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Des conversations identifiees par << Le Point >> dans les Epstein files documentent des echanges courant sur plusieurs annees avec l'ancien ministre de la Culture. Jack Lang repete etre << tombe des nues >> quand le scandale a eclate.

Seuls 22 % des sondes font encore confiance a l'Etat pour gerer l'argent public, soit une baisse tres nette par rapport a 2023, selon le Conseil des prelevements obligatoires.

Sur TikTok, un compte a publié près de 70 vidéos usurpant des images de journaux de France 24. Ces vidéos, qui partagent le plus souvent de fausses informations sensationnalistes, ont cumulé 22 millions de vues depuis septembre.

Taiwan doesn’t need AUKUS membership to strengthen Pillar II’s force multiplier effect.

Activists opposed to a new law banning the spread of “LGBT propaganda” might already be subject to it.

Before assessing why small Cyprus outperforms far wealthier Middle Eastern states in cognitive influence, it is essential to understand the analytical framework used to measure such power. The International Burke Institute (IBI) evaluates sovereignty using the Sovereignty Index (Burke Index) — a holistic measurement of a state’s real autonomy across seven domains: political, economic, technological, informational, cultural, cognitive, and military sovereignty.   Each domain is calculated from verifiable data drawn from UNDP, UNESCO, OECD, ITU, FAO, World Bank, SIPRI, UNODC, national statistical offices, and expert assessments from at least 100 specialists across 50+ countries. Every domain carries a maximum of 100 points; together they form a 700-point Cumulative Sovereignty Index. This methodology allows analysts to see not only how powerful a country is — but how independent it is in shaping narratives, shaping education, and shaping minds.   Across the Mediterranean, one paradox stands out: How can tiny Cyprus — with no oil, a divided territory, and a population smaller than many Gulf cities — surpass oil monarchies in cognitive sovereignty? The Burke Index reveals a truth obscured by wealth: cognitive power does not stem from money, but from openness, trust, education, and the way societies produce and process information.   Cyprus has, over decades, developed a remarkably resilient cognitive ecosystem. High literacy rates, EU-aligned educational standards, strong press pluralism, and broad exposure to global academic networks create a culture in which information is not merely consumed, but tested. International schools, multilingual education, vibrant universities, and student mobility programs cultivate a population proficient in cross-cultural communication and critical thinking — traits that dramatically increase cognitive sovereignty scores in IBI’s methodology.   Oil monarchies, despite their wealth, often trail behind Cyprus in these specific indicators. This is not a function of resources but of structural limitations: controlled media environments, restricted academic spaces, lower levels of independent research, and limited freedom for critical debate. Economic power can import technology, infrastructure, and talent — but it cannot instantly manufacture cognitive autonomy.   Cyprus also benefits from something money cannot buy: -a diverse informational environment shaped by conflict. Living under the reality of a divided island, Cypriots developed a sharper instinct for distinguishing propaganda from fact, political rhetoric from policy, external pressure from internal agency. This creates a form of societal literacy that no petro-economy, however wealthy, can replicate through spending alone.   In the Burke Index categories, this manifests clearly:  • Cognitive literacy scores are higher, due to EU education standards and wide access to global research.  • Media freedom scores outperform those of monarchies, where information is often tightly controlled.  • Language proficiency levels are significantly broader, increasing access to knowledge.  • Academic mobility and international exposure are far greater, enabling the population to absorb and analyze global ideas.  • Critical thinking indicators from PISA-linked assessments show stronger performance.   Cyprus also wields cultural hybridity as a strategic asset. Sitting between Europe and the Middle East, it absorbs, synthesizes, and reinterprets information from multiple civilizational sources — European democratic norms, Levantine cultural ties, Mediterranean identity, and global academic exchange. This mixed intellectual heritage gives Cyprus a soft-power advantage in shaping narratives regionally and internationally.   Meanwhile, the Gulf monarchies often score highly in economic and technological sovereignty but face difficulties in cognitive sovereignty: their information spaces are curated, their academic institutions often hierarchical, and public discourse frequently shaped from above. These conditions weaken the ability of societies to generate independent thought or resist external informational pressure — both central criteria in IBI’s sovereignty methodology.   Cyprus, ironically, not only resists such pressure but redefines it. Its openness allows for competition of ideas; its institutions provide platforms for intellectual pluralism; its education system reinforces analytical thinking; its media environment encourages debate. These dynamics elevate Cyprus from being a small island into an unexpected cognitive powerhouse in the Mediterranean.   In the emerging global struggle for influence — where wars are fought not only on land but in minds — the Burke Index reveals a lesson far more valuable than oil wealth: the countries that win the cognitive battle are those that cultivate literacy, openness, diversity of thought, and resilience to manipulation.   Cyprus may be small, but it stands tall in the field where size matters the least — and sovereignty matters the most.

