As Europe races to secure the raw materials needed for its green transition and defence build-up, the small Czech town of Cinovec has become a symbol of the tension between Brussels’ industrial ambition and the environment.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
The European Union should play a bigger part in a US-brokered peace process in Israel-Palestine, a senior European Commission official said just ahead of a key donor conference the bloc is hosting Thursday focused on reforming the Palestinian Authority.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
In 1947, De Beers convinced the world that a diamond meant forever, and that an engagement ring should cost two months’ salary.
Today, the industry is betting it can pull off the same trick to persuade buyers that lab-grown diamonds are worthless merch
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
Some comments for this article by @fededisa.bsky.social
"What the Commission is doing is very tactical. They are trying to control damage, but they have clearly not given up on the medium- to long-term objective of acting autonomously and in line with the laws they have enacted”
shorturl.at/gzwz0
Tradwives & “alpha males” are winning over young Europeans — and shifting politics right.
Once a US trend, EU influencers are now promoting a return to strict gender roles by tapping into millennials and Gen Z’s economic anxiety and disillusionment.
My latest for The Parli Mag
sl1nk.com/lJLKI
For The Parliament, I reported from a plastic recycling factory in Malaysia to examine the EU’s attempts to crack down on the harmful — and morally dubious — practice of exporting plastic waste beyond its borders.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
Here it is.
The White House has published the executive order adjusting the so-called "reciprocal" tariffs and codifying the recent trade deals, including the one with the European Union.
As EU officials tried to justify the new US tariff deal to a sceptical Brussels, they pointed to the “immediate relief” from even harsher measures. But for steel and aluminium, even that’s not guaranteed.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
A lopsided trade deal with the US leaves the EU in a weakened position — but Brussels insists it has narrowly avoided a far more damaging full-scale trade war
My latest for The Parliament mag
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
"It's clear that the world that was there before the 2nd of April is gone," Maroš Šefčovič, the EU's commissioner for trade and economic security, told a press conference on Monday, referring to Trump's Liberation Day. "I'm 100% sure that this deal is better than a trade war with the US."
Really don't envy EU folks having to cut that deal and get the hell out of dodge with their hides intact.
But selling it as the "biggest trade deal ever" and praising Trump to high heaven looks brutal. Similar to the obsequiousness at Nato last month, not a good look to the rest of the world
More details - Trump and EU sign trade deal after 4 months of talks.
- 15% baseline tariffs.
- 50% tariffs on steel to continue
- pharma and semi-conductors not in deal
- EU to purchase $750bn of energy from US
- EU promises $600bn investment
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will travel to Scotland this weekend to meet with President Trump, as the two sides aim to conclude a trade deal ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline
For a brief moment, it looked like the turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs might defrost relations between the EU and China, with this week’s summit widely hoped to be the culmination of that thaw.
Except, none of it happened.
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
"Beyond stacking institutions with loyalists and demanding ideological purity, there’s another — arguably more effective — way for governments to dominate cultural centres: cut off their funding." By @fededisa.bsky.social
www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article...
A powerful alliance of aristocrats, ultra-conservative tech moguls, and ideologically aligned businesses funnelled $1.18 billion into efforts to roll back women’s and LGBTQ+ rights across Europe.
My latest for The Parliament Mag
shorturl.at/g9fSx
‘Keep calm and carry on.’
That’s how the EU’s trade stance vis-a-vis the US could be summarised in a nutshell — even as it contends with a 50% tariff on steel and aluminium that could wipe out the bloc’s metals industry.
Read my latest: bit.ly/4jScdCU
In my first story for the
Parliament Magazine,I delved into whether the widely-held belief that loosening regulations will stimulate economic growth still holds true when the very foundations of the EU model may be at risk of being undermined.
ANALYSIS: A flurry of green steel projects led by some of the leading steelmakers has hit a major roadblock in recent months, underscoring how difficult it is to clean up an industry already teetering on the edge of decline. @fededisa.bsky.social investigates ⬇️
And the last of my pieces to be published over the holiday break! Here I check out with @fededisa.bsky.social why the bougie gyms of Brussels are becoming the new power lobbying spot. 🤸♂️🏋️🤸♂️
A refinery in Bulgaria is the latest hole to be found in the "Swiss cheese" of the EU's Russia sanctions. Read @victorjack.bsky.social's story here www.politico.eu/article/how-...
