Europe & EU August 12 2025-

Informal meeting of heads of state or government, Copenhagen, 1 October 2025

12 November
Thousands protest in Romania’s capital against government austerity measures
Thousands of protesters marched in Romania’s capital on Wednesday, demanding higher wages, measures to curb inflation and tax reductions for workers as the government pushes on with austerity to tackle the country’s large budget deficit. Protesters gathered outside government headquarters in Bucharest, then marched toward the Palace of Parliament. The National Trade Union Bloc, made up of dozens of professional federations, organized the rally and comes as Romania’s government pursues measures to reduce the budget deficit. It stood at over 9% in 2024 — one of the highest in the 27-nation European Union. Romania has agreed with the EU to reduce the deficit to 8.4% this year. The government austerity measures include tax hikes, public sector wages, pension freezes and cutting public spending and public administration jobs. The bloc later said it had been invited by the ruling parties for discussions. Protesters are also seeking an end to public sector job cuts and intensified efforts to combat tax evasion.

29-30 October
Anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom and the centrist D66 were tied with nearly all votes counted Thursday in the Dutch general election in an unprecedented neck-and-neck race to become the biggest party. The near-total count tallied and published by the Dutch national news agency ANP, and cited by Dutch media, showed each party winning 26 seats in Wednesday’s election. No Dutch election has previously ended with two parties tied for the lead. Wilders’ Party for Freedom is forecast to lose 11 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, while D66 is forecast to gain 17, according to the vote count. Wilders insisted early Thursday that his party, known by its Dutch acronym PVV, should play a leading role in coalition talks if it is the largest. Wilders faces an uphill battle to return to government, however. Mainstream parties, including D66, have ruled out forming a coalition with the PVV, arguing that Wilders’ decision to torpedo the outgoing four-party coalition in June over migration underscored that he is an untrustworthy partner.
Dutch Voters Deliver Major Setback to Far-Right Party of Geert Wilders
A center-left party was poised to become the country’s largest political party, according to exit polls. The anti-immigrant Party for Freedom, led by Mr. Wilders, was expected to lose 12 seats.
With no party winning an outright majority, the next step is for Duch lawmakers to form a coalition, which could take months. It is still unclear who will become the next prime minister, though the leader of D66, Rob Jetten, seemed a likely possibility on Wednesday night

4 October
Populist Babis cruises to Czech election win, will seek support from fringe parties
Nearly complete results show clear ANO win
Former Prime Minister Babis wants one-party government
Will talk to fringe parties including far-right to find majority
Babis opposes EU’s climate, migration policies
Babis would scale back Czech support for Ukraine
(Reuters) – Billionaire Andrej Babis’s ANO party cruised to victory in the Czech Republic’s parliamentary election on Saturday, raising the prospect of a government that would boost Europe’s populist, anti-immigration camp and reduce support for Ukraine.
An ebullient Babis told supporters that ANO would seek a one-party cabinet but would talk with two small parties – including the far-right SPD – for support as his party will lack an outright majority.

1 October
Drone wall plan tests Europe’s cohesion
First there was the Russian drone in Poland. Then Romania. Then Russian jets flew into Estonian airspace, while some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) shut down Denmark’s airports.
In recent weeks, Russian aircraft have been illegally violating European airspace with greater frequency and boldness.
What are the Europeans going to do about it? One possible answer emerged last week, when the European Commission announced it would explore building a so-called “drone wall,” an air defense system involving radars, sensors, and missiles that aims to detect and destroy drones that pass through Europe’s eastern borders.
The idea for a drone wall, though, will test Europe’s – and, more broadly, NATO’s – ability to agree on the system’s costs, deployment, and even its purpose. The subject will be one of the hottest items on the agenda as European Union leaders meet in Copenhagen this week to discuss the continent’s collective defense.
Eurasia Group’s Europe Director Jan Techau said there are a few different paths that Europe could take. It could build a drone wall along NATO’s eastern flank that would involve shooting down UAVs, create a system that merely jams Russian drones to make them inoperable, or simply boost drone defenses as part of a broader effort to update Europe’s air defenses across the continent.

30 September
(Bloomberg Balance of Power newsletter) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pushed to consolidate power in the European Union’s executive body in recent years, but German Chancellor Friedrich Merz appears to be trying to block those efforts, publicly rebuking his fellow Christian Democrat on issues like trade and climate. Merz wants to revise key EU policies and reassert national power over the Brussels bureaucracy, and plans to make his case to fellow leaders tomorrow at a summit in Copenhagen.

