UK Tory leader: Sandwiches arenโt real
Kemi Badenoch “will not touch bread if it’s moist.โ
Services
Romania gives Europeโs digital police their first big test
The shock victory of an ultranationalist in Romania’s presidential election puts the EU’s Digital Services Act in the spotlight.
Europeโs Syrians shaken by debate over repatriation to their war-ravaged homeland
For many Syrian refugees in Europe, joy at the fall of Assad has been tempered by immediate calls for them to go home.
Tech billionaires prepare to invade the Pentagon
A handful of Silicon Valley executives could help transform the countryโs largest bureaucracy โ and benefit themselves while trying.
UK bans puberty blockers for under-18s
Government-ordered commission flags an “unacceptable safety risk” in continued prescription to children.
Europeโs AI competitiveness hinges on skills
The rapid rise of AI presents an opportunity to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, but only if leaders act now to close persistent skills gaps in the workforce.
Ukraine war briefing: Donโt let Patriot missile systems gather dust, says Zelenskyy, after deadly strike on clinic
President calls for more air defence systems from allies, and blames Russia for drone hitting nuclear inspectorsโ car. What we know on day 1,022See all our Ukraine war coverageVolodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukraineโs allies to provide 10-12 more Patriot…
Rachel Reeves
Doer No. 6 โ United Kingdom
The Councilโs position on proposed EU law on migrant smuggling: cynical political theatre?
Professor Steve Peers, Royal Holloway University of
London
Photo credit: Ggia,
via Wikimedia Commons
Introduction
Member Statesโ ministers (the EU
Council) are likely to agree a negotiating position this week on replacement of
existing EU law …
Syrie : les gagnants et les perdants de la chute dโAssad
POLITICO รฉvalue les perspectives des principaux acteurs, au Moyen-Orient et au-delร , aprรจs la fin du rรฉgime du dictateur syrien.
Top Tony Blair aide becomes UK Palestine envoy
Government efficiency guru Michael Barber will take on a new Palestine-facing role.
UK promises โswiftโ decision on banned Syrian group
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a proscribed terrorist organization in the U.K., but played a major part in Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.
Eurostar is Europeโs worst-ranked rail operator, Trenitalia the best
Eurostar, which links France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands, charges prices that are twice the European average, yet fails to deliver better services.
US pounds ISIS camps in Syria after Assad flees
โThere should be no doubt โ we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute,โ a top general said.
US pounds ISIS camps in Syria after Assad flees
US pounds ISIS camps in Syria after Assad flees
Russia grants asylum to exiled Assad, state media reports
TASS news service says deposed Syrian leader received protection on humanitarian grounds.
Assadโs downfall โ the winners and losers
Across the region and beyond, POLITICO assesses the prospects of key players after the ouster of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.
Guns, lies and audiotape: How Bidenโs family ties could lead to another pardon
For decades, a scandal-plagued Mississippi family has cozied up to the president. How will the relationship end?
How Trumpโs transition could end up hamstringing his agenda
The president-electโs advisers havenโt yet begun meeting with federal agencies, despite signing an agreement late last month allowing them to do so.
UK should pay whistleblowers to cut financial crime, says think-tank
Royal United Services Institute says scheme would reduce those who take information to US agencies
TikTok defiant after US court upholds law to force its sale
TikTok signals it will appeal after a federal court sided with the Justice Department and upheld a law to force its sale or ban it. But Donald Trump could offer a way out.
Romanian election: What the hell is going on?
Warnings of a massive Russian hybrid attack distorting Romania’s democracy prompted the Constitutional Court to cancel the presidential election.
Ukraine war briefing: Scholz confident of developing โjoint strategyโ on Ukraine with Trump
German chancellor wants Ukraineโs sovereignty guarantees but rules out providing Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles. What we know on day 1,018The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is confident he and the US president-elect, Donald Trump, will be able t…
Romanian court cancels presidential election amid Russian influence fears
Constitutional court throws Romanian politics into turmoil, 2 days before runoff vote was due to take place.
Romania’s top court annuls presidential vote amid Russia interference fears
Romania’s top court annulled the result of the first round of the country’s presidential election on Friday, adding that the entire election process would have to be rerun. The decision came after security services warned the vote had been distorted b…
Trump picks David Perdue to be ambassador to China
The former senator has significant business experience in Asia, including China.
