The Capitals

Dead on arrival

Politics 17-07-2025

In today’s edition of The Capitals, read about Ursula von der Leyen’s €2 trillion budget power grab going down like a bucket of cold sick across Europe, Giorgia Meloni’s government hitting 1,000 days in office, and Europe’s alphabet soup.

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Western Europe

France secures €1.6 bln cut in planned EU budget contribution

Bayrou bets big on austerity with spending freeze and holiday cuts

Alleged spy for Iran handed over to Germany after spying on Jewish targets

See all Western Europe news

UK & Ireland

Thousands of Afghans and families brought to UK after data breach

Irish open fresh privacy probe on TikTok after user data was stored in China

Starmer, Macron announce closer UK-France nuclear weapons coordination

See all UK & Ireland news

Nordics & Baltics

Netherlands, Denmark look to join Trump’s Ukraine arms plan

Sweden mulls extending military officer conscription age to 70

Sweden rejects EU plan to fund budget with tobacco tax

See all Nordics & Baltics news

Visegrad

Arrest in Russia-linked school bomb threats sparks Czech-Slovak row

Slovakia stalls new Russia sanctions, demands stronger energy guarantees

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy proposes new prime minister, defence minister in major reshuffle

See all Visegrad news

Europe's South

Meloni to reach 1,000 days in power as approval dips

Spain boosts cooperation with ‘key partner’ Mauritania on migration, security

Italy split over pro-Putin conductor’s concert

See all Europe's South news

The Balkans

Romanian government survives no-confidence vote amid coalition austerity rift

Bulgarian hospital fraud going unchecked despite patient digital verification app

Former Croatian minister charged for spending EU money on private dinners

See all The Balkans news

EU institutions

Commission toys with massive €522 billion competitiveness budget

Right-wing climate sceptics blast EU’s anti-disinformation drive

Commission excludes ‘steak’, ‘sausage’ from crackdown on veggie meat labelling

See all EU institutions news

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