Britainโs secretive fund for spies comes out of the shadows
Britain’s National Security Strategic Investment Fund has ties to MI5, MI6, and GCHQ โ and now it’s getting extra cash.
Research
Prepare for the โcoming waveโ of AI terrorism, UK government told
Jonathan Hall, the U.K. government’s advisor on terrorism legislation, said AI “will be exploited by terrorists,” and current laws may not be ready for what happens next.
France signals willingness to discuss reparations for colonial massacres in Niger
Exclusive: French government says it is open to dialogue but does not acknowledge responsibility in letter seen by the Guardian More than a century after its troops burned villages and looted cultural artefacts in the quest to include Niger in its west…
Fusion in the energy grid? Europe needs to act now [Advocacy Lab Content]
Marc Lachaise, director of ‘Fusion for Energy’, says a mapping of Europe’s fusion research serves as an early warning that the EU must develop a comprehensive nuclear fusion strategy.
Is โฌ1.2T enough to save Europe?
In the age of Putin, Trump and Xi, the stakes for the next EU budget could not be higher.
Polish prosecutors launch investigation into Auschwitz denial by far-right MEP
Former presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun called WWII gas chambers “a fake.”
Europeโs Alzheimerโs research needs generational renewal, warns neurology expert [Advocacy Lab Content]
Despite extensive collaboration and cutting-edge research, turning research into local patient care remains a serious challenge.
Trumpโs war on multinationals tests Irelandโs economic miracle
Whether it’s tariffs that impact its exports or a retaliatory EU digital services tax, Ireland stands to lose more acutely than most.
The next EU budget cannot be business as usual
The bloc must rethink and reprioritize in order to seize opportunities and tackle the new challenges we face today.
A Dutch dangerous experiment in criminalizing compassion: How a parliamentary "slip-up" could create Europe’s harshest migration law
Huub Verbaten, Research
Fellow at the Clingendael Institute
Photo credit: Markus Bernet, via Wikimedia
commons
On the evening of
July 3, 2025, as Dutch parliamentarians prepared to vote on what could become
some of Europe’s most restrictive asy…
New research grants advancing innovation in lysosomal disease treatment [Advocacy Lab Content]
Efforts to accelerate research in rare lysosomal diseases are gaining momentum through newly awarded grants supporting early-stage scientific innovation.
Corbynโs comeback: A gift for Farage, โa bloody nightmareโ for the Greens
Polling shared with POLITICO shows a new party under Labour’s left-wing former leader could dent the governing party’s vote share โ and take a big bite out of the Greens.
โRethink brain healthโ, say experts battling EU Alzheimerโs crisis [Advocacy Lab Content]
Recent research shows up to 40% of dementia cases could be prevented. Europe needs a cross-border policy rethink to impact brain health.
Ukraineโs strongest asset isnโt abroad โ itโs at home
The country’s greatest untapped resource is the millions of citizens ready to work, retrain and rebuild โ if allowed the opportunity.
Rare disease research boost for lysosomal scientists backed by Chiesi [Advocacy Lab Content]
Three scientists have been awarded research grants through Chiesiโs โFind For Rareโ programme to advance early-stage innovation in ultra-rare lysosomal conditions.
Macron pitches Starmer on new special relationship as leaders strike defense deals
The countries have dubbed their defense refresh an “entente industrielle.”
Trump officials used shadowy website to target pro-Palestinian academics for deportation, court records show
The unsealed court records also reveal how deeply involved Trump aide Stephen Miller was in the effort to revoke the visas of pro-Palestinian academics.
Climate change tripled recent heat deaths in Europe, scientists say
Global warming caused an additional 1,500 deaths in 12 cities during last weekโs heat wave, an analysis found.ย
Most Canadians now see US as a โthreat,โ study reveals
Europeans are still most concerned by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Pew Research Center survey shows.
Europeโs struggle to lead in nuclear fusion energy race [Advocacy Lab Content]
Despite its early involvement in nuclear fusion research, the European Union is facing growing concerns about its ability to lead in this potentially transformative energy technology.
