In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, Emmanuel Macron’s former confidante Alan Minc revealed his snappy criticism of the leader’s reckless decisions.  🔗 www.politico.eu/article/emma...

On the same day world leaders arrived at the COP30 summit in Brazil to push for more action on climate change, Greece announced it will start drilling for fossil fuels in the Mediterranean Sea — with US help.

Washington should scrap its plan to withdraw hundreds of troops from Romania, the country’s deputy defense minister Sorin Moldovan told POLITICO, arguing the decision could fuel Russian propaganda around NATO disunity.

David Lammy has resurfaced in a bid to save his skin after a disastrous 24 hours that saw another mistaken prison release dominate the agenda. More in London Playbook.

It’s been 10 years since the historic Paris climate agreement, but the world is far from reaching the goals set a decade ago.  Can this year’s COP30 climate summit do anything to change that trajectory? Follow all our coverage: 

Britain’s biggest drugmaker says it will only greenlight plans for a £200 million Cambridge research site if ministers go further on NHS spending reforms in trade talks with the US.

French President Emmanuel Macron is a narcissist who is in denial of reality, argues his former mentor and current political adviser Alain Minc.  🔗 www.politico.eu/article/emma...

📰 Happy Thursday, city lovers! This week’s Living Cities dives into the latest from the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, where the EU has committed to giving cities a real voice in shaping its future climate agenda. Dig in 👇

Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to US President Donald Trump, told leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany — classified as an extremist party by German authorities — that he sees them as “bold visionaries” shaping the country’s future.

The US should leave Greenland alone, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has said, reaffirming Copenhagen’s opposition to Donald Trump’s ambition to acquire the vast Arctic island.

Czechia, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, is weighing whether to cut the flow of much-needed arms and ammunition to Kyiv once its new government takes power in the coming weeks.

Europe isn’t popping champagne just yet, even after US Supreme Court judges cast doubt on the future of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

COMMENTARY: Ami Ayalon, one of Israel’s legendary gatekeepers — the intelligence chiefs who’ve shouldered the country’s security since its founding — is deeply pessimistic about Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

South Africa said today it will investigate how 17 of its citizens ended up fighting as mercenaries in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever today told the Belgian parliament that he asked King Philippe to give the government until Christmas to hash out a budget deal.

Emmanuel Macron’s plan to overhaul the Louvre poses "significant financial risks," France’s top court of auditors has warned.

Seven EU countries have jointly called for tariffs on more Russian goods and urged the European Commission to draft a proposal, according to a document seen by POLITICO.

UK PM Keir Starmer has escaped the Westminster circus for a breather at the COP30 summit in Brazil — where, with no British press pack in tow, he can (mostly) dodge questions about another accidental prisoner release. London Playbook has more 👇 

A conservative lawmaker in Berlin has called for action against German conductor Justus Frantz, who traveled to Russia this week to accept the Order of Friendship from Vladimir Putin.

Alain Minc once likened Emmanuel Macron to Napoleon’s generals — an extraordinary being blessed with talent and luck. Eight years on, the influential political adviser and former mentor now calls France’s president its worst leader.

The EU is preparing to tighten visa rules for Russian citizens, effectively ending the issuance of multi-entry Schengen permits in most cases, officials told POLITICO.

British PM Keir Starmer loves to play the climate leader.    But only when his political advisers (and the powerful Chancellor Rachel Reeves) tell him he’s allowed.

After the 2024 EU election, many in Brussels insisted the political center had held. That wishful thinking is fading fast, with two working majorities now openly acknowledged in the European Parliament’s corridors. Brussels Playbook has more 👇

La guerre des gauches a repris autour d’une hausse de la CSG.  A découvrir dans Playbook Paris, concocté par Sarah Paillou.

The British defense secretary has insisted Donald Trump is capable of persuading Vladimir Putin to enter peace talks on Ukraine even as negotiations continue to stall.

The European Commission is considering tweaking its €1.8 trillion 2028-2034 budget proposal to win backing from the Parliament, European Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin told POLITICO.

