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The title of this Brief is inspired by the works of Tom Clancy (1947-2013), who got praise notably from US President Ronald Reagan for his well-researched fiction mirroring the military confrontation during the Cold War.

While the EU economy mimicks the weather by cooling down a little more than would be comfortable (at least in Western Europe), various economic policy debates are certain to heat up this autumn.

Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are rising in popularity - however, experts have warned that the drugs are not a silver bullet solution to the problem of obesity in Europe, a complex and multifactorial public health issue.

The French government will release €4 billion in subsidies in the form of public-private contracts for the development of low-carbon hydrogen projects as part of the country's updated national hydrogen strategy.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea, which Beijing on Thursday (31 August) said should be viewed rationally and objectively.

Dear readers, Welcome back to EU Politics Decoded, where Benjamin Fox and Eleonora Vasques will bring you a round-up of the latest political news in Europe and beyond every Thursday. In this edition, we look at the early moves by...

Prevention efforts are key to tackling the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe, according to a draft report presented by EU lawmakers on Wednesday (30 July).

European People's Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber wants the EU to rethink its approach to the South Mediterranean region, after making a two-day visit to Tunisia, with whom the bloc has agreed a new cash-for-migrant-control deal. 

As countries face the worst droughts in decades, we must do what we can do to limit freshwater consumption. In its current form, the #PPWR proposal will drive up freshwater consumption - substituting reusable packaging in fast food restaurants would be equivalent to providing 750,000 people with their freshwater needs each year. Policymakers cannot ignore these facts.

The European Parliament’s agriculture committee proposed to go beyond the scope of the recently unveiled EU framework for certifying carbon sinks in farming by providing for the remuneration and trading of negative emission certificates.

Electric vehicles are central to the energy transition as they can help integrate renewables and balance the electricity grid when demand is high. Yet, administrative complexities are holding up the deployment of charging points in buildings, writes Jayson Dong.

The new National Data Strategy was adopted by the German Federal Cabinet on Wednesday (30 August). The objective is to use the potential of generated data more effectively, to strengthen digital innovation and to improve competitiveness.

Europeans’ mental health has been in decline for years and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the EU Commission’s June communication on mental health, the European Parliament’s health committee has drafted the first report on mental health for lawmakers.

Poland is not planning a quicker end to using coal, the government said on Wednesday (30 August), criticising state-controlled utility PGE for bringing forward its carbon neutrality target by a decade to 2040.

European Union countries have increased their imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia compared with before the Ukraine war, despite the EU's aim to quit Russian fossil fuels within a few years, an analysis by campaigners showed.

United Nations sanctions in Mali will end on Thursday (31 August) after Russia vetoed a renewal of the regime that targeted anyone violating or obstructing a 2015 peace deal, hindering aid delivery, committing rights abuses or recruiting child soldiers.

Australia and the European Union will resume free trade talks on Thursday (31 August) with a teleconference between Australia's Trade Minister Don Farrell and EU Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, a month after the two sides failed to reach a deal.

Less than a year before the European elections, it is now time to listen to young Europeans and with them build a better future for Europe, write Anna Lührmann, Laurence Boone and Tiago Antunes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters.

Concluding a two-day government retreat, Germany’s coalition passed a stimulus package and bureaucracy relief measures to boost businesses and tackle low growth, but questions on Germany’s long-term economic perspective remain unanswered.