Politico Europe
March 2026
Le Pen hammers Trump as Iran war triggers spiraling energy crisis
Irish lawmaker urges Stripe to flout US sanctions on UN investigator Albanese
The pressure on Stripe comes after the U.S. placed Albanese, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, under sanctions
I understand as a dual headquartered company, in Dublin and San Francisco, you must follow sanctions imposed by Trump in the U.S.,
EU diplomats meet in Ukraine to pledge support for Russia war crimes tribunal
In the early days of Moscow’s invasion, advancing Russian troops murdered over 400 Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war in Bucha, a quiet commuter town near Kyiv
Some were just walking on the street, some were killed in their own homes, some were tortured and raped,
Because this is happening here and now, this is part of Europe,
We have a plan, but because the €90 billion support package is still blocked, we cannot use the €5 billion planned for protection and recovery to get ready,
Top Brussels official urges Europeans to work from home and drive less
The more you can do to save oil, especially diesel, especially jet fuel, the better we are off,
Even if … peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in the foreseeable future,
Removing EU flags is ‘betrayal,’ French minister tells far-right mayors
In Carcassonne in southern France, National Rally Mayor Christophe Barthès on Sunday filmed himself removing the EU flag from the balcony of the town hall and posted it on his X account
This is a betrayal of who we are. The European Union is something France wanted. It’s us — to ensure peace, to preserve our independence in the face of growing pressure from empires, and to assert our own vision of the world.”
There is no dissolution of national identity in European identity, any more than our local identities fade behind our national identity.”
Italy blocks US use of Sicily air base for Middle East war
Each request is carefully examined, case by case, as has always been the case in the past,
Israel to halt arms purchases from France
Israel will stop all defense procurement from France, as it accuses Paris of a hostile stance toward it
King Charles confirms first US state visit
You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself,
This is not our war.”
Wolf bites woman in face near Hamburg IKEA during first attack in decades
It is the first such case since wolves were reintroduced in 1998,
EU Commission calls Israel’s death penalty law ‘a clear step backwards’
The European Commission on Tuesday condemned Israel for passing a controversial death penalty bill on Monday evening
This is a clear negative trend in terms of Israel’s obligation vis-à-vis respect of human rights,
Hungary’s Szijjártó admits he liaised with Moscow as EU discussed Russia sanctions
The inquiry cites transcripts of calls between Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin
He’s not talking about those elements, actually, that do not belong to the Russians; they talk about public policy matters that are with the European Union,
For four years we have been saying that the sanctions policy is a failure, causing more harm to the EU than to Russia,... Hungary will never agree to sanction individuals or companies that are important for our energy security or for achieving peace.”
Nice work! They proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone,
Eurovision to host Asian version of song contest in Bangkok
Additional competitors are expected to be announced in the lead up to the competition
Europe faces its next big problem: The Iran war is driving up inflation
That’s a sharp deviation from the pattern of the last year, in which it has meandered gently around the European Central Bank’s target of 2 percent
Are fuel cuts back on the table?
Europe is facing another potential energy shock — and this time, Brussels is starting to float something politically tricky: using less fuel
Tensions spike in final stretch of Hungarian election
The campaign has been characterized by bitter allegations from the two camps, and election watchdogs are concerned about the fairness of the contest thanks to Orbán’s grip on state institutions such as the media
I can tell you that if there’s a misuse or any kind of fraud going on in the background, all local authorities and national authorities have the chance actually to investigate it,
G7 can only watch as Gulf chaos spreads
You have to think about a wider effect on the economy, and 2026 is not 2022: We don’t have the strong pandemic reopening effects, and the labor market is softer,
If the Iran War develops into a major regional conflict it could place an even greater burden on Germany and Europe, as heavy as we recently experienced during the Covid pandemic or at the start of the Ukraine war,
The very existence of this G7 meeting in this phase, with all stakeholders and in particular the Americans … is in itself a notable and significant fact,
Great progress has been made,
Zelenskyy offers Ukraine’s help to unblock Hormuz
Instead, Kyiv is pushing its in-depth defense expertise as something that would be very useful in the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG supplies which is being blocked by Iran in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli attacks
We raised this issue, because it is a painful and urgent one — as we can all see, for the entire world. There is an energy crisis. They know they can rely on our expertise in this area, and we discussed it in detail,
Ukraine managed to create a complex system of cargo ship protection from all kinds of threats on the sea route from the territorial waters of Romania to the Odesa region,
We shared our experience with the Black Sea corridor and how it operates. They understand that our Armed Forces have been highly effective in unblocking the Black Sea corridor,
Right now, Ukraine has a ready-made ecosystem, fully systemic solution for protecting marine areas and airspace,
As of today, Ukraine’s marine drones are not only kamikaze boats, but also platforms that can carry machine guns, rocket launchers and FPV drones,
France sentences tanker captain as EU countries crack down on Russian shadow fleet
Zhangjie Chen, 39, was convicted of failing to comply with authorities after French special forces boarded the Boracay, a vessel found sailing without a flag in international waters off the coast of Saint-Nazaire last September
Few European capitals can sustain a high-tempo posture for long, leaving random boardings looking potentially escalatory without being strategically decisive,
There is no case law [in France],
Merz wants majority of Syrians out of Germany
The civil war is over, and there is now, in principle, a perspective for returning to Syria — and we want to make that possible together,
Looking ahead over the next three years — as Sharaa has expressed his hope — around 80% of Syrians currently residing in Germany are expected to return to their home country,
Brussels says Europeans should consider traveling less to avoid energy shortages
That could mean governments asking citizens to drive or fly less to save fuel for more essential purposes, as is already happening in some Asian countries
Member States should refrain from taking measures that may increase fuel consumption, limit the free flow of petroleum products or disincentivize EU refinery output,
As the WTO flounders, the world’s middle powers go their own way
Talks to reform the global trade body collapsed on Sunday night over a standoff between Washington and Brazil — leading the work to be pushed back to the WTO’s General Council in Geneva this May
[The... The EU] do not feel the sufficient sense of urgency in order to start delivering results,
We have plurilaterals already in the WTO,
Members must use the coming weeks to bridge remaining gaps and ensure that this critical measure is restored without delay,
India showed the courage to stand alone,
We meet every two years … the world has changed drastically in two years, trade has changed drastically in two years,
It’s the thing that kills issues — each issue should be judged on its own right,
What happened in Yaoundé clearly underscores the need for reform,
The future of trade negotiations is likely to be plurilateral,
Despite the absence of consensus on incorporation, the initiative will continue to move forward,
Europe slams Israel over death penalty bill and freedom of religion
The proposed legislation is limited in scope and aligned with accepted principles governing the use of capital punishment, similar to frameworks in the United States,
Spain closes airspace to US planes involved in Iran war
This is part of the decision already made by the Spanish government to not participate in, or contribute to, a war which was initiated unilaterally and is against international law,
Ukraine to seek alternatives to Patriot missiles amid global shortage, Zelenskyy says
All anti-ballistic packages — we see how partners … where they are sending them … where it is very hot today. This is primarily the Middle East. Unfortunately, sometimes they forget about Ukraine, but we remind everyone and are grateful to the partners who hear us,
PAC-3 deficit in the world, in Ukraine in particular, has never ended. Unfortunately. You know that the total production is about 60 missiles per month,
Of course, there are important steps on the territory of the European continent to increase production, but even this increase will not solve this issue,
Russia expels British diplomat over espionage allegations
It accused the diplomat of providing false information to obtain entry into Russia and engage in intelligence-gathering activities