Category: 3. Europe

France was able to stave off an economic catastrophe during the pandemic and when energy prices shot up at the outset of the full-scale war in Ukraine, in part thanks to massive public spending. Finding a consensus on reining in expenditures has proven difficult, and lawmakers are loath to…

This became apparent after the nonreciprocal concessions made to U.S. President Donald Trump on defense spending and trade, as well as Europe’s acceptance of a junior role in handling the war in Ukraine. Moreover, from Gaza to Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU’s involvement in conflicts abroad has…

“This was a bad summer for Europe,” said Bas Eickhout, co-chair of the Greens in the Parliament, a different political group from von der Leyen but one that voted her into office. “What we clearly want as a message from the president of the Commission is that things need to…

It’s a far cry from the early days of Le Pen’s tenure at the helm of the National Rally, when she tried to remake the party’s image into one of a reasonable, respectable political force open to compromise that was ready to govern. 

Le Pen’s pivot 

During Barnier’s first…

PARIS — After nearly two weeks as a political dead man walking, French Prime Minister François Bayrou’s moment of reckoning has arrived.

Bayrou and his minority government on Monday will face a confidence vote over a proposed €43.8 billion budget squeeze that, barring…

Maxim, a 27-year-old schoolteacher from Moscow, whose surname is being withheld for safety reasons, said he wouldn’t be installing Max and criticized the measures against WhatsApp and Telegram. 

“It’s an attempt by the government to limit our ability to write and communicate with…

The false news story is just one example of a rising tide of Russian disinformation targeting European leaders. Among them, Germany’s Merz, in office for just four months, has rapidly become a key target of Russia’s relentless campaign due in great part to his steadfast support of…

The full-month figures for August highlight what appears to be a structural change of outbound air cargo trade flows from China and Hong Kong (China/HK). There is a clear shift from “China/HK to USA” markets to “China/HK to Europe”…

TikTok has reported that it’s reached a new usage milestone in Europe, with 200 million Europeans now logging into the app each month.

As per TikTok:

“More than 200 million people across…