The Hungarian presidency: Let the games begin
This article is part of the Hungarian presidency of the EU special report. You have to feel sorry for Hungarian officials. Despite Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s track record as the EU’s...
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The secret, unwritten rules of the EU’s top jobs carve-up
BRUSSELS — When cardinals select a new pope after backroom negotiations in the Vatican, they send out a cloud of white smoke. When EU leaders meet in Brussels to hand out the bloc’s top jobs, they put...
View ArticleGiorgia Meloni hits out at EU top jobs backroom deal
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed backdoor deals on EU top jobs and said it was “surreal” the opinions of European voters were not taken into account. “There are those who argue that...
View ArticleCosta, Kallas confirmed for EU top jobs
EU leaders greenlit former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa to be the next president of the European Council on Thursday and backed Estonia’s Kaja Kallas to be the bloc’s next top diplomat,...
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Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas bag EU top jobs
EU leaders have chosen Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission president, six EU diplomats told POLITICO. At a meeting in Brussels, the national leaders also picked...
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Von der Leyen and Costa: Europe’s new dynamic duo
BRUSSELS — The EU’s official motto is “united in diversity.” That optimistic slogan could also be used to describe the warm and fuzzy relationship between Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, who...
View ArticleAmerican allies fear Biden is finished and can’t beat Trump
Diplomats and world leaders preparing for next week’s NATO summit are privately expressing acute concern about President Joe Biden’s age, health and ability to win the 2024 presidential election....
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EU officials fume over Orbán’s renegade diplomatic mission to see Putin
Since Budapest took over the rotating EU presidency last week, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has been zooming around like a cat on meth. From Kyiv to meet his bête noire Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to Moscow...
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French election gridlock means yet more uncertainty for Europe
BRUSSELS — For the EU, the French election result was good news — but also bad news. “The worst has been avoided,” a senior EU diplomat said, capturing the mood in Brussels on Sunday night when it...
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Orbán parrots Putin’s lines on Ukraine in leaked letter to EU chief
Dmitry Peskov out, Viktor Orbán in? In a leaked letter seen Tuesday by POLITICO, the Hungarian prime minister underlined Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maximalist position on Ukraine so thoroughly...
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Inside von der Leyen’s charm offensive ahead of knife-edge vote on her future
BRUSSELS — The EU institution that is the most vocal about democracy and accountability is next week set to make one of its most important decisions — in secret. Members of the European Parliament —...
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EU fumes at rogue Orbán, but struggles to rein him in
BRUSSELS — When it comes to dealing with Budapest, Brussels’ bark is worse than its bite. At a meeting on Wednesday, Hungary’s envoy to the EU, Bálint Ódor, took an “unprecedented” verbal beating from...
View ArticlePortuguese ambassador set to be António Costa’s chief of staff
Pedro Lourtie, the Portuguese ambassador to the European Union, is set to become the chief of staff for António Costa when he takes over as president of the European Council, three EU officials...
View ArticleCommissioners should skip Hungary’s meetings, European Commission says
The European Commission has asked its commissioners not to attend informal ministers’ meetings during the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, three EU officials told POLITICO. By instead...
View ArticleVon der Leyen will skip Britain’s biggest European summit in years
Sorry Britain, Europe’s just too tired and busy to talk much right now. This week, the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host around 45 leaders from European Union countries and...
View ArticleMEPs call to strip Hungary’s EU voting rights amid Orbán’s ‘peace missions’
Members of the European Parliament demanded Hungary’s EU voting rights be stripped after its Prime Minister’s trips to Russia and China. In a letter obtained by POLITICO, 63 MEPs addressed European...
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Von der Leyen faces make-or-break vote on second term
STRASBOURG — The European Parliament will decide on Thursday whether to grant Ursula von der Leyen a second term as European Commission president in a secret ballot vote. If von der Leyen does not...
View ArticleVon der Leyen slams Viktor Orbán over trip to Russia
Ursula von der Leyen used her speech to MEPs on Thursday to slam Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán over his recent trip to Russia. “Two weeks ago, a European prime minister went to Moscow,” von...
View ArticleIt’s Christmas in July (for Commissioners)! Von der Leyen hands out policy...
In her bid to win support for a second term, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday handed out a wide range of policy gifts to the political groups in the European Parliament —...
View ArticleUrsula von der Leyen wins second term as European Commission president
STRASBOURG — The European Parliament elected Ursula von der Leyen for another five years as European Commission president, choosing stability and continuity for the EU’s most powerful institution and...
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