Russian oil major Lukoil is struggling to keep operations running at its sprawling foreign businesses as Western sanctions disrupt oil loadings in Iraq, pump stations in Finland and trading in Switzerland, sources said. The United States and the United Kingdom last month imposed sanctions on Russia’s second-largest oil company, complicating...
Trump rules out Hungary exemption from Russia oil sanctions
Orbán has said he will discuss U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil with Trump at a meeting scheduled for 7 November. Speaking to reporters in Air Force One, Trump confirmed that Orbán had appealed for an exception, citing Hungary’s reliance on Russian crude delivered through pipelines. “He...
EU urges North Macedonia to deliver on constitutional changes
The European Commission’s 2025 Enlargement Report urges North Macedonia to “adopt the necessary constitutional changes with a view to including in the Constitution citizens who live within the borders of the state and who are part of other people, such as Bulgarians.” The measure, agreed in the Council Conclusions of...
Dutch election
One of the tightest elections in Dutch history produced an outcome so close that first steps in negotiating a new coalition government have yet to begin. But at a time when the forward march of the far right across Europe is dominating headlines, sapping the confidence of mainstream parties, one...
Cyprus’ 2026 EU presidency priorities
Cyprus will assume the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January 2026, with a plan to prioritise migration, relations with southern neighbours, and water-resilience during its six-month term. Cypriot deputy minister for migration and international protection, Nicholas A. Ioannides, emphasised his country would advance current EU...
Wagner and Narva
Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries are not the kind of people you want to see on your doorstep. So it was unwelcome news in Estonia this Sunday when border guards spotted the group’s distinctive flag (skull and lightning bolts on black) on a Russian patrol boat on the Narva river. All...
The “Serbian World” doctrine
The Western Balkans remain a "critical security hotspot" requiring the EU's "full attention", Rumen Radev warned. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev urged the European Union to take Belgrade’s activity under the so-called “Serbian World” doctrine very seriously, warning that it could pose a serious threat to the stability of the Western...
Rheinmetall leads EU-funded rearmament
After Bulgaria, Romania too signed an agreement with the German defence company to build a state-of-the-art gunpowder factory. The European Union is pouring billions of euros into Bulgaria and Romania to resurrect their Cold War-era munitions expertise, modernising Soviet-vintage factories for 21st-century warfare. At the forefront is German defence titan...
Europe’s conservative turn: from cultural nostalgia to political mainstream
Across the continent, the right’s rise is reshaping the political landscape - from Rome to Nicosia, and from Berlin to Warsaw. Europe is undergoing a profound conservative turn. From traditional right-wing parties to radical nationalists, the rise of the right is redrawing the continent’s political map. What began as electoral...
Brussels power struggle: von der Leyen clips Kallas’ wings over Selmayr
The EU foreign affairs chief sought the top official as a strong ally as she struggles against assertive diplomats. (Based on “Machtkampf in Brüssel: Wie von der Leyen Europas Chefdiplomatin brüskiert,” Handelsblatt, published 1 November 2025) EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tolerates no rival power centers, and EU...