Press release – Gas storage: Parliament backs refill flexibility to bring down prices
Approved in plenary today, the new law seeks to address speculation on the gas market and bring down prices, by introducing greater flexibility to gas storage refilling rules.Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
Von der Leyen sets stage for contentious China summit
โIf our partnership is to go forward, we need a genuine rebalancing,โ European Commission president says two weeks ahead of Beijing summit.
The EU is increasingly trading with dictators, ECB warns
Chinaโs rise and democratic backsliding in other countries are making a mockery of Europeโs efforts to spread its values through trade.
Bjoern Seibert, the power behind Queen Ursulaโs throne
Von der Leyen’s chief of staff is the man to call to get things done in Brussels. But for a growing number of critics, he has too much control.
After Austriaโs deadliest shooting, gun reform is no longer avoidable
The Graz shooting has pierced the illusion that legal gun ownership guarantees safety, and the countryโs political parties canโt sit on the fence any longer.
Ukraine war briefing: Sanctions over Russian chemical weapons on battlefield
Deaths as Kharkiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia come under attack; Ukraine hits warhead plant and oil refinery in Russia. What we know on day 1,231Britain on Monday placed sanctions on two Russian individuals and one Russian entity for the transfer and use o…
Halted US military aid for Ukraine may start flowing again
High-level meetings between American and Ukrainian officials this week could unfurl some of the weapons shipments paused by the Trump administration.
MiniStor completes its research on high-capacity thermal energy storage [Promoted content]
Close to 150 people followed in Brussels and online the conference โReaching the decarbonisation goalโ and policy sessions hosted by the project MiniStor under the umbrella of the European Sustainable Energy Week
Why do 100% fruit juices contribute to a healthy diet? [Promoted content]
100% fruit juice is a rigorously regulated food product in the EU. As defined by the EU Fruit Juice Directive, it must contain only fruit, with no added sugars, additives, colourings or flavourings. Research unveiled potential health benefits, that tog…
Musk has gone โoff the rails,โ Trump says
The president’s former supporter announced Saturday he was forming an independent political party.
The AI energy crunch: Meeting the data center surge
The rise of artificial intelligence, cloud computing and machine learning is driving unprecedented demand for electricity. How can the UK tackle this challenge?
Time to act: closing the innovation gap in myasthenia gravis
Committing to improving care and striving for better outcomes for people living with this disease
To save the global economy, kick the US out of the WTO
The magnitude of Trumpโs rule violation is entirely without precedent and demands an unprecedented response.
โThe American system is being destroyedโ: academics on leaving US for โscientific asylumโ in France
Almost 300 researchers have applied for for positions at Aix-Marseille University after Trump unleashed his attack on academia It was on a US-bound flight in March, as Brian Sandberg stressed about whether he would be stopped at security, that the Amer…
Budapestโs young people are joining the ranks of generation rent | Csaba Jelinek
Sell-offs of public housing and the rightโs promotion of home ownership has left too many unable to afford accommodationCsaba Jelinek is an urban sociologist based in BudapestWhen I left my family home to study at university in 2007 and moved to downto…
Russian oil or mass layoffs: A German townโs conundrum
In Schwedt, life flows through an oil refinery. If it doesnโt get help โ or restart Russian imports โ people worry their jobs will be gone.
Germanyโs extreme right targets gay pride
Far-right extremists are organizing counter-demonstrations at Pride events across the country that claim to celebrate conventional families.
Every Dutch person has โforever chemicalsโ in their blood
Survey by Dutch institute finds widespread so-called PFAS in blood.
Italy revives mineral exploration to tap critical EU resources
Italy is renewing efforts to map and develop its mineral resources with its first major public geological research investment since the early 1990s, prioritising materials the European Commission defines as critical and strategic for the EUโs economy a…
โSheโs pretty much aloneโ: The EUโs greenest leader fights the tide
The European Commissionโs second most powerful politician is isolated, beleaguered and under attack โ just like the green policy she has vowed to protect.
EU Parliamentโs top brass get fat pay raises
The salary hikes, which will cost around โฌ324,000 per year, have ruffled some feathers.
