UK announces £75B defense boost — and challenges Europe to follow suit (www.politico.eu)
Move will see Britain spend 2.5 percent of GDP on defense by end of the decade as Downing Street urges ‘other major European NATO economies to follow.’...
Iran’s imprisonment of EU diplomat reveals new era of hostage diplomacy (www.politico.eu)
Johan Floderus, an EU diplomat, has spent two years in an Iranian prison....
Brussels venue withdraws from Orbán conference (www.politico.eu)
Concert Noble will no longer host NatCon conference next week....
EU gears up to sue Germany if it doesn’t change divisive gas tax (www.politico.eu)
Germany’s neighbors say the measure is harming EU unity and hindering their efforts to ditch Russian energy....
Russia’s migrants and ethnic minorities shiver at new Putin terror crackdown (www.politico.eu)
After deadly Moscow terror attack, authorities have targeted vulnerable scapegoats....
Protests begin in Georgia against ‘Russian law’ (www.politico.eu)
The demonstrations come amid a growing row between Georgia and the EU over its proposed “foreign agent” bill....
Intensive pig farming hogs scarce water in drought-hit Catalonia (www.politico.eu)
Europe’s top pork-producing region is ground zero for intensive systems that devour scarce water and cause nitrate pollution....
Occupy Brussels! Viktor Orbán’s plan for Europe (www.politico.eu)
In the Hungarian leader, the EU faces a new type of Euroskeptic, one who doesn’t want to leave the bloc but shape it....
The EU compromise machine is breaking — and everyone’s blaming Germany (www.politico.eu)
Berlin’s domestic spats are gumming up the EU’s delicate policymaking process....
Serious security breach hits EU police agency (www.politico.eu)
Disappearance of sensitive files of top law enforcement officials has sparked a crisis at Europol....
Want to watch porn in Britain? Get your passport ready (www.politico.eu)
Democracy in decline worldwide, new report says (www.politico.eu)
Exit polls show Swiss anti-immigrant party on track for record election showing (www.politico.eu)
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which centered its campaign on anti-immigrant rhetoric, is projected to win 29 percent of the vote, up from 25.6 percent four years ago and higher than pre-election polls. It has been the country’s largest party since 2003.
The Hulk jabs Macron ahead of key French election (www.politico.eu)
China is threatening EU agriculture. Should farmers squeal? (www.politico.eu)
Beijing’s threat of tariffs on EU agricultural imports comes as trade volumes are already falling....
Europe swings to the right — led by France (www.politico.eu)
Europe’s center of political gravity is veering to the right....
Georgia set to approve ‘foreign agents’ law amid growing Western backlash (www.politico.eu)
The U.S. has imposed sanctions over the controversial legislation, while Brussels warns it will sink the country’s efforts to join the EU....
Germany’s Ukraine air defense initiative falls flat (www.politico.eu)
Berlin promised to help Ukraine source crucial air defenses, but the reality has been disappointing....
Europe eyes car chips as next battleground with China (www.politico.eu)
Commission will start questioning its industry about competition with China and others on older-generation microchips....
Europe’s banks retreat from Moscow, with the ECB at their heels (www.politico.eu)
Europe’s banks’ retreat from Moscow is entering its final stage, but instead of having General Winter at their heels, they have the European Central Bank....
Macron warns Europe ‘can die’ in alarmist speech on protectionism, geopolitical threats (www.politico.eu)
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday that Europe faces possible demise if it does not take bold action to tackle U.S. and Chinese protectionism, amid serious geopolitical threats from authoritarian regimes....
Time for a European single market ‘with teeth’ to take on China, India, leaders told (www.politico.eu)
Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta tells POLITICO that government subsidies should become a “European tool.”...
Georgia’s EU bid is being sabotaged by its own government, Brussels fears (www.politico.eu)
Some 80 percent of Georgians want to join the EU, but the government seems to fear that membership could undermine its grip on power....
France talks tough on Ukraine while gobbling up more Russian gas (www.politico.eu)
France has paid Russia over €600 million this year for liquefied natural gas, new data shows. That’s an EU-leading rise from last year....
EU pushes to curb China’s green tech market lead (www.politico.eu)
Brussels’ new probe into Chinese wind turbines comes as Beijing grabs dominance over global market for solar panels....
