmer backlash
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics. With Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s spring statement fast approaching, Labour faces a major challenge from its own backbenchers ahead of an announcement to restrict some sickness and disability benefits. Sam and Anne discuss the stakes […]
Macron to EU colleagues: Stop buying American, buy European
“Those who buy Patriot should be offered the new-generation Franco-Italian SAMP/T. Those who buy the F-35, should be offered the Rafale,” French president says.
Many European leaders ‘ desperately hoping US remains committed to NATO’
FRANCE 24’s Yinka Oyetade speaks to Dafydd Townley, from the University of Portsmouth’s Professional Military Education Team, about the meeting between Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte. He says that for all the bluster coming from the White Hous…
Who’s in Elon’s ear — and DMs
Musk’s most trusted advisers remain a tight-knit group of executives who have followed him from his companies but lack political experience.
Trump administration briefing: education department to be halved as Trump walks back Canada tariffs
Education secretary Linda McMahon describes layoffs as ‘significant step towards restoring greatness’ – key US politics stories from Tuesday at a glanceThe US Department of Education intends to lay off nearly half of its workforce, the department has …
‘Not why I joined the party:’ Keir Starmer’s MPs agonize about welfare cuts
A minority of MPs in the ruling Labour Party are feeling mutinous — but there’s a sharp divide among its newest members.
Is the EU a world leader in promoting women’s rights? Addressing the remaining inequalities
International Women’s Day first took place in March 1911, with more than a million people marking the event in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. At that time, women were not allowed to vote, and in numerous countries higher education was not …
Europe’s workforce challenge: Commission launches plan to bridge skills gap
The Union of Skills focuses on strengthening education, upskilling, internal labour mobility and attracting foreign talent.
Cutting FE college funding is not how you tackle the skills shortage
Also in this week’s newsletter, a glimmer of hope for the higher education sector
Colleges of further education in England will get less funding than promised
Reduction to two-thirds of budgeted top-up payments for additional students a sign of looming government squeezes
Starmer looks to Germany and Australia for advice — on what not to do
Bruising times for center-left parties have U.K. Labour looking abroad for inspiration.
Archive of the Future review – mesmerising safari through Vienna’s natural history museum
Joerg Burger’s film, as immersive as a museum visit, lovingly embraces the meticulous labours of the curators and touches on key current questions for the sectorJoerg Burger’s meticulous and mesmerising study of the Vienna Museum of Natural History is …
Turkey’s Erdoğan tries to sink popular rival in flood of court battles
Popular Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is seen by many as a likely next president — as long as Erdoğan’s authorities don’t jail him.
America must not surrender its Democratic values | Bernie Sanders
Together, we must fight for our long-held values and work with people around the world who share themFor 250 years, the United States has held itself up as a symbol of democracy – an example of freedom and self-governance to which the rest of the world…
Germany weighs massive defense spending deal before far right can block it
A sense of urgency is rising as parties on the extreme right and left may be able to block defense spending when Germany’s new parliament convenes.
Bulgarian Botox injuries surge, authorities launch investigation
Lawyers warn that control over who administers Botox, especially those without medical education, is weak, and Botox imports are often untraceable.
Denmark to ban mobile phones in schools and after-school clubs
Government accepts advice of commission that also says children under 13 should not have their own smartphoneDenmark is to ban mobile phones in schools and after-school clubs on the recommendation of a government commission that also found that childre…
Estonia announces world-first ‘AI Leap’ to roll out chatbots in all schools
”Estonia is creating a model that other countries will likely follow,” said Neerav Kingsland, head of business development at Anthropic.
Nigel Farage is surging in Britain’s rust belt — and Labour is panicked
The U.K.’s ruling Labour Party has a 103-year winning streak in Wales, but that could end next May. POLITICO talked to officials, politicians and disillusioned steelworkers to track the rapid rise of Farage’s Reform UK.
Why is USAID’s death being met with silence?
The impact of cutting international assistance is incredibly harmful, and it hurts America too. It’s time for our former leaders to speak up.