Labour struggles to drain the swamp
U.K. prime minister had a bold plan for cleaning up British politics. A year in, campaigners say it amounts to little more than “tinkering.”
Trump administration military aid halt will only encourage Russia, Ukraine warns
Ukraine warns that slowing weapons deliveries “would only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror.”
Paving the Way for Europeโs competitive green future [Promoted content]
The โR&I for a competitive green transitionโ event on 23-24 June highlighted why investing in green research and innovation (R&I) is an essential driver of a fair, sustainable, and competitive future for Europe. The closing remarks of Marc Lema…
UK and Germany ready mutual defense treaty
Under the wide-ranging deal, any strategic threat to one country would represent a threat to the other.
A new tech race is on. Can Europe learn from the ones it lost?
EU faces familiar problems to win out on quantum computing.
Le Giec รฉbranlรฉ par des controverses alimentรฉes par lโArabie saoudite et les Etats-Unis
La proposition de dรฉsigner un collaborateur de la compagnie pรฉtroliรจre Saudi Aramco comme lโun des auteurs dโun rapport scientifique clรฉ a รฉtรฉ dรฉnoncรฉe comme une “capture du politique”.
Europeโs politicians suffer through heat wave โ with or without air conditioning
While some politicians go red in the face trying to make their contemporaries pay attention to climate change, others are trying to make political hay while the sun is shining.
French government pours cold water on Le Penโs mass air conditioning scheme
Marine Le Pen accused the government of forcing ordinary people to suffer the heat.
Landmark DNA study charts blood ageing caused by cancer drugs
Research offers clues to choosing chemotherapy treatments with fewer long-term side effects
Saudis, US drive strife inside global climate science body
The proposed selection of a Saudi Aramco oil company staffer as one of the authors of a key science report has been denounced as โpolitical capture.โ
Meet the first โscientific refugeesโ fleeing the US for France
Aix-Marseille University is wooing researchers who feel targeted by the Trump administration.
Labour still hasnโt bought off Britainโs unions
Public sector pay rises and ambitious new employment rights don’t mean Britain’s center-left government can rest easy.
Major heatwaves sweep Southernย and Western Europe
Major heat waves are sweeping across Southern and Western Europe, with high temperatures recorded in France, Italy, Spain and Greece as local authorities issued fresh warnings against the risk of wildfires. FRANCE 24 speaks to Akshay Deoras, research …
Der Mindestlohn droht politischer Sprengstoff zu werden
TOP-THEMEN โ Drei Szenarien, wie die Mindestlohnkommission entscheiden kann โ und nur eine sorgt fรผr Frieden in der Koalition. โ Die SPD will fรผr einen Fรถrderbescheid ein Aufsichtsratsmandat, um bei kriselnden Stahlkonzernen mitzureden. โ Merz zeigt sich nach dem EU-Gipfel skeptisch mit Blick auf die US-Zรถlle โ und optimistisch bezรผglich Mercosur. Guten Morgen vom Team [โฆ]
โWARNING. Confidential documents. Not to be disclosed to anyoneโ (Part 1)
Pรคivi Leino-Sandberg
(University of Helsinki)
Photo credit: Cancillerรญa
Ecuador via Wikimedia Commons
When conducting research, I often
file requests for access to documents (ATD) under the EUโs access to documents regulation
…
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot struggled to fact-check Israel-Iran war, report says
Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, has provided incorrect and inconsistent answers in response to users’ queries about the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran, the Digital Forensic Research Lab says.
Pornhub promises UK age checks by next month
British regulator Ofcom says age checks ‘will bring pornography into line with how we treat adult services in the real world’ while protecting privacy.
Return hubs โ innovative lawmaking or a dangerous legal experiment?
By Jonas
Bornemann, Assistant Professor of European Law at Rijksuniversiteit
Groningen and re:constitution fellow 2024/2025 and Isabela Brockmann,
Research intern at the Department of European and Economic Law,
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen…
โYuck factorโ: eating insects rather than meat to help the planet is failing, study finds
People are disgusted by the idea of eating bugs despite their lighter planetary cost compared to traditional livestockRecent efforts to encourage people to eat insects are doomed to fail because of widespread public disgust at the idea, making it unlik…
Germanyโs energy plans to win EU endorsement as Commission unveils new subsidy rules
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera is due to announce a policy reversal on Wednesday.