UKโs balanced trade with US reduces risk of fresh Trump tariffs, says Reynolds
Focus on services may mean Britain does not face ire of incoming US president, business secretary tells FT summit
Romaniaโs pro-Europeans fear Putin is pushing them back to dictatorshipย
Far-right NATO-skeptic Calin Georgescu is on track to win the Romanian presidency, thanks to a Russia-influenced campaign.ย
Budget : Emmanuel Macron veut le dรฉpรดt dโune loi spรฉciale pour mi-dรฉcembre
Ce texte permettra dโassurer le fonctionnement de lโEtat en attendant un nouveau budget en dรฉbut dโannรฉe prochaine.
European Commission orders TikTok to preserve all data on Romanian election
Brussels steps up monitoring of platform to decide whether TikTok breached social media law.
Vodafoneโs ยฃ15B UK deal cleared with investment commitment
The United Kingdomโs competition authority cleared Vodafoneโs ยฃ15 billion tie-up with telecom rival Three after the companies pledged to spend billions of pounds to scale up networks. Vodafone and Three, owned by Hutchison, will also need to cap some mobile tariffs for customers and give certain contractual terms to mobile virtual network operators who use [โฆ]
Une France sans budget ? โLe seul prรฉcรฉdent dont nous disposons date de 1979โ
Le prochain gouvernement sera contraint par la Constitution et ses zones d’ombre pour assurer la continuitรฉ de l’Etat.
UK army would be destroyed in โsix months to a yearโ in war, says minister
Veterans’ Minister Alistair Carns says British forces would be ‘expended’ in 12 months under current Russian casualty rate.
Easy does itย โย ECB can keep cutting gradually in December, says Croatiaโs Vujฤiฤ
Political uncertainty stalking the eurozone, however, is best navigated with a meeting by meeting approach.
Trump considers DeSantis for Defense secretary as Hegseth appears to falter
Hegseth has faced allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual assault.
Ukraine war briefing: Nato lauds Blinken on final Brussels turn
US secretary of state arrives with another $725m in US arms for Ukraine; Russia complains of Ukrainian help to Syria rebels. What we know on day 1,015Antony Blinken, the outgoing US secretary of state, paid his final visit to Nato headquarters in Bruss…
US conservatives look to an unlikely ally in court battle over transgender rights: Europe
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday over Tennesseeโs law banning transition-related medical care for minors.
28 policy promises Trump has made for his first week in office
The president-electโs campaign pledges cover immigration to education to energy.
Chinese hack of global telecom providers is โongoing,โ officials warn
Officials from the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency say the major Chinese hack began in late spring, and they are strongly urging Americans to use encrypted communications.
TikTok removed 3 influence campaigns during Romaniaโs elections
Social media firm faces questioning by European Parliament lawmakers over networks that aided Romanian far-right win.
Finnish telecom company hit by cable outage
Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.
Bulgaria declares Russian billionaire football boss โpersona non grataโ
Bulgarian counter-intelligence services gave no official reason for the ban on the Russian billionaire.
Czech arms maker breaks into global top 100 defence companies
CSG saw its revenues from arms sales and military services rise by 25% year-on-year.
France will oppose the Mercosur treaty right until the end
Paris risks an embarrassing defeat this week, just as its government faces possible censure and collapse. But this won’t be the end of the saga.
โNothing can be builtโ: N Ireland sewage crisis hits housing construction
Property prices surge as 19,000 homes are left on hold due to lack of wastewater services
European Commission downsizes spokesperson team
Number of spokespeople will drop from 17 to 14, according to a list of names seen by POLITICO.
Von der Leyen is creating a task force to turn Draghi report into reality
European Commission team could sit within secretariat-general.
Who were the biggest dunces? Final grades for von der Leyenโs first Commission
Whoโs at the top of the class and who flunked? Here are POLITICO’s grades for each 2019-2024 European commissioner.
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says massive attack by Russia is โdespicable escalationโ
Barrage leaves 1 million without power; Putin threatens to use hypersonic missile against Kyiv. What we know on day 1,010See all our Ukraine war coverageUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called Russiaโs massive attack on energy infrastructure…
Elon Muskโs X tells the EU: Weโre a safe space for free speech
The Elon Musk-owned social media platform touts its moderation efforts in a risk assessment submitted to the Commission.
Romaniaโs security chiefs confirm election cyberattacks, request TikTok probe
Top security officials suggested Russia might have been involved.
Putin personally ordered Salisbury poisoning, UK believes
โThe Russians donโt really mind if anyone believes it fully, the point is that thereโs doubt,” says top UK official responsible for Russia policy.
Brussels to mediate between TikTok and Romania as election row builds
Chinese-owned app is under mounting pressure to explain how it handled political content ahead of Romanian vote.
A single point of failure
Why Europe’s diamond control node undermines African sovereignty and the Kimberley Process
Defenders of the Romanian nation and all Europeans
A strong European Union is built on protecting each of its membersโ
interests equally. The AUR is ready to collaborate.