AI Literacy Under the AI Act: An Assessment of its Scope
Tiago Sérgio Cabral*** PhD Candidate at the
University of Minho | Researcher at JusGov | Project Expert for the Portuguese
team in the “European Network on Digitalization and E-governance”
(ENDE). Author’s opinions are his own.Photo credit:…
‘Viciousness’ of Trump’s climate attacks stuns even his critics
President Donald Trump has attacked nearly every aspect of the U.S. effort to confront rising temperatures.
Trump’s mineral grab has all the elements of an earworm | Brief letters
Trumped by Tom Lehrer | The wrong don | Gulf names | Cork house | DogeYour article, referring to rare earth elements including europium, dysprosium, gadolinium, praseodymium, holmium and ytterbium, was very enlightening (What are Ukraine’s critical min…
Who’s in charge of DOGE? Not Elon Musk, White House says
A Trump administration personnel official says Musk has “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions.”
The city that exposes Germany’s deep migration divide
The election race in Schwerin pits a migration official against a far-right politician who’s taken a hard line on the issue.
New Geo-Political Challenges and the Past and Future of EU-Greenland Relations
Ulla Neergaard, Professor of EU Law, University of Copenhagen
Photo credit: Gordon Leggett, via Wikimedia Commons
*This contribution draws upon Ulla
Neergaard’s forthcoming work, “‘Eurarctic’: Colonialism and EU-Greenland…
IA et télécoms : it’s a match!
AU MENU — Le deal gagnant-gagnant des opérateurs télécoms avec des IA génératives. — Les datacenters ont les yeux plus gros que le ventre, selon RTE. — Protection des données : la CNIL se rode face aux modèles d’IA, avec Mistral pour cas pratique. Bonjour à toutes et à tous, nous sommes vendredi 14 février. […]
Les 30 couples de pouvoir les plus influents en 2025
A l’occasion de la Saint-Valentin, POLITICO a listé les couples les plus influents de l’année.
Trump’s uphill battle to make NATO allies hit his mega defense spending target
There is broad agreement to boost defense spending — but the U.S. president’s call for 5 percent of GDP is too much for most European countries.
French PM says he’ll sue media outlet that alleged he didn’t act after priest was accused of raping child
The allegations concern officials at the school that Bayrou’s own children attended.
Most victims in Swedish mass shooting had immigrant background, say police
Prime minister addresses nation to pay tribute to those ‘who wanted to contribute to a better society’Most of the people killed by a gunman in the Swedish city of Örebro last week had an immigrant background, police have said, after the prime minister …
Sexually transmitted infections continue to surge in Europe
Less condom use, a patchy state of sex education across Europe and barriers to testing.
Sommet sur l’IA : Mistral gagnant
AU MENU — Au Sommet sur l’IA, le champion Mistral bien décidé à prendre la lumière. — L’IA au garde-à-vous à l’Ecole militaire. — Le député Eric Bothorel part à l’assaut du réseau X. Bonjour à toutes et à tous, nous sommes lundi 10 février et c’est le grand jour : le Sommet français sur […]
Inside USAID’s undoing
Aides to the president and Elon Musk suspected USAID officials were trying to go around a funding freeze.
Sweden to tighten gun laws in wake of Örebro mass shooting
‘We have to ensure that only the right people have guns in Sweden,’ says prime minister, Ulf KristerssonSweden’s government has announced plans to strengthen its gun laws, including by restricting access to semi-automatic weapons, after the country’s w…
How Germany found itself holding an Italian election
POLITICO has processed 35 years’ worth of election data to find out why this month’s vote is messier than ever ― and what will happen next.
Several nationalities among Sweden school shooting victims, police say
Syrian embassy says its citizens were among 11 killed in attack by lone gunman in Örebro• Europe live – latest updatesPeople of several nationalities were among the 11 killed at a school in Sweden’s worst mass shooting, police have said.Anna Bergkvist,…
Gunman may have attended school where he killed 11 in mass shooting, say Swedish police
Police have provided information on the gunman who opened fire and killed 11 people at an adult education centre on Tuesday in the Swedish city of Örebro.