Whatโs next for Iran and the Middle East?
Leaders around the world now need to push for a nuclear deal with a much-weakened Tehran.
Press release – Gas storage: deal with Council on refill flexibility to bring down prices
The draft legislation aims to address speculation on the gas market and bring down prices, by introducing greater flexibility in rules on gas storage refilling.Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
Spain is the ally NATO loves to hate
Madrid’s effort to wriggle out of the alliance’s new spending targets is angering other members.
Noise pollution harms health of millions across Europe, report finds
About 110 million people suffer stress and sleep disturbance that lead to tens of thousands of early deathsMore than 110 million people across Europe suffer high levels of health-damaging noise pollution, according to a report. The resulting physiologi…
LIVE NOW! Media Partnership: Research & Innovation for a competitive green transition โ EU policy dialogue [Advocacy Lab Content]
This high-level policy debate will convene key actors to discuss the critical role of research and innovation in helping to drive Europeโs green transition and enhancing its competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.
How to navigate Denmarkโs EU presidency policyย agenda like a pro
Denmark picks up the Council leadership baton at a moment of geopolitical volatility.
Israelโs appetite for war in Gaza threatens its relationship with the European Union
Scale of death and destruction in Gaza, and the violence of settlers in the West Bank, has shifted public opinion in the EUIn Israel, it can seem like only one other place really matters. Washington DC is on the other side of the world but provides Isr…
Oil prices jump as market awaits Iran response to attacks
A move by Tehran to disrupt oil shipments could mean sharply higher prices at the pump in the United States.
Chinaโs โWorld Bankโ wants to set up shop in Britain
The nomination of a new president has reignited long-running concerns about Beijingโs influence over the bankโs governance.
Trump can pull the plug on the internet, and Europe canโt do anything about it
Trump is back โ and with him, the risk that the U.S. could unplug Europe from the digital world.
The winners and losers in Trumpโs NATO arms race
A POLITICO analysis reveals telling gaps between the big spenders near Eastern Europe and those further from Russia, who are still creeping toward a decade-old target.
Must cases be unfounded to qualify as SLAPPs? What unfoundedness means for GDPR-based SLAPPs
Lรฉna Perczel, Legal Officer, Political Freedoms Program, Hungarian Civil Liberties
Union
Photo credit: Dirk Beyer, via Wikimedia
commons
Countering SLAPPs
(Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) has been at the…
Iran official warns US that joining Israel in attacks would be โvery, very dangerousโ
Israelโs military said it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks.
Sanctioned Russian media still partnered with Facebook
Sanctioned pro-Russian media are still part of Facebookโs advertising revenue program, new research out Friday showed. Russian state broadcasters, including Rossiya Segodnya โ the organization that oversees both RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik โ were sanctioned following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and barred from broadcasting inside the EU. Key figures in its operations [โฆ]
Sanctioned Russian media still partnered with Facebook
Sanctioned pro-Russian media are still part of Facebookโs advertising revenue program, new research out Friday showed. Russian state broadcasters, including Rossiya Segodnya โ the organization that oversees both RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik โ were sanctioned following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and barred from broadcasting inside the EU. Key figures in its operations [โฆ]
Press release – Clean Industrial Deal must marry industrial competitiveness with climate action
The Industrial Decarbonisation Bank and action plan for affordable energy are crucial for the competitiveness and resilience of European industry, MEPs say.Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
Press release – MEPs push for more coordination and resilience in European electricity grids
Parliament adopts proposals to modernise the EUโs electricity grid, enhance resilience, integrate renewables, and simplify permits to meet the EU’s energy goals.Committee on Industry, Research and Energy Source : ยฉ European Union, 2025 – EP
EU weighs sperm donor cap to curb risk of accidental incest
Donations are booming, increasing the health and psychological risks to donor children.
