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Katarína Mathernová: Peace in Ukraine demands a language of strength
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Katarína Mathernová: Peace in Ukraine demands a language of strength

For Katarína Mathernová, the EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, the daily reality of war is measured in shattered office windows and the sound of ballistic strikes. Amid escalating attacks on Kyiv, she maintains that Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal remains the destruction of Ukraine, and that peace can only be secured through decisive pressure.

Brazil's Election Puts EU-Mercosur Trade Ties to the Test
Europe

Brazil's Election Puts EU-Mercosur Trade Ties to the Test

As Brazil heads to the polls this Sunday, the European Union faces a nervous wait regarding the future of its landmark trade deal with the Mercosur bloc. Incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva faces a razor-thin contest against Flávio Bolsonaro, whose victory could signal a sharp geopolitical pivot toward Washington.

Mária Bieliková on why AI needs a human check
Europe

Mária Bieliková on why AI needs a human check

Artificial intelligence risks widening the gender gap and destabilizing democracy, according to Mária Bieliková, founder of the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies. She argues that while the technology presents unprecedented challenges, the primary danger lies not in the machines themselves, but in the people wielding them without oversight.

Budapest’s New Obstructionism: The Carpathian Eight Dispute
Europe

Budapest’s New Obstructionism: The Carpathian Eight Dispute

Conflict erupted in Kyiv this September when Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar accused Ukrainian officials of fabricating Hungary’s membership in the newly formed ‘Carpathian Eight.’ The clash, prompted by a sharp exchange with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, suggests that despite recent leadership changes, Hungary remains tethered to obstructionist foreign policy patterns.

G7 taps reserves as US pressure on diesel exports mounts
Europe

G7 taps reserves as US pressure on diesel exports mounts

Conflict over fuel security reached a breaking point Friday as G7 nations agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from strategic reserves. The move follows intense White House lobbying and threats of export bans, though European officials insist the decision serves collective stability rather than American political demands.

Ukraine Deploys Domestic FP-7 Missile Amid Escalating Bridge Strikes
Europe

Ukraine Deploys Domestic FP-7 Missile Amid Escalating Bridge Strikes

Ukrainian forces have officially deployed the domestically produced FP-7 ballistic missile for the first time, marking a milestone in local arms production. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the combat debut of the system, even as Russian forces intensify their campaign by targeting critical bridge infrastructure across the capital.

Jordan Bardella rejects claims of past antisemitic social media posts
Europe

Jordan Bardella rejects claims of past antisemitic social media posts

Jordan Bardella, the prominent National Rally leader and chair of the Patriots for Europe group, has flatly denied authorship of antisemitic messages surfaced by an investigation. The controversy arrives as political maneuvering intensifies ahead of France's presidential election, casting a shadow over the far-right figure's public image.

Brunner credits EU migration pact for sharp drop in asylum claims
Europe

Brunner credits EU migration pact for sharp drop in asylum claims

Irregular migrant arrivals have plunged by 55 percent over the last two years, a shift EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner attributed on Thursday to the bloc’s sweeping asylum reforms. Speaking in Luxembourg, he framed the declining figures as a direct vindication of the migration pact implemented earlier this year.

Hungarian Parliament Strips Immunity of Former Ministers and PM Magyar
Europe

Hungarian Parliament Strips Immunity of Former Ministers and PM Magyar

Hungarian lawmakers voted on September 28 to waive parliamentary immunity for two former ministers under Viktor Orbán’s administration and current Prime Minister Péter Magyar. The move marks a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to prosecute systemic fraud, as officials face allegations involving billions of forints in state funds and bribery.

Europe

Brussels distances itself from Dutch dispute over Sierra Leone drug suspect

Migration commissioner Magnus Brunner attributed the sudden freeze of EU aid to Sierra Leone to technical considerations, flatly contradicting Dutch claims that the funding halt is a targeted diplomatic gambit to force the extradition of Jos Leijdekkers, one of the world’s most-wanted cocaine traffickers currently hiding in West Africa.