Swedish police say ‘multiple nationalities’ among victims of school mass shooting
Swedish law enforcement officials said there were numerous nationalities among the victims of Tuesday’s shooting at an adult education centre in Orebro that left 11 people dead, including the suspected gunman, and dozens wounded. Police said the suspe…
Shooter at Örebro school had taken classes there, reports Swedish media
Police say suspect, who is among the dead, acted alone as they continue the work of identifying victimsThe gun rampage that left 11 people dead in the Swedish city of Örebro was “a one-man operation”, police have said, as local media identified the sho…
AI helps researchers read ancient scroll burned to a crisp in Vesuvius eruption
Writing on PHerc. 172 papyrus, found at Roman mansion in Herculaneum, revealed after 3D X-rays and software competitionResearchers have peered inside an ancient scroll that was burned to a crisp in the volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii nearly 2,…
Tributes laid at site of Sweden school shooting as death toll rises to 11
Sweden’s worst mass shooting left at least 11 people dead, including the gunman, and at least five seriously wounded at an adult education centre west of Stockholm, as officials warned that the death toll could rise.
In Sweden, ‘many questions remain unanswered’ after country’s ‘worst mass murder’
Eleven people were killed and several seriously injured in an attack on an adult education center in Örebro on Tuesday. The suspect was found dead.
Suspect among 11 killed at education centre in Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting
A gunman opened fire on Tuesday at a school west of Stockholm that offers adult education classes and Swedish-language classes for immigrants. Sweden’s Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer called the shooting “an event that shakes our entire society to it…
Multiple people dead in ‘worst mass shooting’ in Swedish history – video report
Police have said ’10 or so’ people have been killed and at least five others wounded in a campus shooting in the southern Swedish city of Örebro, in what Sweden’s prime minister has described as a ‘very painful day’ for the country. Roberto Eid Forest,…
Gunman kills several people at adult education center in Sweden
A gunman shot several people in an attack at a school for adults west of Stockholm, Sweden on Tuesday. Local media reported that the perpetrator was also wounded after turning the weapon on himself, though police did not confirm those reports. Sweden …
Five shot in campus attack in Swedish city of Örebro
Students held indoors at education campus where shooting took place, with attacker believed to be among injuredSweden shooting – live updatesAt least five people, including the suspected gunman, have been shot and injured, one seriously, in an attack i…
Sweden shooting: 10 people dead after attack at education centre in Örebro, say police – latest updates
Perpetrator of shooting at Risbergska campus in Örebro believed to be among the dead, say policeAftonbladet daily is reporting, quoting local authorities, that an air ambulance is on its way to the scene.Separately, Dagens Nyheter daily is reporting a …
Keir Starmer says he does not accept UK has to choose between US and EU – 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 Starmer’s dinner with EU leaders tonight will take place at the Palais d’Egmont, a 16th-century palace where Ted Heath si…
Starmer dodges tariffs… but for how long?
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Donald Trump has been speaking about Keir Starmer and tariffs overnight – announcing the UK would stay tariff-free “for now”, hours before our PM heads to Brussels as the first UK leader to attend an EU […]
UK urged to probe spate of Chinese flights for forced labor
Three new routes connecting China’s Xinjiang province to major U.K. airports have opened up since last summer.
Online education: Which EU countries have the highest number of online learners?
Online education: Which EU countries have the highest number of online learners?
France to overhaul sex education in schools, with focus on consent and gender identity
French schools will introduce mandatory sex education classes covering topics such as consent, gender identity and online pornography from September, despite opposition from conservative groups. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney, speaks to Kristen Barber, As…
PMQs: Starmer wins but Badenoch’s getting more focused
Kemi Badenoch said the government’s employment plans harmed growth — but the PM raised economic turmoil under the Tories.
Von der Leyen’s bid to boost business relies on government help
The European Commission lays out its policy plans for the next five years to help turn the continent’s economy around.
Lithuanian defense minister calls for ‘balance’ between US and European arms deals
Higher defense spending will not be financed by cutting the welfare state but by combining national and EU money, Dovilė Šakalienė told POLITICO.