7 reasons why Romanian voters are hacked off โ by the numbers
From poverty to emigration and corruption, here are some the issues at the top of Romanian voters’ minds โ and politicians’ programs.
Corporate cars could lead the electric transition
Ride-hailing app Uber is among those calling to “accelerate electrification efforts.”
Romaniaโs president summons defense council over cyber election interference risk
The meeting follows the surprise victory of Russia-friendly Cฤlin Georgescu in the first round of Romaniaโs presidential election.
Romania asks EU to investigate TikTokโs election handling after ultranationalistโs stunning win
Bucharest authorities found โvarious irregularitiesโ with election campaigns on TikTok.
Trumpโs return raises questions over future of CIAโs Russian recruitment drive
Intelligence agency has been trying to entice Russians disaffected by invasion of Ukraine but president-elect is likely to want to make an ally of KremlinFor the past three years, the CIA has run an unusually bold outreach programme. It targeted Russia…
France doubles down on age minimum of 15 for social media use
Paris renews push for EU-wide uptake of its “digital majority” at 15.
Moment DHL cargo plane crashes near airport in Lithuania โย video
Footage shows the moment a DHL cargo plane crashed as it came in to land at Vilnius airport in Lithuania. According to officials, one person was killed and three others on the aircraft were injured. Rescue services said the plane hit the ground and sli…
Three years after the worst migrant shipwreck in the Channel, crossings are more deadly than ever
Thirty-one people died or disappeared when their dinghy sank on November 24, 2021, with no rescue services helping them. Despite an increase in police and sea rescue resources since then, the number of people trying to reach England in small boats has …
Russian spy ship escorted away from area with critical cables in Irish Sea
Yantar intelligence ship was seen operating drones in an area containing subsea energy and internet infrastructureA Russian spy ship has been escorted out of the Irish Sea after it entered Irish-controlled waters and patrolled an area containing critic…
Karoline Leavitt returns to Trumpโs White House as press secretary
She unsuccessfully ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022 before joining his campaign.
Social services in Sweden could force some young people to wear ankle tags
The right and far right majority want to authorize social services to take coercive measures to prevent the recruitment of minors by gangs and to combat organized crime.
Croatiaโs PM fires health minister arrested in corruption raid
EU prosecutor’s office in Zagreb starts probe into eight people.
Europeโs press goes after Muskโs X
Media organizations turns up the heat on X amid cries of ‘toxic’ content.
Trump to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead health department
The choice will roil many public health experts after his years of touting debunked claims that vaccines cause autism.
UKโs Reeves pledges to โwork closelyโ with Trump as tariff threat looms
Chancellor says she will โalways do what is in our national interest for our economy.”
Integrating single market for services crucial to counteract Trump tariffs, analysts say
Services integration would “make the European market way more attractive for US firms, and so would also decrease the willingness of Trump to impose tariffs,” said Lisandra Flach, director at the Ifo Center for International Economics.
Brussels fines Facebook parent company โฌ800M
EU targets Meta with antitrust penalty for pushing classified ads service.
Meta fined nearly โฌ800mn for breaking EU law over classified ads practices
Facebook is undermining rivals by โtyingโ its free Marketplace services with the social network, Brussels says
Elon Musk, Guillaume Kasbarian, mรชme combat
La source dโinformations quotidiennes sur la tech en France. Par รMILE MARZOLF Avec OCรANE HERRERO & KLARA DURAND Infos, tuyaux et mini-drames ร partager ? Ecrivez ร Ocรฉane Herrero, Klara Durand, Emile Marzolf et Tiphaine Saliou | Voir dans votre navigateur AU MENU โย Guillaume โMuskโ Kasbarian part ร lโassaut de la bureaucratie. โ Dรฉmarchage tรฉlรฉphonique [โฆ]
Russian naval officer accused of โwar crimesโ killed in Crimea car bombing
Valery Trankovsky had ordered missile strikes from Black Sea on civilian targets, a Ukrainian official saidA senior Russian naval officer was killed in a car bombing in Crimea on Wednesday, the latest in a series of targeted attacks on Russian military…
PMQs: Keir Starmer wins by clobbering Tories on investment
Kemi Badenoch failed to land big blows, although she put the PM on the rack over the real-world impact of his national insurance hike.
Ukraine loses fight to trademark โRussian warship, go f**k yourselfโ slogan
The phrase has become a symbol of Kyiv’s resilience against Moscow โ but that didn’t clear the bar for EU intellectual property enforcers or judges in Luxembourg.