Inside the Human Rights Crisis Unfolding in Ceuta
Europe

Inside the Human Rights Crisis Unfolding in Ceuta

In the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, European law has effectively been replaced by a system of arbitrary military control. Thousands of migrants now live in conditions of forced degradation, trapped in a border zone where state officials, local political factions, and security forces operate with impunity against the most vulnerable.

Europe’s Housing Strategy Needs More Than Rental Curbs
Europe

Europe’s Housing Strategy Needs More Than Rental Curbs

With 47 million dwellings currently unoccupied across the European Union, the proposed Affordable Housing Act risks missing its mark by focusing narrowly on short-term rental restrictions. While regulating tourist platforms offers a start, the legislation fails to address the deep-seated structural issues fueling the continent's housing affordability crisis.

How TikTok algorithms drive a wedge between young voters
Europe

How TikTok algorithms drive a wedge between young voters

Greta and Lena, two 16-year-olds from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, traded their social media abstinence for a month-long experiment with Deutschlandfunk journalists. Their mission was simple: track how TikTok’s algorithm dictates political exposure during an election cycle, revealing how quickly a neutral feed transforms into a targeted stream of radicalized political messaging.

Schengen in the Balance: The Limits of Temporary Border Controls
Europe

Schengen in the Balance: The Limits of Temporary Border Controls

Italy’s recent decision to extend border checks with Spain has reignited a debate over the legality of suspending the Schengen area’s core principle of free movement. While Rome cites security concerns following migrant arrivals in Ceuta, critics argue these measures lack the legal justification required by European law.

Europe's Abortion Access Stalls Amid Conservative Pushback
Europe

Europe's Abortion Access Stalls Amid Conservative Pushback

Despite a long-standing reputation as a global leader in reproductive rights, Europe is witnessing a sharp regression. New data from the Centre for Reproductive Rights reveals that while legal frameworks once trended toward liberalization, a resurgence of conservative resistance is now actively dismantling established access to safe abortion care.

Jacques Rupnik: French politics polarized by Le Pen and Mélenchon
Europe

Jacques Rupnik: French politics polarized by Le Pen and Mélenchon

As France looks toward the 2027 presidential race, political scientist Jacques Rupnik warns that the country’s political landscape is increasingly defined by radical extremes. While Marine Le Pen refines her image to capture moderate voters, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is aggressively courting immigrant communities, further deepening a national divide over identity and economic policy.

Trump’s Super Intelligence Pact Faces EU Comparison
Europe

Trump’s Super Intelligence Pact Faces EU Comparison

Donald Trump has secured voluntary commitments from major tech firms to oversee "super intelligence," marking a pivot from the industry-standard term of artificial intelligence. By prioritizing a one-page, non-binding accord, the White House is betting on industry self-regulation rather than the comprehensive, 60-page regulatory framework currently established in the European Union.

EU pesticide deregulation risks long-term health of millions
Europe

EU pesticide deregulation risks long-term health of millions

In June 2026, Florence, Franck, and Isabelle arrived in Brussels carrying the weight of a quiet crisis: their children, like 380,000 others across the bloc, have suffered severe medical harm linked to pesticide exposure, including leukemia and neurodevelopmental impairments, as the European Commission moves to dismantle long-standing environmental protections.

Poland uncovers shadow network of fake student visas and labor fraud
Europe

Poland uncovers shadow network of fake student visas and labor fraud

Maria, a Colombian migrant, arrived in Poland expecting a meat-processing job only to discover she had been secretly enrolled in a university she never attended. Her experience highlights a sprawling underground trade that uses fraudulent student status to bypass labor laws, evade social security taxes, and facilitate illegal residency.

