Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Politics · page 7 of 14
Lawmakers voted 334 to 324 to ask the Court of Justice whether the agreement with four South American nations complies with EU policy, delaying ratification by up to two years.
Antonio Jose Seguro leads first round with 31.1% but falls short of majority, setting up 8 February contest against Chega leader Andre Ventura on 23.5%
Péter Magyar's Tisza party leads Fidesz by 12 points as voters prepare to choose a new parliament on 12 April under an electoral system critics say favours the incumbent.
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.
The National Rally leader faces a month-long hearing in Paris starting Tuesday to overturn a five-year ban from public office imposed after her conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds. A summer verdict will decide whether she or Jordan Bardella leads the party into the 2027 election.
With 94 days until April's vote, the prime minister's controlled press conference and a minister's mental-health slur against the opposition leader signal a campaign turning nasty, while Budapest redistricting and a Slovak language law add territorial stakes.
Legislation expected within months would let future governments align UK standards with Brussels across multiple sectors before trade deals are finalised, setting up clashes with Liberal Democrats and Conservative critics.
Trust in French institutions has fallen faster than in any other EU country, while Marine Le Pen's legal battle and a fragmented left leave the 2027 contest wide open.
Vetevendosje takes roughly 50 percent of the vote yet may need minority-party support to reach the 61 seats required in the 120-seat assembly, leaving government formation uncertain.
A seventh parliamentary election since independence tests whether the country can form a government and unlock €6 billion in EU growth funding.
Parliament dissolved in November after coalition talks collapsed. Voters return to the polls on 28 December with unemployment above 25 per cent and €820 million in EU funds still frozen.
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.
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.
More than 150 tractors paralysed central Brussels while heads of government clashed over a 25-year negotiation that Brazil says must be signed this weekend or abandoned.
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.
From Jaywick to Berlin, mainstream leaders are losing ground while a new US strategy explicitly targets European immigration policy and 'political correctness' with diplomatic pressure and endorsements.
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.
Interior ministers backed plans for offshore centres to hold rejected asylum seekers, longer detention powers and returns to third countries deemed safe, despite legal doubts from France and Spain.
Zelensky meets Starmer, Macron and Merz in London before Brussels NATO talks, with territory concessions and security guarantees still unresolved while Trump criticises Kyiv publicly.
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