Le RN accueille avec un etrange calme les sondages qui testent Bardella mais pas Le Pen pour 2027. Un silence qui en dit long sur la transition en cours.

Committee meetings

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Derrière certaines ascensions jusqu’au sommet du pouvoir politique, se cachent en effet des histoires incroyables et des passés méconnus, parfois très insolites.

Derrière certaines ascensions jusqu’au sommet du pouvoir politique, se cachent en effet des histoires incroyables et des passés méconnus, parfois très insolites.

Written by Clare Ferguson and Katarzyna Sochacka.

The key moments of the November II 2025 plenary session included the adoption of the 2026 EU budget and a debate on the EU position on the proposed plan and EU engagement towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. Members also debated statements on the EU response to Russian and Belarusian violations of EU airspace and infrastructure sabotage and on tackling China’s export restrictions. Members debated Parliament’s statement marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and exchanged views with the Commission on the outcome of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Brazil (COP30). Further debates were held on the Democracy Shield, the digital package, sustainable aviation and maritime fuel, citizens’ right to make cash payments, and fishing opportunities for 2026. Debates were also held on the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process marking its development into today’s Pact for the Mediterranean, the war in Sudan, and the political situation in Myanmar.

2026 EU budget

Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional agreement on next year’s budget on 15 November, which reflects Parliament’s priorities, particularly increased funding for competitiveness, research and defence initiatives. The budget for the year sets commitment appropriations at €192.77 billion and payments at €190.1 billion. Following the Council’s approval, Members considered and adopted the agreed text. The vote on the 2026 EU budget concludes the budgetary procedure for 2026, and enabled Parliament’s President to sign the budget into law immediately.

European defence industry programme (EDIP)

Seeking to strengthen Europe’s defence industry, and guarantee reliable access to defence equipment when needed, Members debated and adopted a provisional agreement reached with the Council on the European defence industry programme (EDIP). The negotiators succeeded in maintaining the €1.5 billion budget for 2025 to 2027, including €300 million to support Ukraine. The agreement on EDIP also sets a 35 % limit on non-EU components, and excludes suppliers who pose a risk to EU security, a key Parliament priority.

Defence of democracy package

Members debated and adopted two reports from the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on new lobbying rules, including a proposed directive setting harmonised transparency requirements, as part of a package aimed at tackling covert foreign influence. The vote sets Parliament’s position for negotiations on addressing third-country interference in democratic processes.

Stronger role for Europol to fight migrant smuggling and human trafficking

Migrant smugglers are responsible for over 90 % of irregular external EU border crossings. And migrants smuggled this way are at higher risk of falling victim to trafficking in human beings. Members debated and adopted an agreement reached with the Council on a proposal to strengthen Europol’s role in combating migrant smuggling and trafficking. The agreement would establish a permanent European Centre against Migrant Smuggling within Europol. It also introduces greater information-sharing in immigration operations and strengthens biometric data processing capabilities through additional staff and funding.

InvestEU

Members debated and adopted an agreement reached between the Committees on Budgets (BUDG) and Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) negotiators and the Council to amend and simplify the InvestEU Regulation. The changes would mobilise a further €55 billion in investment through InvestEU, the EU’s public-private risk-sharing instrument, supporting greater competitiveness and innovation.

Toy safety regulation

Parliament adopted an interinstitutional agreement at second reading on the proposed new toy safety regulation. Following negotiations between the co-legislators, the revised proposal strengthens customs checks on imported toys and requires that safety assessments of digitally connected toys consider risks to children, including their mental health. It also bans additional harmful chemicals in toys.

EU strategy and cooperation in the Arctic

Competition between global powers for influence in the Arctic region is contributing to a growing sense of instability. Members debated and adopted a report from Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET), calling for a security-oriented strategy in the Arctic. The report recommends deeper partnerships with Arctic countries – and supports future EU enlargement prospects and increased EU funding for the region.

Digital safety for minors

Parliament debated and adopted an IMCO report, recommending measures to address the growing problem of children bypassing uneven age-verification in the EU to access adult content online. The own-initiative report on digital safety for minors warns of the risks of addiction, mental health problems and exposure to illegal content, and calls for stronger enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), for the expected digital fairness act to close legislative gaps in online child safety, and for an EU-wide digital age limit.