AI Chatbots Leak Intimate User Data to Ad Trackers
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AI Chatbots Leak Intimate User Data to Ad Trackers

Six out of nine major AI chatbots are routinely funneling sensitive user inputs to third-party advertisers, according to new research. By embedding sophisticated trackers, these platforms allow companies to link deeply personal conversation topics—ranging from mental health to financial status—with individual web identities, bypassing standard privacy protections.

EU deportation rules grant police power to raid private homes
Europe

EU deportation rules grant police power to raid private homes

EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg this Thursday are expected to formalize a sweeping return regulation, granting police the authority to conduct raids on private residences. Under the new legal framework, officers may seize personal belongings and electronic devices from individuals slated for deportation to their home countries.

Parallel Realities: How Russian Map-Making Diverges from the Front Lines
Europe

Parallel Realities: How Russian Map-Making Diverges from the Front Lines

While Ukrainian commanders report holding their ground across the front, a stark disconnect has emerged between battlefield reality and official Russian cartography. Kremlin-backed sources continue to publish maps depicting territorial gains that do not exist, ignoring both successful Ukrainian counterattacks and the actual positions of their own forces.

US NGOs urge EU to reject pressure on methane import standards
Europe

US NGOs urge EU to reject pressure on methane import standards

Nearly 100 American civil society organizations have petitioned EU energy ministers to resist lobbying efforts from the White House and global gas exporters. The groups argue that delaying proposed methane regulations would surrender European climate standards to international pressure, leaving US export terminals to continue operating without strict environmental oversight.

The AI industry’s favorite ghost story masks real-world damage
Europe

The AI industry’s favorite ghost story masks real-world damage

“Imagine a zombie that does not hunt you, but rings your doorbell and speaks so persistently and fluently that it finally arrives at a convincing argument for feeding it your brain.” This metaphor, coined by researcher Eryk Salvaggio, highlights how we are being distracted by theatrical narratives about rogue AI.

Finnish land deal exposes loophole in European settlement trade curbs
Europe

Finnish land deal exposes loophole in European settlement trade curbs

A municipal council in Kinnula, Finland, recently voted to greenlight a four-million-euro resort project led by an Israeli developer, inadvertently highlighting a critical blind spot in European trade policy: while nations move to restrict settlement-made goods, they remain ill-equipped to block the flow of settlement-linked capital into domestic public assets.

The Ceuta border crisis and the failure of EU migration policy
Europe

The Ceuta border crisis and the failure of EU migration policy

As Spanish authorities scramble to prevent a repeat of July’s mass border breach in Ceuta, the crisis has exposed deep fractures in European migration policy. German legal expert Lena Riemer argues that the reliance on border outsourcing and populist rhetoric is overshadowing the urgent humanitarian risks, particularly for unaccompanied minors.

Montenegro’s 2028 EU Ambition Faces Implementation Reality
Europe

Montenegro’s 2028 EU Ambition Faces Implementation Reality

With 70 percent of its population favoring European Union membership, Montenegro stands as the bloc’s most likely next member. Yet, as the country pushes to finalize accession negotiations by year-end, structural hurdles in judicial reform and the fight against corruption remain significant barriers to a 2028 entry timeline.

Spain's housing crisis: Government steps versus protester demands
Europe

Spain's housing crisis: Government steps versus protester demands

Thousands remain camped at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, demanding systemic relief as housing costs spiral. The movement gained momentum after the high-profile eviction of 83-year-old MariCarmen Abascal, forcing the government to draft new emergency decree-laws to curb speculative investment and protect tenants from sudden displacement.

EU Cyber Defense Struggles Against Fragmented National Security Policies
Europe

EU Cyber Defense Struggles Against Fragmented National Security Policies

Four million phishing attempts against Polish military personnel in 2025 highlight a relentless, borderless digital offensive against the European Union. While Russia and China escalate hybrid tactics, the bloc’s collective response remains crippled by bureaucratic duplication, a lack of information sharing, and deep-seated reluctance to surrender national sovereignty.