Under the compensation programme for high electricity prices, Lukoil was granted €11.6 million from the Bulgarian state budget in 2024. The Russian-owned oil refinery Lukoil Neftochim near Burgas, the largest in the Balkans, reported a major loss of 213 million leva (€107 million) for 2025, meaning the company received more…

The European Parliament’s rapporteur on the digital euro file, centre-right MEP Fernando Navarrete, in a recent article, claimed to offer a rational common ground to discuss the proposal for a European Central Bank digital currency (CBDC). However, his approach reflects a fear of transition: warning of financial instability, lost innovation,…

Though their landscape is picturesque, the Baltic states are not built for defense. Lakes and swamps provide some benefit, but there are no mountains, jungles, or Rhine-sized rivers to stop an invader. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania can be Holland, but not Switzerland. Hence, the Baltic states want to build the…

In Germany, a dispute over public broadcasting has reached the political spotlight. Julia Ruhs, a journalist and presenter of Klar, a programme that often covered right-wing themes such as immigration, has been dropped by Germany’s public broadcaster NDR. The decision triggered a strong reaction from the Christian Democrats. Their general…

Constant destruction from the war has brought massive challenges for people in the region, and Moscow has repeatedly botched its response, failing to deliver a decent life for those it now claims as citizens. Water supplies have suffered since the 2022 full-scale invasion, and nine out of 10 reservoirs in…