Influenceurs sous pression
La source dโinformations quotidiennes sur la tech en France. Par รMILE MARZOLF Avec OCรANE HERRERO & KLARA DURAND Infos, tuyaux et mini-drames ร partager ? Ecrivez ร Ocรฉane Herrero, Klara Durand, Emile Marzolf et Tiphaine Saliou | Voir dans votre navigateur AU MENU โย Le โcas Ophenyaโ ouvre la chasse aux pratiques sectaires des influenceurs. โ [โฆ]
Swedenโs social services likely to soon have more powers to tackle gang recruitment
Sweden has one of the highest per capita rates of gun violence in the EU.
โWho the fโk is this guy?โ: Defense world reacts to Trumpโs surprise Pentagon pick
โHegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history,โ one veteransโ advocate said.
Why Europe needs a Connectivity Union
With competitiveness lagging, the EU must take urgent, decisive action to reignite the regionโs economy
Trump taps veteran, Fox personality Hegseth for Defense secretary
โPete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First,โ Trump said of him.
5 things to know about EU tech security chief Henna Virkkunenโs hearing
Elon Musk and Europe’s tech gaps show the Finnish nominee has a major task at hand.
Trump victory boosts the โcase for spaceโ in Europe, says European Space Agency chief
Europe should be in a position to compete with the U.S. in space, said Josef Aschbacher.
What lawmakers should ask the EUโs new tech boss
Queries for Henna Virkkunen: What’s tech sovereignty? How can Europe win the AI race? And how will you enforce EU tech rules?
Eurostar: Thirty years of challenges
On November 14, 1994, the rail operator Eurostar launched its high-speed services through the Channel Tunnel. A historic day that saw Paris and London connected in record time but the 30-year journey hasn’t always run smoothly. FRANCE 24 takes a close…
New Russian church raises suspicions in Swedish town
Itโs feared Russia could use the church as cover for future intelligence or sabotage operations.
Britain hugs oil giant BP while preaching climate action
BP is a global force in fossil fuel drilling โ and a major player with COP29 summit host Azerbaijan.
Life in Finland under a rightwing government | Letters
Readers respond to an article by Mike Watson on public services and politics in the countryI read Mike Watsonโs article on Finland, and was astonished to see someone tell it like it really is here (I moved to Finland believing it was a progressive drea…
Trump rejects Pompeo, Haley for Cabinet
President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he will not ask his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley to join his cabinet, icing out two former cabinet members whose loyalties to him wavered. In a Truth Social post Saturday, the former president wrote that he would not be inviting Haley or Pompeo [โฆ]
French minister to Musk: Donโt break democracy like you did Twitter
Jean-Noรซl Barrot dealt with Elon Musk’s handling of X in his previous role as France’s tech minister.
Greeceโs main opposition further dismantled
Syriza partyโs recently deposed leader Stefanos Kasselakis announced the creation of a new political movement, taking at least four MPs with him.
Pentagon officials anxious Trump may fire US militaryโs top general
The president-elect has railed against โwokeโ generals and others who have pushed for diversity initiatives in the ranks.
Biden allows US military contractors into Ukraine
The move is aimed at helping Ukraine repair Western fighter jets and air defenses.
The law barring Trump from pulling out of NATO is โnot airtight,โ expert says
The guardrail against the next president leaving the alliance is shakier than you think.
Elon Musk calls Germanyโs Scholz a โfoolโ
The tech billionaire, emboldened after Donald Trump’s U.S. election victory, picks a fight with Berlin’s embattled chancellor.
LโIA dans les services publics : Bercy beaucoup ?
La source dโinformations quotidiennes sur la tech en France. Par KLARA DURAND Avec OCรANE HERRERO & EMILE MARZOLF Infos, tuyaux et mini-drames ร partager ? Ecrivez ร Ocรฉane Herrero, Klara Durand, Emile Marzolf et Tiphaine Saliou | Voir dans votre navigateur AU MENU โ Lโintelligence artificielle, star de la โJournรฉe de la donnรฉeโ ร Bercy. [โฆ]
Les anciens Premiers ministres appelรฉs ร โmesurerโ leurs dรฉpenses
Selon un document parlementaire consultรฉ par POLITICO, les avantages accordรฉs aux anciens chefs du gouvernement et prรฉsidents sโรฉlรจvent ร 2,3 millions dโeuros en 2023.
Trump victory gives UKโs Nigel Farageย scent of power
The leading Brexiteer has been emboldened by the electoral success of his friend across the Atlantic.
French regulator probes Peter Thiel-backed betting platform
A gambler used the site to wager $28M on Donald Trump to win U.S. election.