Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Ideas Editor
Sofia Marchetti commissions and writes NewsBriefing's longer essays. She was previously an academic historian of European integration, and edits the section on the principle that an argument should be able to survive its strongest counter-argument.
Former prime minister and Renaissance leader bets that a summer spent meeting voters at markets, ports and vineyards can erode Edouard Philippe's lead for the centrist vote ahead of the April 2027 presidential election.
Italy's prime minister suspends Schengen with Spain and adopts tougher tone on borders to protect her right flank ahead of a possible spring election.
Parliament will vote next Tuesday on the nomination of a jurist removed by Orbán's government in 2011, a move the European Court of Human Rights later ruled unlawful.
Voters decide on August 29 whether to reopen negotiations suspended in 2013, with security fears, fishing rights and mortgage rates driving a dead-heat campaign.
Around 50,000 Moroccan migrants crossed into the Spanish enclave in late July, leaving 88 dead and handing far-right parties across Europe a potent campaign issue ahead of a cluster of national votes in 2027.
A France 24 investigation examines pressure on courts, media and abortion access, while the government balances migration crackdowns with half a million new work visas for labour-hungry employers.
Reform UK leader resigns Clacton seat while under investigation for undeclared £5 million gift, framing the move as a referendum on establishment pressure.
ECB president tells Les Echos she may leave before her 2027 term ends to inject a European voice into a French campaign dominated by the far-right National Rally.
Former EU foreign policy chief says Ursula von der Leyen's executive has crossed legal boundaries, creating confusion over who speaks for Europe abroad.
Brussels drafts incentives after Belgrade scales back contested judicial laws, but the Serbian president's surprise resignation announcement complicates the timing of any new cluster opening.
Analysis by 150 political scientists shows support has nearly quintupled since 1995, with the steepest gains concentrated in the past three years across France, Germany and Austria.
The Labour leader steps down less than two years after a 411-seat landslide, undone by a flawed ambassadorial appointment, policy reversals and a May local election drubbing that brought Andy Burnham to the brink of Number 10.
Albin Kurti's Vetëvendosje party won 43 percent of the vote but cannot form a majority, while the presidency sits vacant after Vjosa Osmani failed to secure a second term.
Provisional trilogue deal speeds up returns, lets member states build detention hubs in third countries, and draws comparisons with US and UK hardline policies.
Peter Magyar's first foreign trip as prime minister signals a pro-European pivot, but asylum granted to wanted Polish officials and frozen EU funds complicate the reset.
Gergely Karácsony tells how the capital preserved democratic resistance during 16 years of Fidesz rule and why the new Tisza government must fix Budapest's finances, scrap the Buda Castle ministry complex and reinvent the opposition.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz honored the former ECB president and Italian prime minister in Aachen, citing his crisis leadership and the 2024 Draghi Report as a blueprint for European renewal.
The prime minister promises a new direction at July's summit, but local election losses reveal a party split between pro-EU graduates and Brexit-backing working-class voters.
Nicușor Dan rules out reviving fallen coalition and prepares consultations with parties including the far-right AUR, ten months after Ilie Bolojan's government lost a confidence vote.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's pro-EU coalition collapsed after 281 MPs backed a motion tabled by the Social Democrats and the far-right AUR, leaving Bucharest scrambling to form a new administration before an August deadline for €10bn in EU recovery funds.
Peter Magyar's victory in Hungary opens door to €22 billion in frozen funds while Bulgaria's eighth election in five years returns a president aligned with Moscow, testing Brussels' ability to enforce rule of law across the bloc.
PSD and AUR announce joint no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, but fall 14 seats short of a parliamentary majority as the country's political fragmentation deepens.
The 45-year-old former insider's Tisza Party secured a constitutional majority on Sunday, promising to unlock frozen EU funds and restore democratic checks after 16 years of Viktor Orbán's rule.
European Commission president says Hungarian election result creates momentum for qualified majority voting, but member states are likely to resist surrendering control over sanctions and Ukraine funding.
Pro-European Tisza party wins 138 of 199 seats on record 80% turnout, promising constitutional reform and renewed EU ties after 16 years of Viktor Orban's rule.
Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas issued competing statements within minutes as Tehran came under attack, exposing a long-running power struggle between the Commission and the External Action Service.
Hannah Spencer takes 40.7% of the vote in a seat Labour held with 51% last July, while Reform UK pushes the governing party into third place for the first time.