UNESCO’s pivotal role in preserving the memory of what happened during the Shoah
The Auschwitz nazi death camp has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list for decades. UNESCO has been pivotal in keeping the memory of what happened during the Shoah alive and has just released a new series of guidelines for teachers and journ…
My grandpa chose not to speak about his Holocaust experiences – but he asked me to tell the world | Ella Garai-Ebner
As the grandchild of a survivor, I’m proud to keep his testimony alive, in the hope that people never forget the horrors humanity is capable ofYesterday, I watched A Real Pain in the cinema. The film is a beautiful representation of two cousins, united…
Third of young adults in UK ‘unable to name Auschwitz or any Nazi death camps’
Lack of knowledge about Holocaust identified as well as level of denial and disinformation seen on social mediaA third of young adults in the UK are unable to name Auschwitz or any of the other concentration camps and ghettoes where the crimes of the H…
Scientists point to Andes potato pathogen as origin of Irish famine
Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is wel…
What is DEI and why is Trump opposed to it?
What the pushback against a more equal society could mean for a world fraught with power imbalancesWhen American voters headed to the ballot box in November, polls suggested the cost of living, immigration and reproductive rights ranked among their big…
Europe hasn’t grasped the real economic threat from Trump
It’s not industrial policy that the bloc has to worry about, it’s the rise of national capitalism.
Keir Starmer accused of running a ‘boys’ club’ as three men given key jobs
Departure of outgoing U.K. ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce has reignited criticism of the culture at the top of the British government.
PMQs: Badenoch beats Starmer by showing restraint on Southport
The Tory leader swerved the Southport murders and instead probed the PM ruthlessly on his plan for schools.
Orbán’s lockdown orgy acolyte returns in bid to save face
Former MEP József Szájer, a close ally of the Hungarian PM, tells POLITICO he wants to show he’s more than just a meme.
Get ready for Trump’s executive order onslaught
The incoming president is trying to deliver on a long list of Day One promises.
Will Labour’s schools overhaul imperil UK’s education success story?
Government plan to hand more control to local authorities has been criticised by some academy trusts and Tories
Plans for Bible reading and Latin in Italian schools criticised as ‘retrograde’
Education minister reveals revamp of national curriculum guidelines and says children must ‘learn to write better’Bible reading, Latin and learning poetry by heart could return to Italian primary and middle schools as part of a revamp of national curri…
French PM Bayrou thrown surprise lifeline by Socialists
The center-left party’s decision augurs well for Bayrou, but looming budget talks could prove tricky.
Non-censure : Bayrou obtient un premier sursis
Dans un courrier rendu public cet après-midi, le Premier ministre a répondu point par point aux demandes du Parti socialiste, notamment sur la question de la réforme des retraites.
UK’s Starmer to sign 100-year treaty with Zelenskyy in Ukraine
British leader’s trip comes at a key moment, with peace talks on the horizon as Donald Trump returns to power and threatens to shake up the dynamics of war.
‘Optimism laced with caution’: The delicate task of Syria’s political transition
Syria is stepping into a new reality — but its political contours have yet to take shape.
Nearly half the world’s population holds antisemitic beliefs
We have failed to pass on the memory and lessons of the Holocaust to younger generations — the very future of our world.
‘I Think Things Are Going to Be Bad, Really Bad’: The US Military Debates Possible Deployment on US Soil Under Trump
Trump has said he wants to use active duty U.S. troops to quell protests and round up immigrants. Will the military comply?
AfD launches manifesto as campaign season for German election begins
Polling for the far-right insurgent and its extreme policies is rising but other parties have closed ranks against it despite their weak popularityGermany’s far-right AfD party has signed off on its manifesto before next month’s critical election, prop…
Trump joins history’s long line of suitors coveting Greenland
America’s 20th and 19th century expansionists would have been delighted by the president-elect’s proposed land grab.
Musk hosts love-fest with far-right AfD chief on X
Tech billionaire backs Alice Weidel as “leading candidate” to run Germany — but gets her name wrong.
