Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Politics · page 4 of 14
New asylum rules allowing offshore processing and child detention become operational on 12 June while the Commission readies first formal meeting with Afghan authorities since 2021.
Corporate Europe Observatory and LobbyControl report 7.8% increase in declared lobbying expenditure, with Meta, Amazon and Apple spending €73m combined as EU pursues simplification agenda.
Beijing's vice-minister arrives in Brussels for talks while diplomats brace for a leaders' summit that could harden the bloc's stance on Chinese industrial overcapacity and market access.
Civil Contract takes roughly 54 percent in early counts, defeating pro-Russian alliance led by oligarch Samvel Karapetyan in first election since Nagorno-Karabakh loss.
Nikol Pashinyan seeks mandate for peace with Azerbaijan and EU integration while opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan campaigns from house arrest under Russian pressure.
Parliamentary election on 7 June becomes de facto referendum on geopolitical orientation, with Pashinyan's Civil Contract leading polls but facing Russian economic retaliation and a fragmented pro-Moscow opposition.
Provisional trilogue deal speeds up returns, lets member states build detention hubs in third countries, and draws comparisons with US and UK hardline policies.
Voters go to the polls on Sunday with polls showing the traditional DISY and AKEL parties falling to around 20% each, while far-right ELAM and new anti-establishment movements surge.
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.
Corporate Europe Observatory report reveals how fossil-fuel lobbyists secured fast-track exemptions for CO2 pipelines and hydrogen projects under the guise of renewable acceleration.
A Taliban delegation led by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi will meet European Commission and EEAS officials in June to discuss increasing returns of Afghan nationals, even as the bloc refuses to recognise the regime.
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.
Council of Europe delegation notes incidents at polling stations but says problem not widespread; Electoral Commission cites 90% awareness rate from May 2025
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.
Social Democrats join far-right opposition to remove centre-right premier after ten months, leaving president to navigate coalition talks amid EU deficit procedure and eurozone aspirations.
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.
The European Parliament has voted to raise the proposed 2028-2035 spending ceiling above the Commission's €1.76 trillion, but Germany and the Netherlands are pushing back while net recipients demand more. Negotiations resume in June with concrete figures.
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