Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has emerged battered and bruised from a hard-fought national election, but with a viable path to retaining her grip on power in Copenhagen.

POLITICO launched a security review after a private telephone conversation between one of its reporters and an EU official about issues connected to Hungary and Ukraine was apparently intercepted and the recording published online.

Belgium’s Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said today that rather than waiting for someone to be injured in another antisemitic attack, he was deploying soldiers across Belgium to protect Jewish communities.

European countries should not rush into social media bans for children, human rights adviser Michael O’Flaherty told POLITICO. “A child has a right to receive information,” he said. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/mich...

The United States should let go of trying to change the European Union’s tech rules, senior EU lawmakers suggested today.

🚨 BREAKING: Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is on track to win Denmark’s election, exit polls signaled tonight. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/dani...

EU enlargement chief Marta Kos has called on capitals to present plans to enable new countries to join the bloc after they rejected proposals to streamline the process. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/eu-e...

A Lithuanian oak was named the 2026 European Tree of the Year today, putting an end to four years of Polish domination in the Eurovision-like contest.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s failed referendum is the first major misstep of her premiership. One that’s shattered her aura of political invincibility and her opponents smell blood. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/ital...

The leaders of the French far-right have come to the defense of National Rally MEP Fabrice Leggeri over accusations that he, while head of the EU’s border agency, Frontex, was complicit in crimes against humanity.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has urged Israel not to expand its military campaign in southern Lebanon, warning a ground offensive would deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis.

In London Playbook PM tonight: 💷 All Rachel Reeves’ options to help with soaring energy costs. 🤝 Britain pitches to be a broker on Hormuz. 👑 King Charles III will address Congress next month. Dig in 👇

The European Union will not backtrack on its ban on Russian fossil fuel imports or slow down its shift to renewables, Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said. “We should not again ever import as much as one molecule,” he told POLITICO.

With U.S. President Donald Trump slamming tariffs on allies globally, Brussels and Canberra rekindled their negotiations last year. The capitals have finally sealed a free trade deal after a previous attempt collapsed in 2023. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/aust...

Denmark's chief of defense staff has warned that European countries are not yet ready for war. "We have to change our mindset from diagnosis to delivery. We’re no longer very surprised but we’re not also really ready," he said.

One of French President Emmanuel Macron's top political allies has come under fire over respect for the rule of law after he fired a high-ranking official at the country's most powerful constitutional body.

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen's defiance to U.S. threats against Greenland generated a surge of support ahead of today's early parliamentary elections. But Denmark’s fracturing coalition government has turned the vote into a cliffhanger. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/denm...

Capitals that don’t support the Commission’s “reverse enlargement” idea should propose their own plan, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos told POLITICO.

The European Union needs to draft in Mario Draghi, the mastermind behind reforms to revive its single market, a senior European lawmaker said.

German MPs, including from the Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party, have access to a databank containing thousands of EU files. That access to confidential documents is raising concerns that sensitive info is being exposed to Moscow. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/afd-...

Emergency support to help Brits grappling with rising bills should go to “those who need it most,” Chancellor Rachel Reeves said. A line that’s all-but ruled out a Liz Truss-style universal bailout in response to the Iran war.

First Hungary was accused of leaking sensitive EU info to Russia, now the spotlight is on Germany. On today’s #BrusselsPlaybookPod, @zoyashef.bsky.social and Ian Wishart unpack mounting concerns over the far-right AfD's access to confidential documents. 🎧 pod.link/1244862657/e...

🚨 BREAKING: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier today condemned U.S. President Donald Trump for going to war with Iran, calling the conflict a violation of international law. Full story: www.politico.eu/article/germ...

Countries focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz will meet for a security summit in the near future, which the U.K. has offered to host.

European countries should not rush into social media bans for children, human rights adviser Michael O’Flaherty told POLITICO.