Trailing by eight points weeks before the April vote, Hungary's prime minister blocks €90 billion in EU aid for Ukraine and brands his rival a foreign stooge. Péter Magyar refuses the bait.
Democrats 66 leader forms minority coalition with VVD and CDA after October election, facing vote-by-vote negotiations on €19bn defence spending and asylum reforms.
Prime minister uses state-of-the-nation address to frame April vote as existential choice while trailing opposition by double digits and welcoming Trump endorsement and Rubio visit.
Foreign Minister David van Weel says the new minority coalition will treat NATO as the cornerstone of security while pushing the EU to build its own military capacity, as Trump's Greenland demands fracture transatlantic trust.
NATO secretary-general dismisses European strategic autonomy as a dream and warns that going alone would require 10 percent of GDP, not the 5 percent allies have pledged.
Emergency summit in Brussels reveals frayed transatlantic trust as Kaja Kallas warns of a 'big blow' while member states disagree on how firmly to respond to US volatility.
European leaders ended emergency talks in Brussels welcoming the US president's retreat from tariff threats while signalling they will not dismantle the anti-coercion instrument until the Arctic dispute is formally settled.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu defeats motions from both far right and hard left, but faces immediate budget showdown with deficit near 5 percent.
Legislation to criminalise false statements during election campaigns cleared its first hurdle but faces fierce criticism from cross-party committees and Labour backbenchers over undefined terms and rushed scrutiny.
POLITICO's annual reading list reveals a continent grappling with democratic erosion, technological upheaval and the return of great-power conflict through thirteen books spanning ancient Rome to artificial intelligence.
A seventh parliamentary election since independence tests whether the country can form a government and unlock €6 billion in EU growth funding.
The ruling party won just 18 seats in the 65-member assembly, its worst result in the region, while the far right surges and the PP falls short of a majority.
With the US president openly hostile to Europe and backing nationalist parties, the UK's uncapped political donation regime leaves elections exposed to foreign money while Labour's promised reforms stall.
France's National Rally leader tells BBC he shares White House warnings of 'civilisational erasure' but insists his party seeks national sovereignty, not subservience to Washington, as Le Pen's legal battle clouds the 2027 presidential race.
Belgian authorities arrested Federica Mogherini and two others in a procurement fraud investigation targeting the EU Diplomatic Academy, releasing all three after questioning.
The Belgian capital has surpassed the country's own 2010-11 record as 14 parties fail to form a coalition, leaving a €1.6bn budget hole and frozen investments across a city that hosts the EU and NATO.
Mikheil Kavelashvili tells DW the October vote was the cleanest in a decade, insists Georgian Dream still wants EU membership, and says Brussels must alter its 'attitude' before 2030.
Nigel Farage's party would rewrite the withdrawal agreement to save £6.4bn annually, cut foreign aid to £1bn and triple the NHS surcharge for visa applicants, drawing warnings of a trade war from both main parties.
Electoral comebacks in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland show defeated right-wing forces can return quickly when centrist governments fail to address economic displacement.
With 99 per cent of votes counted, D66 and the PVV are locked in a dead heat, but the far right's combined vote share holds steady across a fragmented field.
Geert Wilders' Freedom Party leads polls but every major rival has ruled out coalition talks, setting the stage for months of complex negotiations after the collapse of the last right-wing government.
EU leaders prepare a €140bn reparations loan from frozen Russian assets while military aid drops sharply and Orbán vetoes accession talks.
MEPs voted 318 to 309 against the compromise on sustainability reporting rules, delaying Ursula von der Leyen's deregulation agenda and exposing fractures in the centrist coalition.
Voters choose mayors and councils across 81 municipalities while the country's EU bid remains blocked by Bulgaria, with the ruling VMRO-DPMNE leading polls but facing pressure over constitutional reform.
The hard-right party opposes both EU and NATO accession for Ukraine at a foreign policy debate, citing Russian sphere of influence and Donald Trump's stance, while all other parties defend the current path.
The billionaire's party took 34.5% and 80 seats but needs support from two right-wing fringe parties to govern, while President Pavel signals he will not appoint a cabinet before November.
The European Commission wants to push back the EU Deforestation Regulation by another year, citing IT system readiness, while green groups accuse the executive of bowing to agricultural lobbyists and trade partners.
Sébastien Lecornu becomes France's fourth prime minister in 14 months while Bloquons Tout! protests spread and Russian drones penetrate Polish airspace, raising questions about both domestic stability and European security.
