Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Person
Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK Treasury
German growth forecasts halved to 0.6% while French electricity costs a fifth of Germany's, forcing a reckoning over energy strategy that abandoned nuclear after Fukushima.
Four years after vowing to end reliance on Russian gas, the EU finds itself dependent on US LNG and Norwegian pipeline gas, with prices surging 20 percent after the Strait of Hormuz closure.
May local elections will measure Reform UK's poll lead and Labour's resilience, while the King's Speech, ECHR negotiations and a high-stakes China trip define Starmer's second year.
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