The bosses of the UK’s Drax power plant say their biomass operations are climate-friendly and vital to net-zero goals. Climate campaigners call it greenwashing. POLITICO went inside the factory to see the reality on the ground 👇 🔗  www.politico.eu/article/insi...

A surprise visit to Ukraine by actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie drew scrutiny of her companions, with multiple sources claiming a member of her entourage was unexpectedly drafted into to the Ukrainian military.

For six years, the European Union’s efforts to fight climate change have been on an upward swing. That came to an end this morning in messy, exhausted scenes.

🚨🚨 the European People's Party has suggested new changes to a landmark bill aimed at cutting environmental red tape. Those changes align with demands from the far-right. You read it here first 👇 www.politico.eu/article/epp-... w/ @maxgriera.bsky.social and @benmunster.bsky.social

COMMENTARY: Russia has attacked shopping malls, airports and logistics companies.  These disruptions all share one thing in common: they’ve come at a high cost to their targets. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/russ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered top officials to come up with proposals for the potential resumption of nuclear testing for the first time since the end of the Cold War more than three decades ago.

The EU is preparing to further tighten visa rules for Russian citizens, effectively ending the issuance of multi-entry Schengen permits in most cases, three European officials told POLITICO.

World football governing body FIFA today announced it will introduce an award “to reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”

NATO chief Mark Rutte today played down a US announcement that it was withdrawing hundreds of troops from Romania just as the alliance grapples with an increasing number of suspected Russian hybrid attacks.

American pharmaceutical giants will start to shutter their UK operations unless Keir Starmer’s government agrees to pay more for their drugs, the US Ambassador to the UK warned ministers today.

British politicians depend on the Drax biomass power plant to keep the UK’s lights on.  To secure the factory's future, its bosses want even more government support. But its critics are growing in number and volume.  🔗 www.politico.eu/article/insi...

Libyan warlord Osama Al-Masri Njeem, controversially released from jail by Italian authorities in January, was arrested in Tripoli today on charges of torture and violence against prisoners.

🚨 BREAKING: Europe's dominant center-right group will move ahead with a proposal to cut green rules that it is confident will get the support of right-wing and far-right groups in a crucial Parliament vote next week. Read the story: www.politico.eu/article/epp-...

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu launched a procedure today to suspend Shein following a string of controversies involving the Chinese-founded fast-fashion giant.

The UK will not contribute public money to a flagship tropical forests fund that Brazil hopes to make the centerpiece of its COP30 climate summit.

Today, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments for and against Trump’s tariffs in a showdown that has implications for countries across the globe. Here's what we're watching out for 👇 And here's what is at stake: www.politico.eu/article/what...

COMMENTARY: The Kremlin’s gray-zone aggression is draining Europe’s resources — and making it increasingly costly to be a business based in a Western country. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/russ...

The US has hit out at a forthcoming EU space law, saying it would place "unacceptable regulatory burdens" on American space companies.

Belgian authorities will hold a national security council meeting tomorrow after Brussels Airport was shut down late yesterday following a drone incursion, Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s office announced.  

Kyiv's wartime international partners need to clearly call out creeping authoritarianism.    That’s the message from Ukraine's former leader and Volodymyr Zelenskyy archrival Petro Poroshenko.  🔗 www.politico.eu/article/volo...

The European Commission and Belgian government failed earlier this week to make progress on using frozen Russian state assets to fund a reparations loan for Ukraine. Now, top officials hope to break the political deadlock at a crunch meeting this Friday.

The EU today begins a months-long push to ensure content made by artificial intelligence is clearly identifiable online.

Senior European Commissioners and Parliament leaders will meet this afternoon to try to hammer out a deal over disputed parts of the EU’s €1.8 trillion long-term budget.

After Donald Trump implemented his "Liberation Day" tariffs, custom duties soared 👇 Today, the US Supreme Court will hear arguments for and against these measures. If deemed illegal, what does that mean globally? We took a look: www.politico.eu/article/what...