EDITOR’S CHOICE
Iran war threatens a global recession, Finland’s Stubb warns
Exclusive: Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, one-time golf buddy of Donald Trump, is not hiding his unusually bleak assessment of the U.S. president’s second term. Read the story.
Text messages by trade czar Šefčovič reveal early concerns over EU-US deal
Exclusive: The EU’s trade chief relayed concerns from European businesses, capitals and lawmakers to senior Trump administration officials last fall that Washington’s expanding tariffs risked breaching a trade agreement reached just weeks earlier. Read the story.
Orbán’s spies were hunting me, says Hungarian journalist accused of espionage
Exclusive: Szabolcs Panyi tells POLITICO that Budapest’s accusations are “meant to psychologically pressure me and shatter my credibility.” Read the story.
$500 and a trip abroad: How recruits end up in Russian sabotage training camps
Exclusive: Court cases in Moldova are lifting the curtain on Russia’s transnational network to recruit, train and deploy spies and saboteurs. Read the story.
Brexit Britain’s farmers eye EU-Australia trade deal with envy
Under a trade deal struck just 12 months after the U.K. formally exited the EU in 2021, Australian meat will eventually be allowed to enter the U.K. tariff-free, raising fears that large volumes of cheaper imported meat could flood the market. Read the story.
Carney’s mega anti-Trump alliance starts quest to save world trade
The nearly 40 countries in the EU and Indo-Pacific CPTPP trade blocs are on a quest to save the World Trade Organization at a pivotal meeting in the African nation of Cameroon. Read the story.
EU’s €1.8 trillion budget talks hinge on Hungarian election
A win by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the upcoming Hungarian election risks shattering the EU’s hopes of striking a deal on its next budget by the end of 2026. Read the story.
YOUR WEEKEND PLAYLIST
EU Confidential: A reckoning for Europe’s center left
The far right took some minor hits to its seemingly impenetrable armor this week, as people in Denmark, Italy, France and Slovenia headed to the polls.
But those election results also told another, more existential story: the slow-motion collapse of the EU’s center left.
To unpack what’s ailing left-leaning parties across the bloc, host Sarah Wheaton is joined by a panel of POLITICO colleagues: Clea Caulcutt in Paris, James Angelos in Berlin, and Iberian correspondent Aitor Hernández-Morales. Listen to the episode.
Westminster Insider: How to fix British politics — with help from around the world
As Westminster rolls into recess, host Sascha O’Sullivan looks at some of the problems which bedevil SW1 from voter disengagement to constant reshuffles to find out if political systems from Australia to Italy might have the solutions.
Sascha speaks to Australian-raised Labour MP Lauren Edwards about the push for compulsory voting here in Britain and how it makes Australians more involved in the democratic processes which run their country. Listen to the episode.
DECLASSIFIED
Read this week’s Declassified column.
Caption competition
“Yes, it is surprisingly lifelike and can almost speak in full sentences.
Oh, you meant the robot, not Donald!”
Can you do better? Email us at [email protected] or get in touch on X @POLITICOEurope.
Last week, we gave you this photo:
Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best from our postbag — there’s no prize except for the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or booze.
“I thought I asked for Big Macs, not vegetables!”
by Silas Kennedy
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