Poland is willing to give MiG-29 fighter planes to Ukraine, but wants a guarantee from the White House that it will provide U.S.-made fighter jets to fill the gap in their fleet.
UPDATED: Major turnaround in Germany's military policy, as Berlin authorizes the Netherlands to send Ukraine 400 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
Until today, Germany did not permit lethal weapons that it controlled to be transferred to conflict zones.
NATO “barking” at Russia’s door may have led to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Pope Francis said in an interview.
He also said he's offered to meet the Russian president in Moscow.
Ukrainian entertainer Serhiy Prytula had been planning to launch a new political party to challenge President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Then Russia invaded.
So, Prytula launched a different campaign – supplying the Ukrainian army and civilian volunteers.
BREAKING: European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced today that Hungary will be the first country to face proceedings under the Commission's powerful new mechanism to cut funding to countries that erode the bloc's rule-of-law standards.
OPINION: Ukraine must continue to be given the capacity to defend itself vigorously and not be forced to negotiate from a position of weakness.
Simply put, Russia’s genocidal attack against Ukraine must fail.
In an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah, said the US and Europe should help the Iranian people and a newly unified opposition exploit the cracks in Iran’s leadership.
Move over Germany, there's a new military superpower in town.
Poland has what is arguably Europe’s best army — and with pledges to raise its defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product, it’s only going to get stronger.
Hours into negotiations on opening accession talks with Ukraine, it was Germany's Olaf Scholz who came up with the solution.
Scholz told Orbán that he could leave the room so other leaders could take an unanimous decision, two officials said.
Updates:
Europe’s most powerful person: Donald Tusk
Poland's presumed next PM has shown that even in a flawed system, populists can be beaten.
Now as he embarks on the process of reshaping his country, the reverberations will be felt around Europe.
#POLITICO28
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree ordering the mobilization of all conscripts and reservists to face Russian troops — but has ruled out a general mobilization with hopes of pursuing diplomatic ways out of the crisis.
Follow live:
Elon Musk has mocked Ukraine’s war-time leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, using a meme to scoff at the president’s calls for Western aid.
It unleashed a wave of anti-Musk reactions among Ukrainians.
These NATO allies are the biggest defense spenders in the EU:
🇵🇱 Poland
🇬🇷 Greece
🇪🇪 Estonia
🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇫🇮 Finland
🇷🇴 Romania
🇸🇰 Slovakia
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇱🇻 Latvia
Notice a trend?
🔗
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy savaged his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev in a bruising televised exchange in Sofia today.
He opened up with both barrels against Radev’s opposition to arming Ukraine.
The five worst countries in the EU for media freedom are:
🇬🇷 1. Greece
🇧🇬 2. Bulgaria
🇭🇺 3. Hungary
🇲🇹 4. Malta
🇵🇱 5. Poland
Data: Reporters Without Borders annual World Press Freedom Index
BREAKING: Italy appears to have elected its most right-wing government since World War II, after exit polls for today's general election suggested a coalition led by Giorgia Meloni is on course for power.
Germany is still blocking allies from sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.
Officials from two EU member countries expressed fury and disbelief at Berlin’s position, which Germany has defended as a long-standing policy aimed at preventing bloodshed.
The five worst countries in the EU for media freedom are:
🇬🇷 1. Greece
🇲🇹 2. Malta
🇭🇺 3. Hungary
🇧🇬 4. Bulgaria
🇵🇱 5. Poland
It's the second year in a row that Greece has taken the top spot.
Data: Reporters Without Borders 2023 World Press Freedom Index
"The great risk” Europe faces is getting "caught up in crises that are not ours," says Emmanuel Macron.
In an exclusive interview aboard his plane, the French president explained why he wants Europe to reduce its dependency on the US 👇
Israel is deliberately using "disproportionate force" in Gaza and targeting "civilian infrastructure" in an effort to limit its own losses and showcase its "military force," according to a confidential memo from the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv.
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Have you heard of
#NAFO
? It's the North Atlantic Fellas Organization.
Through the power of shit-posting, it's helping Ukraine on the digital front — and raising money for its troops.
Vladimir Putin must return the Black Sea peninsula, including Crimea, to its “rightful owners,” Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
His remarks come after the leaders of India and China also dealt Putin a rhetorical blow in recent days.
What happened with Navalny?
His return to Russia started with his plane landing at a different airport than expected.
He was detained there, and is now in a make-shift courtroom inside a police station.
An impromptu hearing is underway 👇
OPINION: Inviting Ukraine into NATO is the only way to end and not expand the war.