Mark Rutte DOGEs NATO with dozens of job cuts
Transatlantic military chief slashes roles and eliminates divisions as U.S. President Donald Trumpโs reluctant commitment overshadows the alliance.ย
Could Europe bring in top research talent from the US amid Trump’s funding cuts?
As Trump continues to cut research funding, a new analysis shows that up to a fifth of researchers in top US universities have previously studied in Europe, raising the question of how to attract them back to the EU.
Chinaโs got the world in a rare earth choke hold
Beijingโs dominance in strategically crucial minerals gives it major leverage in trade talks.ย
Iran orders officials to ditch connected devices
Both Israel and Iran have powerful cybersecurity capabilities.
Worldโs nuclear disarmament era over, report warns
China, India, Pakistan, and Israel are among those increasing their nuclear muscle.
Europeโs wake-up call: Invest in aviation research or lose ground
The region has long been a leader in aviation. However, the sectorโs future position hangs in the balance โ it is time to invest in research and innovation or risk falling behind.
Worldโs nuclear arsenals expanding, driven by US and Russia, researchers warns
Most nuclear-armed states continued modernising their arsenals in 2024, raising the risk of a new arms race, researchers said Monday. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said the United States and Russia, holding 90% of global stockpi…
โNo way to invest in a career hereโ: US academics flee overseas to avoid Trump crackdown
Budding scholars pursue overseas jobs amid attacks on education and research, prompting fears of an American brain drainEric Schuster was over the moon when he landed a lab assistant position in a coral reef biology lab at the Scripps Institute of Ocea…
For Macron, banning kids from social media gives โthe impression that heโs in chargeโ
The subject is not new, but it does allow the French president to wield more influence on a domestic issue than usual.
EU courts international scientists, but is Europe attractive enough?
The EU says science is the key to its future. But is it putting its money where its mouth is? Earlier this year, the French government agreed to cuts in the country’s research budget and over the past year, science powerhouses such as Germany, Italy a…
WTO chief โwonโt keep quietโ to appease Trump
The United States is looking to rein in the World Trade Organizationโs public-facing work, according to a communication shared with fellow members.
Unleashing Europeโs biotech prowess requires radical reinvention
The bloc is all too often sitting on the sidelines, asking โwhatโs allowed?โ rather than โwhatโs possible?โ
Macron grasps for right tone after teen stabbing
The French president’s delicate balancing act isn’t assuaging concerns about public safety.
Europeโs Leading Patent Law Firms โ 2025 ranking
Listings are based on recommendations made by clients and peers to FT research partner Statista
Seven reality checks on Britainโs sunshine spending review
Rachel Reeves, Britain’s finance minister, laid out four years of government spending with a smile. Will it last?
Macron wants to ban kids from social media. Can he?
France faces a tricky legal and technological challenge to make a social media prohibition for under-15s happen.ย
USโs worldwide popularity plummets thanks to โarrogantโ Trump
Survey respondents across 24 countries think Trump is โdangerousโ โ but also a โstrong leader.โ
Czech innovative drug makers welcome Council pharma deal ahead of trilogue
Czech innovative drug manufacturers say they hope the final version of the ‘Pharma Package’ will strengthen Europeโs competitiveness and attractiveness for research and innovation.
Spรคterer Booster: Sonderabschreibung soll erst ab Juli 2025 gelten
Was Deutschlands neue Rolle im Welthandel bedeutet โ verstรคndlich, relevant, auf den Punkt. Von ROMANUS OTTE Mit LAURA HรLSEMANN und TOM SCHMIDTGEN Im Browser anzeigen oder hier anhรถren. TOP THEMEN โ Mittwoch will die Regierung erste Steuerentlastungen fรผr Unternehmen beschlieรen. POLITICO kennt den Gesetzentwurf โ der eine Enttรคuschung birgt. โ So will Bauministerin Hubertz den [โฆ]
Greeks feel they have no one to vote for
With so many parties on the left and right fighting each other, the ruling New Democracy still leads the polls โ despite being roundly disliked.
Leveling up 2.0: Rachel Reeves makes her pitch to Britainโs left-behind voters
Reeves will attempt to convince voters outside London that she has their backs with Wednesday’s spending review.