There is no energy crisis in the world, and experts do not expect one in the near future, regardless of the fact that the Persian Gulf may remain closed for quite a long time, says Mikhail Krutichin.
The EU’s deforestation regulation was very popular — until it became law. But after two years of delays and exemptions, the EU Commission appears to have decided to give no more ground.
Cookies have been around since the early days of the internet. The “Accept All” button has become a routine reflex for many. But even the “Reject All” button disguises hundreds of so-called “legitimate interest” tracking.
Now the EU wants to fix this loophole in its landmark privacy rules, claiming users would save 198 million hours a year with new changes – but will these really empower users or reshape old problems into a new form?
The 40th anniversary of a major nuclear accident is a good opportunity to reflect on whether something similar can happen again today.
Over the past two years, Péter Magyar has travelled almost constantly around Hungary, saying he would curb corruption and fix public services. On foreign policy issues, however, he was cautious. Here is an overview of the key issues that will determine Hungary’s position on the geopolitical stage.
Hungary’s political landscape has been upended: after 16 years in power, Viktor Orbán’s system has collapsed following a landslide defeat. From the limits of propaganda and corruption to a resurgent independent press and a new generation of voters, 10 key lessons explain how a seemingly entrenched illiberal model unravelled — and what comes next for Hungary and Europe.
Despite its insistence that it supports ‘rules-based trade’, the EU has accepted president Donald Trump’s tariffs. And its own trade agenda is more complicated than just free trade.
The political groundwork for Thursday’s likely decision was already laid years ago when the EPP crushed the European Commission’s original 2018 proposal for a return directive in order to usher in more restrictive measures.
Europe’s reaction to Monday’s oil-price surge was far from unified, with some officials calling for a faster shift to clean energy, while others said boosting oil and gas supplies offered the quickest path to easing a potential energy shock from the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The European Central Bank itself has repeatedly said over the years that its policies are ineffective when dealing with energy shocks.
European leaders have been carefully drafting cautious statements urging ‘de-escalation’ and ‘respect for international law’. But one voice has sounded different. And it speaks Spanish.
The European gas price was 40 percent higher on Monday after Qatar halted liquid gas production.
Many EU member states are working on social media bans individually, before any EU-wide measure — but is banning social media, only for kids, and one country at a time, the best move?
Last year, Europe became Ukraine’s main supporter, providing over $200bn (€170bn) in military, financial, and humanitarian aid, while US assistance dropped sharply, shifting the war’s centre of gravity to the EU.
As 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl, commemorating it as a historical aberration allows Europe to move on without reckoning. Treating it as a warning about the limits of nuclear governance would require something harder: political humility.
“The problem that we’re pursuing here is not to establish whether things are illegal, it is to establish whether politically it is undesirable,” admitted Dirk Gotnik, a Dutch centre-right MEP with the European People’s Party.
![OpenAI (creator of ChatGPT) will invest $500bn [€422bn] over the next four years into AI infrastructure. For comparison, the EU Commission wants create €200bn in investment towards AI infrastructure](https://static.euobserver.com/2023/05/258406f96541ba09a95c130f68a18555.jpg)
OpenAI spends more on AI than the whole EU. Europe is lagging in the innovation race — here’s why, and how it plans to catch up.
EU leaders will discuss simplification and competitiveness and even a ‘Buy European’ strategy at their informal retreat on Thursday — but others see a simple focus on competitiveness as self-defeating, writes Wester van Gaal.
Italian premier Giorgia Meloni hopes on Friday to cement her status as one of the bridges between Europe and Africa, as African leaders roll out the red carpet for her in Addis Ababa.But there are several crises brewing, writes Ben Fox.
Any new US-Russia deal on strategic nuclear bombs would have mostly “symbolic” value, as France and Germany focus on tactical threats instead.
