How Slovakia’s Fico became Putin’s top ally inside the EU
Slovak prime minister Robert Fico appears to have become Russia’s most prominent ally in the European Union, following the demise of Hungary’s pro-Kremlin leader.
Soňa Weissová
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‘When you laugh at a dictator, you take away his power’: Artist behind viral naked Trump statue speaks out
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, a gold-covered statue of a naked Trump in the halls of European Parliament is meant to make politicians think about democracy, says ‘Orange Plague’ artist Jens Galschiøt.
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German ex-spy chief arrested over espionage and treason allegations involving leaked BND files
Germany’s former spy chief now stands accused of selling thousands of ultra-sensitive intelligence files to foreign clients, in a scandal insiders warn could cripple Berlin’s trust with allied services.
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[Interview] Ceuta crisis shows how EU border outsourcing puts children at risk, says German lawyer
By outsourcing border control to Morocco, Turkey or Albania and then panicking when they “open the gates,” German lawyer Lena Riemer says EU capitals have handed hostile regimes a cheap, reliable way to divide and humiliate Europe.
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Merz ‘fighting for political survival’ as AfD takes another state and The Left wins Berlin
Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke to press just minutes after polls revealed massive CDU losses. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party failed to make the five-percent threshold. In Berlin, where the party had held power, it was thrashed by the Left.
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[Interview] ‘In Germany, everyone is constantly afraid Putin will get angry’. German military expert on Berlin’s response to Leipzig drone plot and Moscow’s hybrid attacks
“Activating Nato’s Article 4 [triggering the mechanism among member states in case of a threat] would have been justified, especially because it is not only Germany that is under attack, but other countries are being attacked at the same time as well,” military expert Nico Lange tells EUobserver.
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[Interview] Oligarchs could hijack Reykjavík’s EU referendum, Icelandic professor warns
As Iceland’s elites quietly bankroll a fiery ‘no’ campaign, a veteran pro-EU economist warns they are using money, fear and Kremlin-style talking points to shut down even the right to negotiate with Brussels.
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Russia killed Austria’s dream of peace, but military service is also cheap labour
As Austria’s leaders insist Russia’s war means longer duty for young men, critics warn the plan quietly doubles as a cheap-labour fix for struggling hospitals and emergency services.
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German spies to get offensive powers, breaking post-Cold War taboo on ‘secret police’
Germany’s spies, long mocked as passive note‑takers, are suddenly being groomed for a far more dangerous role – one that even some of their political backers now fear has “overshot the mark”.
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Operation Matryoshka: Russia using ‘BBC news’ fakes to pervert key German vote
With fake videos posing as BBC, ARD, or major German newspapers flooding X, TikTok, and Bluesky, millions of German voters risk making decisions in September based on AI-generated lies targeting Kremlin-critical candidates.
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[Interview] German MEP Damian Boeselager: Locking 27 leaders in a castle and thinking they will deliver a good outcome is a categorical mistake
With the far right poised to govern parts of Germany for the first time since WWII, Boeselager warns that only bold economic fixes and fairer pension sacrifices can convince frustrated workers that democracy still delivers.
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Greek billionaire dilutes largest EU anti-Russian sanctions package with an LNG exemption
The battle over this 21st sanctions round lays bare a new fault line in Europe’s Russia policy, with Greece and Austria securing sensitive carve-outs.
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‘I am Elke’: the communist mayor who won Austria’s second-largest city with housing fixes
Behind the friendly “pizza comunista” and open-door consultations lies a party that still hails Marx, Engels and Lenin and wants Austria out of the EU, raising awkward questions for voters who back its housing fixes but ignore its revolutionary long game.
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[Interview] Neutrality and apathy made Vienna into hub for Russia spies, Austrian expert says
Austrian expert on Russian hybrid warfare Pichler warns that Austria’s cult‑like neutrality and apathetic middle class have turned the country into a playground for Kremlin spin.
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[Interview] Drone control means Ukrainians only need to wait for Russia’s economic crisis, expert says
Far from the front, ordinary Russians are starting to feel a war their leaders can no longer afford.
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Swiss referendum on 10‑million population cap tests appetite for migration curb
In Alpine villages with hardly any foreigners, red campaign flags and talk of “overcrowding” reveal how a distant 10‑million threshold has morphed into a national debate over house prices, cowbells and who still feels at home.
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Why Putin is pushing German ex-chancellor Schröder as his Ukraine mediator — and why Europe distrusts him
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has sparked controversy after Vladimir Putin suggested he could help negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Is Schröder a legitimate bridge to peace, or the ultimate Trojan horse in Russia’s hybrid war?
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Slovakia may lose EU funds like Hungary. MEPs warned Fico not to follow Orbán’s path
MEPs had been criticising Robert Fico’s government for abolishing the National Criminal Agency and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, and most recently attempts to the same for the Office for the Protection of Whistleblowers.
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Not an April’s Fool Joke – why Canada could join the EU
What used to be seen as a half-joking remark is becoming an increasingly serious topic of debate. The Finnish president Alexander Stubb considers Canada a country that could one day become part of the European Union. “I can imagine a much larger EU; whether Canada will be part of it is up to Canada to decide,” Stubb said in Toronto last week.
How realistic would such a move be? -
Germany’s new military conscription law sparks row over ‘permission’ to travel abroad
Germany reintroduced systematic military registration in January 2026. The controversial law mandates medical exams for young men and requires those aged 17–45 to seek permission for long-term stays abroad. Amidst public confusion and youth protests, the government is now working to amend the controversial travel approval process.