29 September
Moldova’s pro-EU party wins pivotal election in setback for Russia
Pro-Europe PAS clinches surprise majority in key election
Results are a blow to pro-Russian bloc which holds small protest
PAS says Russia tried to meddle in vote; Moscow denies this
EU, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy hail outcome of election
Opposition, Russia say many Moldovans were denied right to vote
(Reuters) – Moldova’s pro-European ruling party won a resounding victory over its Russian-leaning rival in a key parliamentary election, results on Monday showed, in a major boost for the country’s bid to join the European Union and break away from Moscow’s orbit.
The surprisingly strong performance on Sunday by President Maia Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) against the Patriotic Bloc was a relief for the government and its EU partners, who accused Moscow of seeking to influence the vote.
Bordering Ukraine and Romania, Moldova is a strategic hotspot in Europe
Moldova borders southwestern Ukraine, making it a perfect base for Russia to launch attacks into Ukraine, and also as a base for possibly launching drone incursions into the EU, explains FRANCE 24’s Philip Turle. Its strategic location makes Sunday’s election results one to watch in eastern and western European capitals.

Environmental damage is putting European way of life at risk, says report
EU officials warn climate breakdown and wildlife loss ‘are ruining ecosystems that underpin the economy’
Ajit Niranjan
(The Guardian) The European way of life is being jeopardised by environmental degradation, a report has found, with EU officials warning against weakening green rules.
The continent has made “important progress” in cutting planet-heating pollution, according to the European Environment Agency, but the death of wildlife and breakdown of the climate are ruining ecosystems that underpin the economy.
Europe’s environment and climate: knowledge for resilience, prosperity and sustainability
The main report provides an integrated narrative, examining the central and vital role that the climate and natural environment play in ensuring health, resilience and prosperity for people, anchored in the EU’s vision for a sustainable Europe by 2050.

28 September
Denmark bans drone flights as EU leaders prepare to descend on Copenhagen
Suspected Russian involvement in the drone flights that have dogged Denmark in the past week has authorities on high alert.
(Politico Eu) Denmark will close its airspace to civilian drones this week following disturbances near military bases on Friday and at civilian airports last week.
With the European Council meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss defense and Ukraine, followed by a European Political Community gathering in the city the following day, authorities have acted to safeguard both events.

15 September
Trump has a list of demands for Europe. We rated his chances of success.
From facing down Hungary and Slovakia to taking on Turkey and China, meeting the U.S. president’s requests will be challenging.
(Politico Eu) If Donald Trump is going to slap sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, there are a few things he’d like his European allies to do first.
In a social media post this weekend, the U.S. president said he’d be ready to “go” when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia. He also said countries belonging to the Western military alliance should place tariffs on China of between 50 percent and 100 percent until the end of the war.
The demand follows a visit to Brussels by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, in which Trump’s envoy urged the EU to wean itself off Russian energy, and a lopsided trade deal in July in which the bloc pledged to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by the end of his term.

8-9 September
2025 Strategic Foresight Report
(European Commission) The world has changed dramatically in the last few years. We are seeing the erosion of the international rules-based order, the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation are worsening faster than expected, and security becoming a central focus in all policies. In addition, we are facing intersecting EU-specific challenges. The EU has shown strength, unity and transformative resilience in responding to recent crises. However, the scale and complexity of the challenges ahead require a proactive and forward-looking approach. 2025 Strategic Foresight Report presents “Resilience 2.0”, an approach to ensuring the EU thrives in turbulent times through 2040 and beyond. It builds on the recent European Preparedness
Rules-based world order is dead, EU to concede
(Politico Eu) “A return to the previous status quo seems unlikely,” EU executive concludes in first year of Trump’s second term as U.S. president.
The international world order is beyond repair and Europe should adapt to the law of the jungle — or else come up with new rules.
That’s the bleak message the European Commission is set to give on Tuesday in a text detailing major challenges ahead. “We are witnessing the erosion of the international rules-based order,” several drafts of its annual Strategic Foresight Report, seen by POLITICO, say.
Trump’s global tariff threats have further undermined the authority of the World Trade Organization.
The EU could be particularly affected by this development. Key features of the bloc, such as its internal market, trade flows, international partnerships, and technical standards, all depend on a functioning multilateral system.

1 September
Costa breaks ranks on EU-US trade deal, fires warning shot at Trump
The European Council president appears to admit the war in Ukraine was a factor in accepting the bloc’s lopsided pact with Washington.
“We certainly do not celebrate the return of tariffs. But escalating tensions with a key ally over tariffs, while our Eastern border is under threat, would have been an imprudent risk,” Costa said in a keynote speech at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia on Monday.
“Stabilizing transatlantic relations and ensuring U.S. engagement in Ukraine’s security has been a top priority,” he added.
29 July
EU-US trade deal explained

12 August
19 EU countries condemn Israel’s ‘restrictive’ aid rules in Gaza
Statement, also signed by countries including Canada, Japan and the U.K., ramps up pressure on Israel over starvation in Gaza
“The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. Famine is unfolding before our eyes,” said the statement, signed by 19 EU foreign ministers, as well as those of fellow European countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, alongside Australia, Canada, Japan and the U.K. “Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation.”