Donald Trump Jr.’s visit was ‘staged,’ says Greenland lawmaker
“We know how they treat the Inuit in Alaska. Make that great before trying to invade us,” Pipaluk Lynge tells POLITICO.
Netanyahu can attend Auschwitz memorial event, Poland’s Tusk says
The Israeli prime minister is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes in Gaza.
Doctors present first barrier for rare disease patients
Overcoming the doctor’s ego is a first hurdle for many rare disease patients in search of a diagnosis.
From low blows to Obama ‘bromance’: 11 moments in political life of Justin Trudeau
Canada’s prime minister prides himself as a fighter, but he just announced he won’t lead the Liberals’ next battle.
The Great Resignation 2.0 is coming – and I salute the European millennials who plan to quit
After Covid, the US saw a wave of younger workers leaving unsatisfying and exploitative jobs. Now I hear it’s France’s turnRecently I was chatting to an acquaintance in Paris, a senior manager in his mid-50s, who works for a French company in the educa…
New Year’s Day attack on Kyiv kills two prominent scientists, education minister says
New Year’s Day attack on Kyiv kills two prominent scientists, education minister says
Integrate? Europe’s Muslims are damned if we do and damned if we don’t | Shada Islam
The new allegation in Islamophobic discourse is that even Muslims who appear ‘well-integrated’ hate the westReporting on the rise of anti-Muslim hostility across Europe means repeatedly hearing generalisations about Europe’s 25 million Muslims. We are …
Jimmy Carter: The last progressive evangelical
The former president embodied a strain of Christianity that emphasized caring for those on the margins — but was eclipsed by the Religious Right.
French PM visits Mayotte after Cyclone Chido destruction
French Prime Minister François Bayrou arrived in Mayotte on Monday accompanied by a large delegation including education minister Elisabeth Borne and Manuel Valls, the new overseas territories minister. They have vowed to bring help to the island and …
Meloni’s 2025 budget appeases Brussels but raises specter of austerity
Critics complained that the spending plan prioritizes political concerns over desperately sought funds for strained public services.
‘Why should I study Russian?’ Ukraine lobbies UK to introduce Ukrainian GCSE
About 34,000 Ukrainian children have fled to UK since Russian invasion – yet are unable to study their mother tongueUkraine is lobbying the UK government to give teenage refugees who fled the war-torn country the chance to study a GCSE in Ukrainian, am…
Full master class in animal-free safety assessment now launched
Creating lasting building blocks for change: the free online course preparing toxicologists for the inevitable shift toward animal-free safety science
Westminster’s top books of 2024
POLITICO asked politicians and chroniclers of SW1 to tell us the book they most enjoyed reading this year — here are the results, in their own words.
Westminster’s tips for a perfect Christmas lunch
Before you face the biggest feast of the year, check out how U.K. politicians prepare for the big day.
Nos 12 César de l’année politique 2024
POLITICO décerne, en toute subjectivité, ses prix à ceux qui ont contribué à faire de l’année un grand film politique.
French PM names new government, hoping to avoid another no-confidence vote
François Bayrou appoints cabinet from middle political ground, excluding hard leftThe French prime minister has announced his new government – the country’s fourth since the beginning of the year – in the hope his administration can see off another vot…
Voici les 35 ministres du gouvernement Bayrou
Le Premier ministre a formé son gouvernement, mêlant des figures de la vie politique française et des ministres déjà nommés par Michel Barnier.
Yet another French government. These are the names you need to know.
Will this one last any longer?
Serbian schools to close early for winter break amid anti-corruption protests
Vučić government seeks to stop unrest over Novi Sad canopy collapse spreading to secondary education sectorSchools across Serbia will close for the winter holidays a week earlier than planned this year as the government of the nationalist president, Al…
Florence’s 16th-century Vasari corridor opens to public for first time
Elevated passageway connecting Uffizi Galleries with Pitti Palace was for centuries used only by those with powerOver history, dukes, dictators and Europe’s illustrious elite have walked through the Vasari corridor, a narrow, 750-metre-long elevated pa…
UK’s elite Marines undergo financial literacy training
The FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign launches adult education programme for the military