Center-left bloc secures 87 seats against 82 for the right, but populist Progress Party doubles its vote share to 24 percent while Conservatives suffer historic collapse.
Former minister Heather Humphreys and MEP Seán Kelly seek party nomination after Mairead McGuinness withdrew on health grounds; election must occur before Michael D Higgins leaves office in November.
Brussels wants to redirect payments from large landholders to younger and smaller farmers, but Slovakia, Czechia and France face the biggest losses under the new formula.
With voting set for 28 September, Moldovan authorities detail vote-buying apps, AI disinformation and oligarch networks directed from Moscow as the Kremlin seeks to reverse the country's European trajectory.
Beate Meinl-Reisinger says neutrality alone no longer protects Austria, though she acknowledges no parliamentary or public majority exists for joining the alliance.
Strasbourg court rules Britain's subsequent investigations and legislation satisfy its obligations, despite acknowledging initial shortcomings after the 2016 referendum.
Marine Le Pen's party shares ideological ground with the US president but polls show French voters, including its own base, see his policies as damaging to France. The party is hedging its bets.
Twenty-seven heads of government meet after NATO summit to weigh an 18th sanctions package on Moscow, fend off Trump trade threats, and navigate a deepening split over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Commission president accepts compromises on pesticides, car emissions and corporate reporting to shield the climate law from a right-wing parliamentary majority.
Polish prime minister wins 243 to 210 in Sejm but faces a hostile president with veto power and no parliamentary supermajority to override it.
Hungary's prime minister uses CPAC Budapest to rally Central European allies against Brussels rule-of-law procedures, with €20bn in frozen funds and a 2026 election looming.
Poland's new president can veto legislation needed to enact EU decisions, creating a second centre of power that may stall rule-of-law reforms, migration policy and climate measures.
The anti-immigration party finished second in the May 18 election, overtaking the Socialists by two seats and positioning itself to lead parliamentary opposition to another minority government.
Ukraine arrests two citizens for spying for Hungarian intelligence, triggering diplomatic expulsions. Meanwhile Orban's government pursues a Transcarpathian politician who drove aid to a bombed Kyiv hospital, as polls show his main rival gaining ground.
The Democratic Alliance won 89 seats but falls short of a majority, while Chega matches the Socialists on 58 seats in a parliament where four overseas votes remain unallocated.
After 18 days crossing eight countries, student protesters arrive at EU institutions as European Parliament hardens stance on Serbia's democratic backsliding and €111 million in aid is frozen.
Friedrich Merz won the chancellery on the second ballot after an unprecedented first-round failure, but the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition faces immediate tests on economic reform, defence spending and internal trust.
Friedrich Merz takes office leading a CDU-SPD coalition that has already torn up the debt brake, promising a €500bn off-budget fund for infrastructure and defence while pledging to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Polling shows EU approval at record highs and migration sliding down voter priorities, but economists warn protectionism will deepen the labour shortages that make migration unavoidable.
Municipal and regional votes deliver a 12-point swing from the far right to the Social Democrats and Left Alliance, weakening the Orpo coalition a year after it took office.
The European Commission has listed Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia as safe countries of origin, aiming to speed up asylum decisions and deportations despite human rights warnings.
A Paris court banned the National Rally leader from office for five years with immediate effect, but a complex appeals process could yet allow her to stand in the next presidential election.
EU foreign policy chief criticised for bypassing capitals on ammunition plan and inflaming Washington after Trump-Zelenskyy clash
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa dissolves parliament following confidence vote defeat, triggering third general election in three years amid growing voter fatigue
Federal prosecutors confirm 21 raids across Belgium and Portugal, with allegations of corruption, forgery and excessive gifts benefiting the Chinese telecoms company since 2021.
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's minority coalition lost 142-88 after opposition parties pressed a conflict-of-interest row involving his family's law firm and a state contractor.
CDU leader's election win triggers immediate pressure from NATO and EU capitals for Germany to raise military expenditure and clarify its position on joint financing.
The Commission president's second term began with a rapid simplification agenda announced in Budapest, leaving her own staff, MEPs and national capitals scrambling to catch up.
A defunding drive led by the EPP and far-right blocs targets the LIFE programme's operating grants, which cover up to 70% of some groups' budgets. A plenary vote on the budgetary discharge is expected in May.
The EU's top diplomat says the bloc must demand concrete returns for its economic weight and stop being taken for granted, as Trump's trade threats accelerate a push into India, Latin America and Africa.