The European Union should loosen its "rigid" adherence to climate neutrality and allow itself to miss its 2050 net-zero goal by up to 10 percent, Germany's minister for energy and economy Katherina Reiche told a major oil and gas conference in the U.S.

Viktor Orbán’s block on a loan for Ukraine is not the U.S.’ issue, Washington’s ambassador to the EU has said days after Donald Trump endorsed the Hungarian PM’s reelection campaign.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said he speaks to his counterparts in Russia, Serbia, Israel, the United States and Turkey both before and after EU meetings on foreign affairs.

British PM Keir Starmer is keeping Britain out of the war in Iran. But he can’t duck the conflict’s grave economic consequences.

The European Tree of the Year winner will be announced in Brussels today. With Polish contenders having won four times in a row, will this time be different?

Donald Trump’s tariff regime has shredded the global trade rulebook. Yet even as Washington openly flouts those rules, his administration is quietly signaling a re-engagement with the very institution that wrote them.

Danes are heading to the polls today, with PM Mette Frederiksen having called early parliamentary elections after her ruling Social Democrats received a big boost from Donald Trump. Here's what you need to know to watch the vote like a pro 👇

The U.S. wants to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Brussels on reducing European tech regulation, its Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder told POLITICO.

Former French PM Edouard Philippe’s reelection as mayor of Le Havre is positioning him as the leading candidate to take on the far right in next year’s presidential election.

Access to confidential EU documents by the Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany party is raising concerns that sensitive deliberations are being exposed to Moscow, three EU diplomats and four German lawmakers have said.

After Hungary was accused of leaking sensitive EU discussions to Russia, the spotlight is now shifting to Germany. 🎙️ On today’s #BrusselsPlaybookPod, @zoyashef.bsky.social#BrusselsPlaybookPodand Ian Wishart unpack concerns over the far-right AfD’s access to confidential documents 👇

U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will face pressure in Parliament today to hint at what support she could offer on household bills amid uncertainty over the war in Iran. She might be pressed on energy supplies closer to home, too. More in London Playbook 👇

Ursula von der Leyen has finalized a major partnership with Australia. It’s the second such agreement the European Commission has struck this year, as it seeks to hedge against an unpredictable Trump administration. Brussels Playbook has the deets 👇

Tous au bureau (politique)! Les partis réunissent leurs cadres pour se projeter vers 2027. A découvrir dans Playbook Paris, concocté par @sarah-paillou.bsky.social 👇

The European Union and Australia have concluded talks on a free trade deal that could boost export volumes by as much as one third, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in Canberra today.

Italian right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's crushing defeat in today's referendum on judicial reform has shattered her aura of political invincibility, and her opponents now reckon she can be toppled in a general election expected next year.

COMMENTARY: Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel in a war against Iran is a far bigger strategic error than George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. It is also one with far greater strategic consequences. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/iraq...

Party leader Christian Dürr and the executive board of Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) resigned today following a pair of crushing election defeats — with Dürr vowing to return.

Plenty of political parties are claiming success in the French local elections that ended yesterday. But who really came out on top? 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/fran...

The crisis in the Middle East is dampening chatter about removing Britain’s embattled PM Keir Starmer. But the real test will come in the crucial May elections. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/iran...

In today's London Playbook PM: 🧑‍💼 Keir Starmer is meeting senior colleagues to discuss the Iran war fallout 💥 Donald Trump suggested the conflict could be on the verge of ending 🚑 The NHS is replacing ambulances set alight this morning Dive in 👇

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen may be on track for only 12 seats in the country’s next parliament. But he could decide who governs Denmark next. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/denm...

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has hailed Hungary’s Viktor Orbán for blocking a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine.

Speaking to POLITICO, America’s ambassador to the EU has called on the European Parliament to back the trade deal struck with President Donald Trump, arguing it would unlock deeper transtlantic cooperation on energy, tech and AI.

In the 10 years since the Brussels terror attacks, the EU has tightened its security strategy but the internet is opening up new threats, according to the bloc’s counterterrorism coordinator.