It will bring sustainable peace back to Europe, end Russia’s imperialist ambitions and make sure this conflict isn’t repeated once Russia rearms its new conscripts.
Two Catalan leaders are demanding that they be allowed to take their seats in the European Parliament after an initial court opinion found that Spain illegally imposed additional requirements for them to take office
Yulia Senyuk is more famous under her stage name Josephine Jackson — where her porn appearances have garnered over 200 million views — and now she’s using that celebrity status to raise funds for Ukrainian soldiers who lost limbs in the war against Russia.
OPINION: The results of the Spanish general election should teach European conservatives a painful lesson: Cozying up to the far right is a losing strategy.
McDonald’s apologizes for its Halloween-themed dessert called "Sundae Bloody Sundae," which references one of the deadliest episodes in the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland
In the last 12 years Britain has cycled through five prime ministers, six home secretaries and seven chancellors — but only one chief mouser: Larry the Cat.
This is his storied history.
"When it comes to Putin’s strategic objectives, he’s already failed.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken offers a scathing analysis of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding that Moscow also failed in the quest to sow divisions in NATO.
Nine months after invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is beginning to fracture the West.
European officials are furious with the US administration, accusing Americans of making a fortune from the war while EU countries suffer.
European leaders are becoming increasingly favorable of French President Emmanuel Macron's push for "strategic autonomy" away from the United States — according to European Council boss Charles Michel.
Following Putin's invasion of Ukraine, anti-war protests broke out across Russia. People took to the streets in 53 cities and at least 1,728 were detained.
France is building an alliance of countries open to potentially sending Western troops to Ukraine — and in the process deepening its clash with a more cautious Berlin.
"If something is good in Spain, then why is it bad in Poland?" Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó pondered.
To get to the bottom of this mystery, Hungary and Poland will create an institute to assess how the rule of law is upheld across the EU.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has come under fire after video footage emerged in which he says low-income parents should feed their children burgers from McDonald's.
Incumbent authoritarian President Aleksander Lukashenko claims 79.7 percent of the vote in Belarus after a campaign marked by protests and intimidation
Always double-check your recipient before you hit that “send” button.
That’s a lesson former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is digesting today after his request that an aide dig up dirt on Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský went public.
Czech President Petr Pavel urges Europe to strengthen its defense capabilities and reduce reliance on the US, emphasizing the need for a robust European pillar within NATO.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces a new enemy.
Péter Magyar, ex-husband of former Justice Minister Judit Varga, has released a recording alleging high-level corruption.
The
#1
dreamer in Europe is:
Sanna Marin
With a special kind of political acuity, Finland’s PM has committed to the world’s most ambitious climate target and become one of the loudest voices calling for a rethink of European security.
#POLITICO28
Emmanuel Macron has won a second term in office, according to initial projections by pollster IPSOS.
The sitting president won 58.2 percent, the pollster says, compared to 41.8 percent for his rival, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.
The Spanish Supreme Court’s decision to suspend former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont from his public duties violated his rights, the U.N.’s Human Rights Committee has ruled.
The "brutality" of Russian forces "resembles a lot of ISIS," says the Latvian foreign minister.
Edgars Rinkēvičs wants the EU to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism after an attack killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
There's a historical parallel between Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Lithuania's leader warned today.
It would be a “fundamental mistake,” he said, to believe that Moscow can be “appeased” by conceding territory.
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BREAKING: Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has tested negative in a drug test she took after leaked videos showed her having fun with friends.
Full story to follow.
Emmanuel Macron forced citizens to carry a vaccine passport if they wanted to visit French bars, restaurants or museums.
It was a bold move that could have backfired in many ways — but instead became a major success.
"The only way to get peace is to ensure that Russia loses the war [in Ukraine]."
In an interview today, Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš said EU leaders should not make the mistake of pursuing “peace at any cost."
The most powerful person in Europe is:
Mario Draghi.
Governing Italy as a technocrat, he's brought a steady hand to national politics. But he is also a leader that could drag the country into the heart of European affairs.
Read more here:
#POLITICO28
J.K. Rowling may profess to be unconcerned about her legacy, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that her stance on trans rights — perhaps as much as her novels — will be what defines it.
Ukraine and its Western allies are battling Russia's latest onslaught — a blatantly deceptive operation in which Moscow presents itself as a victim in the Black Sea naval blockade.
"Military actions near such a large nuclear facility could lead to very serious consequences.”
The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is now “very alarming,” the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned.
Something unusual is happening in Northern Ireland.
Its economy, normally a laggard, is growing faster than Britain's, according to new regional analysis.