Curb your snooping, Commission tells EU governments (www.politico.eu)
The EU executive tells member countries national security isn’t a blank check to justify spyware use....
French government resigns, ushering in indefinite transition period (www.politico.eu)
The Attal administration will now serve as a caretaker government until a new prime minister is appointed....
Far right seizes France’s conservative heartlands (www.politico.eu)
Growing grievances over a rural-urban divide help Marine Le Pen’s National Rally make inroads....
Belgian EU presidency urges governments to move toward muzzling Hungary (www.politico.eu)
European countries are getting increasingly frustrated with Budapest’s obstructions on Ukraine military aid and Russia sanctions....
Hitting Russia where it hurts: Ukraine tightens the noose around Crimea (www.politico.eu)
Kyiv is making it increasingly difficult for Russia to keep the peninsula supplied....
Macron opens the door for Ukraine to ‘neutralize’ Russian bases (www.politico.eu)
Ukraine wants to use donated weapons to attack targets inside Russia, but its allies are split on the issue....
EU finally ready to bring down Russia’s gas empire … sort of (www.politico.eu)
A new sanctions proposal is expected to target Russia’s liquified natural gas for the first time, but the measures would only cover a quarter of Moscow’s profits....
Italy can do without Russian gas, says energy minister (www.politico.eu)
Rome has no reason to oppose EU sanctions targeting Russian LNG, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin says....
AI chatbots spread falsehoods about the EU election, report finds (www.politico.eu)
The tools tended to return incorrect election dates and information about how to cast a ballot, said Democracy Reporting International....
Turkey’s Erdoğan suffers blow in crucial mayoral elections as secular opposition surges (www.politico.eu)
Opposition’s triumph in Istanbul, where the president had invested significant electoral resources, boosts a party that was left reeling by a general election defeat last year....
Russian election: Alexei Navalny’s final plan to cause Vladimir Putin ‘maximum damage’ (www.politico.eu)
Before his death, the opposition leader laid out a strategy to challenge the Russian president....
Hungary President Novak quits under pressure over sex-abuse pardon case (www.politico.eu)
Judit Varga, who was expected to lead the ruling Fidesz party’s slate in the European Parliament election, also resigned....
Meta, TikTok take EU to court over online content rulebook (www.politico.eu)
Social media giants Meta and TikTok are suing the European Union over a levy that bankrolls the enforcement of Europe’s content moderation law, the Digital Services Act....
Swedish police foil attack on Israeli Embassy in Stockholm (www.politico.eu)
An attempted attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm was thwarted on Wednesday....
EU’s top diplomat accuses Israel of funding Hamas (www.politico.eu)
German FM: Suffering of Palestinians ‘cannot go on’ (www.politico.eu)
The suffering of Palestinian civilians “cannot go on,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned Tuesday during a visit to Cairo, urging more concrete measures to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip....
Russia uses POWs as a political weapon against Kyiv (www.politico.eu)
The last major prisoner exchange was in August, but Ukrainian families are getting calls from POWs held by Russia asking them to protest against the Ukrainian government....
‘Everything indicates’ Chinese ship damaged Baltic pipeline on purpose, Finland says (www.politico.eu)
‘I would think that you would notice that you’re dragging an anchor behind you for hundreds of kilometers,’ says minister.