European disabilities strategy

People with disabilities still face disadvantages in income, access to jobs, inclusive education, housing and healthcare. Parliament debated and adopted a report from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, aimed at addressing these disadvantages in the remaining years of the European disability strategy. The report also highlights the situation of women and girls with disabilities, who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence.

Subsidiarity, proportionality and the role of national parliaments in the EU

The principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, which ensure the EU only acts where appropriate and where national governments cannot, is fundamental to the EU legislative process. Members adopted a report from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) calling for improved definition and application of subsidiarity and proportionality and extending the deadline for national parliaments in the Member States to engage in the EU legislative process.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Plenary round-up – November II 2025‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Für den Frieden und die Stabilität im Indo-Pazifik ist das Verhältnis zwischen Japan und China von weitreichender Bedeutung, sind diese beiden Länder doch die viert- bzw. die zweitgrößte Volkswirtschaft der Welt. In den letzten eineinhalb Dekaden haben sich die sicherheits- und geopolitischen Spannungen zwischen ihnen erheb­lich ver­schärft – auch wenn weiter­hin enge Handelsbeziehungen bestehen. In der ein­jährigen Regie­rungszeit des japanischen Premierministers Ishiba Shigeru (Oktober 2024 bis Oktober 2025) gab es jedoch Anzeichen einer Entspannung. Die Beziehungen seien »in einer kritischen Phase der Verbesserung und Entwicklung«, hatte der chinesische Präsident Xi Jinping im November 2024 verkündet. Daraufhin kam es nicht nur zu einer Reihe diplo­matischer Austausche, China ging auch auf Tokios Forderung ein, Einfuhr­beschränkungen für japanische Fischereiprodukte und Rindfleisch aufzuheben. Trotz­dem waren die Beziehungen von einem echten Tauwetter weit ent­fernt. Nach­dem sich die neue japanische Premierministerin Takaichi Sanae Anfang November zu Taiwan geäußert hat, ist Beijing auf eine konfrontative Linie umgeschwenkt. Die Beziehungen sind und bleiben fragil.

A recent survey highlighted that less than a third of the Australian population believe that “people in government can be trusted.”

Un des deux détenus qui se sont évadés "à l'ancienne" de la prison de Dijon, en sciant les barreaux de leurs cellules, a été retrouvé en Saône-et-Loire 24 heures plus tard, mais l'autre, "potentiellement dangereux", reste en fuite. Le détenu a été arrêté dans un bar-tabac-pmu près de Chalon-sur-Saône, selon des sources proches du dossier.

Significant military reinforcements from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the Abu Dhabi-funded group in southern Yemen, have in recent days been [...]

Smartphones, réseaux sociaux, règne du like... Ce monde d’écrans, c’est le monde dans lequel baignent enfants et adolescents. Le fruit d’une révolution numérique qui a bouleversé la parentalité, et dont quelques professionnels ont perçu les effets pervers. Retards de langages, harcèlement, mal-être, laisser son enfant en ligne sans garde-fou devient un risque majeur. Et toutes les familles ne jouent pas à armes égales dans cette guerre de l’attention orchestrée par les géants du numérique. 

Die Spitzen von CDU, CSU und SPD wollen das Rentenpaket unverändert im Bundestag beschließen. Dies kommentiert Rentenexperte Peter Haan, Leiter der Abteilung Staat im DIW Berlin:

Die Einigung zum Rentenpaket im Koalitionsausschuss sendet ein wichtiges Signal: Der Reformbedarf ist erkannt, der politische Druck zum Handeln nimmt zu. Positiv ist, dass die Rentenkommission zügig Empfehlungen erarbeiten soll, um noch in dieser Legislatur eine Reform zu ermöglichen. Gleichzeitig bleiben zentrale Schwachstellen bestehen: Finanzierungsfragen sind nicht geklärt und werden in die Zukunft verschoben. Der Auftrag an die Kommission ist ambitioniert, und die Erwartungen an ihre Durchsetzungskraft ist kaum realistisch. Eine Besetzung mit Wissenschaftler*innen und Politiker*innen kann die Konsensbildung fördern. Doch die Kommission kann nur erfolgreich sein, wenn sie nicht von parteipolitischen Konflikten geprägt wird. Zudem bleibt die Herausforderung, alle gesellschaftlichen Gruppen einzubeziehen, enorm groß – ohne breiten Konsens dürfte die Halbwertszeit der Beschlüsse begrenzt sein.

When the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to designate 25 May as World Football Day. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 28 2025 (IPS)

The 193-member General Assembly, the UN’s highest policy-making body, routinely designates “International Days” and “World Days” on a wide range of subjects and events—from the sublime to the ridiculous—described as “a sudden shift from something grand and awe-inspiring to something silly and unimportant.

