European Union

Following the attacks by the radical Islamic Hamas organisation against Israel, a dispute has flared up over development aid for the Palestinians. EU Council President Charles Michel warned against suspending financial aid after EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced a halt to payments, but then backpedalled. The EU Commission has now announced that it will review financial assistance for Palestine. Commentators are also at odds over the issue.

Slovakia's ex-prime mininster Robert Fico, charged with forming a government after his election victory, is close to achieving his goal: the left-wing Hlas party led by Peter Pellegrini - also a former prime minister - has decided to join forces with Fico and turned down an offer to form a coalition with the liberal Progresívne Slovensko, the Christian Democratic KDH and the pro-business liberal SAS. For commentators, this is a mistake.

At the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, British opposition leader Keir Starmer pledged to launch "a decade of national renewal" if he wins the general election expected for 2024. In his conference speech he promised new houses, cheaper energy and economic growth. What to make of these promises?

The far-right AfD party made major gains in elections in the German states of Bavaria and Hesse on Sunday. The AfD is listed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as suspected case of right-wing extremism. The AfD came third after the CSU and the Free Voters party in Bavaria, and second after the CDU in Hesse. Commentators wonder what this means for the federal government.

If governments around the world are to rise to the challenges of climate change, the tax system will have a vital role to play, argues a new report.

An editorial word: Health policy in the Council and a touch on mental health By Clara Bauer-Babef, Giedrė Peseckytė, Marta Iraola “It is okay not to be okay” would be a quote of the week if we were to pick...

Ukraine has made progress in implementing EU-mandated reforms, which are key for the start of its accession talks, but more will be needed down the line. In this opinion piece, Olena Halushka and Alyona Getmanchuk assess the progress made so far.

More air defence capabilities are crucial for Ukraine ‘to survive during this next winter’, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday (11 October) as he paid a surprise visit to Brussels. Zelenskyy is expected to meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg...

Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan on Thursday (12 October), the presidential office of the Central Asian country said, in what would be the Russian leader's first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

As legislators prepare to compromise and water down the EU’s green buildings law, campaigners are once again in for some disappointment, writes Nikolaus J. Kurmayer.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL – Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, on Tuesday (10 October), became the first European politician to pay an official visit to the country after the attack launched by Hamas last weekend. Lipavský went to Tel Aviv directly...