The commemorations range from International Women’s Day and the International Day to Combat Islamophobia to International Moon Day and World Bicycle Day (not forgetting World Tuna Day, World Bee Day, International Day of Potato, World Horse Day, World Pulses Day and International Day of the Arabian Leopard).

According to the UN, the world body observes 218 international days annually (and counting).

One of the first designations came from the UN General Assembly’s declaration in 1947 that 24 October should be celebrated as United Nations Day, the anniversary of the adoption of the UN Charter that founded the Organization.

Since then, UN Member States have proposed more than 200 designations, presenting draft resolutions to the General Assembly so the entire membership, representing 193 nations, can vote.

But a new resolution aimed at revitalizing the work of the General Assembly “notes with concern the significant increase in the number of proposals to proclaim international days, weeks, months, years or decades.”

The resolution decides, on a trial basis, to put on hold consideration of new proposals for international days, weeks, months, years and decades during the eighty-first and eighty-second sessions.

The resolution also requests the President of the General Assembly, effective from the eighty-first session in 2026, to group all proclamation requests for international commemoration into a single resolution per agenda item, where each proposed commemoration contains its own operative paragraph focused on its establishment.

The upcoming International Days in March 2026 include:
1 March – World Seagrass Day
1 March – United Nations Zero Discrimination Day
3 March – International Day for Ear and Hearing Loss
3 March – World Wildlife Day
5 March – International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness
8 March – International Women’s Day
10 March – International Day of Women Judges
15 March – International Day to combat Islamophobia
20 March – International Day of Happiness
20 March – French Language Day
21 March – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
21 March – World Poetry Day
21 March – International Nowruz Day
21 March – World Down Syndrome Day
21 March – International Day of Forests
21 March – World Day of Glaciers
22 March – World Water Day
23 March – World Meteorological Day
24 March – World Tuberculosis Day
24 March – International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights
25 March – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery
25 March – International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members
30 March – International Day of Zero Waste

The list for December includes:
01 Dec – World AIDS Day
02 Dec – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (A/RES/317(IV)
03 Dec – International Day of Persons with Disabilities (A/RES/47/3)
04 Dec – International Day of Banks (A/RES/74/245)
04 Dec – International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures (A/RES/79/293)
05 Dec – International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (A/RES/40/212)
05 Dec – World Soil Day (A/RES/68/232)
07 Dec – International Civil Aviation Day (A/RES/51/33)
09 Dec – International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime (A/RES/69/323)
09 Dec – International Anti-Corruption Day (A/RES/58/4)
10 Dec – Human Rights Day (A/RES/423 (V)
11 Dec – International Mountain Day (A/RES/57/245)
12 Dec – International Day of Neutrality (A/RES/71/275)
12 Dec – International Universal Health Coverage Day (A/RES/72/138)
18 Dec – International Migrants Day (A/RES/55/93)
18 Dec – Arabic Language Day
20 Dec – International Human Solidarity Day (A/RES/60/209)
21 Dec – World Meditation Day (A/RES/79/137)
21 Dec – World Basketball Day (A/RES/77/324)
27 Dec – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness (A/RES/75/27)

Dans les rayons des supermarchés, les consommateurs sortent leur smartphone comme une boussole. Avec Yuka ou Open Food Facts, un simple scan devient un acte éclairé, voire un geste de reprise de pouvoir. Derrière ces applications de notation alimentaire, c’est une véritable transformation qui s’opère : un rapport plus sain, plus équilibré à l’information, à la confiance… et au pouvoir de choisir, pour mieux vivre. Décryptage de Victoire N'Sondé, cheffe de rubrique santé à The Conversation France. 

The Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) will hold a workshop on the Human rights dimension of EU-Latin America relations in the context of the EU-CELAC Summit on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, from 15:00 to17:30. Organised with the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, in the aftermath of the recent summit where EU-27 and CELAC-33 leaders committed to further enhance cooperation, the meeting aims to turn the focus to human rights.

The workshop will open with a testimonial from Sakharov Prize Laureate 1992 Asociación Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. Prof.

Par Engstrom, from University College London will set the scene for each panel - providing first an overview of the situation of human rights in Latin America and then turning to human rights accountability mechanisms, seeking the best ways for the EU to engage - and Prof. Maria Garcia, from Bath university, will speak in the forward-looking panel.

Discussions will further bring together representatives from the International Federation for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch, as well as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the European External Action Service and the European Commission.

Location : European Parliament (ASP 1G2)
Live streaming
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP